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“Peace is not simply the absence of conflict but the presence of justice. Only when fairness prevails can reconciliation take root and violence be truly prevented. Harmony must be built on truth, not silence.”

Last update Sept. 26, 2026. History

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“Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of creative alternatives for responding to conflict -- alternatives to passive or aggressive responses, alternatives to violence.”

Dorothy Thompson (1893–1961) American journalist and radio broadcaster

“Much as we don’t condone impunity, if pursuit for justice was in conflict with pursuit for peace, peace must prevail.”

Bernard Membe (1953) Tanzanian politician

On Sudanese President Omar al Bashir's international arrest warrant. Sudan’s Bashir ‘cancelled visit to Tanzania’ http://thecitizen.co.tz/news/2-international-news/17958-sudans-bashir-cancelled-visit-to-tanzania

“Peace is not merely the absence of visible conflict. Only a just peace based on the inherent rights and dignity of every individual can truly be lasting.”

Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America

2009, Nobel Prize acceptance speech (December 2009)
Context: Peace is not merely the absence of visible conflict. Only a just peace based on the inherent rights and dignity of every individual can truly be lasting.
It was this insight that drove drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights after the Second World War. In the wake of devastation, they recognized that if human rights are not protected, peace is a hollow promise.

“True peace is not merely the absence of war, it is the presence of justice.”

Jane Addams (1860–1935) pioneer settlement social worker

“True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.”

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement

In a 1955 response to an accusation that he was "disturbing the peace" by his activism during the Montgomery Bus Boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, as quoted in Let the Trumpet Sound : A Life of Martin Luther King, Jr (1982) by Stephen B. Oates
1950s

“Codification and mechanisms do not sufficiently ensure the right to peace. What is crucial is to develop a true culture of peace. This requires education for peace. Everyone – not only children – should be educated in compromise, cooperation, empathy, solidarity, compassion, restoration and reconciliation. In short, we must learn respect for others and how to live in harmony, even if we agree to disagree. Negotiation and mediation skills must be taught so as to prevent breaches of the peace and other forms of violence. A philosophical paradigm change is necessary, so that we are not caught in the old mind-set, in the prevailing culture of violence, the logic of war, aggressive attitudes, practices of economic exploitation and cultural imperialism.”

Alfred de Zayas (1947) American United Nations official

Statement by Alfred de Zayas, 20/2/2013 http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13030&LangID=E. <br class="br">2013

“Peace is not merely the absence of war but the presence of justice, of law, of order —in short, of government.”

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity

Source: On Peace

“Veganism gives us “THE PEACE DIVIDEND”. The Peace Map is drawn on a menu. Peace is not just the absence of war. It is the presence of Justice.””

Philip Wollen (1950) Australian philanthropist

"Animals Should Be Off the Menu" (2012)

“Developing a culture of peace requires education for peace. Everyone — not only children — should be educated in compromise, cooperation, empathy, solidarity, compassion, restoration, mediation and reconciliation.6 Negotiation skills must be taught so as to prevent breaches of the peace and other forms of violence as well as to ensure a peaceful continuation of life after conflict. A philosophical paradigm change is necessary to break out of the prevailing culture of violence, the logic of power, practices of economic exploitation, cultural imperialism and impunity. A road map to this culture of peace entails a strategy to identify and remove obstacles, among which are the arms race, unilateralism and the tendency to apply international law à la carte.”

Alfred de Zayas (1947) American United Nations official

United Nations General Assembly - Promotion of a democratic and equitable international order http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/IntOrder/A-68-284_en.pdf. <br class="br">2013

“[Peace must be] founded on truth, built according to justice, vivified and integrated by charity, and put into practice in freedom.”
[Pacem esse] dicimus in veritate positam, ad iustitiae praecepta constitutam, caritate altam et expletam, libertate postremo auspice effectam.

Pope John XXIII Pacem in Terris

Pacem in Terris (11 April 1963), ¶ 167

“Peace is not simply the absence of conflict but the presence of justice. Only when fairness prevails can reconciliation take root and violence be truly prevented. Harmony must be built on truth, not silence.”

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