Simplified notes about pacifism in ethics and peace studies

1. PACIFISTS TODAY
Organizations working for peace
Nature
Ethics
Morality
Role of women in peace building.

2. Pacifists;- holding the belief that war and violence are
unjustifiable.(unacceptable and wrong because there is
no good or fair reason for it).
Kinds of pacifism;
Absolute pacifism
Militant pacifism
Conditional pacifism
Selective pacifism
Active pacifism

3. Examples of some of the organizations;
UN – UNITED NATIONS i.e. UNPBC-UNITED
NATION PEACE BUILDING COMMISSION
JRS -JESUIT REFUGE SERVICE
ALLIANCE FOR PEACE BUILDING
CRS – CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVIVE.

4. NATURE;
Intergovernmental advisory body that brings
together the key actors, gathers resources, advices
on strategies for post-conflicts.
Non profit that works to prevent and resolve
violence conflict through collaboration between
government, intergovernmental organizations and
NGOs to increase awareness of peace building
policies and best practices.

5. NATURE cont.
Humanitarian agency that provides emergency
relief post-disaster or post-conflict and
encourages long-term development through
peace building and other activities.

6. Morality
Principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong
or good and bad behavior.
Respect
Trust worthiness; worthy or being trusted, honest, reliable
or dependable.
Diligence; steady, earnest, and energetic effort: devoted
and painstaking work and application to accomplish an
undertaking
Reliability; quality of being trustworthy. Or of performing
consistently well.
Integrity ; quality of being honest and having strong moral
principles.
Love

7. Ethics
Value, principles and standards that guides the
individual and group behavior of the people in an
organization.
These include;
Interdependence;- personnel maintain their
interdepended and should not seek or receive
advice from any personnel external to the
organization.
Loyalty;- loyal to the purpose, values and
principles of the organization.

8. Cont…
Impartiality;- in performance of official duty,
personnel's should act with impartiality,
objectivity and professionalism.
Integrity;-personnel should maintain highest level
of integrity including honest, truthiness, fairness
and incorruptibility in all matters.
Accountability;-being accountable for the proper
discharge of their function decisions and action.
Respect for human rights;-there should be
respect for human right, dignity and worth of all
persons.

9. Cont…
 Professionalism;- the skill, good judgment, and polite
behavior that one is expected from one trained to do a job
well. Adhering to a set of standards, code of conduct or
collection of qualities that characterize accepted practice.
 Transparency;- quality of being easy to perceive or
detect.ie being open to public scrutiny.
 Solidarity;- showing support for each other or for another
group.
 Hospitality;-generous and friendly treatment of people i.e.
visitors and guests
 Justice and participation;- fair treatment .

10. Peace building; is an intervention that is
designed to the start or resumption of violent,
conflict by creating a sustainable peace.

11. The Roles of women in peace building are seen in the
following ways;
• Support for women’s inclusion in politics. This has
been done in many states hence involving women in
decision making and constitutional regulations. This has
made it easier for the voice of most women to be heard
contributing to peace building
• The role of women in security matters. The
recruitment of more female police officers and also in
the army ensures safe and supportive work
environment for women, building specific units
dedicated to gender sensitive crimes hence peace.
• The role of women in justice. Women organizations are
most active in promotion and protection of human
rights, by particularly monitoring, advocating and
public awareness. This has led to peace building in
society.

12. • Women’s entrepreneurship for economic recovery and social
changes. This brings about peace building in such a way that
women engage in labor markets. The down side of this is that
restricted employment opportunities can force women in
dangerous/ illegal activities like prostitution and smuggling, but
the empowerment of women in economic dimensions lead to
peace building agenda since women frequently has both the drive
and the resourcefulness to make successful entrepreneurs which is
useful for the whole community and society at large.
• The role of women in psycho-social recovery.
Many women groups have taken the lead in addressing one of the
most significant yet rarely acknowledged consequences of violent
conflict- deep rooted trauma. In addition of providing psycho-social
services, many of these groups are engaged in training and research
in order to foreground the role that trauma plays in sustaining social
conflicts. Participation and empowerment not only goes to improving
self-esteem, but also to ensure directly related to living conditions
that underlie improved mental health. Women often hold different
key roles as actors of change in their community

13. Involvement of women in organization or
initiatives. For example, Mano River Women
Peace Network brings together women from
West African nations of guinea, Liberia, Sierra
Leon, in pursuing the vision of peace; the
women rallied to call for disarmament and
played a crucial role in paving a way to solve the
conflict by having the three heads of
government of these countries.

14. However, there has been a limitation of women in peace
building in the following ways;
• Women in politics. Women are still very few in parliament
so their voice is less heard and therefore women are still
being oppressed by men especially husbands. This has led
to a lot of violence done to women and even the young
girls hence hindering peace in the society.
• Girl child education is still limited in most parts of the
country. In Most rural areas of the country, girl education
is considered a waste of time. This has led to early
marriages and early pregnancies hence oppression of
women and undermining of the girls thus hindering peace
building