Peace

Glastonbury means different things to different people, but for me, there's something really life affirming about bringing people together who can live peacefully, without conflict, for 5 days in the middle of the countryside with pretty basic facilities, leaving feeling like they can change the world.

Co-organizer of Glastonbury Festival with her father Michael Eavis

Human progress often comes at great cost to people who are willing to sacrifice for the sake of principles or in defense of the rights of others. It took hundreds of millions of people to die before we created a global security and human rights order and all of these are under stress. One would hate to think it would be another similar amount of deaths before we made more progress.

UN Human Rights Chief & International Justice Advocate

In the short-run, my fear would be that we've mismanaged the relationship with China through miscalculation to produce a 1914-like situation. I think it's a low-probability outcome, but it could of course be mismanaged. There's obviously the danger of nuclear weapons and a miscalculation leading to their use, and inevitably therefore, catastrophic outcomes.

Harvard Professor & Creator of "Soft Power" Concept

My understanding of humanity was changed more by working in the space industry than space travel itself. It opened up my eyes to what international collaboration can really achieve. The space industry and scientific community seem to transcend all that. You realise that you're involved in this incredible international space station that's been occupied for 20 years and which simply couldn't have succeeded if it wasn't for everyone collaborating together.

British Astronaut & ISS Expedition Commander

Research tells us that if you have a friend- as a child- who belongs to a group that your own group doesn't get along with, you will never have a bias against that group as an adult.

Psychologist who popularized the concept of emotional intelligence

A resilient position means that you are not always on the brink of war. The cost of war is so great that being on the brink is a deeply uncomfortable place to be. We have to make leaders and societies pay more attention to the costs of conflict.

Economist specializing in conflict, development, and poverty research

We do fight a lot of the time. The United States has been at war with somebody (in an active, intensive, pitched-battling sense) for many years of its existence but- importantly- not with most of its potential adversaries. Peace is not so unusual, and perhaps we should also not overestimate the frequency and likelihood of war.

Economist specializing in conflict, development, and poverty research

Honestly, I do not always feel hopeful. I am more worried for the future of my community now, eight years after the genocide began, than I was when I first escaped ISIS. But I also find hope and solidarity in those crises.

Nobel Peace Prize Winner & Yazidi Genocide Survivor Advocate

Beyond the atrocities of mass murder and rape, ISIS also set out to systematically destroy the Yazidi community by ensuring that we did not have the resources to survive in our homeland. They poisoned wells, burned farms, took out electrical grids, and destroyed schools, homes, temples, and hospitals.

Nobel Peace Prize Winner & Yazidi Genocide Survivor Advocate

I don't think it was inevitable until the point where the tanks started rolling-in. It was unstoppable at that point… But 20 years ago, would we have realised this was going to happen? My sense would be absolutely not. I say this as someone who participated in a really sincere effort to reach-out to Russia, to include Russia in the cooperative mechanisms that work for us.

We're afraid of living under constant terrorism, and the constant threat of a neighbour who wants to kill you and destroy everything you care about. The escalation is already here. He has already reached a point of escalation that we must not tolerate – he is already doing everything he is capable of.

Ukrainian politician and head of Servant of the People party faction

What has happened is that by relinquishing our influence, we have encouraged China and Russia to become even more active in the region. The competition with China and Russia is unfolding right within the Middle East.

U.S. National Security Advisor under President Donald Trump

Coming from the German-speaking part of Belgium, my family history includes both German and Belgian soldiers, highlighting the lose-lose nature of war, which only results in death and misery. Therefore, I believe in investing in multilateralism, seeking common ground rather than emphasizing differences.

Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for former Yugoslavia and Rwanda

There is still considerable hesitancy within the international community for robust intervention. Ultimately, blue helmets, or UN peacekeepers, come from specific countries, and the decision to withdraw them rests with the capitals of these contributing countries.

Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for former Yugoslavia and Rwanda

As a prosecutor, I recognize that our involvement typically begins when it's already too late: when prevention, humanity, and common sense have failed. Violence, whether in families, communities, or at an international level, signifies a failure of humanity.

Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for former Yugoslavia and Rwanda

I firmly believe that a society cannot heal from the wounds of war without accountability for serious international crimes. How can a society move towards a shared future while fundamental disagreements about the past and about responsibility for past crimes persist?

Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for former Yugoslavia and Rwanda