Human civilization over time has created immemorial settlements of groups of people living together. We are only familiar with the last three and a half thousand years. It is interesting to note that calculations based on the surviving written historical records reveal, that out of these three and a half thousand years, only two hundred and fifty were peaceful. In other words, the history of civilization is a history of constant warfare, destruction, conquest, and violence, and not of prosperity, peace, and development.

The twentieth century surpassed all the previous centuries in terms of the magnitude of violence and cruelty. Thus, the twenty-first century has put humanity into a dilemma. Either it will become an age of a culture of peace and tolerance, or it will be the last century in the history of civilization. In the last century, the culture of war and intolerance, in all its manifestations, became one of the greatest evils for humankind. Two World Wars, more than 200 large-scale wars, armed conflicts, the violence of totalitarian and antidemocratic regimes, the struggle for power, and genocide, all a result of the culture of war, have claimed up to 300 million lives.

The creation, improvement, and spread of weapons of mass destruction are an indication of an increased risk of using those weapons. The intolerant domestic political strife and social upheavals in many countries with racism, genocide, and war indicate the spread of ideas of peace and Social tolerance A culture of peace would be a culture of freedom and universal respect, upholding all human rights and eliminating double standards.

• A culture of peace would be a ‘festival of diversities’. It would be based upon the diversities of different cultures and appreciation of the ‘other’, meaning complete refusal of dominance, exploitation, and discrimination in all human relations and social structures.
• A culture of peace would acknowledge the responsibilities of solidarity, in which the relief of suffering of people is taken to be the responsibility of the entire world community. In a culture of peace, peoples are neither exploitable nor expendable. A culture of peace assures the dignity and well-being of the vulnerable.