Dear CPNN readers and reporters,
The focus this month is on Latin America where the culture of peace is being promoted on all levels, from the United Nations to national, local and regional governments and the civil society.
UNESCO has recognized the Latin American writer and philosopher Frei Betto from Brazil with the Jose Marti Prize for 2013 for "his exceptional contribution to building a universal culture of peace, social justice and human rights." The prize was awarded in a ceremony in Cuba.
The President of Bolivia, Evo Morales, has advocated a deepening of judicial reforms in his country, including, in the words of his Chief Justice, incorporating "the culture of peace as a peaceful way to resolve legal disputes." CPNN readers may recall that Morales called explicitly for a culture of peace when he inaugurated UNASUR, the Union of South American Nations in 2008. Another Latin American President, Porfirio Lobo of Honduras, recently assisted at the inauguration of a project designed to promote a culture of peace among young people.
The cities of Sao Paulo (Brazil) and Aguascalientes (Mexico) continue a growing tradition in Latin America of cities that explicitly promote a culture of peace (see CPNN January 30, 2005). Sao Paulo has been a pioneer in this regard, with a Secretary of Human Rights and a Municipal Commission of Human Rights which some years ago began the annual measurement of human rights in all parts of the city. This month, in the first public act of the newly elected government from the Workers' Party, in the presence of the Secretary of Human Rights, the new mayor Fernando Haddad declared that his priority will be the persistent search for social justice and peaceful coexistence among different peoples who live in the city.
|
VIDEOS |
French Spanish |
The city government of Aguascalientes has a permanent Secretary for the Environment and Sustainable Development, and this month, the mayor of that city signed the Earth Charter and promised to institute the measures prescribed by the Earth Summit of 1992 (another major advance that took place in Latin America).
Latin America is now pioneering in another dimension of the culture of peace: instituting it at a regional level. This last month, the regional governments of Chiapas in Mexico, Ayacucho and Puno in Peru and Amapá in Brazil announced culture of peace initiatives involving human rights, conflict prevention and ending violence against women. As briefly discussed, there are some advantages to promoting a culture of peace at a regional level in comparison to the city level. In particular, the culture of peace needs to be based on a sustainable economy, which, in the long run, should depend on local agricultural production more than imported food. This requires that the unit for the culture of peace include not only the city, but also the agricultural region surrounding it.
The civil society in Latin American continues to play its important role: articles this month include the development of a culture of peace among the Pioneers of Cuba, and the preservation of community traditions and the meeting of the International Institute of Peace Education in Puerto Rico.
