All posts by CPNN Coordinator

About CPNN Coordinator

Dr David Adams is the coordinator of the Culture of Peace News Network. He retired in 2001 from UNESCO where he was the Director of the Unit for the International Year for the Culture of Peace, proclaimed for the Year 2000 by the United Nations General Assembly.

Amnesty International: Oppressive, sexist policies galvanize bold fight for women’s rights in 2018

… . HUMAN RIGHTS … .

An article from Amnesty International

Women activists around the world have been at the forefront of the battle for human rights in 2018, Amnesty International said today [December 7] as it launched its review on the state of human rights over the past year.


Photo copyright REUTERS/Vincent West

The human rights group also warns that the actions of “tough guy” world leaders pushing misogynistic, xenophobic and homophobic policies has placed freedoms and rights that were won long ago in fresh jeopardy.

“In 2018, we witnessed many of these self-proclaimed ‘tough guy’ leaders trying to undermine the very principle of equality – the bedrock of human rights law. They think their policies make them tough, but they amount to little more than bully tactics trying to demonize and persecute already marginalized and vulnerable communities,” said Kumi Naidoo, Secretary General of Amnesty International.

“But it is women activists who have offered the most powerful vision this year of how to fight back against these repressive leaders.”

The findings are published in “Rights Today”, a major review analysing the human rights situation in seven regions around the world: Africa, Americas, East Asia, Europe and Central Asia, Middle East and North Africa, South Asia and South East Asia. The launch marks the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – the first global bill of rights, which was adopted in 1948 by the world’s governments.

2018: Women rise up

The burgeoning power of women’s voices should not be underestimated, notes the review. While women’s rights movements are well established, female activists have dominated the biggest human rights headlines from the past year.  And women-led groups like Latin America’s Ni una menos have galvanised mass movements on women’s rights issues on a scale not seen before.

In India and South Africa, thousands took to the streets to protest endemic sexual violence. In Saudi Arabia and Iran respectively, women activists risked arrest to resist the driving ban and forced hijab(veiling). In Argentina, Ireland and Poland, demonstrators rallied in vast numbers to demand an end to oppressive abortion laws. In the USA, Europe and parts of Asia, millions joined the second #MeToo-led women’s march to demand an end to misogyny and abuse.

(Article continued in right column)

(Click here for a Spanish version of this article or here for a French version.)

Question(s) related to this article:

What is the state of human rights in the world today?

Abortion: is it a human right?

(Article continued from left column)

However, the report notes that we cannot celebrate the “the stratospheric resurgence of women’s activism” without addressing the driving force behind why so many women have mobilised to demand change.

“Women’s rights have consistently been placed a rung below other rights and freedoms by governments who believe they can pay lip service to these issues while doing little in reality to protect the rights of half the population” said Kumi Naidoo.

Rights Today points to a growing body of policies and laws designed to subjugate and control women, especially around sexual and reproductive health. These include a push from Polish and Guatemalan law-makers to advocate for stricter abortion laws, while in the USA, funding cuts to family planning clinics have put the health of millions of women at risk.

Women activists have risked their lives and freedoms to bring to light human rights injustices. They include Ahed Tamimi, a Palestinian child activist who was unjustly imprisoned for daring to stand up for her people; Loujain al-Hathloul, Iman al-Nafjan and Aziza al-Yousef, three activists who are now detained in Saudi Arabia for campaigning on women’s rights; and Marielle Franco, who was brutally murdered in Brazil earlier this year because she fearlessly fought for human rights.

2019: A landmark year to turn the tide on women’s rights

Kumi Naidoo noted that the anniversary of the international bill of rights for women in 2019 – the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) – will be an important milestone that the world cannot afford to overlook.

The bill, which will turn 40 next year, is widely adopted. Yet many governments have only adopted it under the condition that they can reject major provisions that are designed to secure women’s freedoms, such as pursuing a national policy to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women in law and practice and committing to eliminating discrimination against women in marriage and family relations.

Amnesty International is urging governments to take action to ensure that women’s rights are upheld – this includes not only commitments to international standards, but changes to harmful national laws and proactive measures to empower women and protect their rights.

“The fact that so many countries have only partially accepted the international bill of women’s rights is evidence that many governments think protecting women’s rights is just a PR exercise to make them look good, rather than a priority they need to address urgently,” said Kumi Naidoo.

“All around the world, women on average earn far less than their male peers, have far less job security, are denied access to political representation by those in power, and face endemic sexual violence that governments continue to ignore. We have to ask ourselves why this is. If we lived in a world where in fact it was men facing this kind of persecution, would this injustice be allowed to continue?

“I want to acknowledge that Amnesty International can and should do more on women’s rights. As we enter 2019, I believe now, more than ever, we must stand firm with women’s movements, amplify women’s voices in all their diversity and fight for the recognition of all our rights.”

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

global, HUMAN RIGHTS

Colombia: First appearance of President Duque before the National Peace Council

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article from La Republica (translation by CPNN)

In his first appearance before the National Peace Council, the government’s advisory body for coexistence, the President of the Republic, Iván Duque Márquez, assured that his administration is committed to peace, but made it clear that in order to achieve it, we must have justice and fairness.

Duque spoke after a series of spokespersons from social sectors, community leaders, businessmen and students, whom he listened to and responded to with criticisms and requests. In particular the students again complained about the lack of resources for public education,

(Continued in right column)

(Click here for the original Spanish version of this article.)

Question related to this article:

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

(Continued from left column)

The President recalled that he started with an IPC + 3 and then increased to 4 and clarified that “we have had productive conversations with the students and we have reached the maximum possible and achievable offer, because what we can not continue to do is to exacerbate social tensions by making promises that are not then fulfilled..

The President said that “peace cannot be maintained if there is no legality and if there is no security in the territories,” and he explained that although the Constitution states that peace is a right and a duty of obligatory fulfillment, it also orders the State “to exercise the role of protector of life, property and honor of Colombians at all times and places in the territory.”

By insisting on the subject of security, he indicated that “it is not an embodiment of authoritarianism, much less the limitation of citizen rights. Security as a democratic value, principle and public good is precisely so that the absence of violence exists in the territories, that no citizen feels stigmatized or persecuted for what he thinks, what he believes or how he thinks, “he explained.

The National Peace Council is composed of three committees that deliberate on issues of education, culture of peace, implementation of agreements and territorial peace, as well as oversight and guarantees that the civil war will not be repeated.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America

Niamey, Niger: The 2nd ECOWAS forum on education for the culture of peace

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An article by Souleymane Yahaya forr Le Sahel (Translation by CPNN)

The work of the 2nd ECOWAS forum on peace education through intra- and inter-religious dialogue began yesterday morning [November 14] in Niamey. For two days, the participants will seek mechanisms for dialogue between the religious communities of ECOWAS in order to cultivate the spirit of tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

This 2nd edition of the forum co-organized by the Republic of Niger and ECOWAS is sponsored by the Archbishop of Niamey, Monsignor Djalwana Laurent Lompo, Emir of Kano, His Highness Lamido Sanusi II and Mogho Naba Baongho, King of Mossis . It is the Prime Minister, Head of Government Mr. Brigi Rafini who presided over the official opening of the works.

In his welcome, the Governor of Niamey, Mr. Hassane Issaka Karanta thanked the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for the confidence placed once again in Niger, and in the city of Niamey in particular, to host the work of the forum. He affirmed that, thanks to the daily work of the regional committee of intra and inter religious dialogue and the efforts of the regional religious and administrative authorities, the different religious communities of Niamey live in perfect symbiosis. The Governor of Niamey added that our African states must “focus their efforts on this important segment of our population that is youth. Niger, like other ECOWAS countries, has a young population that is increasingly exposed to extremism of all kinds.

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(Click here for the original French version of this article)

Question related to this article:
 
How can different faiths work together for understanding and harmony?

(continued from left column)

The Commissioner for Education, Science and Culture of ECOWAS has shown, in figures, the worrying development of violent extremism in four countries of the sub-region. For Mr. Leopoldo Amado, the presence of the Emir of Kano, as well as that of the Archbishop of Niamey and the Representative of Mogho Naba, at this work, shows the will of the peoples of the Community to live together for peace, tolerance and development of the entire region. Indeed, the contribution of religious leaders and actors to peace is decisive for West Africa, which is facing the rise of religious radicalism and intolerance which are, alas, threats to this region and its region. stability. “ECOWAS is committed to producing solutions to the issues of terrorism and conflict in the region through a number of legal and practical commitments,” said the Commissioner for Education, Science and Culture. ECOWAS, Mr. Leopoldo Amado.

In their interventions, the Archbishop of Niamey, Monsignor Djalwana Laurent Lompo, the Amir of Kano, His Highness Lamido Sanusi II and the Mogho Naba of Burkina Faso, Chief Baongho, King of the Mossis, have all underlined the importance of youth in intra and inter religious dialogue in our states. These sponsors of the 2nd ECOWAS forum on peace education through intra- and inter-religious dialogue, have strongly reaffirmed their common desire, on behalf of their respective communities, to work more for the promotion of living together. They finally called on young people to refrain from any kind of obscurantism, religious or other.

The organization of this forum materializes the commitment of ECOWAS which is part of preventive actions against radicalism and conflicts through a dynamic of search for peace and fight against the sources of terrorism. The end of the official ceremony was sanctioned by a photo of Prime Minister Brigi Rafini with young people from all ECOWAS countries attending the forum.

Africa, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

France: Call for Demonstration on December 18, International Migrants’ Day

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

An article from Mouvement de la Paix (translation by CPNN)

Mouvement de la Paix supports the appeal launched by dozens of associations for a demonstration on 18 December for International Migrants Day.

Appeal text: Freedom and Equal Rights!

We, Undocumented and Migrant Collective, Trade Unions, Associations and March in Solidarity call for demonstrations and gatherings throughout the country on December 18 on the occasion of International Migrants Day.

(Article continued in right column)

(Click here for the original French version of this article)

Question for this article

The refugee crisis, Who is responsible?

(Article continued from left column)

We will march all together against the rise of nationalism, racism and fascism that is spreading throughout Europe and around the world.

We will walk in torchlight in memory of the tens of thousands of women, men and children who have died on the migration routes and national borders and against the anti-migration policies of the governments of the richest countries on the planet and their accomplices.

We will walk to end the deaths, to support the freedom of movement and to close the detention centers.

We will walk against the promotion of immigration in order to provide cheap labor, for the regularization of undocumented migrants and for equal rights.

We will march for France’s ratification of the “International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families” adopted by the UN on 18 December 1990, which aims to ensure equal treatment between French and immigrant workers.

It is the general increase in poverty and the questioning of the social security caused by the austerity policies of our governments that nourish the feelings of malaise and alienation in the population. We need to struggle together to ensure a better and egalitarian society.

Europe, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

The 815th meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council: Report of the Commission on Elections in Africa

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article from Relief Web (translation by CPNN)

The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU), at its 815th meeting held on 4 December 2018, adopted the following decision on the report of the Commission on Elections in Africa:

The board,
1. Takes note of the presentation by the AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, HE Ms. Minata Samate Cessouma, of the report of the African Elections Commission on the twelve (12) national elections held from January to November 2018, namely: in Djibouti, Sierra Leone, Egypt, Mali, Zimbabwe, Mauritania, Rwanda, Eswatini, Gabon, Cameroon, Sao Tome and Principe and Madagascar. The Council also takes note of the communications on the forthcoming elections of December 2018, in particular in Madagascar (second round of presidential elections), Togo and the DRC, as well as on the three elections scheduled for the first quarter of 2019 (Nigeria, Senegal and Benign). The Council further notes the statements of Mauritania, Madagascar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Egypt and Gabon;

2. Reaffirms its commitment to endorse the process of democratization on the continent, in accordance with the relevant AU instruments, in particular the Constitutive Act, the Protocol for the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union as well as the Charter of Democracy, Elections and Governance;

3. Stresses once again the crucial nature of proactive action and preventive diplomacy aimed at combating all forms of election-related violence, early warning and conflict prevention. In this regard, the Council reiterates the central role of credible elections in the consolidation of peace and democracy, bearing in mind that failures, irregularities and bad practices in electoral processes are key factors in election-related violence in Africa;

(Click here for the original version of this article in French.)

Question related to this article:

How should elections be organized in a true democracy?

Can the African Union help bring a culture of peace to Africa?

4. Commends all the Member States that have successfully organized peaceful elections and encourages those who have not yet held their own elections to draw on good practices already observed in other Member States. The Council further encourages all Member States to continue to take appropriate measures to ensure the credibility and legitimacy of their results, inter alia, through an effective and transparent voter registration process, civic education based on inclusion, diversity management, tolerance and the culture of peace, and reiterates the importance of using legal channels to resolve election-related challenges;

5. Stresses the need for strong constitutional, institutional and legal frameworks to establish a strong foundation for electoral governance and administration. In this regard, the Council reiterates the AU’s call for Member States to continue their efforts to strengthen the National Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) in Africa, as well as their institutional capacities, with a view to help them fulfill their mandate and build their capacity to better deal with pre- and post-election tensions and disputes;

6. Reaffirms the need to strengthen citizens’ participation in electoral and democratic processes, through appropriate mechanisms encouraging citizens to take part in elections. In the same context, the Council recognizes the central role of political parties in electoral and democratic processes and calls on Member States to strengthen their institutional framework, in order to allow wider and more inclusive political participation in electoral processes and risk reduction. election-related violence;

7. Reiterates its appeal to Member States to take appropriate measures to strengthen gender equality and women’s empowerment through electoral and democratic processes;

8. Encourages the Commission, through appropriate channels, to share with the Member States concerned the results and recommendations of the Election Observation Missions with a view to contributing to their capacity to conduct electoral processes;

9. Calls on all AU Member States, which have not yet done so, to sign, ratify, integrate into their legislation and implement the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance;

10. Decides to remain actively engaged with the matter.
 

Africa, DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION

Central African Republic: Bangui opens training workshop on mediation and conflict resolution

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article from Agence Centafricaine de Presse (translation by CPNN)

The vice-rector of the University of Bangui, Olga Yongo, opened on Monday, December 10, 2018 in Bangui, a training workshop on mediation and conflict resolution for students of the University.


View of training participants

Vice-Rector Olga Yongo explained that this seminar, which runs from December 10th to 14th, inaugurates a vast training program on intercultural dialogue at the University of Bangui.

(click here for the French version)

Question for this article:

Mediation as a tool for nonviolence and culture of peace

She emphasized that the aim of this workshop is to strengthen the role of participants in promoting a culture of dialogue and peace based on the principles dialogue, mediation, conflict resolution and the spread of a culture of peace.

She encouraged the participants to take the greatest benefit from the presence of high-level local trainers among them, and she was convinced, given the relevance of the themes and the quality of the programmed communications, that the results of this work would live up to their expectations.

“I can not end my remarks without expressing my gratitude to the Regional Director of the Central Africa and Great Lakes Office of the Francophone University Agency (AUF), who put the technical, financial and intellectual resources at the disposal of the organization of this seminar,” she continued.

The Vice-Rector also expressed her thanks to all those who agreed to participate in the seminar and to make a contribution to the promotion of peace.

The Head of the Francophone Digital Campus, Anicet Doumous, for his part, indicated that the AUF, with regard to axis 9 of its strategic plan 2017-2021, decided to organize the training workshop in collaboration with the University of Bangui.

Africa, EDUCATION FOR PEACE

UN General Assembly adopts Bangladesh’s resolution on a culture of peace

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An article from the Dhaka Tribune

Like every year, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has unanimously adopted Bangladesh’s flagship resolution on a “Culture of Peace”.

The main theme of the resolution is to ensure lasting peace in the world by ridding society of intolerance and hatred, according to a press release forwarded by the Bangladesh Permanent Mission to the UN in New York on Thursday.

Chargé d’ Affaires and Deputy Permanent Representative (DPR) of Bangladesh’s Permanent Mission to the UN Tareq Md Ariful Islam floated the proposal on Wednesday. The proposal was cosponsored by 101 countries from various regions of the globe.

In his statement, Tareq said: “Over the years, Bangladesh has remained committed to the values and principles enshrined in the UN Charter and worked alongside the international community in promoting and protecting peace.

“The government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina remains committed to the issue, and underscores the importance of a ‘whole-of-society’ approach in our national context for promoting a culture of peace,” he said.

The concept of “Culture of Peace” on UNGA’s agenda was first mooted by Bangladesh in 1999.

The whole world celebrated a “Decade of Culture of Peace” following adoption of a resolution at the UNGA.

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Question(s) related to this article:

What is the United Nations doing for a culture of peace?

(continued from left column)

The Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the UN has been taking this follow-up resolution to the General Assembly every year since 2000, and each year it has been unanimously adopted, said the Bangladesh Mission.

This year the resolution recognized the contribution of a culture of peace to combating terrorism as well as peacebuilding and sustaining peace; it also highlighted the role of children and youth by engaging them more in promoting a culture of peace in the society inculcating values such as: peace, tolerance, openness, inclusion, and mutual respect.

Everyone has pledged to work together to implement this important resolution.

Despite various tensions across the globe, the continued support for this year’s resolution comes as a testimony to the confidence of international community in Bangladesh.

It also endorses the importance of a culture of peace involving all people in global development efforts.

Tareq also said they will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration and Program of Action on a Culture of Peace on September 13, 2019.

“To this end, the draft Resolution requests the President of the 73rd session of the General Assembly to give special attention to its appropriate and befitting observance by holding the High-Level Forum on that date next year, which will be an opportunity for renewing our shared commitment to further strengthen the global movement for the culture of peace,” he added.

The DPR also mentioned that a culture of peace is an aspiration of all humankind. “Promoting and inculcating a mindset of a culture of peace is at the core of the creative management of differences and divisions”.

[Click here for the full resolution.]

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global, United Nations,

The Elders challenge leaders to confront migration lies and make UN deal a success

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

An article by The Elders

The Elders today [December 11] welcomed the signing of the United Nations Global Compact for Migration in Marrakesh as a means of strengthening nation states’ ability to manage migratory flows by emphasising coordination and solidarity.


UNSG António Guterres and Special Representative of the SG for International Migration Louise Arbour in Marrakesh in December 2018. (UN Photo/Mark Garten)

They noted that migration pressures are set to be exacerbated by the impact of climate change and conflict, making it all the more imperative that a robust international framework is put in place that can prioritise order, respect for human rights and equal burden-sharing between host countries.
 
They congratulated UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and Louise Arbour, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Migration, for their careful stewardship of the Compact process and the inclusive and respectful way the negotiations have been handled.

(Article continued in right column)

Question for this article

The refugee crisis, Who is responsible?

(Article continued from left column)

Mary Robinson, Chair of The Elders, said:
 
“This Global Compact offers a way to manage migration that recognises the realities of our globalised world and respects the human rights of people on the move. As we celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, political leaders now need to show equal clarity of vision and purpose to implement the Compact.”
 
The Elders noted that the Compact is a non-binding, voluntary process rather than an attack on national sovereignty. They urged party leaders and parliamentarians in countries where the Compact is still under debate to reflect this in their interventions.
 
Recognising that migration is a contentious and sensitive topic in many countries, The Elders called on politicians, media and civil society to conduct their deliberations in a level-headed manner that is cognisant of global realities while sensitive to local opinion and specificities.
 
Ban Ki-moon, Deputy Chair of The Elders and former UN Secretary-General, said:
 
“As Secretary-General of the United Nations, I was proud to launch the process to develop the Global Compacts on Refugees and Migration in 2016. Today, I am encouraged by the result of the Marrakesh summit. I hope leaders will now act in the long-term interests of their people by implementing the Compact to protect the rights of migrants worldwide.”

For media inquiries, please contact William French, Head of Communications at The Elders (+44 7795 693 903) or email: media@theElders.org

global, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY, United Nations,

‘We Have Not Come Here to Beg World Leaders to Care,’ 15-Year-Old Greta Thunberg Tells COP24. ‘We Have Come to Let Them Know Change Is Coming’

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article by Jon Queally for Common Dreams (reprinted according to a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License)

Striking her mark at the COP24 climate talks taking place this week and next in Poland, fifteen-year-old Greta Thunberg of Sweden issued a stern rebuke on behalf of the world’s youth climate movement to the adult diplomats, executives, and elected leaders gathered by telling them she was not there asking for help or demanding they comply with demands but to let them know that new political realities and a renewable energy transformation are coming whether they like it or not.



Greta Thunberg speech to UN secretary general Antonio Guterres
“Since our leaders are behaving like children, we will have to take the responsibility they should have taken long ago,” said Thunberg, who has garnered international notoriety for weekly climate strikes outside her school in Sweden, during a speech on Monday.
(Article continued in the right side of the page)

Question for this article:

Sustainable Development Summits of States, What are the results?

Despite the vested interests of companies and governments, Can we make progress toward sustainable development?

(Article continued from the left side of the page)

Thunberg said that she was not asking anything of the gathered leaders—even as she sat next to UN Secretary General António Guterres—but only asking the people of the world “to realize that our political leaders have failed us, because we are facing an existential threat and there’s no time to continue down this road of madness.”

Thunberg explained that while the world consumes an estimated 100 million barrels of oil each day, “there are no politics to change that. There are no politics to keep that oil in the ground. So we can no longer save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.”

“So we have not come here to beg the world leaders to care for our future,” she declared. “They have ignored us in the past and they will ignore us again. We have come here to let them know that change is coming whether they like it or not. The people will rise to the challenge.”

The climate crisis, she said, “is the biggest crisis humanity has ever faced. First we have to realize this and then as fast as possible do something to stop the emissions and try to save what we can save.”

“On climate change,” said Kevin Anderson, professor of energy and climate change at the University of Manchester, the teenage Thunberg “demonstrates more clarity and leadership in one speech than a quarter of a century of the combined contributions of so called world leaders. Wilful ignorance and lies have overseen a 65 percent rise in CO2 since 1990. Time to hand over the baton.”

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, United Nations,

Southern Sudanese leaders agree to promote a culture of peace

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An article in Arabic from Radio Tavazuj (translated by Google)

A number of civil leaders from across southern Sudan have agreed to work to promote unity, preaching peace and renouncing hate speech to promote peace, in accordance with the peace agreement.

Sixty local leaders from Upper Nile, Bahr El Ghazal and Equatorial Regions held a three-day meeting last week in the state of the Yai River to discuss how to implement the peace agreement.

In a statement received by Tamazog Radio, the workshop’s Cebu organization said that the aim of the workshop is to strengthen the capacity of the civil leadership and civil society organizations in the peace-building process.

Question related to this article:

 

Can peace be achieved in South Sudan?

Sultan Qwai, representative of the Upper Nile region, told Radio Tamazaj that the workshop added new skills on peace signed by the parties recently. “Let’s come together and start a new life with peace,” he said.

Sultan Mtour Abaj, from Bahr al-Ghazal province, pledged to spread peace, peaceful coexistence and unity in order to ease the trauma suffered by the people of southern Sudan during the war.

Ayak Deng, from the Abyei region, called on tribal leaders in southern Sudan to work for peaceful coexistence. “Let’s show love and unity among us and fight tribalism and we will not let each other out,” she said.

The Minister of Gender and Social Welfare of the State of Yay, Christina Annette, thanked Cebu and its partners for organizing a workshop of local leaders from sultans and activists from all over southern Sudan to discuss peace issues.

The minister called for efforts to promote peace-building in conflict-affected rural areas of the state of the River Yai, indicating that the state government is working hard to restore peace and stability so that peace partners can reach rural areas.

Africa, FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Mideast,