Charter of the Society of Friends of Peace¶
December 8, 2025
The persons present:
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Wishing that lasting peace and equitable prosperity may one day reign among the members of a Humanity freed from the scourge of wars.
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Inspired by the fundamental human values of love, fraternity, justice, and equality, as well as the unity of the entire human species;
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Considering, as in the Preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), that recognition of the inherent dignity of all members of the human family and of their equal and inalienable rights constitutes the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world;
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Recognizing that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. (Article 1, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948).
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Echoing voices such as that of Anténor Firmin (1885), who called upon scientific and spiritual circles to reject appeals to the hierarchization of human races;
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Inspired by the Charter of Kurukan Fuga (1235): Every human life is a life… One life is not superior to another life… Let no one torment his fellow.
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Wishing to practice the millennia‑old Golden Rule: Treat others as you would wish to be treated. Do not do to others what you would not want done to you.
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Fully recognizing that, since the fifteenth century of our era, many societies from the Americas, Africa, and Eurasia have been subjected to systematic deprivation of rights, oppression, dehumanization, and massacres by invaders from elsewhere.
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Aware that all human beings have the right and the duty to contribute, individually and collectively, to the establishment of this lasting peace within the great family of Humanity.
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Animated by the ardent and sincere desire to bring together the descendants of societies victimized by inhuman acts and those who committed them, through dialogue aimed at reparation, reconciliation, respect, and mutual trust.
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Recalling also that the States signatory to the Constitution of UNESCO (1945) declared, in its preamble:
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That, since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed;
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That mutual ignorance of peoples has always, throughout history, been at the origin of suspicion and mistrust between nations, whereby their disagreements have too often degenerated into war;
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That the dignity of man requires the diffusion of culture and the education of all for justice, liberty, and peace;
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That a peace founded solely upon the political and economic agreements of governments would not carry the unanimous, lasting, and sincere support of peoples, and that, consequently, this peace must be established upon the intellectual and moral solidarity of humanity.
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Convinced that civil society must play an essential and vital role in the establishment of this lasting peace, and that it must contribute to this goal in relation with governments and international institutions, which are its emanation.
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Aware that no one can usefully dialogue with his neighbor without making the effort to understand and contribute to the protection of his religious, spiritual, or ethical convictions.
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Persuaded that any authentic opening of oneself to Humanity should extend to all human beings without distinction: from all continents, all peoples, all cultures, all origins and descents, all traditions and all convictions.
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Fully realizing that the true antithesis of war can only reside in the Spirit of openness, Universality, Dialogue, Reconciliation, Solidarity, and Love of one’s neighbor; a lasting peace necessarily resulting from the presence of these foundations.
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Convinced that the foregoing constitutes the soil of peace, and determined to put these principles into practice in their lives, their surroundings, and on a global scale.
Unite in a Society open to all people of goodwill: the Friends of Peace.
They decide to encourage all human beings of goodwill—through dialogue, teaching, and example—to demonstrate through action that the dream of lasting peace for Humanity is realizable, provided that a sufficient number of individuals everywhere in the world commit themselves to applying the values of peace.