Adolfo Pérez Esquivel

We, the Peoples of the World, Want Peace!

The following is a statement by Adolfo Pérez Esquivel which was read as part of the proceedings for the Schiller Institute’s April 15-16 Conference, “Without the Development of All Nations, There Can Be No Lasting Peace for the Planet” during Panel 1, “The Growing Danger of World War III Underlines the Necessity for a New Security Architecture.” Mr. Esquivel is a civil rights activist and a Nobel Peace Prize winner (1980) from Argentina. The statement was read by Juan Carrero of Spain. Watch the entire conference here.

Subheads have been added.

Good afternoon. My name is Juan Carrero, President of the small S’Olivar Foundation, based in Mallorca, Spain.

Today I have been granted a double honor.

The first is that of communicating a message from Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, our dear companion and teacher for half a century now, in the nonviolence movement, who also, as international president of SERPAJ, the Peace and Justice Service, has accompanied the peoples on the paths of justice and peace.

The value of his efforts in Latin America was justly recognized in 1980 with the Nobel Peace Prize. Those were different times in the Nobel Institute and the Norwegian parliament. Since then, his generosity has only grown. There is no global cause towards which he has been indifferent. Among many other international commitments, he has always energetically supported us in our efforts for peace, justice, truth and reconciliation in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the scene of the greatest massacres since World War II.

To support our efforts, for several years he even proposed me for a Nobel Peace Prize, thus becoming, with his support, the Spanish candidate with the most support ever: from the unanimous support of Spain’s parliament to the support of thousands of institutions, personalities and organizations.

Together with Lanza del Vasto, the European direct disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, Adolfo has been for my wife Susana and me the link which has indissolubly bound us for all time to Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King. For us, they are both a living presence which always moves us deeply and acts in our lives in a surprising and effective way.

The second honor to which I referred, is that of communicating Adolfo’s message to such an important event as today’s Schiller Institute conference. Here, then, is the message of Adolfo for, and in support of this conference, a message which he wanted to transmit to all of you through me.

Greetings from Adolfo Pérez Esquivel

I send an embrace, Juan, of peace and goodness, so needed by the world in these times of uncertainty—a world that must make every possible effort to avoid another war, this time a nuclear one.

What I can contribute to this Schiller Institute conference is my call for the United Nations to courageously stand up and summon the peoples of the world to resist in order to put an end to war, thus ceasing to be a puppet of the great powers.

The world is at the brink of insanity because of rulers who put their own political, economic and strategic interests of domination before life.

We are at an inflection point, of dramatic and decisive changes in the world, with a high cost in lives, hunger, diseases and destruction of Mother Earth.

Many are the appeals to build peace: from the voice of Pope Francis to those of personalities and governments, as well as the clamor of the people. We join our voices daily to those demanding peace.

We must reach a political, but fundamentally a humanitarian solution in order to put an end to the multiple wars unleashed in the world. People remain silent about many of them, such as those, among others, which are occurring in Israel and Palestine, Armenia, and in various African countries.

As for the war in Ukraine, so dangerous for all humanity, there are several proposals for how to reach a constructive dialogue and put an end to it.

But unfortunately, the warlords do not want to hear anything, and they continue increasing their shipments of arms and money to Ukraine, feeding the conflict.

It is a war provoked by great powers such as the United States, by NATO, and by strategic and political interests who wish to ensure their world hegemony.

The world is changing, and if we wish to survive and save our planet Earth, our common house, we need a new social pact of coexistence between the people and Mother Earth.

To achieve that, it is necessary to reestablish the equilibrium that no longer exists today, subjecting humanity to social violence.

Level-headedness, relations between peoples, and spirituality have all been lost. We are facing the banishment of God—His exile.

A Rebellion of Consciences Against War

The United Nations is an echoless chamber run by the United States. And the Organization of American States is a colonial organization. Europe has lost its voice, and has become a colonial enclave of the United States.

In order to demand a negotiated solution to the wars, it is necessary and urgent that religions, churches, temples, mosques, synagogues and monasteries call for days of prayer and action. Trade unions and social organizations should propose actions.

UNESCO, educators, scientists and communication professionals must be present in the rebellion of consciences against war and in the demand for peace.

We must all join our voices and actions to those of others on the same path, before it is too late.

We must recall the past to enlighten the present. Hiroshima and Nagasaki are not the past. Humanity is still pained by the horrors of the concentration camps, the Holocaust, the massacres.

The powers threaten to use nuclear weapons. What can we do: Shout to those who do not want to hear? Shout where telephones and all communications are cut? They only listen to themselves.

But we cannot lose hope that a different world is possible if we join efforts and wills to achieve peace. Not peace as a mere absence of wars and conflicts, but as the fruit of justice in fraternal relations between individuals and nations.

In order to stop war, the rebellion of the peoples is necessary. The governments involved in war have other objectives and criteria for strengthening their power of domination. As far as their personal interests are concerned, human beings don’t count.

We must call for a world day of rebellion and demand an end to wars—that weapons be transformed into ploughshares, as the prophet Isaiah proclaimed thousands of years ago.

The United Nations must rebel against the prevailing totalitarianism and convene a General Assembly of the peoples who want peace. It must put an end to the wars and the hypocrisy of the rulers. They must adopt their own preamble: “We the Peoples of the World want Peace.”

Let us save the life of the planet, our common home. We cannot continue to be spectators. We must undertake a rebellion of values and spirit to transform this reality that overwhelms all humanity.

Juan, you have all my solidarity and support in this common challenge to achieve peace together with so many brothers and sisters in the world. I wish all the participants in the conference much strength and hope. I join my voice to that of all humanity.

Adolfo Pérez Esquivel—Buenos Aires, April 11, 2023.