City Montessori School - Article 51 of constitution of India

ARTICLE 51. Promotion of international peace and security :-
The State shall endeavour to —
(a) promote international peace and security;
(b) maintain just and honourable relations between nations;
(c) foster respect for international law and
(c) encourage settlement of international disputes by arbitration.
Clause (c) of the above article refers to "fostering respect for international law" but today there is no legally constituted World Parliament for enacting international laws which would be enforceable on all the countries and peoples of the world. A law that has no legal sanctity, is not legally enforceable and if it does not carry a penalty for its violation cannot be called a law at all. In that sense, there is no international law in the world today. In order to respect the international law, we need to have a legally constituted World Parliament which has the power to frame international laws for the whole world. International body like the United Nations which runs its activities with the contributions and donations of various countries and which is mostly guided by five veto powers has no power to legislate and its decisions are also openly flouted and ignored by member countries.
Today, people all over the world, particularly the children are deeply perturbed and fear for their future. Most people are mortally afraid that the enormous nuclear stockpile of nearly 36,000 warheads, assembled by the seven nuclear countries, will one day end all life on our planet either in a deliberate war or by accident. The United Nations has proved utterly incapable of stopping this suicidal arms race. Before the UN came into existence, there was only one country i.e. USA which had the Atom Bomb (a toy Bomb in comparison to the Nuclear Bomb). Today, we have seven countries with about 36,000 nuclear warheads (see details below):
1. United States has 12,070 nuclear bombs capable of reaching all over the world
2. Russia has 22,500 nuclear bombs with range of 11,000 kms
3. France has 500 nuclear bombs with range of 5,300 kms
4. China has 450 nuclear bombs with range of 11,000 kms
5. Great Britain has 380 nuclear bombs with range of 12,000 kms
6. India has 65 nuclear bombs with range of 2,500 kms
7. Pakistan has 25 nuclear bombs with range of 1,500 kms

Total - 35,990 Nuclear Bombs

In addition, about 80 countries have developed and stockpiled deadly chemical and biological weapons. No country has the technical know-how nor enough money to destroy these weapons of mass destruction. According to experts twenty times more money and technology will be required to destroy a bomb than was used in its manufacture and just one percent of the existing nuclear stockpile is sufficient to obliterate all life on earth.
Also, Gil Eliot has calculated that about 110 million people have perished in man-made deaths during the first 70 years of the 20th century which includes 38 million soldiers. It means that one out of every 30 inhabitants on earth was killed through government criminality.
It is thus clear that there is an urgent need to redeem humanity from its present condition. It is also equally clear that only 'a new international political and economic order' can eliminate this huge nuclear stockpiles. It is in this context that Article 51 of the Constitution of India, specially clause (c), assumes paramount importance.
A ray of hope for saving the world :
The provisions enshrined in Article 51 of the Indian Constitution is a beacon and provide a ray of hope for saving the world from the impending nuclear and environmental catastrophe. Only a legally constituted 'World Parliament' with the power to enact international laws that apply to all countries of the world as well as to all individuals, can provide the much-desired peace and security to the people of the world.
Safeguarding the Children's Future :
In 1999, CMS students collected nearly 100,000 signatures of the citizens of Lucknow on an appeal on behalf of children of the world, requesting the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dr Kofi A. Annan, to safeguard the future of world's children by initiating steps to form a World Government capable of ensuring world peace, eliminating all weapons of mass destruction, protecting the people from international terrorism and conserving the ecology and environment. The appeal also drew the attention of the Secretary General to Article 51 of the Indian Constitution and urged him to request all governments to add a similar provision in their respective constitutions. This appeal was personally presented on behalf of the children of the world, by the undersigned at the Millennium Forum meeting held at the United Nations headquarters in New York from 22nd to 26th May, 2000.
Letter to CMS from Dr. Kofi A. Annan, Secretary General, UNO : (Copy enclosed)
In his reply to CMS, the Secretary General Dr Kofi A. Annan expressed helplessness of the United Nations. He said that "People all over the world look to the United Nations to protect them - from hunger, disease, violence, and natural disasters - whenever the task seems too big for nations, or regions, to handle alone. But we at the United Nations can do nothing alone, either. Our strength is the strength of our member states, when they agree to act together for the common good. Next year, leaders from all over the world will come to New York for the Millennium Summit. They will consider the challenges ahead, and what the United Nations can do to face them. Those leaders will be representing you, the peoples of the United Nations. It is up to you to make sure that they come here firmly resolved to take decisions which can lead to a better life for all of us, and for our children ... and I am counting on you all."
Letters to World Leaders and U.N. Agenda item 30 : (Copy enclosed)
Accordingly, we wrote to the Heads of State and Heads of Government of all the countries of the world, requesting them to support formation of a 'new international political and economic order' at the Millennium Summit held at the UN headquarters from 6th to 8th September 2000. In reply CMS received letters of support from several world leaders including the Prime Ministers of India, Australia, New Zealand, the President of Slovakia and leaders of many other countries. However, at the Millennium Summit itself, no Head of State or Head of Government spoke a word about the formation of a new international political and economic order, even though this was an important item on their agenda (see highlighted portions of the enclosed Agenda item 30 of the General Assembly's Resolution for the 53rd Session, dated 10th May 1999 section 8) which calls for the "establishment of a new international political and economic order".
U.N. Resolution and Millennium Forum Declaration (Both the copies enclosed) :
Earlier the General Assembly through its resolution number A/RES/53/202 dated 12th February 1999, asked the Secretary General Dr. Kofi Annan to consult with the Civil Societies and Non Governmental Organisations before preparing the agenda for the Millennium Summit. (Copy of the U.N. Resolution is enclosed) Accordingly a conference of the civil societies and NGO's was called in New York from 22nd to 26th May 2000 (called the Millennium Forum) which in its declaration also called for strengthening and democratizing the United Nations "leading towards the formation of a new international political and economic order" (see enclosed section F page 22 of the Millennium Forum Declaration dated 26/5/2000 with relevant parts underlined).
Failure of Millennium Summit in its purpose :
Unfortunately, in the final analysis the Millennium Summit failed to come to any concrete conclusion and the participating leaders did not discuss the most vital and crucial item on the Summit's agenda, namely the formation of a new international political and economic order, as can be seen from their summarized deliberations, a gist of which is given below:
What the Leaders said at the Millennium Summit
1 Dr. Kofi A. Annan U.N. Secretary General :
The UN Secretary-General Dr Kofi A. Annan stressed that the summit was not only a unique opportunity, but also a unique responsibility, since it was up to political leaders of the world to ensure a more secure, healthy and prosperous life for their citizens. He also said that in today's interdependent world, people looked to a common effort to solve their problems and expected governments of the World to work together at the global level, 'as the United Nations'.

2 US President, Bill Clinton :

The need to further strengthen the UN to meet the challenges of the new century was stressed by

President Clinton, who, as leader of the host country, was the first speaker to address the Summit. He cited two examples where, had the UN not been engaged, the situation would have been far worse: in East Timor, where 'the people would have lost the chance to control their future,' and in Sierra Leone, where 'countless children now living would be dead'. In both cases, however, 'the UN did not have the tools (sufficient funds) to finish the job,' he said, calling on the assembled world leaders to provide those tools (necessary finances) while supporting conflict prevention.

The US President acknowledged that "all these things come with a price tag (requires money) and all nations, including the United States, must pay it". He emphasized that prices must be fairly apportioned and the UN structure of finances must be fairly reformed so that the Organization can do its job. "Those in my country or elsewhere who believe we can do without the UN or impose our will upon it, misread the future," the President said.

3 Russian President, Vladimir V. Putin :

Focusing on disarmament, he said that states should 'reliably block the ways for spreading nuclear weapons." Plans for militarization of outer space were particularly alarming, he said. Russia proposed an international conference to prevent such a development to be held in the spring of 2001 under the umbrella of the UN.

4 President of China, Jiang Zemin :

Similar concerns were highlighted by President Zemin of China who said that the right of the people of all countries to independently choose their social system and development path must be fully respected.

5 Prime Minister of U.K., Tony Blair :

He said: "We need UN forces composed of units appropriate for more robust peacekeeping that can be inserted quickly, rather than whatever the Secretary-General's staff has been able to gather from reluctant Member States." He called for a "new contract between the UN and its Members".

6 President of France, Jacques Chirac :

He stressed that Member states must provide the needed resources, support the reforms undertaken by Secretary-General Kofi Annan and modernize the methods of the General Assembly. He also called for enlarging both categories of membership of the Security Council.

7 German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder :

He noted the importance of streamlining the work of the Assembly and argued that it should concentrate on a few areas to reduce its annual agenda.

8 Australia's Prime Minister, John Howard :

He endorsed calls to expand permanent and non-permanent membership in line with today's realities, called for a better geographical spread, and supported in particular permanent membership for Japan.

9 President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan A. Nazarbaev :

He warned that if only 'a small group of highly developed countries stands to reap the fruits and benefits of globalization, this will inevitably lead to confrontation, conflicts and social upheavals that would be more devastating than the ones the human civilization experienced in the last century and the centuries before that".

10 President of Iran, Syed Mohd. Khatani :

He stressed the importance of recognizing the equal rights of all nations by eliminating discrimination from UN machinery and ending marginalization of countries on political, cultural and economic pretexts.

11 Vietnam's President, Tran Duc Luong :

He said that globalization and international economic integration did not present equal opportunities to all countries. He urged the creation of a world where "all nations enjoy the same benefits of the scientific and technological revolution."

12 Panama's Vice-President, Arturo U. Vallarino :

He supported initiatives to restrict and regulate the use of the veto and expressed the concern of a group of countries that Council members had abandoned the spirit of the Charter — which calls on them to represent the interests of the international community and not their own.

The Big Powers on World Peace and Security :

Whereas the then US President Mr Bill Clinton stressed the need for more finances to strengthen conflict prevention forces, the Russian President Mr Vladimir V. Putin talked about the alarming U.S. plans for militarization of outer space with missiles and proposed calling an international conference in the spring of 2001, under the UN umbrella, to prevent such developments. Mr Tony Blair Prime Minister of United Kingdom wanted a more robust peace keeping force that can be inserted quickly. Mr Jacques Chirac President of France wanted more resources for UN and Chinese President Mr Jiang Zemin emphasized on the right of people of all countries to choose their own social system and developmental path.

Conclusion :

It can be seen from the above deliberations that most of the leaders only spoke on the issues that concerned their own individual countries and were silent on the most important issue of them all namely the formation of a "a new international political and economic order".

Call for a World Parliament :

CMS students have now again issued a call to all the leaders of the world, asking them to safeguard the interest of the world's children, by constituting a 'World Parliament' without veto powers for any country. Laws enacted by the World Parliament will be a binding on all the countries and individuals of the world just as the laws passed by a country's national parliament are a binding on all the provincial governments and the citizens of that country.

Surrendering a part of sovereignty to save existence of mankind :

Admittedly, for this to happen countries will have to surrender a part of their sovereignty, but then the choice before us is State sovereignty versus the existence of mankind. It pointed out that the time has come, for all the right-minded individuals of the world to make a sincere endeavour for propagating the spirit of Article 51 of Indian Constitution.

Building Public Opinion :

Now CMS students are striving to build public opinion on this urgent issue through a series of conferences and seminars in the interest of the future of world's children and survival of humanity itself. Accordingly, a seminar on Article 51 of the Constitution of India was held on 25th February 2001 at CMS Gomti Nagar, Lucknow which was inaugurated by Hon'ble Mr. Jusitce R. S. Pathak, Former Chief Justice of India and former President of the International Court of Justice and Member of the International Court of Arbitration (The Hague). Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rangnath Misra, Former Chief Justice of India and former member Permanent Court of Arbitration (The Hague) presided over the Seminar and Hon'ble Mr. Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer, former Judge of Supreme Court of India delivered the keynote address. Hon'ble Mr. Justice S.H.A. Raza, Senior Judge of Allahabad High Court (Lucknow Bench) was the Chairman of the Reception Committee, High Court Judges, lawyers, legal luminaries, educationists, social activists and Journalists and many others participated in the seminar. Earlier, a Roundtable Conference on Article 51 of the Indian Constitution was also held on 14th January, 2001 which was inaugurated by Hon'ble Mr. Justice Syed Saghir Ahmed, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India. All the speakers at the above seminar and the Roundtable supported the concept of a legally constituted World Parliament as an impartial international law making body that could successively resolve international disputes through arbitration and legislation.

International Conference on Article 51 of the Constitution of India :

CMS is now organising an international conference on Article 51 of the Constitution of India at Lucknow (India) on Sunday, 6th May 2001. Eminent jurists and legal luminaries from India and abroad have been invited to participate in the Conference.