MANUEL ARAYA-INCERA
The creation of a peace museum in Costa Rica aims to deepen and to perpetuate, through exhibits and educational programs, the political values of a society that has been able to solve its conflicts by nonviolent means and negotiation. Likewise, it aims to frame the Costa Rican experience within the dynamic of conflicts and conflict resolution on an international level. The use of pacific means, instead of violence and enforcement, has been a common practice in the dynamic of Costa Rican social and political relationships. The use of negotiation has been a prominent feature in social and political conflicts throughout Costa Rican history. Such behavior is an important feature of this nation’s political culture.
From the multiple ideas that may define a concept for peace, it is conceived for this museum as the expression of a dynamic social process, where peace is a primary option for the achievement of human aspirations, versus other options of a negative and even a violent character. This approach avoids definitions of peace as a state close to stillness, as in utopic or spiritual definitions. Instead, peace is seen as an option attainable by society through constant work.
In 1948, a de facto government in Costa Rica abolished the army by decree. A few months later, when the democratic order was reestablished, a new political constitution included in its text the nonexistence of a military institution within the Costa Rican political system. Since then, the country has been able to face different threats to its borders and national sovereignty without any military resource, by implementing peaceful instruments for international conflict resolution based on international law. It was the peace initiative promoted by Costa Rican President Óscar Arias Sánchez in 1987 that gained the support of the five Central American presidents. The agreement took the name of Esquipulas II, or the Arias Peace Plan, in honor of its creator and leading actor. After almost eight years of fighting, the Central American presidents signed the agreement in August 1987. A distinctive element for the Esquipulas process is that this agreement was reached as a result of direct multilateral negotiations among the Central American presidents, without the participation of external parties. Since the success of the initiative and the agreement was due to the president of Costa Rica, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his achievement, Costa Rica as a whole was invested also with that prestige, which helped to enhance the country’s standing in the international community. A country without an army could mediate in a conflict going on just beyond its borders and achieve agreement among the parties, establishing the basis for peace.
From the arguments expressed by the constitutional court through its rulings, it is possible to witness the construction of a new concept that is relevant for Costa Rican society: the right to peace. Every one of the rights that make up the history of human rights emerged as a concept first, followed by social action that materialized and gave effectiveness to those rights. We see here the possibility that peace will become an effective human right.
Its mission is to promote the value of peace as a positive and constructive resource for the human experience. Among its objectives will be:
• to research, recover, preserve, study, and communicate regarding cases and experiences of conflict resolution
• to promote through education the search for negotiated and pacific solutions to conflict situations
• to contribute to preserving and enhancing those values that Costa Rican society has developed throughout its history, in the construction of a culture of peace and a right to peace
• to demonstrate the feasibility of peaceful coexistence
• to teach the value and profits of solving conflicts in a nonviolent way
As the fundraising for the peace museum of Costa Rica begins in earnest in 2016, it is important to note the ongoing engagement of President Arias in this project. As Annique Dewitt, a participant in the Wharton International Volunteer Program, reported on November 13, 2013: “I found myself sitting in the living room of the former two-term president of Costa Rica and 1987 Nobel Peace Prize winner who was responsible for the peace process in Central America. We also met with the preeminent museologist in Central America, the number-one history professor in Costa Rica, and a top architecture firm in the country during our two-week stay here. The access was amazing, and we were able to put together a presentation and model that set them up to begin fundraising for the museum.”
This lecture (substantially abbreviated for this book) by Manuel Araya-Incera, speaking for the Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress, was submitted to the International Network of Museums for Peace at the Eighth International Conference of Museums for Peace at No Gun Ri Peace Memorial Park, South Korea, September 19–21, 2014.