The University for Peace (UPEACE) is an international university and

intergovernmental organization Globalization Globalization, or globalisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is the process of ...

. The university was established as a treaty organisation by the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

in 1980. Each year, the University for Peace

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approximately 200 students globally for a master's programme ( MA or MSc) related to the study of peace and conflict, environment and development, or

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

. The university also offers a doctoral programme and

executive education Executive education (ExEd or Exec. Ed) refers to academic programs at graduate-level business schools for executives, business leaders and functional managers globally. These programs are generally non-credit and non-degree-granting, but sometim ...

. The headquarters of the University for Peace are in located in a nature reserve in

San José Province San José () is a province of Costa Rica. It is located in the central part of the country, and borders (clockwise beginning in the north) the provinces of Alajuela, Heredia, Limón, Cartago and Puntarenas. The provincial and national capital ...

, Costa Rica. However, the university also has offices for education, research and other projects in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, Honduras,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, Switzerland, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, China and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. It is also active in

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

through the

Institute for Peace, Security and Development An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

. The charter of the University for Peace, adopted by the General Assembly in resolution 35/55 in 1980, defines the mission of the university as follows:

"to provide humanity with an international institution of
higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after comple ...
for peace with the aim of promoting among all human beings the spirit of understanding, tolerance and peaceful coexistence, to stimulate cooperation among peoples and to help lessen obstacles and threats to
world peace World peace, or peace on Earth, is the concept of an ideal state of peace within and among all people and nations on Planet Earth. Different cultures, religions, philosophies, and organizations have varying concepts on how such a state would ...
and progress, in keeping with the noble aspirations proclaimed in the
Charter of the United Nations The Charter of the United Nations (UN) is the foundational treaty of the UN, an intergovernmental organization. It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the UN system, including its six principal organs: the ...
."

History

The creation of the University for Peace was set in motion by a treaty and endorsed by resolution 34/111 of 14 December 1979 of the

. By this resolution, the UN General Assembly established an international commission which, in collaboration with the government of Costa Rica, was requested to prepare the organization, structure and setting in motion of the University for Peace. Thereafter, by Resolution 35/55 of 5 December 1980, the UN General Assembly endorsed the treaty establishing the University for Peace by adopting the International Agreement for the Establishment of the University for Peace along with the Charter of the University for Peace. The university has the unique status of not only being a dedicated institution for higher education in peace and conflict studies, but also an international treaty body organization mandated by the UN General Assembly.

Relationship with United Nations

The University for Peace is part of the academic wing of the UN system, and has observer status at the UN General Assembly, while maintaining its independence in academic, financial and management matters. The

UN Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary- ...

is the honorary president of UPEACE. As the university is mandated by the General Assembly, the UN Secretary-General reports periodically on the activities of the University for Peace. The main body of governance of the university is the Council of the University for Peace. It is composed of 17 members, ten of which appointed by the Secretary-General of the UN and the Director-General of UNESCO, two are nominated by the government of Costa Rica, and others are high-level staff of the University for Peace, the

United Nations University The (UNU) is the think tank and academic arm of the United Nations. Headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, with diplomatic status as a UN institution, its mission is to help resolve global issues related to human development and welfare thr ...

and the United Nations.

Headquarters and main campus

The main campus of the university - the

Rodrigo Carazo Rodrigo José Ramón Francisco de Jesús Carazo Odio (27 December 1926 – 9 December 2009) served as President of Costa Rica from 8 May 1978 to 8 May 1982. Early life Carazo was born in Cartago. Before serving as president, he was the Dir ...

Campus - is located 30 km south-west of San José, Costa Rica. Most master's and doctoral programmes are administered from this location. Students coming from several countries study in a highly multi-cultural environment on the campus. The university has a mix of both resident and visiting faculty members. The university also carries out hands-on training beyond its master's and doctoral programmes aimed at practitioners and policymakers rather than graduate students. The university has established two centres for this purpose that are located on the main campus. The UPEACE Centre for Executive Education delivers training courses to people in leadership positions. The centre caters to non-profit leaders, business executives, educators, UN staff, students and other professional audiences. The university has also started administering distance education courses, including an online master's programme from the main campus. The University for Peace has also established the UPEACE Human Rights Centre which was created within the contours of the broader mission of the university. The work of the UPEACE Human Rights Centre seeks to promote understanding, respect and enjoyment of

universal human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hum ...

. The centre carries out this objective through human rights education, training, research, capacity building and awareness raising activities. The closest town to the mountain on which the university is perched is

Ciudad Colón Colón, known as Ciudad Colón is a district and the head city of the Mora canton, in the San José province of Costa Rica. It is famous for its warm climate, proximity to nature and its surrounding mountains, folkloric traditions, horse riding ...

, which is where most of the students, staff and faculty members of the university reside.

Earth Charter Initiative

The main campus of the University for Peace hosts the International Secretariat of the

Earth Charter Initiative The Earth Charter Initiative is the collective name for the global network of people, organizations, and institutions who participate in promoting the Earth Charter, and in implementing its principles in practice. The Initiative is a broad-based, ...

, whose stated mission is "to promote the transition to sustainable ways of living and a global society founded on a shared ethical framework that includes respect and care for the community of life, ecological integrity,

universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

human rights, respect for diversity,

economic justice Justice in economics is a subcategory of welfare economics. It is a "set of moral and ethical principles for building economic institutions". Economic justice aims to create opportunities for every person to have a dignified, productive and creativ ...

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...

, and a culture of peace." This mission is carried out using ' The Earth Charter' as the principal guiding framework. The Earth Charter is an international declaration of fundamental values and principles considered useful by its supporters for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century. In 2012, the Earth Charter Initiative and the University for Peace were jointly awarded the UNESCO Chair on Education for Sustainable Development and the Earth Charter. The work related to this UNESCO chair will be carried out at the newly constructed 'Earth Charter Center for Education for Sustainable Development' at the UPEACE main campus.

Peace Park and nature reserve

The campus is surrounded by a natural reserve composed of a secondary forest and the last remnant of primary forest (200 ha) in the Central Valley of Costa Rica. Hence, this protected area is very rich in fauna. It shelters mammals such as monkeys and deer; reptiles; and over 300 species of birds, as well as approximately 100 varieties of trees. The university's installations and protected area make up 303 ha.

International activities

In addition to the activities at the Costa Rica campus, the University for Peace has several international offices and partners.

Africa

The University for Peace established its Africa program in 2002. The programme aims to stimulate and strengthen the capacities in Africa to teach, train and conduct research in areas of peace and conflict studies. The first five years of the program focused on the development of curricula and teaching materials and the delivery of a range of short courses, workshops, conferences and seminars in various parts of Africa. Within this period, the program attracted close to one thousand participants from academia, policy-makers and civil society organizations. Since 2007, the Africa programme has worked with a number of partner universities to develop master's degree programs to be based at African universities. The principal aim of this endeavour is to further strengthen the African capacity and build a wide expertise for a better understanding of conflicts in Africa, their prevention and the creation of the environment favourable to lasting peace and development in the region.

Europe

In January 2012, UPEACE opened a centre in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

, Netherlands, which is housed at the Academy Building of the

Peace Palace , native_name_lang = , logo = , logo_size = , logo_alt = , logo_caption = , image = La haye palais paix jardin face.JPG , image_size = , image_alt = , image_caption = The Peace Palace, The Hague , map_type = , map_alt = , m ...

, next to the

Hague Academy of International Law The Hague Academy of International Law (french: Académie de droit international de La Haye) is a center for high-level education in both public and private international law housed in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Courses are taugh ...

. UPEACE The Hague focuses on education and research in peace studies, cooperating with academic and policy-oriented institutions in The Hague region. UPEACE The Hague is active in three fields: peace and conflict studies, water and peace, and urban peace and security. In addition, the centre organises professional trainings, lectures, seminars, and workshops on theory, practice and policy. The Geneva Office of the University for Peace was established in 2001. The focus of the Geneva office is to contribute to the development of programmatic activities of the university in Africa and the Middle East, engaging with the academic community in Geneva, and facilitation of institutional relations within Europe and with the United Nations system. In November 2015, University for Peace started its work in Rome under the name "Università Internazionale per la Pace" (UniPace).

Asia

The University for Peace jointly organises the Asian Peacebuilders Scholarship Programme (APS) with the

Nippon Foundation of Tokyo, Japan, is a private, non-profit grant-making organization. It was established in 1962 by Ryoichi Sasakawa. The foundation's mission is to direct Japanese motorboat racing revenue into philanthropic activities, it uses this money ...

and

Ateneo de Manila University , mottoeng = Light in the Lord , type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution , established = December 10, 1859 , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic ( Jesuits) , academic ...

. APS students obtain a Master of Arts Degree from the University for Peace and a master's degree in Transdisciplinary Social Development from Ateneo de Manila University.

Affiliated institutions

The University for Peace has signed agreements with the governments of Serbia (formerly Yugoslavia), Colombia and Uruguay to open centres in those three countries. These centres have the necessary legal status to enjoy autonomy and academic freedom while keeping their humanistic purpose within the framework of both the Charter of the University for Peace and the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The European Centre for Peace and Development (ECPD) in Belgrade, Serbia; the World Centre for Training and Research in Conflict Resolution (WCCR) in Bogotá, Colombia; and the World Centre for Research for Peace (CMIP) in Montevideo, Uruguay, have developed close links with their respective governments while being key UPEACE partners in areas of common interest. UPEACE keeps operational agreements with them and lends its logos when necessary to undertake joint activities within the framework of UPEACE's and the Centers’ mission. These activities, as with other partners, involve the cooperating parties working together at all stages of jointly agreed-upon projects.

Academics

The University for Peace offers graduate and doctoral programmes in the areas of peace and conflict studies, environment and development and international.

Department of International Law

*MA in International Law and the Settlement of Disputes *MA in International Law and Human Rights *MA in International Law and Diplomacy *Maestría en Derecho Internacional de los Derechos Humanos (taught in Spanish)

Department of Peace and Conflict Studies

*MA in Gender and Peacebuilding *MA in Indigenous Science and Peace Studies *MA in International Peace Studies *MA in Media and Peace *MA in Peace Education *MA in Religion, Culture and Peace Studies *MA in Sustainable Peace in the Contemporary World (online) *Maestría en Resolución de Conflictos, Paz y Desarrollo (taught in Spanish)

Department of Environment and Development

*MA in Environment, Development and Peace *MA in Responsible Management and Sustainable Economic Development *MSc in Ecology and Society

Dual and joint degrees

*Dual MA in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development (with American University, Washington DC, USA) *Water Cooperation and Diplomacy (with

IHE Delft Institute for Water Education IHE Delft Institute for Water Education is the largest international graduate water education facility in the world and is based in Delft, Netherlands. Delft is a world renowned knowledge centre on water infrastructure, technology and sciences, an ...

, The Netherlands and

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering c ...

, USA) *Dual degree in Environmental Law (LLM,

Pace University Pace University is a private university with its main campus in New York City and secondary campuses in Westchester County, New York. It was established in 1906 by the brothers Homer St. Clair Pace and Charles A. Pace as a business school. Pace ...

) and International Law and Human Rights *MA in Development Studies and Diplomacy (with

UNITAR The one stringed guitar, also known as a Unitar is a somewhat less known version of the standard electric guitar. Although rare, the one-string guitar is sometimes heard, particularly in Delta blues, where improvised folk instruments were popula ...

) *Asian Peacebuilders Scholarship, a dual-campus MA in Transdisciplinary Social Development (with

, The Philippines) *Joint MA degree in Human Rights and a Culture for Peace (with

Pontifical Xavierian University The Pontifical Xavierian University (in Spanish Pontificia Universidad Javeriana) is a private higher education institution founded in 1623. It is one of the oldest, most traditional, and prestigious Colombian universities, directed by the Soc ...

, Colombia) *LL.M in Transnational Crime and Justice (with

United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute The United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) is one of the five United Nations Research and Training Institutes. The Institute was founded in 1968 to assist the international community in formulating and imple ...

, Turin, Italy) *Dual MA in Conflict Resolution and Coexistence (

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...

, US) and International Law and Human Rights *Dual MA in International Law and Human Rights (with

Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (abbreviated as HUFS; Korean: 한국외국어대학교) is a private research university based in Seoul, in South Korea. HUFS consistently ranks as one of the best universities in South Korea. The university ...

, Seoul, Korea) *Dual MA in Media, Peace and Conflict Studies (with Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Seoul, Korea) *Dual MA in Sustainable Development (with Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Seoul, Korea)

Study abroad programs

UPEACE offers graduate and advance undergraduate students from other institutions the opportunity to enroll in UPEACE's Study Abroad Program (SAP) in two ways: *Semester Abroad Program *Undergraduate Credit Building

Distance education courses

Apart from its online MA in Sustainable Peace in the Contemporary World, UPEACE offers a series of individual online courses that can be taken for academic credits or for certificates.

Doctoral program

The University for Peace has a doctoral programme in peace and conflict studies since 2012. The programme offers a research track and a professional track.

Accreditation

The Charter of the University for Peace gives the authority to UPEACE to "grant master's degrees and doctorates". As the resolution to establish the University for Peace was taken by consensus in the General Assembly, the authorisation to award degrees is legally valid in all countries as per international law. Many programmes at the campus in Costa Rica are also accredited by the Costa Rican accreditation organisation SINAES, or are in the process of obtaining accreditation. Accreditation in Costa Rica is not mandatory. University for Peace degrees are verified by the International Association of Universities/UNESCO.

Outreach

The U.S. Association for the University for Peace The U.S. Association for the University for Peace (UPEACE/US) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established to advance the United Nations mandated University for Peace and the practice of education for peace in the United States. Programs UPE ...

is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 2006 to advance the University for Peace and the practice of education for peace in the United States. UPEACE/US projects include DCPEACE, an initiative to empower teachers, youth, and families with the skills and knowledge necessary to effectively serve as peacebuilders in their communities and Peace Rooms, a program that connect classrooms of middle school students from Costa Rica and Washington, D.C., through the use of virtual networking technology for the purpose of developing core concepts of global citizenship and peace education.

Notable alumni and students

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud Hassan Sheikh Mohamud ( so, Xasan Sheekh Maxamuud, ar, حسن شيخ محمود; born 29 November 1955) is a Somali politician who has served as the president of Somalia since May 2022. He is the founder and current chairman of the Union for ...

, president of Somalia (Ph.D.) * Anat Nir, Israeli businessperson and LGBT rights activist *

Kirthi Jayakumar Kirthi Jayakumar (born 15 December 1987) is a peace educator, a women, peace, and security and feminist foreign policy practitioner, lawyer and writer. She is a Commonwealth Scholar, a Vital Voices (VV) Lead Fellow, a VV Engage Fellow, a Loc ...

, Indian peace educator, feminist activist and writer * Rosebell Kagumire, Ugandan journalist * Abdullahi Mohammed Odowa, Somalian ambassador to Kuwait * Adilia Caravaca, International President of

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is a non-profit non-governmental organization working "to bring together women of different political views and philosophical and religious backgrounds determined to study and make kno ...

* José Antonio Sanahuja, Full professor of International Relations at Complutense University of Madrid

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:University For Peace Schools of international relations Peace and conflict studies Universities in Costa Rica Intergovernmental universities Peace education Educational institutions established in 1980 Buildings and structures in San José Province