What path should humanity take?

10th Anniversary of the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW): From war to peace

By HWPL
March 19, 2026

War remains a reality of international politics. Conflicts and armed clashes continue to erupt, and despite the existence of international law, war has not disappeared. How long must humanity continue to endure this cycle? If conflict is inevitable, must war also be the way we resolve it?

The Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW), proclaimed on 14 March 2016, was presented as a proposal in response to these questions.

HWPL and the DPCW

The DPCW is not a document born from abstract ideals. Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), the organization that proclaimed it, is an international peace NGO established to protect lives lost in war and to build a sustainable peace order.

The background of its founding lies in the wartime experience of HWPL Chairman Man-hee Lee. As a student soldier during the Korean War, he experienced firsthand the devastation of war. The conviction that the cycle repeatedly sending young people to war must end with this generation later inspired international peace initiatives. The September 18th HWPL World Peace Summit, held in Seoul on 18 September 2014, became an important turning point. At the event, attended by a total of 1,933 participants from 152 countries, participants shared a consensus that international standards are needed not only to respond to conflicts after they occur, but also to prevent them and institutionalize cooperation.

To translate this vision into concrete form, HWPL launched the HWPL International Law Peace Committee (ILPC) in 2015, composed of international law experts from around the world. Through legal review and consultation, the committee completed drafting the DPCW, consisting of 10 articles and 38 clauses, which was officially proclaimed on 14 March 2016.

The Standards Proposed by the DPCW

The DPCW sets out standards on the use of force and procedures for the peaceful resolution of disputes. It also reinforces the principles of international cooperation and collective security, while incorporating the roles of religion and civil society within the institutional framework.

This document does not deny the existing international legal order. Rather, it focuses on clarifying already agreed-upon principles and structuring them so that they can operate effectively in practice. It is meaningful in that it represents an attempt to move beyond an order that presupposes war as a means of resolving conflict. The question raised by the DPCW is simple: even if conflicts exist, must they necessarily result in war?

Expansion of International Support

Since its proclamation, the DPCW has gained support from international organizations and national parliaments. Regional parliamentary bodies—including the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN), and the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament (Parlatino)—have adopted resolutions endorsing the initiative, while about 900,000 endorsements have been collected from citizens in 178 countries.

This demonstrates that norm diffusion is taking place not only through state diplomacy but also through civil society. Yet reality remains complex. International conflicts persist, and power politics remains entrenched. The transformation envisioned by the DPCW is still unfolding.

Beyond the Era of War: Leaving Peace as a Legacy for Future Generations

For a long time, humanity has ended conflicts through war whenever they occurred. The pattern of determining order through superiority of power has been repeated.

The issue raised by the DPCW is structural. Even if conflicts do not disappear, the way they are addressed can change. The question is whether it is possible to build an order that manages conflicts within standards and procedures, cooperation and institutions, rather than through armed clashes.

The past decade has been a period of raising this question to the international community and accumulating institutional and social foundations. The task ahead is to ensure that these standards operate within the actual international order.

What Path Should Humanity Take?

Not toward a path where war remains a means of addressing conflict, but one that seeks to structure and institutionalize peace.

Conflicts may be unavoidable. However, whether they are allowed to escalate into war or addressed through a different standard ultimately depends on humanity’s choice. The DPCW represents an effort to give this transition a concrete institutional framework. The discussions and global expansion over the past decade have demonstrated that such a vision is possible.