Around the same time violent civil unrest situations in Thailand, Ukraine and Venezuela were unfolding and making uncomfortable headlines around the world, international groups dedicated to making peace an inalienable human right were meeting in Costa Rica in an effort to advance their efforts towards a declaration before the United Nations.

The meeting took place in San Jose on February 11th, and it involved the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights and the Spanish Association for International Law of Human Rights. These groups are advancing the San Jose Statement on the Human Right to Peace (San Jose III), which is a continuum of the American Convention on Human Rights, which dates back to 1969.

The San Jose III agreement is a prelude to what many hope will become a new blueprint for peace on a global scale. What has changed since the Pact of San Jose in 1969 is that minorities and the indigenous have become more involved in what they see as being intrinsic to peace, such as respect for territories and culture as well as the need for governments to take a more active role in combating poverty.

Costa Rica is taking on a leadership role in this important statement. According to a recent press release by the WILPF:

At its first meeting, on February 18th 2013, the Open Ended Working Group on the Right to Peace elected Christian Guillermet, Representative of Costa Rica to the UN in Geneva, as its Chairperson-Rapporteur. Therefore, Costa Rica has been one of the most active protagonists of this campaign.

Forging a comprehensive treaty that will promote peace as a human right is not as easy as it may sound. Various European nations, including Spain, have voiced their opposition because they may have to exert controls on weapons manufacturers, thereby potentially affecting their gross domestic product. This could also mean learning to get along with other nations that do not support armed intervention as part of conflict resolution; for example, Israel maintains diplomatic relations with Costa Rica despite the latter’s support of a free Palestine.