Letter from CMS requesting Dr Kofi Annan to hold ‘Millennium Conference on World Peace through Education’ in 2001 to commemorate the launching of ‘The International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the benefit of Children.

24th August 2000
To
H.E. Dr. Kofi A. Annan
Secretary-General, UNO
S-3800 New York NY 19917 USA

Sub : Request to hold Millennium Conference on World Peace through Education

Your Excellency,

We would like to the refer to (i) Manifesto 2000 published by UNESCO (ii) the appeal by all Nobel Peace Laureates for teaching the practice of non-violence in all educational institutions and (iii) the UN General Assembly’s Resolution A/53/L25 proclaiming the decade 2001-2010 as the “The International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the benefit of Children”.

As Your Excellency will also agree, there is an urgent need today to promote peace education in schools. Since wars begin in the minds of men and it is in the mind of man that defences of peace have to be constructed, perhaps we should begin this process in schools where we can ‘catch them young’.

In order to deliberate on ways and means of promoting peace education in schools, there is a need to call an international conference of teachers, principals, educators and administrators. We therefore request Your Excellency to call a Millennium Conference of Teachers, Principals, Educators and Administrators on the suggested theme ‘World Peace through Education’. The Conference should be held under the aegis of the UNO (like the Millennium Forum and the Conference of Religious Heads called at your personal initiative in New York).

We therefore request you to kindly call such a Conference anytime in 2001 to commemorate the launching of “The International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the benefit of Children”. In case there is no one willing to host this important conference, we are willing to organise it. We would like to point out that we have already decided to celebrate the decade 2001-2010 as the ‘Decade of Peace Education’.

We are ready to hold this Conference at a mutually decided time and place convenient to all. We have our own facilities for hosting the Conference including an international hostel and an air-conditioned auditorium for seating of 1000 people. We can also organise it at the United Nations Headquarters at New York.

We would also like to humbly point out that our School is the world’s largest school with over 25,000 students on roll (a Guinness World Record) and we have been active in the field of peace education for over four decades (see enclosed article The CMS Saga — 40 Years of Teaching Peace). As part of peace education exercise, every year we organise and host a number of international events for children and educators.

We look forward to your favourable consideration of our request.

With deep regards,

Yours sincerely,

(Jagdish Gandhi)
Enclosed : as above Founder-Manager

24th August 2000
To
H.E. Dr. Kofi A. Annan
Secretary-General, UNO
S-3800 New York NY 19917 USA

Sub : Request to hold Millennium Conference on World Peace through Education

Your Excellency,

We would like to the refer to (i) Manifesto 2000 published by UNESCO (ii) the appeal by all Nobel Peace Laureates for teaching the practice of non-violence in all educational institutions and (iii) the UN General Assembly’s Resolution A/53/L25 proclaiming the decade 2001-2010 as the “The International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the benefit of Children”.

As Your Excellency will also agree, there is an urgent need today to promote peace education in schools. Since wars begin in the minds of men and it is in the mind of man that defences of peace have to be constructed, perhaps we should begin this process in schools where we can ‘catch them young’.

In order to deliberate on ways and means of promoting peace education in schools, there is a need to call an international conference of teachers, principals, educators and administrators. We therefore request Your Excellency to call a Millennium Conference of Teachers, Principals, Educators and Administrators on the suggested theme ‘World Peace through Education’. The Conference should be held under the aegis of the UNO (like the Millennium Forum and the Conference of Religious Heads called at your personal initiative in New York).

We therefore request you to kindly call such a Conference anytime in 2001 to commemorate the launching of “The International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the benefit of Children”. In case there is no one willing to host this important conference, we are willing to organise it. We would like to point out that we have already decided to celebrate the decade 2001-2010 as the ‘Decade of Peace Education’.

We are ready to hold this Conference at a mutually decided time and place convenient to all. We have our own facilities for hosting the Conference including an international hostel and an air-conditioned auditorium for seating of 1000 people. We can also organise it at the United Nations Headquarters at New York.

We would also like to humbly point out that our School is the world’s largest school with over 25,000 students on roll (a Guinness World Record) and we have been active in the field of peace education for over four decades (see enclosed article The CMS Saga — 40 Years of Teaching Peace). As part of peace education exercise, every year we organise and host a number of international events for children and educators.

We look forward to your favourable consideration of our request.

With deep regards,

Yours sincerely,

(Jagdish Gandhi)
Enclosed : as above Founder-Manager

CMS once again appealed to the UN, Secretary General to include ‘Right to a Safe Future’ in the UN Decalration of the Rights of the Child.

7th June, 2001
To
H.E. Dr. Kofi A. Annan
Secretary General of the UNO
3, United Nation Plaza
New York - 10017 USA
Fax: 001-212-8887454 / 8887465

Sub: Appeal to include Right to a Safe Future in the UN’s Declaration of ‘Rights of the Child’

Your Excellency,

On behalf of the children of the world, born and yet-to-be-born, we, the 24,000 students of City Montessori School, Lucknow implore Your Excellency to recognize and grant to the children of the world their Right to a Safe Future.

On behalf of the children of the world, born and yet-to-be-born, we take this opportunity to thank the United Nations for the UN’s Declaration of the Rights of the Child adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20th November 1989. We also thank the Governments of all the countries of the world who are signatories to the Declaration and now also request them, and the UNO, to include the Right to a Safe Future in the above Declaration, thus making it complete.

The inclusion of Right to a Safe Future in the above Declaration, would force the signatories to recognize that certain actions e.g. unregulated deforestation, pose a serious threat to the welfare of future generations and should therefore be opposed. It would also force the signatories to recognize that the present nuclear stockpile of over 36,000 warheads poses the most serious threat possible to the security and welfare of the world’s children, born and yet-to-be-born, and therefore these weaponse of mass destruction deserve to be eliminated at all cost.

We, therefore, request Your Excellency to initiate moves to include the ‘Right to a Safe Future’ in the UN Declaration of Rights of the Child. This can be the first step in the direction of protecting our fragile environment and ecology for the sake of children of the world, born and yet-to-be-born. It can also become the stepping stone for ridding the world of the ever-present threat of a nuclear war, deliberate or accidental.

We take great pleasure in informing you that we are collecting signatures of 100,000 children on a petition to include the Right to a Safe Future in the UN’s Declaration of the Rights of the Child. We are also writing to the Head of State and Head of Government of all the countries of the world, requesting their support to this move.

We eagerly look forward to Your Excellency’s favourable response to our above request. A favourable decision from you shall earn for you the gratitude of world’s children, born and yet-to-be-born, and the support of all right-minded people of the world.

With highest regards,

Yours sincerely,

(On behalf of 24,000 CMS students)

(Jagdish Gandhi)
Founder-Manager

The UN General Assembly had adopted the UN’s Declaration of Rights of the Child in its Convention held on 20th November 1989. Mr Gandhi wrote several letters to the UN Secretary-General asking him to include the ‘Right to a Safe Future’ in the Rights of the Child, for the sake of the world’s children, born and yet-to-be-born.

13th June, 2001
H.E. Dr. Kofi A. Annan
Secretary General of the UNO
3, United Nation Plaza
New York - 10017 USA
Fax: 001-212-8887454 / 8887465

Your Excellency,

I would like to mention that United Nations General Assembly had adopted a UN Declaration of Rights of the Child on 20th November 1989. However, we feel that inclusion of the ‘Right to a Safe Future’ in the above declaration would, if the point is stressed time and again, inspire and motivate the member-countries to take effective measures on preservation of environment and destruction of nuclear weapons.

We, therefore, request Your Excellency to initiate measures to include the ‘Right to a Safe Future’ in UN’s Declaration of Rights of the child. It can be the first step in the direction of protecting our fragile environment and ecology for the sake of the children of the world, born and yet-to-be-born. This could also be a stepping-stone for ridding the world of the ever-present threat of nuclear war deliberate or accidental.

With highest regards,

Yours sincerely,

(Jagdish Gandhi)
Manager

Mr Jagdish Gandhi congratulated Dr. Kofi A. Annan on his re-appointment as Secretary General, who acknowledged the compliments but made no mention of the request regarding children’s ‘Right to a Safe Future’. It may be pertinent to mention that of the numerous letters written to Dr Annan on the issue of children’s Right to a Safe Future, this was the only letter that was replied, but the reply related only to the first part of the letter conveying compliments on Dr Annan’s reappointment, while the second part of the letter relating to the children’s Right to a Safe Future was not addressed at all !

29.6.2001
To
H.E. Dr. Kofi A. Annan
Secretary General of the UNO
3, United Nation Plaza
44, Street Between 1st and 2nd Avenues
New York - 10017 USA
Fax: 001-212-8887454 / 8887465

Your Excellency,

I, on behalf of the 25,000 students of City Montessori School, Lucknow, India and on behalf of the children of the world congratulate you on your unanimous re-election by the 15 members of the Security Council for a second five years term as United Nations Secretary General.

(1) Student community is delighted to hear about your re-election to the highest executive post in United Nations and hope that in the coming five years you will continue to strive for establishing peace and make the future of children safe and peaceful. We wish you all success in your next term as Secretary General of UNO.

(2) Here I would like to mention that United Nations General Assembly had adopted a UN Declaration of Rights of the children on 20th November 1989. We however feel that inclusion of 'Right to a safe future' in above declaration would inspire and motivate the member countries to take effective measures on preservation of environment and destruction of nuclear weapons.

We therefore request Your Excellency to initiate measures to include the "Right to a Safe Future" in UN Declaration of Rights of the Child. It can be the first step in the direction of protecting our fragile environment and ecology for the sake of the children of the world born or yet-to-be-born. This could be a stepping stone for ridding the world of the ever-present threat of nuclear war deliberate or accidental.

May God bless you with success in your endeavours in establishing peace in the world.

With highest regards, Yours sincerely,

(Jagdish Gandhi)
Manager

5th May 2000
To
H.E. Dr. Kofi A. Annan
The Secretary General of the United Nations
United Nations Plaza, New York, USA

Sub : Request for appointment in New York any day and any time between 22nd to 26th May, 2000 for personally conveying an appeal on behalf of 23,000 students of Guinness World Record holder City Montessori School and the children of the world to ‘Give Peace a Chance & Heal the World’ and to safeguard the future of children of the world.

Your Excellency,

We would like to draw Your Excellency’s kind attention to an open appeal by more than 23,000 students of Guinness World Record holder City Montessori School (CMS) Lucknow (India) on behalf of all the children of the world, to the leaders of all the counties asking them to ‘GIVE PEACE A CHANCE AND HEAL THE WORLD’ by supporting the United Nations Resolution adopted by the 53rd session of the General Assembly on 12th February 1999, particularly agenda item 30 section IV para 8 that calls for ‘promotion of development and peace and the establishment of a new international political and economic order’ at the Millennium Summit held at the United Nations Head Quarters in New York on 6th September 2000. The children feel that only such a decisive action can safeguard their future and prevent the elimination of life on our planet in a nuclear holocaust.

The undersigned will be coming to the USA to participate in the Millennium Forum being held at the UN headquarters in New York and therefore requests Your Excellency to kindly grant an appointment any day and any time between 22nd to 26th May 2000 at your office in New York so that I may personally hand over this appeal on behalf of children of the world.

As Your Excellency would undoubtedly be aware, all over the world the children today are deeply perturbed and apprehensive about their future on account of the 2027 nuclear tests conducted till date and the stockpile of nearly 36,000 nuclear warheads that pose threat to our very survival and which is our heritage, a legacy of our elders. In this regard I would also like to draw your attention to the following nerve shattering facts :

1. United States conducted 1030 tests, owns 12,070 warheads, able to reach all over the world
2. Russia conducted 715 tests, owns 22,500 warheads with range of 11,000 kms
3. Great Britain conducted 45 tests, owns 380 warheads with range of 12,000 kms
4. France conducted 210 tests, owns 500 warheads with range of 5,300 kms
5. China conducted 45 tests, owns 450 warheads with range of 11,000 kms
6. India conducted (5+1) 6 tests, owns 65 warheads with range of 2,500 kms
7. Pakistan conducted 6 tests, owns 25 warheads with range of 1,500 kms

NOTE :Iran, Iraq, North Korea, South Korea & Libya are known to have secret nuclear weapons programme while Israel is considered a nuclear threshold country.

We had had earlier requested Your Excellency to send a message for our UN Day celebrations 1999 and in your Your Excellency had rightly pointed aout ath almost half of humanity i.e. three billion out of six billion - are entering the new millennium in conditions of abject poverty with less than two dollars a day to live on. You had also called the 20th century as one of the most murderous in human history and highlighted the need to ensure that the 21st century is more peaceful and more humane. You had expressed your concern for the world’s changing climate that could destroy the homes and livelihoods of millions, and emphasized the need to control and manage this process. You had also pointed out that a unique opportunity to take a decisive step in this direction is coming up this year when leaders of all the countries will come together at the UN’s Millennium Summit being held in New York on 6th September 200 where the agenda includes a call for shaping a “new international political and economic order”.

Your Excellency had urged that as citizens of the United Nations it was our duty to build public opinion and to motivate our leaders to come to the Millennium Summit determined for decisive action. Following this we have been writing to all the heads of States and the Heads of Governments not to miss the golden opportunity offered by the Millennium Summit and to take decisive action on 6th September 2000. We have been urging all world leaders that the new political and economic order to be shaped at the Millennium Summit must be capable of taking over the responsibilities of preserving international peace, conserving the world’s environment and correcting the growing ecological imbalance.

I therefore request Your Excellency to kindly grant me an appointment at any time convenient to you between 22nd to 26th May, 2000 at your office in new York so that I may personally hand over this appeal on behalf of children of the world.

I eagerly await Your Excellency’s kind consent.

Thanking you in anticipation, Yours sincerely,

(Jagdish Gandhi)
Founder-Manager, CMS