During the 20th century, approximately 250 wars killed
110 million individuals.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, humanity
spent $1.204 billion on military expenditures in 2006, representing a 37%
increase over the last 10 years.
In 2006, 15 countries made 83% of all military expenditures (U.S.: 46%). Arms
sales continue to grow. In 2005, 63% of global sales by the 100 largest arms
dealers in the world were made by 40 U.S. companies, 29% by 32 Western European
companies and 2% by 9 Russian companies. The remaining 6% were made, in
descending order, by companies established in Japan, Israel and India.
The ban on torture is notably included in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in the
Geneva Convention and in the Rome Statute on the creation of the International
Criminal Court.
However, at the beginning of the 21st century, prisoners are still being
tortured.
Chinese strategist Sun Tzu, a contemporary of Confucius, left behind a treatise
on The Art of War in which he writes:
“To spend many years making war is not to love the people, it is to be the enemy
of one’s country.”
“Treat prisoners well, feed them as you would your own soldiers; ensure, if
possible, that they are better off with you than they would be in their own
camp, or even within their own homeland.”
Since war is a scourge, art must guide it and wisdom eliminate it.
“Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the
defences of peace must be constructed” (UNESCO).
