Concerted efforts must be made at the end of conflicts to collect and to destroy weapons. Efforts must be made to strengthen regional security by fixing mutually agreed ceilings on arms expenditure, in order to reduce the likelihood of the resumption of conflict. In addressing budgetary distortions, the Poverty Reduction Strategies currently being negotiated within the context of debt relief initiatives, must also address excessive military expenditure by already disastrously poor countries. The wealthier nations must be more rigorous in designing and implementing norms which prevent the flow of arms they produce into conflict zones. A culture of peace will focus on the young, and especially on children.
Children are today all too often the first victims of war.
Their future is threatened by the breakdown of normal social order, which prevents them from frequenting school or attaining adequate health care. The fundamental protection which international humanitarian law affords to civilian populations must be respected, specially in the case of children. The plague of child soldiers must be removed from our world. Those responsible for the involvement of children in war merit the strongest condemnation by the community of nations. A culture of peace must begin in human hearts .