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.

ECOWAS enhances the capacity of its Regional Women, Peace And Security Steering Group

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article from ECOWAS: Economic Community of West African States

About fifty Regional Stakeholders from the Regional Women Peace and Security Steering Group have converged in Lomé, the Togolese capital for a four day Capacity Building Workshop (Training of Trainers), 19th -22nd June, 2023, organized by the ECOWAS Directorate of Humanitarian and Social Affairs (DHSA) with  the support of the ECOWAS Peace and Security Architecture and Operations (EPSAO) Project, co funded by the EU and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ.

The Workshop on the African Union Continental Results Framework (CRF) is coming on the heels of the development of a Simplified CRF document by the ECOWAS Commission. The CRF is a tool that enhances the monitoring and reporting of WPS National Action Plans in line with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325). The Resolution accorded full recognition to the disproportionate impact of violent conflict on women and girls, the under-representation of women in formal peace processes and the undeniable value in women’s participation. It also clearly highlights the importance of mainstreaming gender throughout peace and security processes and architecture.

The workshop is expected to enhance the capacities of regional and national stakeholders in monitoring and reporting the WPS agenda using the CRF tool. It will also enhance the capacity of participants in delivering training on the Simplified CRF in future training and capacity building events, including the planned Pilot, In-Country Stakeholders Training, improving the understanding by key stakeholders of their roles in monitoring and reporting on the WPS agenda and strengthening the internal coordination of the Regional WPS Steering Group.

(Article continued in right column)

Questions for this article

Can the women of Africa lead the continent to peace?

(Article continued from left column)
`
ECOWAS Commission’s Commissioner for Humanitarian development and Social Affairs, Professor Fatou SOW-SARR, in her welcome remarks, stressed the urgent need to ensure that Women in the region are included and involved in all national and regional peace and security agendas and processes to increase their involvement in conflict prevention, management, resolution, reconciliation and peace building. Additionally, she said that the data gathered from the workshop would enable the commission to generate input that can be used to formulate concrete policies, plans, programmes and activities aimed at empowering and involving women in the implementation of the various commitments of ECOWAS to improve the collective peace and security of the region.

The Togolese Minister of Social Action, Women’s promotion and Literacy, Madame Adjovi Lolonyo APEDOH-ANAKOMA in her welcome address, congratulated all the participants on their successful entry into the Women Peace and Security Regional Working Group, praising their profound commitment to promoting peace and security in the region. She outlined the importance of peace to any developing nation, because without peace there can be no progress, quoting Kofi Annan, then Secretary General of the United Nations, “Without progress, there can be no peace. Without peace, there can be no progress”.

She stressed the importance of the involvement of women in peace building, Women are naturally inclined to respect life, to educate and to defend. Women play a pivotal role as advocates for peace and are a voice for the vulnerable. She opined that with the natural maternal instinct and maternal heart beating in the core of any nation, it would be difficult for war to still break out.

In conclusion, she called on all participants to make the most of the workshop and use it to acquire skills in evaluating the effectiveness of the “Women, Peace and Security” program in their various countries. She said, in so doing, they will play a crucial role in ensuring the advancement of women’s rights and promoting a culture of peace in the entire West African region, highlighting the importance of emphasizing that peaceful coexistence is essential for the well-being of our citizens and for having a better future for our countries and our region.

The opening ceremony was concluded with a symbolic ceremonial inauguration of participants into the steering Regional Working Group on Women Peace and Security which reaffirmed the commitment of the participants to contribute to the full implementation of the “Women, Peace and Security Agenda” across the region. Representatives of Guinea Bissau, National Defence College Nigeria, Togo, WANEP, UNOWAS were presented with plaques and decorated with customized scrolls, representing all members of the Steering Group.

Africa, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

The Trillion Dollar Silencer: Why There Is So Little Anti-War Protest in the United States

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

A book by Joan Roelofs on sale by Clarity Press.

The Trillion Dollar Silencer investigates the astounding lack of popular protest at the death and destruction that the military industrial complex is inflicting on people, nations, and the environment, and its budget-draining costs. Where is the antiwar protest by progressives, libertarians, environmentalists, civil rights advocates, academics, clergy, community volunteers, artists, et al? This book focuses on how military largesse infests such public sectors’ interests.

Contractors and bases serve as the economic hubs of their regions. State and local governments are intertwined with the DoD; some states have Military Departments. National Guard annual subsidies are large. Joint projects include aid to state environmental departments for restoration, and government-environmental organization teams to create buffer zones for bombing ranges. Economic development commissions aim to attract military industries and keep the existing bases and corporations. Veterans Administration hospitals are boons to their communities.

Universities, colleges, and faculty get contracts and grants from the DoD and its agencies, such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The Minerva Initiative. Reserve Officers’ Training Corps programs are subsidized by the DoD. Civilian jobs in the DoD provide opportunities for scientists, engineers, policy analysts, and others.

Every kind of business and nonprofit, including environmental and charitable organizations like The Nature Conservancy and Goodwill Industries feeds at the DoD trough via contracts and grants.

Individuals, arts institutions, charities, churches, and universities succumb to the profitability of military-related investments. Pension funds of public and private employees are replete with military stocks.

Philanthropy is another silencer. The DoD itself donates equipment to organizations, especially those of youth, and lends equipped battalions to Hollywood. The weapons firms give generously to the arts and charities, heavily to youth and minorities. They also initiate joint programs such as providing tutors and mentors for robotics teams in public schools.

Our militarized economy is destructive and wasteful. How can we replace the multitude of dependencies on military funding and restore the boundary between it and civil society? Surely a first step is to see how military spending results in the complicity of civil society in its pernicious outcomes. That is what this book tries to reveal.

* * *

(Continued in right column)

Questions related to this article:
 
The peace movement in the United States, What are its strengths and weaknesses?

(Continued from left column)

Reviewer comments

“It is perhaps the most fraught question of our time, whatever happened to the anti-war movement? In this provocative and illuminating book, Joan Roelofs penetrates deep into the inner-workings of the vast political economy of war-making, revealing how the arms cartel has consolidated its power, captured our political system, infiltrated the media and stifled dissent. At a perilous moment in history, Roelofs has given us a call to action, loud and clear enough to awaken our anesthetized consciences.” JEFFREY ST CLAIR, Editor of CounterPunch, Author, Grand Theft Pentagon

“The Trillion Dollar Silencer is a masterful primer on an institution – the United States military — that has literally thousands of facets and functions, and about a thousand billion dollars each year to support its role in preparing for and making war around the world. Rich in explanatory images, charts and maps, the pieces of the puzzle that Joan Roelofs identifies are so many and so complex that even the most informed readers will learn something in every chapter. The book’s central question is how the military industrial complex has been able to acquire so many taxpayer dollars year after year and so much cultural assent to its overwrought, violent mission. The answers she gives will help us to reverse our otherwise continuing deadly and expensive course.” CATHARINE LUTZ, Professor Emerita of Anthropology and International Studies, Co-Director, Costs of War Project, Brown University

“The world’s leading weapons dealer and warmaker, the United States, may also have the least popular resistance to militarism. Why the quiet acceptance? This book helps us to become aware that darn near every inch of U.S. society has been infiltrated by the normalization or celebration of war preparations, that essentially our culture, not just our elected officials, has been bought. This book also provides guidance on what we can do about it.” DAVID SWANSON, Executive Director of World Beyond War and author of War Is A Lie

“Why is there so much acceptance of, and so little protest against, our war policies and all the other tactics of subversion employed by the military-intelligence-industrial complex to sustain hegemony. While the peace movement answers this question with reference to propaganda, fear and distractions, this book focuses on the enormity of the war machine’s penetration into numerous aspects of civilian life. The sections in the book on this penetration into philanthropy, nonprofit organizations and NGO’s are probably the most eye-popping portions of the book. Roelofs shows that the real goal is the construction of “the normal” in ways functional to the interests of the Pentagon, unconventional warfare institutions and military contractors.” PAUL SHANNON, Executive Committee of Mass[achusetts] Peace Action

“Now is exactly the right time for her highly recommended book.” W.T. WHITNEY, Counterpunch

“…for individuals and collectives who are already politically initiated and opposed to the US imperialist war machine, the present book would be of immense help to widen the cracks of this mighty system…” MANALI CHAKRABARTI, Research Unit for Political Economy, India

(Editor’s note: It has been called to our attention that another article published at this time describes a report on how American military contracts to so-called “think tanks” are able to inject their propaganda into the mass media. The article is Report Shows How Military Industrial Complex Sets Media Narrative on Ukraine. The report shows that Ukraine War coverage in the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal, from March 1, 2022, through January 31, 2023 quotes 33 think tanks, all but one of which receive military funding.)

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, North America

Burkina Faso: Peace and social cohesion at the heart of the book “The problem tree and other news” by Lacina Téguéra

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An article by Mamadou Zongo in Le Faso

A teacher and journalist, Lacina Téguéra presented his book entitled “The problem tree and other news”, this Saturday, June 17, 2023 at the headquarters of Editions Plum’Afrik, in Ouagadougou, in the presence of the godfather Jean Marie Kafando.


Burkina Faso is experiencing an unprecedented security crisis marked by terrorist attacks. In addition to the efforts made by the political and military authorities for the reconquest of the entire national territory, each citizen, according to his skills, contributes in his own way to this fight against the terrorist Hydra. It is in this sense that Lacina Téguéra has given himself the mission of promoting the values of peace and social cohesion through its collection of short stories “The problem tree and other news”.

Drawing inspiration from his daily experience, the author addresses themes such as social cohesion, living together, literacy, education, respect for tradition, youth employment, the condition of African women, leadership issues, etc. “It’s to tell the Burkinabè population to come back again to social cohesion and living together, because these are small quarrels that slowly become wars between populations”, explains the author.

(Article continued in right column)

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

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?

(Article continued from left column)

It is for Lacina Téguéra to make its share of contribution to the training and education of the new generation, in a world in perpetual change. “In this difficult context that our country and some countries in the sub-region are going through, it is more than necessary, through books, to promote the culture of peace, living together, tolerance and to instil certain values such as honesty, the value of tradition, respect for elders, the spirit of solidarity and family. This book is also another proof of resilience. The context is certainly difficult, but we will not abdicate and Burkina Faso will remain standing,” he said.

For Lacina Téguéra, his work is written in a simple style, accessible to everyone. It therefore invites readers to make it their own, to read it and to recommend it to loved ones. “One thing is to write, one thing is to be read. I therefore invite readers to purchase the work or to recommend it to friends and colleagues. That’s why I write in simple French, accessible to all with a certain dose of humor… This document is to be read with handkerchiefs to wipe away the tears of laughter or crying,” he said.

Jean Marie Kafando, entrepreneur, sponsor of this dedication ceremony, congratulated the author for the quality of his work and for this big step in the world of writers, by extension of entrepreneurship. “I initially agreed to be his godfather because it is a long friendship, an acquaintance of twenty years. It is a very beautiful work which aims to be educational and which speaks of the problems that Burkina Faso is experiencing today. So it’s my way of bringing my stone to the construction of living together,” he said.

A teacher by training, Lacina Téguéra is currently attached to school and university administration in the Human Resources Management Service of the Provincial Directorate of Preschool, Primary and Non-Formal Education of Bazèga. He is also the correspondent for RTB/Radio and the newspaper Le Pays in the province of Bazèga. The book is available at the unit price of 3,000 F CFA.

Africa, FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Luanda to host third Pan-African Forum for the Culture of Peace

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article from Mundo ao Minuto (translation by CPNN)

Angola will host the 3rd Luanda Biennale – Pan-African Forum for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence – on the 22nd, 23rd and 24th of November, to address the continent’s themes on violence prevention, it was announced today.

An intersectoral commission, coordinated by the Minister of State for the Social Area, Dalva Ringote, is already preparing the meeting that should take place under the motto “Education, Culture of Peace and African Citizenship as Tools for the Sustainable Development of the Continent”.

(Continued in right column)

(click here for the original Portuguese version of this article.)

Question related to this article:

The Luanda Biennale: What is its contribution to a culture of peace in Africa?

(Continued from left column)

The Biennale of Luanda, a meeting resulting from a decision of the 24th Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in 2015, will bring together heads of State and Government from the continent and the world, young leaders and international organizations.

The Angolan Government, in a statement, invited financial institutions, the private sector, civil society, scientific, artistic and sports communities to participate in the meeting to address crucial issues on the continent and promote the prevention of violence.

A memorandum of understanding signed on June 20, 2023 between the Angolan Government, through the Luanda Biennale, and the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OEACP) was also under analysis at the level of the preparatory body.
The memorandum ensures the active participation of the OEACP and the Member States of the six regions of the organization, supporting the mobilization of resources from partners and actors and identifying joint initiatives that can be integrated into the Bienal de Luanda program.

The previous Bienalle de Luanda took place between 27 and 30 November 2021 (see CPNN December 2021.

Africa, FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

English bulletin July 1, 2023

. . THE PEACEMAKERS . . .

Little has changed since our bulletin of February 17 in which we quoted authorities saying that with the war in Ukraine we are “sleepwalking to Armageddon. This month, Anthony Blinken, the American cabinet minister responsible for foreign affairs, CIA, etc., insisted that the war should be continued because a ceasefire “would legitimize Russia’s land grab. It would reward the aggressor and punish the victim.”

But there are efforts for peace. In CPNN this month, we cite those of the African countries, the Pope, Presiden Lula of Brazil, the Chinese government, and the civil society meeting in Vienna.

The most recent initiative comes from a delegation of African countries that met with President Zelensky in Kiev and President Putin in St. Petersburg. The delegation included the presidents of South Africa, Comoros, Senegal, and Zambia as well as the prime minister of Egypt and representatives of the presidents of the Republic of the Congo and Uganda. “This war has to have an end. It must be settled through negotiations and through diplomatic means . . . This war is having a negative impact on the African continent and indeed, on many other countries around the world,” said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

In his meeting with the African delegation, Putin mentioned a draft peace agreement that was drawn up with the help of Turkish President Erdogan: “It was called treaty of permanent neutrality and security guarantees of Ukraine,” Putin said, adding that the document included 18 articles pertaining to Ukraine’s security. But the agreement was never realized, for which Putin blamed the other side.

As described in a recent CPNN article, Pope Francis has launched a peace mission aimed at finding a settlement of the Russia-Ukraine war, upsetting Ukraine’s allies with his refusal to insist that Russia leave Ukraine as a starting point for negotiations. The pope has appointed Cardinal Matteo Zuppi  as a special envoy for his peace mission.

The Pope’s initiative reflects his support in general for the culture of peace. In April of this year, he diffused a video throughout the world, saying, “Let us develop a culture of peace. Let us remember that, even in cases of self-defense, peace is the ultimate goal, and that lasting peace can exist only without weapons. Let us make non-violence a guide for our actions, both in daily life and in international relations.”

Recently, the Pope met with Brazil President Lula and they discussed Lula’s proposal of a group of countries to mediate in possible negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow. Lula’s proposal has elicited little response from the international community.

The Chinese government also presented a peace proposal earlier this year, and Chinese envoys have met the leaders of both Ukraine and Russia to promote it. While the proposal was dismissed by NATO, it was welcomed by many in the Global South, although some questioned whether Chinese threats against Taiwan did not contradict the principles of their proposal.

The Chinese initiative also reflects its public support for the culture of peace. In a video about President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to the Chinese Academy of History, the Deputy Director-General of the Academy says that, “The pursuit of peace and harmony is the foundation of the Chinese spirit. It is in the gene of Chinese civilization. In the 5,000-year history, our ideal world is of great unity. We value a culture of peace and unity.”

As for the civil society, during the  weekend of June 10-11 in Vienna, Austria, over 300 people representing peace organizations from 32 countries came together for the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine to demand an end to the fighting. Despite the uniform bottom line of the participants, which was a call for peace talks, there were plenty of disagreements about what should be mentioned in the final declaration. Noting these disagreements, participant Medea Benjamin says that “the most important segment of the final document and the gathering itself was the call for further actions.” “This weekend should be seen as just the start,” said organizer Reiner Braun. “We need more days of action, more gatherings, more outreach to students and environmentalists, more educational events. But this was a great beginning of global coordination.”

As expressed in a blog this month by the CPNN coordinator, “Are we sleep-walking to Armageddon, as some have predicted? Or will the forces for peace be able to end the Ukraine War? . . . As the late Daniel Ellsberg warned us, our world hangs in the balance.”

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY



Lula meets the Pope, talks world peace

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY



Can Pope Francis bring peace to Ukraine?

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT



Two analyses of the Paris Climate Summit

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION



Media Organizations From Global South Discuss Solidarity and Standing Up to Sanctions
  

WOMEN’S EQUALITY



Conflict resolution and peacebuilding: The Union of Women of Cultural Communities for Peace in Mali (UFCPM) equips its members

EDUCATION FOR PEACE



Mexico: UAEMéx and the Judiciary promote a culture of peace

HUMAN RIGHTS



Elders warn of consequences of “one-state reality” in Israel and Palestine

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION



Spain: The Forum for a Culture of National Security approves the proposal to create a Culture of Peace Group led by Crue
d-disarmament

Two analyses of the Paris Climate Summit

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article from Reuters

A statement from Greenpeace

Analysis by Reuters

A Paris summit to discuss reforming the world’s financial system scored some notable wins that should tee up greater action before climate talks later this year, though some participants were disappointed with progress to address poorer states’ debt.

The Summit for a New Global Financing Pact saw French President Macron host around 40 leaders, many from the Global South, to debate changes to multilateral finance institutions in the face of climate change and other development challenges.

Much of the discussion centred on the key requests of developing nations, framed through the “Bridgetown Initiative” led by Barbados leader Mia Mottley, and her adviser Avinash Persaud said he was pleased with the outcome of the talks.

“It’s a roadmap for genuine change,” he told Reuters on the sidelines of the talks. “What’s emerged here is a real … understanding of the scale and pace of what is required.”

Among the highlights were confirmation that the richer world will likely hit a long-overdue target of providing $100 billion annually in climate finance to poorer countries, a long-delayed debt deal for Zambia, and a package to boost Senegal’s renewable energy capacity.

The World Bank and others also said they would start adding clauses to lending terms that allow vulnerable states to suspend debt repayments when natural disaster strikes.

Yet it was the wording of the final statement from attendees and subtle changes in the tone of discussions behind the scenes that gave hope to Persaud that even greater change was coming.

Specifically, for the first time, the document acknowledged the potential need for richer countries to provide fresh money to multilateral development institutions like the World Bank. This came alongside a plan to draw on more of their current assets, to the tune of $200 billion over 10 years.

Another first was in the explicit target for multilateral development banks to leverage “at least” $100 billion a year in private sector capital when they lend.

(article continued in right column)

Question for this article:

Sustainable Development Summits of States, What are the results?

(Article continued from the left column)

A reference was also made to finding “new avenues for international taxation”, as well as other Bridgetown Initiative requests including offering investors foreign exchange guarantees.

“That was widely discussed here and (there’s) lots of support behind an initiative that’s happening outside of Paris, at the International Maritime Organisation in a couple weeks time, on a levy on shipping emissions,” Persaud added.

Still, the summit was not without its critics.

“Unfortunately, the Paris Summit has not provided the breakthrough needed to find the funding for our planet’s survival,” Teresa Anderson, Global Lead on Climate Justice for ActionAid International, said, pointing to new funding pledges being loans or temporary debt relief instead of grants.

All eyes now turn to more traditional events later in the year, including the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings, a G20 meeting in September and the COP28 climate talks in Dubai.

Persaud said his focus would be on making sure the plan to scale up multilateral development bank lending was in place by the time of annual meetings in October, and that pilot work began on reducing the cost of capital for developing countries.

The summit, held against a backdrop of criticism that the world is moving far too slowly to address climate change, was a success in that it delivered a roadmap requiring specific actions by specific dates, some observers said.

“They’ve got a clear timetable of what they want to see happen and it’s that timeline that puts the pressure on and means that it’s harder to just kick things into the long grass,” said Sonia Dunlop from think tank E3G.

Analysis by Greenpeace:

 President Macron’s Summit for a New Global Financing Pact ends with very limited progress to make polluters pay for the escalating costs of the climate crisis. Governments failed to commit to concrete and ambitious action to make the fossil fuel industry pay.  

Tracy Carty, Climate Politics Expert at Greenpeace International, said:

“The Summit ended with mild recognition of the need for new taxes to pay for climate action and identified a role for the G20 and COP28 to take them forward.  Taxing big polluters should be top of the agenda for these global moments, but rich country governments don’t have to wait to act – they already can and must introduce taxes on big polluters, above all the fossil fuel industry, to pay for loss and damage now.

“Silence on the fossil fuel industry paying for the mess they have caused was deafening at this Summit. Fossil fuel companies are racking up obscene profits, while millions in low-income countries pay the price as drought, floods, sea level rise and other climate catastrophes wreak havoc.” 

Pierre Terras, Head of Climate and Energy campaigns at Greenpeace France, said:

“President Macron’s promotion of fossil gas as an energy of transition during this Summit was totally irresponsible and resonates with his poor record of domestic climate in-action. Unsurprisingly, he also has fallen short in recognising the need to tax the fossil fuel companies to pay for the damage they have caused. Both nationally and globally, the French president seems stuck on protecting the wealthiest and the polluters.”

Europe, global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT,

Brasilia summit: Lula and Maduro reboot regional integration

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from Morning Star Online

Brazil’s President Lula invited all 13 presidents from South America to a summit on May 30 aimed at developing a collective and “common vision and relaunching decisive actions for sustainable development, peace and the well-being of our peoples.”


(Click on image to enlarge)

Lula presented 10 proposals to bring about the region’s rapprochement — a consensual approach to economic, social and cultural issues.

Peru’s de facto ruler Dina Boluarte was not present because Peru’s right-wing congress did not authorise her to attend.

Among the proposals, Lula put forward the undertaking of regional investments to assist social and economic developments, mobilising the resources of banks such as Bank of the South, a development bank set up by Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay (Fonplata) and the Venezuelan Economic and Social Development Bank (Bandes).

Lula also made a strong pitch for deepening South American independence and sovereignty in monetary matters through compensation mechanisms and the creation of a common reference currency for trade to reduce the region’s dependence on currencies such as the dollar.

He stressed the need to collaborate at the level of regional planning for which he asked for the updating of the South American Council for Infrastructure and Planning (Cosiplan), emphasising physical and digital integration.

He also stressed the need to reactivate regional co-operation on health, especially on vaccination and health infrastructure.

He went on to focus on regional collaboration in two key strategic areas, energy and defence. The South American nations had already established the Defence Council of the South (Codesur), which due to the US reactionary counteroffensive that led to right-wing governments coming into office in the region between 2009 and 2019, had not been functioning. 

Collaboration on the former, given that many South American countries are oil producers would enormously enhance the region’s economic muscle and bargaining position at the international level, especially in the current world geopolitical climate.

Lula proposed to create a high-level structure made up of representatives of all involved presidents to relaunch a renewed regional integration process in South America, stressing the urgency of these tasks — something enthusiastically echoed by Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro.

During the summit, President Maduro held meetings with various presidents aimed at strengthening strategic bilateral ties with those nations to consolidate paths of co-operation and integration.

Presidents Maduro and Lula met at Brazil’s presidential palace where they celebrated the re-establishment of diplomatic relations, including the reopening of embassies after four years of Brazil’s total break with Venezuela carried out by extreme right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro.

A memorandum of understanding on agri-food matters was signed by representatives from both countries aimed at strengthening exchanges on livestock, food sovereignty and security.

Furthermore, Lula and Maduro discussed the possibility of Venezuela joining the Brics coalition (made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), which Lula strongly supports, opening the possibility of the two countries making use of the common currency Brics intends to issue.

Maduro also held a meeting with Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro at Itamaraty, Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Relations, that resulted in the signing of the Agreement for the Creation of the Neighbourhood and Integration Commission to co-ordinate co-operation on their extensive common border.

(Continued in right column)

Questions related to this article:
 
Latin America, has it taken the lead in the struggle for a culture of peace?

(Continued from left column)

The border has been the favourite area of operations for narco-trafficking paramilitaries as well as a base for Colombia-sponsored paramilitary and other operations against Venezuela.

President Petro has become a key figure in the dialogue persistently advocated by President Maduro between Caracas and the far-right opposition in Venezuela.

Petro organised an international conference on Venezuela, held in Bogota, to encourage talks between them.

Maduro also met Bolivia’s President Luis Arce, also at Itamaraty, seeking to strengthen strategic ties between the two nations. While Venezuela is rich in oil resources, Bolivia is rich in natural gas.

The meeting took place within the framework of 13 co-operation agreements signed last April between the two presidents as part of the Venezuela-Bolivia Joint Integration Commission.

Following Lula and Maduro’s encouragement to strengthen Unasur, Petro announced Colombia’s re-entry into the regional organisation.

Perhaps most significantly, Lula vindicated the political legitimacy of the Maduro government: at a joint press conference with Maduro, Brazil’s president expressed joy in saying “Venezuela is back!”

He stressed that Venezuela is a democracy and any view to the contrary is the result of a false “political narrative” of “authoritarianism and anti-democracy” from the enemies of Venezuela.

He added: “I have argued a lot with European social democrats who defend democracy and do not understand that Venezuela is a democracy.”

Lula went further to state that it is incredible that the nation has been inflicted by over 900 sanctions because the US does not like it.

He went on to say that to deny Maduro was the president of Venezuela, and to recognise Juan Guaido instead, was the “most absurd thing in the world.”

Lula also expressed a strong wish that Venezuela goes back to being a fully sovereign nation where “only its people through a free vote, decide who will govern the nation.”

In stark contrast to “civilised” Europe, Paraguay’s recently elected president, Santiago Pena, a rightwinger, in an interview with the BBC declared: “There is only one president in Venezuela and his name is Nicolas Maduro.”

On the 31 tons of Venezuelan gold held in the Bank of England, Lula was unequivocal: “That gold reserve, instead of being placed under the custody of Guaido, must be placed in the custody of the Venezuelan government.”

Lula added that Brazil’s relationship with Venezuela should not just be commercial; it needs to be political, cultural, economic and technological.

He said this could be around university partnerships and even their armed forces, working together in their common border “to combat narco-trafficking.”

Lula’s proposal for Venezuela to join the Brics coalition and Venezuela’s enthusiastic willingness to do so was instantly welcomed by China and Russia.

This is in the context of Brazil’s former president Dilma Rousseff, who was deposed by convoluted right-wing machinations in 2016, being appointed president of the Brics New Development Bank.

With Lula’s summit, South America’s regional integration has taken a qualitative leap forward. It confronts serious complexities in the neoliberal legacy left by the right-wing administrations which wrecked several national economies in a very short period.

Washington’s policy combines heavy-handed interventionism to bring about regime change, especially against Venezuela, with a “divide and rule” policy that was successful in bringing the likes of Bolsonaro, Mauricio Macri, Ivan Duque, and many other right-wing leaders to power.

The summit is a strong reaffirmation of the region’s collective sovereignty — all factors of enormous strategic significance. It is also a victory for multipolarity, and objectively a substantial setback for the US and its accomplices.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Latin America

Elders warn of consequences of “one-state reality” in Israel and Palestine

. . HUMAN RIGHTS . .

An article from The Elders

Following their visit to Israel and and Palestine, Mary Robinson and Ban Ki-moon warn that a ‘one-state reality’ is now rapidly extinguishing the prospect of a two-state solution.

The Chair and Deputy Chair of The Elders warned today (June 22) that a ‘one-state reality’ is now rapidly extinguishing the prospect of a two-state solution foreseen in the 1993 Oslo Accords to bring peace and security to both the Israeli and the Palestinian peoples. 

The Government of Israel’s intent to exercise sovereignty over all the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea undermines the democratic ideals of the Israeli state, denies the Palestinian people their right to self-determination, and risks an uncontrollable explosion of violence on both sides.
  
Mary Robinson, Chair of The Elders, former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, and Ban Ki-moon, Deputy Chair of The Elders and former UN Secretary-General, spoke out at the conclusion of a three-day visit to Israel and Palestine. They met a range of Israeli and Palestinian political leaders and civil society organisations, foreign diplomats, and former members of the Israeli military and diplomatic service. 

They also saw for themselves some of the facts on the ground, and heard from Israeli, Palestinian and international human rights organisations about the ever-growing evidence that the situation meets the international legal definition of apartheid: the expansion and entrenchment of illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the establishment of dual legal regimes and separation infrastructure in the occupied territories, and the institutionalised discrimination and abuses perpetrated against Palestinians. 

They heard no detailed rebuttal of the evidence of apartheid. On the contrary, the declarations and policies of the current Israeli Government – whose Coalition Guidelines state that “the Jewish people have an exclusive and inalienable right to all parts of the Land of Israel” – clearly show an intent to pursue permanent annexation rather than temporary occupation, based on Jewish supremacy. Measures include the transfer of administrative powers over the occupied West Bank from military to civilian authorities, accelerating the approval processes for building settlements, and constructing new infrastructure that would render a future Palestinian state unviable.   

(continued in right column)

Question related to this article:

Presenting the Palestinian side of the Middle East, Is it important for a culture of peace?

Israel/Palestine, is the situation like South Africa?

How can war crimes be documented, stopped, punished and prevented?

(continued from left column)

Such a situation has profound implications for Israel’s proud status as a democracy, the two Elders warned. It also undermines the credibility of the international community as the guarantor of a rules-based global order. If the Israeli Government’s current trajectory is not reversed, countries who care about the international rule of law should consider serious enforceable measures to increase pressure on the Israeli Government to meet its international obligations. 
 
The two Elders also noted with alarm the highest level of violence since the end of the second intifada in 2005. They condemned the killings in the past week of Palestinian civilians by Israeli security forces in Jenin, of Israeli settlers by Hamas in the West Bank, and of a Palestinian civilian by Israeli settlers. The Palestinian leadership has a responsibility to do all it can to prevent the terror attacks that cause very real fears among Israelis. The two Elders warned such incidents will only escalate and multiply unless the root causes of the conflict are addressed. 

Mary Robinson, Chair of The Elders, former President of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said: 
“I am profoundly shocked by the changes I have seen on my first visit to this region for several years. The policies of successive Israeli governments have entrenched the oppression of Palestinians, and also jeopardise the security and democracy Israelis have fought so hard for. Meanwhile the Palestinian people have no confidence in their own leadership; elections are long overdue and the democratic vacuum and shrinking civic space allows extremism and violence to flourish. All parties, including the international community, must act urgently to avert a calamitous descent into uncontrollable violence.” 

Mary Robinson and Ban Ki-moon expressed solidarity with Israelis protesting against their government’s proposed plans to weaken judicial independence, and encouraged protesters to confront the corrosive impact of the 56-year occupation on Israeli democracy. 

They also challenged the international community to address double standards on violations of international law. The indictment of Russian President Vladimir Putin by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes in Ukraine stands in stark contrast to the lack of progress on the ICC’s investigation into alleged crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem. Together with the case before the International Court of Justice and the work of the UN Commission of Inquiry, the ICC case is a litmus test for the credibility of an international system which should hold to account all those who break international law. 

Ban Ki-moon, Deputy Chair of The Elders and former UN Secretary-General, said: 
“I leave Israel and Palestine with a heavy heart. I have seen and heard compelling evidence of a one-state reality, with systemic impunity for violators of international law and human rights. There is a lack of political vision and leadership in Israel and Palestine and among Israel’s allies, who continue to revert to a short-term approach. The people of Israel and Palestine, and the world, deserve better. And they deserve it now, before it is too late.” 

HUMAN RIGHTS, Mideast

Media Organizations From Global South Discuss Solidarity and Standing Up to Sanctions

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article by Mauro Ramos in Peoples Dispatch

At an event in Shanghai (May 8), representatives of media organizations from Asia, Africa, and Latin America highlighted the need for learning from and working with each other and building infrastructure to resist western hegemony


(Photo: Research Institute of International Communication at East China Normal University)

“The conflict imposed by the United States [on China] is partly due to the decline of Western control over science and technology. Gradually, neocolonial control over finance, resources, and science and technology has been exhausted, but the neocolonial structure remains with respect to Western control over weapons and information systems,” said Vijay Prashad, director of the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research and Chief Correspondent of Globetrotter, at the opening of the “Communication as Solidarity” conference, organized by the School of Communication at East China Normal University along with several other Chinese entities in Shanghai. 

Besides representatives from Press TV,TeleSUR, RT and CGTN, the event also included members of progressive media organizations such as Pan African TV, ArgMedios, and Brasil de Fato, and over 100 researchers and media professionals from China, Ghana, Zambia, South Africa, Brazil, and Russia.  

Prashad said that Western powers have almost absolute control over information systems. “This control is exercised through Western domination of infrastructure, such as fiber optic cables, and human networks of information production, and through the ideological power of Western media established during colonial times.” 

One of the hosts of the meeting, Lu Xinyu, of the newly formed International Communication Research Institute at East China Normal University, said that the movement for a new order in the 1970s tried to solve the problem of the unbalanced global media structure, but failed. “So today we hope to have a new understanding of this issue: One aspect is the domination of the media by the West. That requires that we, the media and media organizations of the global South, work together.” 

Targets of sanctions and censorship by the Global North

The conference was attended by representatives of media organizations that have faced the brunt of censorship.

In 2010, US State Department documents leaked by WikiLeaks revealed that the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office had told the US embassy that the British government was “exploring ways to limit the operations of the IRIB’s Press TV service.” (IRIB = Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting)

In the document, the British chancellery stated that national and international law did not permit the withdrawal of Press TV’s license, but that a possibility could be open if more sanctions were imposed on Iran. 

Finally, in 2013, the Iranian state channel’s license was revoked in the UK for allegedly violating the country’s Communications Act. In the following years, the media outlet suffered several blocks on its YouTube and Gmail accounts, was banned from Facebook, had its website https://presstv.com/ confiscated, and late last year, the French satellite operator Eutelsat decided to take the channel off the air.

At different levels, many of the media organizations present at the meeting have been facing censorship, blockades, and sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe or right-wing governments, as in the case of TeleSUR. 

(Article continued in the column on the right)

Question related to this article:
 
How can media from the Global South break the media hegemony of the Global North?

Free flow of information, How is it important for a culture of peace?

(Article continued from the column on the left)

The multi-state-owned platform has already been removed from the programming of the National Telecommunications Corporation, a state-owned channel in Ecuador in 2018 under Lenín Moreno. After the coup against Evo Morales in Bolivia in 2019, the state-owned Entel under the de facto government of Jeanine Áñez, suspended the broadcast of the channel founded by Hugo Chávez.

In 2021, the UK withdrew CGTN‘s license on the grounds that it is directly controlled by a political party, which is not allowed in the country. RT, on the other hand, has been banned from all European territory and from platforms such as YouTube. The Spanish version of the channel on that platform had six million followers until it was taken down.   

In a debate about the search for sovereignty for the Global South media, the president of TeleSUR, Patricia Villegas, defended the need that the countries to develop their own platforms, such as satellites, servers, and social networks. “The content we’ve been building relies on borrowed highways that are owned by others who define and change the rules, block you whenever they want, according to the interests that they defend. So, if we want to continue to tell what really happens in each of these territories, we have to fight to build our own highways.”

For the director of Brasil de Fato, Nina Fideles, the conference was significant “by the very fact of bringing together, over two days, people and media outlets from different countries, who could share experiences and ideas about communication from the Global South.”

“Besides the fact that we had the opportunity to learn more about the Chinese experience in relation to communication, we also learned about the economic and social model here and the country’s role reorienting the global geopolitical situation,” added Fideles.

The founder of the Post in Zambia, Fred M’membe, said that the meeting between the different media outlets was trailblazing. He also commented that media like TeleSUR, RT, and CGTN, among others, have a great responsibility to use the knowledge and resources they have to help create a new kind of media, a new way of communication. “Our adversaries, those who want to continue with the ideas of exploitation and humiliation of others, are investing billions of dollars around the world to consolidate their ideas of dominating the world,” said M’membe, who is also president of the Socialist Party of Zambia.

Progressive media and Pan-Africanism

Another axis of debate at the conference was the media scenario on the African continent, as well as the Pan-African agenda. Kambale Musavuli, director of Pan-African TV, said that Pan-Africanism has been taking root in the African continent and that the role of progressive media is essential to the project. 

“We have achieved Pan-Africanism at the political level by bringing the countries of the African Union together, but now we need the Pan-Africanism among the people. Where are the people? They are in the rural communities, and to reach them you need the media, radio, television, and newspapers. We are using the media, especially TV, to reach the people in remote areas. So, using community radio stations, using television stations run by progressive organizations, it will be possible to spread this vision of a united Africa under Pan-Africanism,” Musavuli explained.  

Kwesi Pratt Jr., founder of the channel, said that Africa’s image and history are permanently distorted by the hegemonic media. “There is a hysteria all over the world that prevents us from choosing our own friends and deciding our own destiny. The African reality today is: Those who colonized and enslaved us are exploiting and stealing our resources to maximize the profits of multinational corporations instead of developing Africa. This is the story we need to tell and we need to tell it in our own way, using our own instruments,” he said.

The conference saw the official inauguration of the International Communication Research Institute of East China Normal University, which will have Lu Xinyu as dean. 

This new institution seeks to contribute to the development of multi-level and multi-channel international communication platforms and networks for the countries and regions in the Global South.
 
(Thank you to the United National Antiwar Coalition for calling our attention to this article.)

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global

Lula meets the Pope, talks world peace

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from Prensa Latina

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday (June 21) met Pope Francis in the Vatican for 45 minutes and the two discussed world peace, along with other matters.

The Brazilian leader thanked the Pope on social media for the audience and for the “good conversation about peace in the world.”

The behind-doors meeting took place in the Vatican close to the residence of the Pope, who recently underwent surgery for hernia.

The meeting was followed by the Brazilian delegation meeting the Pope and the traditional exchange of gifts.

(Continued in right column)

Questions related to this article:
 
Can the peace movement help stop the war in the Ukraine?

(Continued from left column)

Lula, who had received a letter from the Argentine-origin Pope while in prison, gifted him a print of the painting Sagrada Familia by Pernambuco-based artist JF Borges.

On his part, Francis presented Lula with his 2023 Message of Peace, the document on human brotherhood and the book on Statio Orbis from Mar. 27, 2020, when he had prayed for the end of the pandemic at a deserted St Peter’s Square.

Lula invited the pontiff to make another visit to Brazil – as his first international visit as Pope had been to Rio de Janeiro in July 2013 – and attend the festival honoring Our Lady of Nazareth in October.

The Brazilian president’s office had already announced that he intended to discuss the fight against hunger with the Pope along with other issues such as his initiative to end the Ukraine war.

Lula has proposed forming a group of countries to mediate in possible negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow, although his proposal has elicited little response from the international community.

The Brazilian leader arrived in the Vatican in a convoy of around 15 official cars along with the first lady, and was received at the doors of the Paul VI audience hall by the Pope’s aide, Leonardo Sapienza.

After his Vatican visit, Lula is set to meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday evening at her official residence and seat of power, the Chigi Palace in Rome.

He will also meet Rome’s mayor Roberto Gualtieri, an old friend who had met Lula in prison while he was behind bars on corruption charges that were later revoked by the judiciary. On Thursday, the Brazilian president will fly to Paris for the next stop of his Europe tour.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Europe, Latin America,