Without need for explanation, we acknowledge that peaceful relations between people, cultures and nations is in the best interests of humanity. We also appreciate the efforts of innumerable individuals and organizations over the course of modern civilization towards securing world peace and that the goal is a noble one.

However, we recognize that peace cannot be prescriptive; it must be participatory. We submit that the world’s political leaders, rather than trying to negotiate the terms and conditions of a peaceful coexistence as a mandate of government, instead provide opportunities for those they govern to find equanimity where there is conflict, to practice forbearance where there is intolerance, and to engage in rational discourse where there is passionate disparity. Peace must be the collective will of the world’s citizens, and every individual ought to be free to discover that peaceful coexistence often requires conciliation with, and accommodation of, beliefs about the nature of well-being that differ from their own.

That said, we affirm that while world peace is a goal the peoples of Earth ought to aspire to, it is nevertheless the hard-won result of enormous effort.  However, particularly where there is armed conflict, the sharp focus on military objectives and survival – to injure or kill or be injured or killed – is antithetical to any notion of peace and the will of an individual to seek it.

In December 1914, five months into World War 1, soldiers in the German and British armies in many places along long stretches of the Western Front spontaneously declared an unofficial truce on Christmas Eve, which that lasted through Christmas Day. Unarmed combatants emerged from their respective trenches to celebrate a common holiday: shaking hands, singing songs and sharing food. In fact, several good-natured soccer games took place among teams of soldiers who, the day before, had been set to kill each other. The Christmas Day Truce is perhaps best commemorated with the sculpture by Andy Edwards, created a 100 years later, titled; “All together now”, which is on display at St Luke’s church in Liverpool, England.

This year, from November 20th and the 22st, we request the United Nations General Assembly, with resources at its disposal, to sanction and support World Truce 2021. We propose this as a purely secular event and a gesture of goodwill to all member and non-member nations around the world. Simply put, it is a call to member countries of the UN General Assembly to affirm a commitment to the cessation of hostilities for 48 hours, beginning at 23:59 UTC on November 20th and ending at 23:59 UTC November 22st. In 2023, the truce would be extended to 72 hours and in 2024, 96 hours. We postulate that this incremental extension of the truce period is in keeping with a realistic expectation of indelible change in human behaviour and assert that humans do well what they practice regularly.

In supporting this proposal, member nations of the UN General Assembly would be demonstrating true humanity in the interests of the citizens they represent. In participating, each nation issues an incredibly powerful call to action for every citizen to desist from conflict and confrontation in order to shift focus from our differences to our commonalities. In much the same way as a friendly game of soccer can symbolize the Christmas Day Truce of 1914, we further propose to mark the occasion with an invitation for rivals and adversaries to repast together over a meal of pasta - a nutritious, inexpensive, globally available staple food - as an opportunity to lay down arms and to pick up utensils. As the start of a new annual tradition around the world, we avow that satisfied appetites lend themselves to amicable minds. With practice, calmer heads will prevail.

It is our hope that this proposal is not simply dismissed as naïve or inane but is seen as a genuine and sincere appeal to offer respite from the physical efforts of violence to advance the conscious efforts of forbearance. Inasmuch as it is imperative that we work towards the continued habitability of the planet, we must work equally on our suitability to inhabit it.