The vision of a Zone of Peace arose in May, 1989, from efforts to declare Medjugorje a Regional and International Zone of Peace in Bosnia & Hertsegovina, which was at that time one of the socialist republics in former Yugoslavia. The idea was conceived during an informal dialogue between two prominent Franciscan priests, Fra Leonardo Orec and Fra Tomislav Vlasic, and Ms. Ivanka (Vana) Jakic. It is significant that the concept began in Medjugorje, a pilgrimage site of international renown carrying a sacred message of peace to the world, yet, in the country which would soon be torn apart by violence, becoming one of the worst examples of the ravages of war to happen in recent times.
In September, 1991, the idea for Medjugorje grew to include eight sacred sites, two from each major religion in Bosnia & Hertsegovina, which were declared simultaneously as the first Regional Zones of Peace. At that time, there was hope that other former Yugoslav Republics and other countries would follow the example. Unfortunately, Bosnia & Hertsegovina, as an area of the greatest diversity of ethnic/religious culture, was the hardest hit during the ensuing four-year war. Some of the eight Sites were destroyed in the conflict. None survived as a Zone of Peace.
The lesson learned was that eleventh-hour measures came too late to be productive. An effectual Zone of Peace must be established far in advance of any threat of war or destruction. The work of peace education needs time to take root in the community and then spread, for true, lasting peace to be accomplished. Finally, international recognition is necessary to insure that no act of violence can be made against sites of great importance, including UNESCO World Heritage Sites, without incurring public outcry and resulting in global repercussions.
Working toward such international recognition, in February 1991, Ms. Jakic presented a draft resolution to the Second International Conference on Peace and Non-Violent Action at Rajsamand (Udiapur), India. The Conference adopted the resolution and sent it with a petition to the United Nations, the UN Security Council and UNESCO "to create a new International Convention on the basis of which every nation and country that wishes could and may declare its own sacred sites, special places of worship and pilgrimages as well as places of historico-cultural importance as International Zones of Peace." (Quoted from the Resolution.) In response, in a letter of March, 1991, the Director of the UN Executive Office for Secretary-General Perez De Cuellar stated, "Your request for the creation of a new International Convention on the naming of sacred sites as International Zones of Peace is a most interesting one. . . .The Secretary-General is aware of your efforts for international harmony, and greatly appreciates your support for the World Organization."
Shortly thereafter, UNESCO invited Ms Jakic for further discussions. In October, 1991, she had a number of meetings in Paris with the Director of UNESCO's Division of Human Rights and Peace, where it was agreed that she would both coordinate a team of lawyers to draft a new Declaration or Convention on International Zones of Peace, and find a UNESCO Member State to present it before its General Assembly. (Zones of Peace International Foundation has subsequently decided that local, regional and national Zones of Peace should first be established within their own countries before asking for world recognition, thus delaying the international measure until several nations actively support the program.)
In July, 1992, the 1991 Rajsamand Resolution served as a basis for another resolution which was adopted at the Thirty-Fourth Annual Conference of the Fellowship of Reconciliation for the States of Washington and Oregon (USA) and British Columbia (Canada), held in Seabeck, Washington. In April, 1993, Ms. Jakic presented a paper on the Zones of Peace at UNESCO's Seminar on the Contributions of Religions to the Culture of Peace in Barcelona, Spain. This was followed by another major presentation that same year at the centennial Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago, Illinois, USA. There, the request for a new Convention, as stated in the Rajsamand Resolution, was again endorsed and supported by spiritual leaders of different faiths and by secular dignitaries from all over the world. It was also adopted at the 1994 Women of Vision Conference in Washington, D.C., organized by the Center for International Dialogue. And in December 1995, at Ladnun, India, Ms. Jakic, as President of the Zones of Peace International Foundation, presented a new resolution with an expanded definition of the Zones of Peace to the Third International Conference on Peace and Non-Violent Action. This resolution, too, was unanimously adopted.
Workshops on Zones of Peace have been held and enthusiastically received at the above-mentioned Thirty-Fourth Annual Conference of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, and at International Women's Conferences in Washington, D.C. (October 1994) and Seattle, Washington, USA (February 1995). In 1995, Nan McMurry gave a presentation at the United Nations Fourth World Conference for Women, held in Huairou in the People's Republic of China.