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.

Why I Work for a U.S. Department of Peacebuilding With Its Rich History

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

Special to CPNN from Anne Creter (originally presented to U.S. Peace Alliance Virtual Advocacy Days Program)

I have been an earnest proponent of the “Spiritual-Politics” movement ever since attending a workshop in 1995 with the inspiring authors of their transformational book Spiritual-Politics: Changing the World from the Inside Out.” By Corrine McLaughlin and Gordon Davidson, that book continues to influence my life even to this day.


Photo from The Peace Alliance. Anne Creter is second from right in second row.

Most particularly during the 2000 Bush-Gore presidential election when they convened a unique “Spiritual-Politics” conference in Washington DC featuring renowned spiritual leaders together with popular politicians, I felt called to be there! Among the exciting speakers was Marianne Williamson (see CPNN Sept 8, 2019). And unknown Rep Dennis Kucinich who talked of a draft bill he was planning to introduce in Congress to create a Department of Peace (See CPNN August 2, 2004.

Instantly upon reading that draft he handed out I was captivated because it spoke to my Quakerism. I had become a “convinced” Quaker after the Viet Nam war because of its Peace Testimony, which emphasizes putting one’s faith into practice. Plus, as a social worker by profession I ascribe to the Social Work Code of Ethics in which working for peace is clearly stated. I knew then my calling was to do what I could to promote that bill. Advocating for it at the Peace Alliance with the compelling Dot Maver became the perfect spiritual-political way for me to put my faith into practice. Plus, as a social worker it was my ethical responsibility to do so. And I’ve been trying to do that work ever since.

I cannot believe 20 years later I’m here at a Peace Alliance program about it with Marianne Williamson, Dennis Kucinich and Dot Maver. We have come full circle in affirming the basic value of peace and government’s basic duty to foster it, per Article 5 of the norm-setting UN Programme of Action on the Culture of Peace which states that “governments have an essential role in promoting & strengthening a culture of peace.” Especially now, grappling with the greatest planetary challenges we have ever faced.

When I first heard the idea of a Peace Department at that conference it struck me as a brilliant pipe dream never before contemplated. Thus, I was surprised to learn the depth of its actual history. For it goes back to before the founding of our country to the Native American Iroquois Great League of Peace Confederacy in the northeast territory which functioned like a Department of Peace. And throughout our history it has been seriously considered many times both in Congress and civil society. For example:

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Question related to this article:

Is a U.S. Department of Peace a realistic political goal?

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In 1793 Dr Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence advocated for an Office of Peace when the constitution was being drafted – saying it was needed to balance their newly created Office of War. He believed not having a Peace Office was a fundamental flaw of our constitution, which we still suffer the consequences of today.

In 1925 Carrie Chapman Catt, founder of the League of Women Voters at a “Cause and Cure for War” Conference first publicly suggested a cabinet-level Department and Secretary of Peace be established.

In 1927 Kirby Page published a Christian pamphlet entitled “A National Peace Department Proposal for Study” articulating the same issues we grapple with today.

In 1935, Senator Matthew Neely introduced the first official legislation. Since then bills proposing a Department of Peace has been introduced many times in Congress.

In 1936, the Biosophical Institute published a piece on “The Need for a Secretary of Peace” stating “All lovers of peace and workers for human welfare are urged to cooperate in the Secretary of Peace Movement by organizing clubs in their localities.”

In 1937 The ROTARIAN magazine devoted a whole issue to the pros and cons of a “department of peace” – not much different from today’s pros and cons.

In 1947 the House Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments held hearings on a bill to create a Department of Peace.

In 1953 Congresswoman Ruth Thompson proposed a Department of Peace saying “All the guns, tanks and bombs we are building during this hectic time are not going to save us from our enemies at home or abroad.” Sadly, her political career ended abruptly following a contentious fight over development of a jet fighter base in her district.

In 1969 Frederick Schuman, a Woodrow Wilson Professor of Government, published a persuasive scholarly booklet entitled “Why a Department of Peace?”

Also, in 1969 the most significant Peace Act to establish a cabinet-level new department was introduced by Senator Vance Hartke to “develop plans, policies and programs designed to foster peace and coordinate all US government activities affecting the promotion of peace.” It got much bi-partisan support because of the Viet Nam War.

July 11, 2001 (two months before 911) Rep Kucinich introduced the first iteration of the bill in recent times. It has been revised and reintroduced in each congressional session since then. Rep Barbara Lee became its sponsor when Rep Kucinich left Congress. Bernie Sanders was one of the few original cosponsors of that bill, which is what motivated me to become a Bernie delegate at the 2016 Democratic Convention.

I believe this remarkable history shows that the concept of a Peace Department has seasoned and matured over time, thus is ready now for activation. Our current all-systems breakdown is crying out for new common sense, evidence-based all-systems responses to transform from our culture of violence to the culture of peace. Let us correct our Founding Father’s fundamental flaw in the constitution by finally balancing the Department of Defense with a Department of Peacebuilding. It is long overdue time now to awaken to the necessity of establishing a Department of Peacebuilding to bring lasting sustainable peace to our NEW NORMAL POST COVID WORLD.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, North America

I am Generation Equality: Ixchel Lucas, youth advocate for girls’ leadership

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article from UN Women

I am Generation Equality because…

Adolescent and young girls should have the space and opportunity to lead without fear of discrimination or violence.

I was selected by my peers to represent my class and organize students when I was seven. I liked having the opportunity to express my opinion and to participate in social and cultural events. Over time, I started raising awareness about the challenges that adolescent and young girls face in Guatemala, where I am from. More of our voices should be heard.


Ixchel Lucas. Photo: Las Niñas Lideran
Stepping up during the global pandemic

Even before COVID-19 hit, the situation was difficult for girls and women. In many places, women are still not allowed to speak up. Food is served first to boys and men, and the best pieces of food are reserved for them.

The challenges young girls face in Guatemala have worsened during COVID-19. Lack of access to the Internet, smart phones and computers is hampering their access to education. Additionally, girls are facing increased domestic violence and have been forced to continue living with their abusers, and support services are limited. As a result, we are seeing an increase in teenage pregnancies and maternal and child mortality – particularly in the rural areas, where there is a marked lack of access to proper healthcare.

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Questions for this article
 
Does the UN advance equality for women?

Prospects for progress in women’s equality, what are the short and long term prospects?

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I had the opportunity to raise these issues during a high-level meeting  of the UN General Assembly on behalf of other young girls. Governments should invest more in supporting us by increasing healthcare services, enhancing services to survivors of violence and increasing access to education.

What keeps me going is that I have seen that [when given a platform] we can achieve.

I am part of the “Las Niñas Lideran” (Girls Lead) organization and following our advocacy work a few years ago, our municipality, Concepción Chiquirichapa adopted a new policy covering education, health, protection, participation and culture. The municipality held education fairs with multiple schools, providing children and adolescents with information on HIV, teenage pregnancy, girls’ leadership and more. There were also numerous cultural activities led by adolescent girls, [to raise awareness of] and mitigate the risk of rising suicide among adolescent girls. .

Society has a lot to learn from adolescent and young girls, as we see problems through very different lens.

* * * * *

Ixchel María José Lucas Adolfo, 21, is the Training Coordinator at Las Niñas Lideran in Guatemala and a youth leader in the Action Coalition on Gender-Based Violence. She is also currently studying Physiotherapy. The Action Coalitions are global, innovative partnerships with governments, civil society, international organizations, and the private sector, convened in the context of the Generation Equality Forum. They aim to catalyze collective action, drive increased public and private investment, and deliver game-changing results for women and girls everywhere..

global, United Nations, WOMEN'S EQUALITY,

UN Member States Make Recommendations to U.S. to Protect Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

… . HUMAN RIGHTS … .

An article from the Center for Reproductive Rights

United Nations Member States from around the world yesterday [November 9] strongly recommended to the United States that it act to protect sexual and reproductive rights and ensure access to sexual and reproductive health care and services.

The recommendations came during the U.S.’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which takes place for each country before the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) every four years. At the interactive review in Geneva, all UN Member States can ask questions and make recommendations to the nation under review.

Recommendations given to the U.S. ranged from improving equitable access to reproductive health care and services and addressing maternal mortality, to ending restrictions on international aid for sexual and reproductive health services and improving access to basic health services for migrants and refugees in detention.

“The Trump administration has curtailed access to reproductive health care globally and systematically undermined affordable access to reproductive health care within the U.S.,” said Risa Kaufman, the Center’s Director, U.S. Human Rights. “Its policies have caused extraordinary harm to people of color, people with disabilities, LGBTQI people, immigrants, people who are low-income or living in poverty, and people who are incarcerated.”

Kaufman added, “These UPR recommendations offer a clear roadmap for the incoming Biden administration to reverse course and ensure access to reproductive health care for all, including access to safe and respectful maternal health care and abortion care. The Biden administration has an immediate opportunity to make clear its commitment to advancing reproductive rights as human rights, in the United States and around the world.”

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Question related to this article:

Can the United Nations protect human rights in its Member States?

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In preparation for the November 9 UPR, the Center for Reproductive Rights and its partners submitted a stakeholder report  requesting Member States to urge the U.S. to improve its human rights record in the area of reproductive rights and health.

At the UPR, Member States urged the U.S. to:
* Ensure and improve equitable access to sexual and reproductive health care and services, with particular focus on people experiencing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination.
* Ensure that laws allowing for refusals of care (such as for religious objections) do not restrict access to health care.
* End restrictions that prevent U.S. international aid from going toward sexual and reproductive health—for example, by ending the Global Gag Rule and stripping the Helms Amendment from upcoming spending bills.
* Address maternal mortality. The U.S. has one of the highest rates among wealthy nations, and it disproportionately affects Black and Indigenous women.
* Ensure universal maternal health care.
* Rescind Title X regulations that forbid publicly funded clinics from providing information about abortion services.
* Improve access to basic services for migrants and guarantee human rights for migrants and refugees in detention.
* Ensure accessible health care and enjoyment of the right to health for all.

The official report memorializing the review and resulting recommendations will shortly be available to the public on the UN’s website. 

The Center led a strong coalition effort  to ensure that reproductive health, rights, and justice issues were on the agenda for the UPR, including through the stakeholder report, a briefing for UN diplomats, and additional advocacy. This advocacy centered on the disproportionate harms experienced by marginalized communities.

Although the Trump administration represented the U.S. in this review, it is the Biden administration that will be responsible for returning to the Human Rights Council when the Council formally adopts the report in March 2021. At that time, the Biden administration will formally recognize and respond to each of the recommendations.

HUMAN RIGHTS, North America, United Nations,

Abortion Without Borders: Standing with Polish Women

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An article by: Merle Hoffman in We-news

Have you seen those extraordinary photos? The women of Poland, thousands and thousands of them, pouring into the streets, disrupting business as usual and denouncing the government’s new ban on abortion. They carried symbols of red thunderbolts, umbrellas and wire coal hangers – hangers! A universal symbol of dangerous, illegal abortions which they refused to accept.

I immediately flashed back to the action I had led decades earlier in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in NYC in 1989, surging across Fifth Avenue with hundreds more to the Cathedral steps. I held high a six-foot replica of a wire hanger, chanting with the many others, “Not the Church, not the State, Women will Decide our Fate!” Two of our crew stood before the massive bronze doors and held up a huge Proclamation which began, “On behalf of the women of New York City and their sisters throughout the country and out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light, we stand here today…”

This action was inspired by then Cardinal O’Connor’s active support for anti-abortion blockades of clinics. It was the first pro-choice civil disobedience action, an historic event that could not be ignored by the media. The New York Times quoted me as saying, “Women’s rights are in a state of emergency,” and the Philadelphia Enquirer stated the action marked “an important strategic change in the movement.” Oh, how I want to be there in Poland with these fearless and inspiring women, storming into the streets and challenging government and religious institutions. Marching and chanting, full of revolutionary rectitude!

Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible to travel to Poland directly due to the Coronavirus, but I needed to do something. I contacted a feminist academic and writer in Warsaw involved in the protests. I was asked to write a letter of support from American Feminists that could be widely disseminated and published in a major newspaper. So I did, and Phyllis Chesler, Gloria Steinem, Frances Kissling, Naomi Wolf and others soon signed on. (See the letter, below.) It was published earlier this week in both Polish and English in the women’s extra to Poland’s largest daily news outlet, GAZETA WYBORCZA and was shared widely on social media by The Women’s Strike (the leading organization behind the demonstrations) as well as by local women’s groups. (Read article here.)

[Editor’s note. Another letter of support for the struggle of Polish women was written by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Center for Reproductive Rights.]

Just as I am now inspired by the courage of the Polish women, so was I inspired to travel to Russia and assist in developing women’s health services there when I heard the story of one woman who came to Choices Women’s Medical Center for her 36th abortion. I was also inspired by attacks on women’s clinics to organize the St. Patrick’s action, and I have been inspired to carry on this work at Choices – with my wonderful staff – by the memory of holding the hand of the first patient who stepped through our doors nearly 50 years ago. It’s always the women’s stories, the women’s needs and women’s bravery.

The good news from Poland today is that the courage and persistence of Polish women have forced the government to pause and step back from implementing its all but total, viciously cruel ban, even forbidding abortions where the fetus has severe abnormalities. The fight is not over, but we are confident the women of Poland will continue to inspire the rest of us.

Question related to this article:

Solidarity across national borders, What are some good examples?>

Abortion: is it a human right?

Letter of Support: November 4th, 2020

To the Great Women of Poland,

The world is in awe of your principled activism and is filled with admiration for your courage and commitment. American Feminists stand with you. We salute and support you with love and pride.

You have marched by the thousands in response to the October 22nd Tribunal ruling which denied abortion even in cases of fetal abnormality in what has been called the largest demonstration in the country since the fall of communism.

Ignoring threats of prosecution, violence from the Right, and the dangers posed by a surging Coronavirus, while displaying symbols of Red Thunderbolts, Hangers and Umbrellas, your resistance intensifies daily. You have challenged formerly “untouchable” institutions and are a stellar example of what people everywhere need to do in the fight against oppression and for women’s freedom.

Julia Przylebska, President of the Tribunal, has stated that allowing abortions in cases of fetal abnormality legalizes “eugenics” and because the Polish Constitution guarantees a right to life, terminating a pregnancy based on the health of the fetus amounts to “a directly forbidden form of discrimination.” This latest ruling imposes a near total ban in Poland that already has some of the strictest abortion laws in Europe.

You have had the courage to say no to this egregious diminishment of women’s humanity and moral agency.

Legal abortion is an integral core of women’s health and is the necessary condition for women’s freedom. We all know that nothing stops abortion – no law, no government, no religious authority. Making abortion illegal only makes it dangerous and deadly.

You demand legalization of abortion in the name of all your daughters, mothers, sisters, and grandmothers who alone and in pain lost their lives in back alleys or on dirty kitchen tables for their right to choose.

Women of Poland-We stand with you and attest that Women’s Rights are Human Rights.

Women are full moral agents with the right and ability to choose when and whether or not they will be mothers.

Abortion is a choice made by each individual for profound personal reasons that no man nor state should judge or control.

The right to make reproductive choices is women’s legacy throughout history and belongs to every woman regardless of age, class, race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual preference.

Abortion is a life-affirming act chosen within the context of women’s realities, women’s lives, and women’s sexuality.
Abortion is often the most moral choice in a world that frequently denies healthcare, housing, education, and economic survival to women.

Women’s rights remain in a state of emergency. If not now, when? If not you–then who?

We stand with you in solidarity

(click here for list of signatories)

Europe, HUMAN RIGHTS, North America, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY,

Five new digital media platforms for uncensored news from Colombia

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article from Advox Global Voices (published under a Creative Commons Attribution-Only license (CC BY))

Colombia is one of the world’s most dangerous countries  for journalists and broadcasters.  Threats and harassment  by those involved in drug trafficking and armed groups are commonplace, and journalists frequently self-censor in order to avoid reprisals.


Photo by Ahdieh Ashrai/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

In addition, Colombian mainstream media’s close links to business empires and politicians undermine editorial independence, according to Reporters Without Borders. Most media outlets in Colombia are owned by only three conglomerates.

Recently, new media outlets have sprung up, challenging the traditional media monopolies. Below is a list of five independent digital media platforms in Colombia to follow.

Los Danieles, launched in April 2020

Every Sunday, three well-known journalists in Colombia, all of them named Daniel, read their columns live on social media. Their posts have become very popular: One recent video, which features the journalists Jorge Ramos and Enrique Santos Calderón  as guests, received over 65,000 views on YouTube. From November, the award-winning journalist Santos Calderón will officially remain as the fourth columnist of Los Danieles, which means “the Daniels.”

Los Danieles began after Daniel Coronell was fired in April 2020 from the Colombian magazine Semana for writing about the publication’s shareholders. On his last column  at Semana, he wrote: “Semana’s shareholders own the brand, its magnificent office building, the equipment, the furniture and fixtures, but not the information. The information is public property and can only be used for the benefit of the citizens, not for corporate retaliation.”

Coronell’s dismissal, which he announced on Twitter, sparked outrage on social media. He also gained the support of one of his colleagues, the writer and YouTuber Daniel Samper Ospina, who handed in his resignation to Semana out of solidarity with Coronell. Together they decided to set up an independent, virtual media platform and were later joined by the journalist and writer, Daniel Samper Piza.

The three Daniels named their column “Columnas sin techo” (“columns with no ceilings”), for having developed this project without sponsorships or assistance from any traditional media outlet. They say on their live broadcasts that their “techo” (roof) is made up of their following and readership, which have been increasing significantly.

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Question related to this article:

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

Journalism in Latin America: Is it turning towards a culture of peace?

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La Nueva Prensa, launched in March 2018

La Nueva Prensa, or “the new press,” whose motto is “la verdad sea dicha” (“truth be told”), is a news site created by Gonzalo Guillén.

The site has been very critical of the former right-wing president Álvaro Uribe Vélez, as well as President Ivan Duque’s government. La Nueva Prensa is supported by crowdfunding and donations by organizations.

This year, Guillén and other Nueva Prensa colleagues received death threats after reporting on the murdered drug trafficker Ñeñe Hernández, who was allegedly involved in a vote-buying scheme  in favor of President Duque at the latest elections.

Vorágine, launched in June 2020

Vorágine’s  slogan is “Periodismo Contracorriente” (“counter-current journalism”). The main aim of this new investigative journalism portal  is to highlight Colombia’s human rights violations. It was created by the journalists José Guarnizo, formerly an editor at Semana magazine, María José Jaramillo, Juan Sebastián López (Morphart), Angélica Penagos (Angie Pik), Laila Abu Shihab, Juan Pablo Barrientos, and Pacho Escobar.

Escobar stressed  that the objective of the new site, which was launched in the midst of the pandemic on June 1, is “to not do business with the state, not because that would be bad, but in order to stay independent.” The site is funded by the sale of tickets for workshops  and donations from readers.

Notiparaco, launched in December 2019

Notiparaco  is run by Levy Rincón, who invites a wide range of well-known personalities on to his live shows for open, uncensored debates on current affairs. Levy Rincón has received numerous threats but continues to conduct interviews and to speak out on social media against what he calls the dictatorship of the party led by the former president, Álvaro Uribe Vélez. Rolling Stone magazine described Levy as “one of the online personalities who speaks from the fringes without fear of those in power.”

The following video features an interview with the Colombian lawyer and activist Miguel Angel del Río, who also refers to the growing power of alternative media sources. Furthermore, del Río stresses the importance and potential of these new forms of media, as they are distinct and independent from the traditional media, which is influenced by the government. He calls for people to be critical and “to put everything under the microscope” in order to create a new model of society.

video : NOTIPARACO | Medida de aseguramiento para el Matarife ¡Por fin!

Tercer Canal, launched in March 2020

Tercer Canal’s slogan is “everything remains to be seen.” This YouTube channel features critical analyses of current affairs from a progressive perspective. It was co-founded  in March 2020 by Hollan Morris, a journalist and former candidate for Mayor of Bogotá who returned from self-exile in 2012, having left Colombia due to death threats. On his channel, he aims to “promote and value the 1991 Constitution of Colombia, a culture of peace that respects the environment and the defense of human rights.”

Through the use of a song, the following video draws attention to the Minga Indígena, a movement formed by indigenous peoples from across Colombia, in particular from the department of Cauca. At the end of October, the group traveled to the capital Bogotá with the aim of meeting President Duque, who chose not to receive them. The group demands the state puts a stop to the massacres of their communities and murders of their leaders.

Video : Vivimos juntos la travesía #LaMinga caminando la palabra.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America

Colima, Mexico: Virtual Forum “University Fostering a Culture of Peace”

. EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An article from AF medios

The University Family Development Center (Cedefu) of the University of Colima, through the University Program for Culture for Peace, held the virtual forum “University Students Fostering a Culture of Peace”, with the aim of generating a space for dialogue and exchange of ideas regarding the construction of a culture of peace.

With the emphasis on the concept of “peacebuilding agents and strategies that promote a culture of peace”, the participating university students interacted by sharing their experience in this university program.

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(Click here for the original Spanish version).

Question for this article:

Is there progress towards a culture of peace in Mexico?

Where is peace education taking place?

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In her speech, Alicia López de Hernández, general director of Cedefu, spoke about the importance of the participation of university teachers in this matter. “Students provide an example for the construction of peace. It is the students themselves who have a great challenge in this pandemic, which requires us to be at home without seeing our colleagues and teachers. Therefore, from Cedefu we unite our wills to carry out this challenge based on non-violence, self-esteem and attitude, which is what identifies university students ”.

The participating students agreed that when they speak of peace, the themes that stand out are tranquility, respect, tolerance and equality.

Present at the activity were the director of Human and Social Development of Cedefu, David Silva Martínez; the professor of the Baccalaureate 4 of the University of Colima, Octavio Juanarena Ventura, who produced the monologues Visions for peace, as well as the head of the University Program for the Culture of Peace, Fabiola Soto Estrada.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

Youth invited to sign letter to disband NATO

. .DISARMAMENT & SECURITY. .

An invitation from the International Network to Delegitimize NATO

Youth are invited here to sign the following letter addressed to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg,

We want to voice our opposition to the fact that you will host the NATO 2030 Youth Summit on November 9th.
 

As young people concerned about our future and the future of our planet, we are very concerned that the focus of the event is ‘keeping NATO strong militarily, making it stronger politically and more global’. We do not believe that strengthening NATO is the best way to secure our future. Instead we would like to see NATO disbanded.

One of the main challenges of the 21st century is to reimagine our concept of security. We are living in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, of unfolding climate change disaster and racial unrest. Addressing these challenges is the priority, by working alongside the international community and cooperation of the people, not strengthening a nuclear-armed military alliance that provokes mistrust and conflict.

NATO is committed to an interventionist military agenda and causes instability across the globe.

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Questions for this article:

Can NATO be abolished?

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We urge you to use the NATO 2030 Youth Summit to discuss how we build a more sustainable, more peaceful and fairer world, and to start the discussion about how the world that we will inherit would be better served by bringing an end to your alliance.

Best wishes,

The next generation,

Bela Irina Castro, Research Manager and Junior Researcher at the
Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, Portugal

Sean Conner, Staff International Peace Bureau, USA

Dr. med. Lisann Marie Drews, Physician and member of IPPNW & Stop Airbase Ramstein Campaign, Germany

Eskil Grav, Staff International Peace Bureau, Norway

Sara Medi Jones, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, UK

Ellie Kinney, Youth and Student CND convenor, UK

Vanessa Lanteigne, National Coordinator of the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace

Quique Sánchez Ochoa, Project manager at Centre Delàs of Peace Studies and GCOMS, Spain │
Lisa Silvestre, Mouvement de la Paix, France

Lucas Wirl, International Network No to War – No to NATO, Germany

Mikis Wulkow, Peace Activist, Germany

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Europe, global,

Call For Registration: Action For Peace Forum In Ethiopia

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An article by Bakary Ceesay in The Voice – Gambia

The African Artist Peace Initiative (AAPI) is calling on creatives to register for its first edition of the Action for Peace Forum and Initiatives campaign, which will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 1 to 5 December.


The registration deadline is 1 November. AAPI is a pan-African movement of artists and activists, who use creative arts, communication and cultural diplomacy as a tool to champion the African Union’s Africa Agenda 2063, culture of peace initiatives and social justice across Africa.

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Question for this article:

Do the arts create a basis for a culture of peace?, What is, or should be, their role in our movement?

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The programme will include co-creation workshops with various peace-building initiatives using media, culture, sports and education, and will culminate in the Music4Peace concert.“The present-day situation calls for radical changes in democratic processes and sustainable development,” AAPI said.

“The decade-long Action for Peace Forum and Initiatives campaign intends to address the two kinds of realities: the ‘world of depression’ where everything is moving according to the wishes of those in authority or power, and the ‘world of civilisation and equality’ where laws, rules, money, power, authority, influence and so-called development controls the total activity of human activities.

“This campaign will inspire the thoughts and actions needed to achieve sustainable peace in Africa, through the nexus between critical and creative thinking and the urgent need for a peaceful and secured Africa for all.”

Participants will be expected to cover their travel and accommodation. However, AAPI can facilitate the booking of affordable accommodation and assist participants from countries without Ethiopian embassies to obtain visas.

Africa, EDUCATION FOR PEACE

UN 75 online festival in UK : Peace and security workshop

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Based on information from Announcement of online festival for UN 75th anniversay and workshop results received by email from David Wardrop

A festival marking the UN’s 75th anniversary and addressing the overwhelming insecurity induced by Covid-19 was sponsored on October 18 and 24 by the United Nations Association of London, Peace Child International and the Polden Puckham Charitable Foundation. Here are the results from the peace and security workshop.

For improvements in issues such as health, food, the economy and the environment and digital transparency and equity to gain a firm hold in the community, the presence of peace is vital. To show how we approach this challenge, we use the UN’s Culture of Peace Initiative to break down peace into manageable elements. These are Education for Peace; Sustainable Development; the Equality of Women; Human Rights; Disarmament and Security; Democratic Participation; Tolerance and Solidarity; and the Free Flow of Information. The UN General Assembly proclaimed 2001-2010 to be the UN Decade for the Culture of Peace.

1 Education for Peace
Need for capacity development Education, by its nature, shapes and transforms society, playing a key role in peacebuilding. Capacity development issues for conflict prevention should aim to improve individual skills and organisational procedures, mitigating the risk of conflict. It must also assist educational planners on conflict prevention measures , ensuring they have skills and knowledge necessary for the development of curricula that reflect principles of peacebuilding, tolerance and human rights.
Strengthening the role of youth Education policy-makers and planners can benefit from emerging thinking on how young people learn to adapt their education and training systems as part of the technological age, and thereby help them become leaders and role models in society both within and outside school. Youth can be mobilised to contribute to conflict prevention and peacebuilding activities with different groups of students, acting as mentors and mediators to younger children and peers, participating in intra-community projects, especially in sensitive areas, and humanitarian and emergency aid, taking on electoral responsibilities, and managing cultural of peace centres.

2 Sustainable Development
Security Council: an obstacle The UN Security Council’s delay in support the Secretary-General’s call for a Global Ceasefire shocked all, especially as UNICEF reported 250 million children caught in the armed conflict. That impasse hindered sustainable development in many ways. The UN’s 70-years old Uniting for Peace resolution, first used in 1950 when the Security Council failed to act, allows the General Assembly to take over in such cases and ‘use all means to maintain international peace and security’. Further use of the Uniting for Peace option could make it clear to the five permanent member states that they should reform – or get out of the way.
Smart Sustainable Cities In 30 years, 70% of us will live in cities so the Smart Sustainable Cities project offers an effective solution to the world’s growing population. By integrating technology with sustainable management strategies, we can utilise resources more efficiently. A healthier environment, optimised traffic flow and sanitation systems, can give cities in developed and developing countries the chance to reduce the knowledge gap. This resonates with the UN’s SDGs, and with civic leadership, an important condition for the Culture of Peace Initiative is secured.

3 Equality of Women
Women on the front foot Whereas the UN’s challenge had traditionally been the protection of women, it agreed in 2000 a new approach, to bring women to the forefront in overcoming the challenges to peace, especially in peacekeeping. In 1993, women made up 1% of UN peacekeepers, now 6%, and 10% in UN police but for 2028, it plans to raise these to 15%, and 20% in police units. To expedite this, the UN will bring in better recruitment, retention and training and provide better accommodation, sanitation, health care and protective equipment.

Women on the front line These initiatives help women from the communities where the UN peacekeepers are deployed. The claim, once thought as extravagant, that ‘There is no sustainable peace without the full and equal participation of women’ is now accepted. In Sudan, it was brave women who were the driving force in the protest movement. In African SADC states , 50% of election candidates must be women. Women leaders in African states are true game changers. We must support them.

4 Human Rights
Support the UN Peacebuilding Commission Early operationalising of pre-emptive conflict prevention can work towards an ideal environment of ‘Positive Peace’ in which elevated economic and societal outcomes, paired with a diminished number of grievances, lowers levels of violence and the will to resort to it. Positive peace can be easily understood as a society free from the structural problems that would lead its citizens to resort to violent actions.
Expand Accountability Mechanisms to Defend International Human Rights Through building on initiatives such as the Responsibility to Protect, UN member states must commit to upholding human rights standards, initiate unanimous international reactionary efforts when violations begin to occur, and cultivate a normative shift towards a culture that rejects human rights violations and resort to conflict as viable options.

5 Disarmament and Security
Support the #ICANSAVE My City campaign By happy chance, UN Day witnessed the ratification of the 2017 UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and was welcomed by many. The most effective support for this is through the #ICANSAVE MY CITY campaign started by ICAN which was awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize. Using social media, all should campaign for their own city to join the programme
Lethal Autonomous Weapons (killer robots) Young people should support initiatives like Pugwash, currently organising an ethical science festival for young people and extending their mission beyond nuclear weapons to tomorrow’s horror weapon, the killer robot. University UN societies across the country could lead workshops for younger people in the surrounding areas.

6 Democratic Participation
Youth involvement More than ever before, the UN seeks to link with today’s youth. Research shows that the young and those in developing countries are more optimistic about the future than their elders. And yet, new surveys report young people in the USA, UK and Australia are questioning the value of democracy. In response, we must ensure youth is represented even in the highest fora, starting with a UN Youth Council, despite local and national cultural obstructionism.
Listening to minorities The Black Lives Matter initiative challenges even the liberal minded to review perceptions of others.
Communities link up worldwide The Open Government Partnership linking governments and civil society in 78 countries encourages rich and poor to showcase successful case studies and identify ‘bright lights’, those communities which are exemplars of reform. More voices, more progress.

7 Tolerance and Solidarity
Tolerance Tolerance is an important peacemaker being not the indifference we sometime show another, rather by showing curiosity in the other, a desire to understand the other side of the argument. Be the first to try to understand the other person!
Solidarity When the UN was founded, all had lived through a pandemic, a global depression, genocide and world war. They knew all about solidarity. How do we rate? Some countries took months to show such solidarity in joining the COVAX p rogramme even though ‘vacci-nationalism’ is not only unfair, but self-defeating. In preparing for the next pandemic, let’s show the same solidarity as shown in 1945.

8 Free Flow of Information<
Sharing best practice. Much media work in conflict management has focused on the media sector itself rather than examining its interplay with sub-systems and the overall system, itself in danger of overlooking necessary linkages between peacebuilding and state-building institutions and media institutions. To generate more effective media development in post-conflict environments, especially where internet access is poor, media-military dialogues can assist build trust and understanding between these two sectors and beyond, to the communities they serve.
Media regulatory reform This should play a role in political settlements in fragile states. The regulatory framework should accommodate proportionate political coverage of parties and mechanisms to include minority political and cultural interests. There must be clarity in setting guidelines for licenses to accommodate all media actors, including the small and independent.

Europe, FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

South Australia Got 100% Of Its Electricity From Solar For 1 Hour

.. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ..

An article by Zachary Shahan from Clean Technica

Once upon a time, it was “common knowledge” in the energy industry that solar energy couldn’t contribute more than 5% share of electricity supply. For a long time, this was claimed to be an upper limit that utilities could handle. My, how things have changed!

South Australia is one of the best examples. The Australian state gets more than 20% of its electricity from rooftop solar power alone, and nearly 70% from all types of wind and solar together.


Photo of solar panel installation in South Australia

South Australia also broke an interesting milestone earlier this month. For one hour on October 11, South Australia got 100% of its electricity from solar power. It is reportedly the largest jurisdiction in the world to do so.

“This is truly a phenomenon in the global energy landscape,” Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) chief executive Audrey Zibelman said.

Indeed.

“Never before has a jurisdiction the size of South Australia been completely run by solar power.”

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Question for this article:

Are we making progress in renewable energy?

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A whopping 77% of that electricity came from rooftop solar panels. The other 23% came from large-scale solar projects.

Even hitting this big milestone, AEMO expects 36,000 more rooftop solar power systems will be installed in South Australia in the next 14 months.

Naturally, solar power didn’t provide precisely 100% of electricity demand in that one hour on October 11. Excess electricity from those solar power sources went into batteries or got sent to Victoria, a neighboring state, via a transmission connector.

Approximately one-third of households in South Australia, 288,000 of them, now have rooftop solar panels.

Naturally, there’s one great way that South Australians can soak up that tremendous amount of solar energy — buy an electric car and charge it while the sun is out and shining.

South Australia has been a fascinating region of the world for renewable energy and energy storage for years. Here are a few other stories about the Australian state:

With Most Electricity From Renewables, South Australia Has Lowest Utility Cost

Tesla Virtual Power Plant In Australia Outperforms Expectations

Tesla Grid-Scale Battery In South Australia To Get 50% Larger

Nothing Succeeds Like Success — Tesla Virtual Power Plant In South Australia Could Expand To 50,000 Homes

Tesla’s Battery In South Australia Breaks Stranglehold Of Natural Gas Industry

East Asia, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT