A Study of Mutual Effects of Human Rights and Peace

This paper studies how human rights and peace affect each other. The historical experiences of human societies have indicated that peace and human rights have had close connections to each other. These experiences have developed in the modern times so that nations and states are in the view that human rights and peace are complementary. Accordingly, achieving real and sustainable peace is impossible without respecting human rights and it cannot expect that human rights are fully respected if there is no peace. This interrelation has developed nowadays in a way that today the right to peace has become one of the examples of the third generation of human rights and a fundamental human right. This means that it is not possible to realise other human rights without realising such a right. In other words, the right to peace constitutes the basis of other human rights. This is because the first generation of human rights (that is civil and political rights) and the second generation of human rights (that is economic, social and cultural rights) and even the third generation of human rights (such as the right to development and the right to a healthy environment) cannot be realised if the right to peace is not respected. It is in this context that this paper examines such documents as the Charter of the United Nations (UN), The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Covenants on Human Rights, related resolutions of the UN general Assembly (in particular Declaration on the Rights of People to Peace – Resolution 39/11, 12 November 1984, and Resolution on Promotion of Peace as a Vital Requirement for the Full Enjoyment of All Human Rights by All –Resolution 62/163, 18 December 2007) and resolutions of the UN Human Rights Commission and of the UN Human Rights Council in order to demonstrate how human rights and peace have been considered as dependent on each other so that the existence of one depends on the existence of the other. Finally, this paper concludes that full respect of human rights is not possible without peace and it is impossible to achieve sustainable and real peace in the world without fully respecting human rights. Accordingly, nations and states should make their best efforts to strengthen peace in the world through respecting human rights and to pave the way for realisation of human rights in the world by maintaining international peace and security. It is certain that human rights can be respected more effectively when states are in peace with each other. It is in such universal society that the interests of all nations are guaranteed and safeguarded.