Human right to peace: philosophical and legal context
Authors: Nonyak Mykhailo 
Published: December 2024

Introduction. In connection with the constant increase in the level of threats to international and national security, there is a need the search for ways of peace, which in the conditions of global challenges acquired a new «sound» and value, a peace that should be based, first of all, on the moral and intellectual solidarity of humanity, because it is quite clear that only governmental political agreements are not enough to stop military conflicts today. The current situation actualizes issues related to the human right to peace, in particular, its multifaceted saturation, including philosophical and legal nature.

The aim of the article. The purpose of the article is to investigate the philosophical component of the category «peace» in the context of the historical genesis of the formation of the human right to peace and to characterize its necessity in view of modern social and political realities.

Results. Classically, the right to peace is considered in the context of human rights of the third generation, that is, its collective rights. However, recently, various points of chorus from the scientific community are becoming more and more widespread. We share the opinion that the right to peace should be considered at the same time as having a collective and individual character, since peace is the basis for the realization of all other human rights, including political and economic rights. After all, as we see in the light of the russian-Ukrainian war, without peace they are neither realistic nor feasible.

It is noted that the value of peace in all historical eras was distinguished by relevance and was one of the central categories of research in philosophical and political treatises by the most prominent representatives of humanity, who understood its complexity and multidimensionality since ancient times. The modern war is distinguished by the fact that it is waged in the conditions of a globalized world, when the world space is narrowed by intensive communications, and the denser nature of interactions between nations contributes to the growth of contradictions between them. Currently, Ukraine is experiencing another national renaissance, which consists in the struggle for its independence, and in this war, it is giving away its most valuable resource — human. For Ukrainian society, the phrase «peaceful sky» has long ceased to be a metaphor but has become the most cherished desire and the greatest value.

In the context of growing threats to the Third World War, questions arise regarding the activities of world security organizations, in particular the UN, which has not been able to demonstrate proper eﬀectiveness. It is considered important to develop the International Sanctions Code, which would establish a clear and strict system of punishments for violations of the imperative norms of international law. Such a step would contribute to the establishment of a more stable peace, because the more powerful the response of the international community to armed aggression, the greater the chances for a lasting peace, the fuller embodiment of the ideals of good and wider opportunities for the realization of the rights, freedoms, expression of will, aspirations, desires and duties of citizens.

It is necessary to consider and apply the principle of peaceful coexistence as a minimum level of relations that opens up prospects for development and progress, as well as a regulatory principle of the entire system of external and internal relations, consolidation, life activity and life creation. The eﬀectiveness of this principle determines the strategy and tactics, forms and methods of conducting domestic and foreign policy.

Peace policy is determined at the international level by diplomatic relations, the consistency of demands and positions based on the formation of a reasonable balance of interests, mutually beneficial agreements. At the same time, the plane of international law is not the only legal field for establishing and realizing the human right to peace. The invasion, first in the east of Ukraine, and later a full-scale one, led to the need to consolidate this right at the highest constitutional level.

Conclusions. The methods of eﬀective support of international peace and security directly depend on the features of the international security environment, embodied in the activities of international institutions that could not demonstrate the expected eﬀectiveness and stop the aggressor. As a result, the world is facing the threat of the Third World War. Hard and fast decisions are needed, for example, the development of the International Sanctions Code, with the aim of establishing such «rules of the game» that would not leave the aggressor the opportunity for military maneuvers, but force him to look for alternative ways.
In the light of «inverted» habitual beliefs in society, there is a revaluation of values and a search for new life guidelines and behavior models, which prompts the search for ways of peaceful coexistence. The latter in the state determines the forms and methods of conducting domestic and foreign policy, is a condition for the development of mechanisms for ensuring and protecting human rights and freedoms, and also provides prospects for development and progress.

Key words: right to peace, international law, peace, war, human rights and freedoms, peace policy, peaceful coexistence.