In some circumstances, such as self-defence or the defence of others, the use of violence may be justified. But otherwise, violence belongs to barbarians and thugs, and has no place in a civilised society. The suffering and destruction caused by violence makes it essential to resort to peaceful means to resolve disputes wherever possible.

The use of violence invariably creates resentment and hatred, which only promotes more violence. The current conflict in Iraq illustrates this. The Kurds in the north of Iraq were treated abysmally by the regime of Saddam Hussein, and wanted a war against him to avenge the violence he had wrought upon them. However, the 2003 war simply resulted in a cycle of further violence, as those in Iraq who lost loved ones as a result of the war against their country wanted their losses avenged, just as the Kurds did. The mothers in Iraq who lost their babies, those who lost their brothers and sisters- many of these people want to create war on the Americans and British who caused them their enormous losses.

The cycle can be mad and endless. The victims of unjustified violence become the aggressors and themselves commit unjust acts of violence against others, those others respond in a similarly brutal way, and the destructive bloodbath continues, until everyone is grieving for the loss of those closest to them.

The link below gives some idea of how many millions of people have died through warfare:

http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstats.htm

For examples of continuing human rights abuses related to conflict, go to:

www.hrw.org