Human Rights and Peacebuilding

We begin this chapter by describing the principles of human rights and relating them to the promotion of a culture of peace. After discussing how war interferes with human rights, we show how people were able to further human rights by creating a space for peace in the midst of a war in the Philippines. We examine the history of this endeavor and how the connection between human rights and peace is reflected in the remarkable grassroots document that declared the establishment of the space. In the concluding section we reflect upon how mental health and human rights may be promoted through civil society activities at the local level, governmental legislation, and institutional practices. Psychologists committed to human rights need to work with human rights defenders in the struggle against state torture and mass murder (e.g., Martin Baro Foundation). However, our focus here is on how people may build spaces for peace that promote human rights.