International Day of Peace: India Ranks 137th in Global Peace, moves up four positions

Today is International Day of Peace and each year it is observed around the world on 21 September. The UN General Assembly has declared this day with an aim to strengthen the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples. India, however, has gone up four places to the 137th rank among 163 countries on the 2017 Global Peace Index.

Even though still lagging behind in comparison to many countries India has improved significantly owing to a reduction in the level of violent crime driven by increased law enforcement, as stated by a report by an Australian think tank.

India is also among the countries with the rapid decreases in the number of deaths, together with Sri Lanka, Colombia, Chad, and Uganda.

Iceland still holds the position of the most peaceful country in the world followed by New Zealand, Austria, Portugal and Denmark. European country Iceland with a population of 3.5 lakh hold the position of most peaceful country in the world since 2008.

Syria, which is devastated by civil war since 2011 and a hub of ISIS remains the least peaceful country in the world, followed by Afghanistan, Iraq, South Sudan, and Yemen.

India has moved up four positions in the overall ranking from 141st to 137th this year.

According to a report compiled by Sydney-based Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP) said, "This has largely been due to a reduction in level of violent crime, driven by increased law enforcement. Meanwhile, unrest in Indian-administered Kashmir in mid-2016 raised tensions between India and its neighbour Pakistan, with the number of deaths from external conflict increasing in both countries."

Countries like Egypt, Iran, India, South Korea, Pakistan, and Syria showed the most significant growth in heavy weapons capabilities over the last 30 years as they are unstable regions where there are high tensions and conflict with neighbouring countries.

The report takes a look into the comprehensive analysis on the state of world peace. As said by it amid continuing political and social disorder, the world continues to spend a heavy amount resources on creating and containing violence and war but very little on peace process.

The results of the 2017 Global Peace Index (GPI) reveal that the global level of peace has deteriorated by 0.27 per cent in the last year, signing the fourth successive year of deteriorations. 92 countries among the 163 countries deteriorated, while 71 countries improved remarkably.

Increasing number of deaths occurred in Syria, followed by Mexico, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Yemen.

The 2017 Global Peace Index reveals a world in which the conflicts, tensions, and crises that appeared in the past decade remain unresolved, especially in the Middle East, producing in a gradual, sustained fall in peacefulness. In holding peacefulness, six of the nine regions in the world deteriorated in the last year.

The four most peaceful regions Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, and South America all recorded deteriorations, with the largest overall deterioration occurring in South America, because of falls in the safety and security domain, mainly owing to increases in the incarceration rate and rising terrorism.

The theme of 2018 International Day of Peace is “The Right to Peace - The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 70”.