Keynote address by [Former] Ambassador Rodrigo A. Carazo, a member of the United Nations Human Rights Committee in Geneva, who also chaired the “Compulsory Peace & ICT Education in support of the International Day of Democracy” session, which organized and presented by the Light Millennium Global. #CompulsoryPeaceICTEducation, #DemocracyDay, #PactForTheFuture, #SaveFutureGenerations, #UNWithCivilSociety, #lightmillennium, #lmglobal.org,

Background / Concept / Expected Outcomes | Bio of the Speakers & Profiles of the Participating Orgs.

Executive Summary

[LMGlobal.Org] In his keynote address, Ambassador Rodrigo A. Carazo argues that true peace is a pragmatic state that requires preparation and education, a skill humanity has yet to master despite its technological and scientific advancements. He laments that current leaders, many of whom are younger than him, were not educated to prioritize peace, and he points to the recent resurgence of “war readiness” as a failure of this educational void. He uses the post-World War II European peace as an example of what is possible when nations commit to peace and human rights.

Ambassador Carazo concludes with a powerful call to action: humanity must shift its focus from preparing for war to teaching peace. He emphasizes that education for peace—centered on empathy, cooperation, and respect for diversity—is not just a good idea, but an urgent necessity for the world’s youth, who deserve to live in a peaceful environment. He advocates for teaching peaceful attitudes and behaviors to one another, especially to the younger generations.

Keynote Address by [former] Ambassador Rodrigo A. Carazo of Costa Rica to the United Nations; Member, UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva

“Si vis pacem para pacem”. If you want peace, prepare for peace.

September 13, 2025. It is a particular honor for me to participate in this event as part of a long-term endeavor of The Light Millennium to advance a policy of mandatory education for peace from K to 12.



Peace is a pragmatic state for individuals, groups, and nations. It comprises non-violence, cooperation, conflict resolution, and global citizenship. Nowadays, as mentioned by Ambassador Smith in his preceding words, it must also include adaptation and willingness to deal with challenges brought forth by climate change.

Peace can be achieved, preserved, and improved.
 Humankind must learn this trade and, in doing so, attain higher states of completeness and satisfaction. More and more peace is always warranted.



Humanity has learned many trades and made extraordinary progress in fields such as technology, science, and knowledge. All these benefits are there to support a great leap for peace.



But yet, as of today, we have not learned to prepare for peace, nor have we taught this skill to younger generations. Education for peace is not only NOT mandatory, but it is also very seldom undertaken.



Through my already long life, I have been optimistic that the path of education for peace be transited by ever ever-increasing number of persons, particularly those in formal schooling, younger people who will grow and transmit the need and the benefits it brings.



Have we succeeded? I can tell you that the vast majority of persons leading nations, industry, finance, and education in our times are younger than myself. I wish that their education, leading to the positions they occupy, should have been founded on learning peace as a pragmatic state: learning the need to respect one another, promoting understanding within human groups, building constructive leadership, and developing critical thoughts about human relations.



The example of 28 countries of Europe, and counting, after learning from the horrors of two global conflagrations in the first half of the last century, has been a leading light of what preparing for peace means as they undertook a new journey centered on peace, respect for human rights, and peaceful coexistence. No need for war for any of these purposes. We all witnessed a period highlighted by this “European peace.”



Yet in the last 8 months, yes, not even a year, we have heard again drums of war, preparedness, confrontation, intolerance, hate, all under a coat that fits the maxim of “para bellum” (prepare for war). Deterrence is the purpose of armamentism as country after country engages now in “war readiness” stages. And all these countries are led now by people younger than me. What type of education did we provide them? Certainly not one centered on striving for peace.



Let us insist: forget about tanks and cannons; let´s dedicate our efforts towards teaching younger persons the art of living in peace. Let´s insist on talking to them, at school, about empathy, cooperation, and respect for diversity. Let´s tell the young students of our time to recover and regain all positive steps for living in peace that are reachable.



Let us all build peaceful attitudes, peaceful behavior, and teach it to one another and especially to the youth of the world. They deserve a peaceful environment. Let us all learn about it through education.

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Background / Concept / Expected Outcomes | Bio of the Speakers & Profiles of the Participating Orgs.