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.

The Pope : “The time has come to live in a spirit of fraternity and build a culture of peace”

. TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An article by Carol Glatz of the Catholic News Service published by Catholic Philly

The time has come to live in a spirit of fraternity and build a culture of peace, sustainable development, tolerance, inclusion, mutual understanding and solidarity, Pope Francis said.


Frame from video of the Pope’s message

“Now is not a time for indifference: either we are brothers and sisters or everything falls apart,” he said in a video message marking the International Day of Human Fraternity Feb. 4.

The international celebration is a U.N.-declared observation to promote interreligious dialogue and friendship on the anniversary of the document on human fraternity signed in Abu Dhabi in 2019 by Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmad el-Tayeb, grand imam of Al-Azhar in Egypt.

The pope, the sheikh and U.S. President Joe Biden all issued messages for the commemoration.

“Fraternity is one of the fundamental and universal values that ought to undergird relationships between peoples, so that the suffering or disadvantaged do not feel excluded and forgotten but accepted and supported as part of the one human family. We are brothers and sisters,” the pope said in Italian in his video message.

People must walk together, aware that, “while respecting our individual cultures and traditions, we are called to build fraternity as a bulwark against hatred, violence and injustice,” he said.

“All of us must work to promote a culture of peace that encourages sustainable development, tolerance, inclusion, mutual understanding and solidarity,” he said.

People of different faiths all have a role to play, he said, because “in the name of God, we who are his creatures must acknowledge that we are brothers and sisters.”

And all of humanity lives “under the same heaven,” so believers in God and all people of goodwill should journey together, he added.

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(Click here for a French article on this subject and here for a Spanish article.)

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

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“Do not leave it to tomorrow or an uncertain future,” he said. “This is a good day to extend a hand, to celebrate our unity in diversity — unity, not uniformity, unity in diversity — in order to say to the communities and societies in which we live that the time of fraternity has arrived.”

“The path of fraternity is long and challenging, it is a difficult path, yet it is the anchor of salvation for humanity,” the pope said. “Let us counter the many threatening signs, times of darkness and mindsets of conflict with the sign of fraternity that, in accepting others and respecting their identity, invites them to a shared journey.”

The pope encouraged everyone to dedicate themselves to “the cause of peace and to respond concretely to the problems and needs of the least, the poor and the defenseless. Our resolve is to walk side by side, ‘brothers and sisters all,’ in order to be effective artisans of peace and justice, in the harmony of differences and with respect for the identity of each.”

In his video message, Sheikh el-Tayeb said, “This celebration means a quest for a better world where the spirit of tolerance, fraternity, solidarity and collaboration prevails. It also indicates a hope for providing effective tools to face the crises and challenges of contemporary humanity.”

“We have embarked on this path in the hope for a new world that is free of wars and conflicts, where the fearful are reassured, the poor sustained, the vulnerable protected and justice administered,” he said.

In Biden’s written statement commemorating the day, he encouraged everyone to work together to overcome the global challenges that no one nation or group of people can solve on their own.

“For too long, the narrowed view that our shared prosperity is a zero-sum game has festered — the view that for one person to succeed, another has to fail,” he wrote. “This cramped idea has been a source of human conflict for centuries.”

Problems such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis and increased violence, “require global cooperation from people of all backgrounds, cultures, faiths and beliefs. They require us to speak with one another in open dialogue to promote tolerance, inclusion and understanding,” and to guarantee that “all people are treated with dignity and as full participants in society,” he wrote.

“On this day, we affirm — in words and in actions — the inherent humanity that unites us all,” the president wrote. “Together, we have a real opportunity to build a better world that upholds universal human rights, lifts every human being and advances peace and security for all.”

Cardinal Miguel Ayuso Guixot, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and member of the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity, said in a statement that the day “is an opportunity to advance the sense of responsibility toward the poor, vulnerable, homeless and oppressed.”

“I hope human fraternity will turn into a global movement of promoting moral values shared by all peoples from all walks of life,” the cardinal said.

global, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

United National AntiWar Coalition: No War with Russia

. .DISARMAMENT & SECURITY. .

An email received at CPNN from the United National AntiWar Coalition

Today (February 6) was an amazing day. In little more than 1 week, the entire antiwar movement came together, signed a joint statement against a war with Russia and organized protests in dozens of cities around the country. We also held an online rally where antiwar leaders from many groups spoke. The consensus is that we must remain unified and continue to organize our movement into the future.


Tomorrow, you will have the opportunity to join our webinar where peace activists from the US, Russia and Ukraine will speak. Hundreds have already registered. You can do so below and help make this a powerful event.

US/NATO Aggression at the Russian Border
A conversation between US, Russian and Ukrainian Peace activists
Webinar, Sunday, February 6,
12 noon Eastern (US/Canada)

Click here to register

(Article continued in right column)

Question for this article:

The peace movement in the United States, What are its strengths and weaknesses?

(Article continued from left column)

Speakers will include:

Ajamu Baraka, National Organizer, Black Alliance for Peace

Larissa Shessler, Chair, Union of Political Emigrants & Political prisoners of Ukraine

Bruce Gagnon, Coordinator, Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space

Joe Lombardo, Coordinator, United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC)

Vladimir Kozin, Correspondent member, Russian Academy of Military Science

Leonid Ilderkin, Coordinating Council of the Union of Political Emigrants & Political Prisoners of Ukraine.

Corporate media in the US has been warning about a possible invasion of Ukraine by Russia. This, Russia denies. But this propaganda has been used by the Biden Administration to whip up sentiment for war. Billions of dollars of US arms have been sent to Ukraine, Ukraine has massed an estimated 145,000 troops on the Russian border with US “advisors” supporting their effort. For years the US and its Western allies have moved NATO into Eastern European and former Soviet States in violation of agreements made with Russia. They have installed missiles at the Russian border and conducted “war games” at the Russian border. Today’s threat is a threat against a major nuclear power that puts the entire world in danger. Join us for this important webinar with voices for peace from Russia, Ukraine and the US.

Click here for UNAC’s statement on the situation on the Russian border

(Editor’s note: See also the CPNN article US Must Take Russia’s Security Concerns Seriously)

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, North America

UN chief calls for Olympic Truce to build ‘culture of peace’ through sport

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

An article from the United Nations

Secretary-General António Guterres is urging the world to “build a culture of peace” through the power of sport, calling for nations to observe the Olympic Truce, endorsed last week through a resolution of the UN General Assembly.  


OC/Milos Bicanski Beijing 2022 – Handover Ceremony of the Olympic Flame in Athens, Greece.

Amidst spreading conflict and rising tensions, he reminded that the appeal calls on all parties to observe a ceasefire throughout the course of the upcoming winter games.

‘A date with history’

In the spirit of “mutual understanding, hard work and fair play”, the top UN official noted that athletes competing from around the world “have a date with history”.

“In a few days, our human family will come together in Beijing for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games”, the UN chief said in his message encouraging everyone to strive for the Olympic ideal.

“This spirit inspires us all”, he said.

Beyond sports

Mr. Guterres said that the Olympic Truce represents “a chance to overcome differences and find paths towards lasting peace”.

As the world strives to end the COVID-19 pandemic, he urged everyone to “unite for a safer, more prosperous and sustainable future for all”.

(Article continued in right column)

(Click here for the message in Spanish and here for the message in French.

Question for this article:

How can sports promote peace?

(Article continued from left column)

During a recent press conference, he lauded  the game Games as being “an extremely important manifestation in today’s world of the possibility of unity”, mutual respect, and cooperation between different cultures, religions and ethnicities.

Above political dispute

The Olympic Truce has a 3,000-year-old history, dating from when the Ancient Greeks established the sacred truce of Ekecheiria to allow the participation in the Olympic Games of all athletes and spectators from the Greek city states, which were otherwise almost constantly engaged in conflict with one other.

General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid appealed  to all Member States to demonstrate their commitment to the Olympic Truce and to undertake “concrete actions at the local, national, regional and world levels to promote and strengthen a culture of peace and harmony”.

“I also call upon all warring parties of current armed conflicts around the world to boldly agree to true mutual ceasefires for the duration of the Olympic Truce, thus providing an opportunity to settle disputes peacefully”, he added.

Remaining neutral

UN resolution 76/13, entitled “Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal”, was co-sponsored by 173 UN Member States and adopted by consensus.

It called for the observance of a truce during the 2022 Beijing games, beginning seven days before the start of the Olympic games, on 4 February, until seven days after the end of the Paralympics.

It also encouraged all Member States to cooperate with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in using sport as “a tool to promote peace, dialogue and reconciliation in areas of conflict during and beyond the period of the Olympic and Paralympic Games”.

IOC President Thomas Bach described  the resolution as “a great recognition” of the Games’ mission “to unite the best athletes of the world in peaceful competition and standing above any political dispute”.

“This is only possible if the Olympic Games are politically neutral and do not become a tool to achieve political goals”, he spelled out. 

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, global, United Nations,

Amnesty International : Israel’s Apartheid Against Palestinians

. . HUMAN RIGHTS . .

A report from Amnesty International

In May 2021, Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah, a neighbourhood in occupied East Jerusalem, began protesting against Israel’s plan to forcibly evict them from their homes to make way for Jewish settlers. Many of the families are refugees, who settled in Sheikh Jarrah after being forcibly displaced around the time of Israel’s establishment as a state in 1948. Since Israel occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank in 1967, Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah have been continuously targeted by Israeli authorities, who use discriminatory laws to systematically dispossess Palestinians of their land and homes for the benefit of Jewish Israelis.


video by Amnesty

In response to the demonstrations in Sheikh Jarrah, thousands of Palestinians across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) held their own protests in support of the families, and against their shared experience of fragmentation, dispossession, and segregation. These were met with excessive and deadly force by Israeli authorities with thousands injured, arrested and detained.

The events of May 2021 were emblematic of the oppression which Palestinians have faced every day, for decades. The discrimination, the dispossession, the repression of dissent, the killings and injuries – all are part of a system which is designed to privilege Jewish Israelis at the expense of Palestinians.

This is apartheid.

Amnesty International’s new investigation shows that Israel imposes a system of oppression and domination against Palestinians across all areas under its control: in Israel and the OPT, and against Palestinian refugees, in order to benefit Jewish Israelis. This amounts to apartheid as prohibited in international law.

Laws, policies and practices which are intended to maintain a cruel system of control over Palestinians, have left them fragmented geographically and politically, frequently impoverished, and in a constant state of fear and insecurity.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT

WHAT IS APARTHEID?

Apartheid is a violation of public international law, a grave violation of internationally protected human rights, and a crime against humanity under international criminal law.

The term “apartheid” was originally used to refer to a political system in South Africa which explicitly enforced racial segregation, and the domination and oppression of one racial group by another. It has since been adopted by the international community to condemn and criminalize such systems and practices wherever they occur in the world.

The crime against humanity of apartheid under the Apartheid Convention, the Rome Statute and customary international law is committed when any inhuman or inhumane act (essentially a serious human rights violation) is perpetrated in the context of an institutionalised regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over another, with the intention to maintain that system.

Apartheid can best be understood as a system of prolonged and cruel discriminatory treatment by one racial group of members of another with the intention to control the second racial group.

TAKE OUR COURSE

Amnesty International has created a free 90-minute course called “Deconstructing Israel’s Apartheid Against Palestinians”. To learn more about the crime of apartheid in international law, what apartheid looks like in Israel/OPT, and how it affects Palestinians’ lives, sign up to our course on Amnesty International’s human rights education academy.

WHY IS AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGNING AGAINST APARTHEID?

Apartheid is not acceptable anywhere in the world. So why has the world accepted it against Palestinians?

Human rights have long been side-lined by the international community when dealing with the decades-long struggle and suffering of Palestinians. Palestinians facing the brutality of Israel’s repression have been calling for an understanding of Israel’s rule as apartheid for over two decades. Over time, a broader international recognition of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians as apartheid has begun to take shape.

Yet, governments with the responsibility and power to do something have refused to take any meaningful action to hold Israel accountable. Instead, they have been hiding behind a moribund peace process at the expense of human rights and accountability. Unfortunately, the situation today is one of no progress towards a just solution and worsening human rights for Palestinians.

Amnesty is calling for Israel to end the international wrong, and crime, of apartheid, by dismantling measures of fragmentation, segregation, discrimination, and deprivation, currently in place against the Palestinian population.

TELL ISRAEL: DEMOLISH APARTHEID, NOT PALESTINIAN HOMES

The Palestinian experience of being denied a home is at the heart of Israel’s apartheid system. That’s why, as a first step towards dismantling this system, we are calling on Israel to end the practice of home demolitions.

Palestinian families need people to stand with them against injustice and discrimination, by taking action to help them protect their homes.

TAKE ACTION

ISRAEL’S SYSTEM OF OPPRESSION AND DOMINATION OF PALESTINIANS

Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, successive governments have created and maintained a system of laws, policies, and practices designed to oppress and dominate Palestinians. This system plays out in different ways across the different areas where Israel exercises control over Palestinians’ rights, but the intent is always the same: to privilege Jewish Israelis at the expense of Palestinians.

Israeli authorities have done this through four main strategies:

Fragmentation into domains of control: At the heart of the system is keeping Palestinian separated from each other into distinct territorial, legal and administrative domains

Dispossession of land and property: Decades of discriminatory land and property seizures, home demolitions and forced evictions

Segregation and control: A system of laws and policies that keep Palestinians restricted to enclaves, subject to several measures that control their lives, and segregated from Jewish Israelis

Deprivation of economic & social rights: The deliberate impoverishment of Palestinians keeping them at great disadvantage in comparison to Jewish Israelis

FRAGMENTATION INTO DOMAINS OF CONTROL

In the course of establishing Israel as a Jewish state in 1948, Israel expelled hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and destroyed hundreds of Palestinian villages, in what amounted to ethnic cleansing.

Since then, successive governments have designed laws and policies to ensure the continued fragmentation of the Palestinian population. Palestinians are confined to enclaves in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and the refugee communities, where they are subject to different legal and administrative regimes. This has had the effect of undermining family, social and political ties between Palestinian communities and suppressing sustained dissent against the apartheid system; it also helps to maximise Jewish Israeli control over land and maintain a Jewish demographic majority.

Millions of Palestinians remain displaced as refugees and continue to be physically isolated from those residing in Israel and the OPT through Israel’s continuous denial of their right to return to their homes, towns and villages.

DISPOSSESSION OF LAND AND PROPERTY

Since 1948, Israel has enforced massive and cruel land seizures to dispossess Palestinians of their land and homes. Although Palestinians in Israel and the OPT are subjected to different legal and administrative regimes, Israel has used similar land expropriation measures across all areas – for example, since 1948, Israel has expropriated land in areas of strategic importance that include significant Palestinian populations such as the Galilee and the Negev/Naqab, and used similar measures in the OPT following Israel’s military occupation in 1967. In order to maximize Jewish Israeli control over land and minimize the Palestinian presence, Palestinians have been confined to separate, densely populated enclaves. While Israeli policies have allowed for the discriminatory allocation of state land to be used almost exclusively to benefit Jewish Israelis both inside of Israel and in the OPT.

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(click here for the article in French or click here for the article in Spanish.).)

Question related to this article:

Israel/Palestine, is the situation like South Africa?

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SEGREGATION AND CONTROL

Successive Israeli governments have pursued a strategy of establishing domination through discriminatory laws and policies which segregate Palestinians into enclaves, based on their legal status and residence.

Israel denies Palestinian citizens their rights to equal nationality and status, while Palestinians in the OPT face severe restrictions on freedom of movement. Israel also restricts Palestinians’ rights to family unification in a profoundly discriminatory manner: for example, Palestinians from the OPT cannot gain residency or citizenship through marriage, which Jewish Israelis can.

Israel also places severe limitations on Palestinians’ civil and political rights, to suppress dissent and maintain the system of oppression and domination. For example, millions of Palestinians in the West Bank remain subject to Israel’s military rule and draconian military orders adopted since 1967.

DEPRIVATION OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RIGHTS

These measures have left Palestinians marginalized, impoverished and economically disadvantaged across Israel and the OPT.

Decades of discriminatory allocation of resources by Israeli authorities, for the benefit of Jewish Israeli citizens in Israel and Israeli settlers in the OPT, compound these inequalities. For example, millions of Palestinians inside of Israel and East Jerusalem live in densely populated areas that are generally underdeveloped and lack adequate essential services such as garbage collection, electricity, public transportation and water and sanitation infrastructure.

Palestinians across all areas under Israel’s control have fewer opportunities to earn a living and engage in business than Jewish Israelis. They experience discriminatory limitations on access to and use of farmland, water, gas and oil amongst other natural resources, as well as restrictions on the provision of health, education and basic services.

In addition, Israeli authorities have appropriated the vast majority of Palestinians’ natural resources in the OPT for the economic benefit of Jewish citizens in Israel and in the illegal settlements.

LIFE UNDER APARTHEID

DENIED A HOME: DEMOLITIONS AND FORCED EVICTIONS

Palestinians are systematically subjected to home demolitions and forced evictions, and live in constant fear of losing their homes.

For more than 73 years, Israel has been forcibly displacing entire Palestinian communities. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians’ homes have been demolished, causing terrible trauma & suffering. More than 6 million Palestinians remain refugees, the vast majority of whom live in refugee camps including outside of Israel/OPT. There are over 100,000 Palestinians in the OPT and another 68,000 inside of Israel at imminent risk of losing their homes, many for the second or third time.

Palestinians are caught in a Catch-22 situation. Israel requires them to obtain a permit to build or even erect a structure such as a tent, but – unlike Jewish Israeli applicants – rarely issues them a permit. Many Palestinians are forced to build without permits. Israel then demolishes Palestinian homes on the basis that they were built “illegally”. Israel uses these discriminatory planning and zoning policies to create unbearable living conditions to force Palestinians to leave their homes to allow for the expansion of Jewish settlement.

Mohammed Al-Rajabi, a resident of Al-Bustan area in Silwan, whose home was demolished by Israeli authorities on 23 June 2020 on the basis that it was built “illegally”, described to Amnesty International the devastating impact on his family:

FRAGMENTED LOVE: SEPARATION OF PALESTINIAN FAMILIES

Israel has enacted discriminatory laws and policies that disrupt family life for Palestinians. Since 2002, Israel has adopted a policy of prohibiting Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza from gaining status in Israel or East Jerusalem through marriage, thus preventing family unification.

Israel has long used discriminatory laws and policies to separate Palestinians from their families. For example, Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza cannot gain legal status in Israel or occupied East Jerusalem through marriage, denying their rights to family unification. This policy has forced thousands of Palestinians to live apart from their loved ones; others are forced to go abroad, or live in constant fear of being arrested, expelled or deported.

These measures explicitly target Palestinians, and not Jewish Israelis, and are primarily guided by demographic considerations that aim to minimize Palestinian presence inside Israel/OPT.

Sumaia, was born and raised in Lod in central Israel. She married her husband, who is from the Gaza Strip, in 1998 and he moved to live with her in Lod. In 2000, Sumaia and her husband began the process of applying for family unification, so they could live together legally. The family unification process took 18 years, during which the couple lived in fear and anxiety. Sumaia told Amnesty International:

UNDER SIEGE

Over the past 14 years, more than 2 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been living under Israel’s illegal blockade. Along with four major military offensives, the blockade has had catastrophic consequences for the people of Gaza.

The blockade is a form of collective punishment. It forces Gaza’s population – the majority of whom are refugees or their descendants who fled in 1948 – to live in increasingly dire conditions. There are severe shortages of housing, drinking water, electricity, essential medicines and medical care, food, educational equipment and building materials. In 2020, Gaza had the world’s highest unemployment rate, and more than half of its population was living below the poverty line.

On 30 March 2018, Palestinians in Gaza launched the Great March of Return, a series of weekly mass demonstrations along the fence between Gaza and Israel.

They were demanding their right to return to their villages and towns in what is now Israel, as well as an end to Israel’s blockade on Gaza. The response was brutal: by the end of 2019, Israeli forces had killed 214 civilians, including 46 children, and injured more than 8,000 others with live ammunition. A total of 156 of those injured had to have limbs amputated. More than 1,200 patients require long-term, complex and expensive therapy and rehabilitation, and tens of thousands more require psycho-social support -none of which are widely available in Gaza.

The blockade prevents Palestinians from accessing adequate healthcare, in particular life-saving and other emergency medical treatment only available outside Gaza. The Israeli authorities often delay these permits and sometimes fail to provide them at all.

Adham Al-Hajjar, 36, is a freelance journalist and lives in Gaza City. On 6 April 2018, while he was covering the Great March of Return demonstrations, Israeli snipers positioned along the fence separating Gaza from Israel shot him. He is unable to get the medical help he needs in Gaza because of the debilitated health services there.

CRIMINAL PATTERNS

Israel has been systematically committing serious human rights violations against Palestinians for decades. Violations such as forcible transfer, administrative detention, torture, unlawful killings and serious injuries, and the denial of basic rights and freedoms have been well documented by Amnesty and others. It is clear that Israel’s apartheid system is being maintained through committing these abuses—which have been perpetrated with almost total impunity.

They form part of a widespread and systematic attack against the Palestinian population, carried out within the context of Israel’s institutionalised regime of systematic oppression and domination over Palestinians, and therefore constitute crimes against humanity of apartheid.

DISMANTLING THE SYSTEM

There is no place for apartheid in our world. It is a crime against humanity, and it has to end.

Israeli authorities have enjoyed impunity for too long. The international failure to hold Israel to account means Palestinians are still suffering every single day. It’s time to speak up, to stand with Palestinians and tell Israel that we will not tolerate apartheid.

For decades, Palestinians have been calling for an end to the oppression they live under. All too often, they pay a terrible price for standing up for their rights, and they have long been calling for others around the world to help them.

Let this be the beginning of an end to Israel’s system of apartheid against Palestinians.

Join us in the fight for justice, freedom, and equality for all.

TELL ISRAEL: DEMOLISH APARTHEID, NOT PALESTINIAN HOMES

The Palestinian experience of being denied a home is at the heart of Israel’s apartheid system. That’s why, as a first step towards dismantling this system, we are calling on Israel to end the practice of home demolitions.

Palestinian families need people to stand with them against injustice and discrimination, by taking action to help them protect their homes.

TAKE ACTION

Further Reading

Q&A: Israel’s Apartheid against Palestinians: Cruel System of Domination and Crime against Humanity

HUMAN RIGHTS, Mideast

English bulletin February 1, 2022

. MEDIATION AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE .

While it is difficult to find progress in the culture of peace in international relations, the methods of the culture of peace such as mediation and restorative justice continue to advance at the level of inter-personal relations.

The greatest advances continue to be seen in Latiin America.

In Brazil, two years ago CPNN reported that almost all state courts and judicial policy makers took part in a debate at the Superior Labor Court in Brasilia on the current stage of restorative justice in the country. And recently we have seen developments in restorative justice aimed at promoting a culture of peace in the Brazilian states of Pernambuco and Ceará.

In Argentina, the National Directorate of Mediation and Participatory Methods of Conflict Resolution, held the “National Meeting of the Federal Network of Community Mediation Centers and Training in School Mediation”. In the CPNN article they list the advantages of community mediation and the responsibilities of the mediators and the parties concerned.

In Panama, the Coordination Office of the Community Mediation Program presented the main results achieved during the year 2021. Most cases continue to be initiated voluntarily, that is, that the citizen directly attends the Center to request the conflict management service without the intervention of a judge or other authority.

In Mexico, 13 mediation centers are available in the capitol state. The CPNN article describes the process of mediation in detail.

In the Dominican Republic, the National Conflict Resolution System (Sinarec), reported that in the past year 2021 it trained more than 11 thousand people in its citizen education programs for alternative conflict resolution and culture of peace. Among those trained were members of public ministries, psychologists, teachers, members of the National Police, community and ecclesiastical leaders.

Europe is advancing as well. Ministries of Justice of the Member States of the Council of Europe took part in the Conference on the theme of restorative justice, in Venice in December. The two-day Ministerial Conference concluded with the signing of the Venice Declaration, a joint document that stimulates policies aimed at a wider dissemination of restorative justice, access to which “should be an objective of the national authorities”.

In Spain, the Specialized Mediation Group of the Granada Bar Association has discussed and described the transformative practice of mediation. This type of mediation orients the participants towards conflict transformation, maximizing the choice and control of the parties in terms of content and process, increasing the intervener’s transparency, avoiding the use of pressure, manipulation and overreaction and promoting the conversation between the parties.

Over the years CPNN has carried many articles about the use of restorative justice in the United States. And most recently, the law school of Marquette University has established a Center for Restorative Justice. The center will train law students in how to use restorative justice at local, national, and international levels in a guided civil dialogue to address conflict, promote healing, and facilitate problem solving.

A bill was introduced in December in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India to promote mediation (including online mediation), and provide for enforcement of settlement agreements resulting from mediation.  The bill sets out the procedures that must be followed in mediation and among other measures, it would require the central government to establish the Mediation Council of India.

If only these principles of mediation and restorative justice could be used at the level of international relations ! For example, Russia has recently proposed peace treaties with the United States and with NATO, but so far they are being completely ignored, not only by the USA and Europe, but also by the mass media in these countries.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION

Europe

Council of Europe : Ministerial Conference on restorative justice concludes with the signature of the Declaration of Venice

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Aragon

Spain: More than 140 people participate in the first Congress ‘Aragon, culture of peace’

WOMEN’S EQUALITY

Conakry

Conakry: former deputies launch a new coalition for peace, rights and development, COFEPAD-Guinea

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Russia

US Must Take Russia’s Security Concerns Seriously

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Mayan-Train
Mexico: The government integrates the Mayan Train in the program Promotion of the Culture of Peace and Reconstruction of the Social Fabric

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY

nuclear

Russia, China, Britain, U.S. and France say no one can win nuclear war

HUMAN RIGHTS

Amnesty

Amnesty International : 33 human rights wins to celebrate this year

EDUCATION FOR PEACE

Dominican

Dominican Republic: 11 Thousand People Train in Conflict Resolution and Culture of Peace in 2021
d-education

Ceará, Brazil : Deputy Mayor of Fortaleza participates in a meeting with the Inter-institutional Committee of the Restorative Justice and Culture of Peace Network

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

An article from the Plataforma Márcia Travessoni  (translation by CPNN)

The deputy mayor of Fortaleza Élcio Batista participated this Thursday (January 13), in a meeting with the Interinstitutional Committee of the Restorative Justice and Culture of Peace Network of Ceará. Held virtually, the meeting was chaired by Vice-Governor Izolda Cela, who coordinates the Ceará Pacific program. Élcio replaced the mayor who could not be present.

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(Click here for the Portuguese original of this article)

Questions for this article:

How can we develop the institutional framework for a culture of peace?

(continued from left column)

The committee’s main objective is to strengthen and use the Culture of Peace as a tool for effective human development and social peace. In addition to the deputy mayor, state representatives Renato Roseno, Queiroz Filho and Érika Amorim were present; the head of the Secretariat for Social Protection, Justice, Citizenship, Women and Human Rights (SPS), Socorro França; the Secretary of Education, Eliana Estrela; the superintendent of the State System of Socio-Educational Assistance (Seas), Roberto Bassan; the executive secretary of the Secretariat for Public Security and Social Defense (SSPDS), Samuel Elanio; the judge of the Court of Justice of Ceará (TJCE), Graça Quental; in addition to other authorities.

Élcio Batista recalled the importance of the Culture of Peace for a good work of violence prevention in Ceará. “It is always important to work with the Culture of Peace. Prevention is the best way to deal with social conflicts and violence. Investing in prevention is essential, as is improving the quality of public services. This prevention work will be valued up front,” he commented.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION

Youth Survey Report : Youth Knowledge & Interest in Peace Education

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

A survey by the Global Campaign for Peace Education

In April 2021, the Global Campaign for Peace Education (GCPE) conducted a youth-focused survey to better understand awareness of and interest in peace and social justice education among high-school and college-age youth. This report is the result of the Global Campaign’s findings and analysis. Ultimately, GCPE hopes that this report will provide insight into youth awareness of and interest in peace education in an attempt to increase youth engagement.


Interest regarding social justice issues among high school students surveyed from around the world (Click on image to enlarge)

The Youth Survey on Peace and Social Justice Education was conducted by the Global Campaign for Peace Education Youth Team, composed primarily of students in the Justice and Peace Studies Program at Georgetown University. Team members include: Keaton Nara, Caelan Johnston, Maude Peters, Heather Huang, and Gabby Smiley. The report and analysis was supervised by Micaela Segal de la Garza, Program Manager, and Tony Jenkins, Coordinator of the Global Campaign for Peace Education.

The Global Campaign for Peace Education Youth Team is following up with survey respondents to explore the development of a peace education youth network.

Key findings and recommendations are reproduced below. For additional details and analysis, download the complete report.

Key Findings

In terms of existing peace education projects and programs, respondents demonstrated the highest levels of interest in violence prevention, human rights, global development, global citizenship, and gender violence.

Respondents demonstrated the least amount of awareness in meditation and restorative practices.

There was a strong interest in social justice, specifically in regard to issues of gender violence, terrorism, and racial violence, all of which were identified as significant subjects across demographic groups.

For world college-age demographics – both enrolled and not enrolled in peace studies programs – political polarization was the top-rated subject for interest in social justice projects and programs.

Questions for this article:

How can we promote a human rights, peace based education?

In gauging interest in youth-focused training, the survey found that respondents demonstrated, on average, the highest level of interest in creative outlets (i.e. opportunities to bring in new ideas through creative expression)

Recommendations

The majority of respondents, regardless of age, location, or enrollment in peace studies programs, learned about peace education programs and projects outside of school. There is a distinct lack of formal peace education in schools despite marked interest.
Recommendation: Support the development of peace education opportunities in schools that address students’ interests; capacitate students with skills so they may advocate for peace education programming (something respondents showed strong interest in).

Peace education is inherently community-driven, and it is precisely that communal aspect that youth seem to be most interested in.

Recommendation: Create clubs in schools that educate students about peace education and simultaneously create a space to forge community ties; bring peace education to community centers; provide peace education after-school programs.

Providing opportunities for youth to be active participants in their education is of the utmost importance.

Recommendation: Peace education programming and content should be derived from and designed to meet students’ social justice interests and not just the interests of teachers/faculty.

Social media platforms are incredibly important for youth programming and community engagement. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and newsletters emerged as the most used tools among respondents.

Recommendation: Create social media platforms that engage youth; create posts that appeal to the specific topics within peace education that they express interest in; respondents demonstrated, on average, the highest level of interest in creative outlets for youth-focused training, and social media is an excellent medium for this.

Many respondents demonstrated interest in a new youth focused network, though enrollment in a peace studies program generally indicates a higher level of interest.

Recommendation: Develop a new youth focused network for those who are interested to become involved and make connections with one another.

Peace Education Advocacy

The GCPE has a particular interest in students being able to advocate for their own curriculum and education. Youth inclusion in decision making is of the utmost importance, which is why respondents were asked about their interest in learning skills to advocate for peace education in their schools and communities. In general, respondents demonstrated high levels of interest in learning peace education advocacy skills with the average response across groups being 3.6 with 5 being the highest level of interest. These trends are demonstrated in the graph (see original article).

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, global

US Must Take Russia’s Security Concerns Seriously

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article by by Natylie Baldwin in Antiwar.com

(Editor’s Note: In recent weeks, Russian President Putin has proposed new peace treaties between Russia and the US and between Russia and NATO. Google lists perhaps a hundred news articles that mention Putin’s proposals but nowhere in any of the articles could I find a reference to the actual text of the proposals or to the historical context that includes American assurances at the end of the Cold War that NATO would not be expanded towards Russia. Instead, the articles listed by google support American and NATO claims that that Putin’s proposals mask a justification for Russian invasion of the Ukraine. Finally, after a rather long and detailed search, I found the following article (not listed by google) that links to the treaty proposals and to the historical context. Here it is.)

Illustration from the blog of Natylie Baldwin

An American Russia expert recently observed that diplomacy is not a reward for good behavior. Rather diplomacy is a necessary activity required for averting war. Skilled diplomacy requires one to understand the perceived interests of the other side and what shapes those perceptions. This helps both sides to arrive at a mutually agreeable resolution that takes into account the most serious concerns of each. The Biden administration would be wise to give a fair hearing to the security concerns of the world’s other nuclear superpower at the upcoming meeting with Russia on January 10th in order to avert unnecessary escalation in Eastern Europe.

As Putin gets further into what could be his final term as president, he has decided to try to get a meaningful resolution to one of his top priorities: ensuring Russia’s national security. If he can successfully resolve this issue, he may feel freer to open up the purse strings and invest more in his other top priority: raising Russia’s living standards, which have fallen behind as a result of the austerity  that has been imposed as the Russian government has focused on macroeconomic stability to make the economy “sanction-proof. ”

He has started by offering a proposed draft agreement between  Russia and the US and one between  Russia and NATO that guarantee no further eastward expansion of NATO and no stationing of US/NATO troops in Ukraine or intermediate- and short-range missiles in Europe.

While it may seem like Russia is making extreme demands and offering no concessions of its own in return, one must keep a few points in mind. First, at the beginning of negotiations, parties will typically start with maximalist positions with the idea that they will be whittled down during talks to something they can live with. Second, Russia has genuine security concerns that many Americans are not aware of because most media has made little attempt to explain Russia’s perspective with regard to its disagreements with the US-led west.

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Question related to this article:
 
Free flow of information, How is it important for a culture of peace?

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Lacking some of the natural barriers that Americans take for granted, Russia has a history of invasions from the West, including Germany twice in the 20th century – having come through the Polish/Ukrainian corridor. Hitler’s invasion in WWII resulted in around 27 million dead Soviets and destruction of a third of the country. These perceived security interests are driven by historical experience and therefore represent a Russian view, not simply a Putin view.

With this heavy history, Mikhail Gorbachev was hesitant to allow a reunified Germany during 1990 negotiations with western leaders. Declassified government documents  reveal that in order to secure Gorbachev’s agreement, he was promised verbally more than once by US Secretary of State James Baker and other western officials that NATO would not move “one inch eastward.”

After the mutually negotiated end of the Cold War and subsequent dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, NATO had lost its reason for existence and had to resort to finding other justifications for remaining in business. This project was assisted by political ideologues , such as Zbig Brzezinski and Neoconservatives, as well as intense defense contractor lobbying  which helped spur NATO expansion rather than a re-negotiation of a European security architecture that would ensure the security of all parties. From Russia’s perspective, it made sense to ask: if the Cold War had ended, Russia had voluntarily given up its empire and was no longer an enemy, then why was NATO being expanded with Russia excluded from these new security arrangements?

Not only has the US overseen several rounds of NATO expansion since 1999, it has unilaterally withdrawn from several important treaties governing arms control. The first is the ABM Treaty, the abrogation of which Russia viewed as a threat to its nuclear retaliatory capability. There is also the INF Treaty, the dissolution of which will now allow the US to potentially station intermediate range missiles in Europe, representing another perceived danger to Russia’s security interests.

Then there was the US-supported coup that removed the corrupt but democratically elected leader of Ukraine in 2014, which sparked deeper dissension in a country that has political and cultural divisions that go back centuries. The cold hard reality is that Ukraine has more strategic and historical significance to Russia than it could ever have to the US thousands of miles away. Russia also has the advantage of proximity in the event of a military conflict. The US should seriously reconsider the wisdom of paying lip service to Ukraine’s military defense for any such scenario. Ukraine is the poorest  country in Europe and also one of the most corrupt . Ukraine would provide no benefit to NATO as a member and it’s safe to say that neither Americans  nor most Europeans  would be willing to die for it. Ukraine would be best served if it were militarily neutral and allowed to negotiate economically beneficial relations with both Russia and the West, with the most extreme political elements in the country discouraged from their most reckless inclinations.

It’s time for the US to get beyond its post-Cold War triumphalist mentality and pursue practical diplomacy with Russia. Insisting that all countries have the right to decide what military alliances they join without regard to the larger real world context is a nonstarter. Everyone knows the US would never take this attitude if Russia and China decided to lure Canada or Mexico into joining a military alliance with them.

The Russia of 2022 is not the Russia of the 1990’s. In order to get something, the US-led west will now have to give something. That means a willingness to seriously address Russia’s security concerns. It remains to be seen if the US is capable of the shift in mindset needed to rise to the occasion.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Europe, FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global,

Amnesty International : 33 human rights wins to celebrate this year

… . HUMAN RIGHTS … .

An article from Amnesty International

It’s been a busy year for Amnesty International with positive changes taking place around the world. Laws have been rewritten, awards have been won, prisoners of conscience released and our supporters have continued to campaign with passion to ensure people can live free from torture, harassment or unjust imprisonment. Here’s a round-up of human rights wins to celebrate this year…

January

Global: Amnesty International’s ground-breaking report  on how health workers around the world had been exposed, silenced and attacked during the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in Ibrahim Badawi, a doctor, and Ahmad al-Daydoumy, a dentist, being released from detention in Egypt in January and March this year. They were just two of the many health workers arbitrarily detained in 2020 in Egypt, on vague and overly broad charges of “spreading false news” and “terrorism”, which Amnesty highlighted in its research.

February

Sri Lanka: Following the outbreak of Covid-19 in Sri Lanka, a number of people from the Muslim community were forcibly cremated on the instructions of the authorities and against the wishes of the deceased’s families. Amnesty International called for Sri Lanka’s authorities to respect the right of religious minorities to carry out the final rites of their relatives in accordance with their own traditions unless restrictions were needed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Amnesty also engaged with Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) states to impress upon the Sri Lankan government to change this discriminatory policy, and placed op-eds in Pakistan and Bangladesh ahead of a key session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. As a result, Sri Lankan authorities decided to end the practice of forced cremations for victims of Covid-19 in February.



March

Bahrain: Amnesty International helped to secure several prisoner releases in Bahrain this year, including four children who had been tried as adults. In March, a Bahraini court suspended a six-month prison sentence against the four and placed them in a rehabilitation programme instead – one week after Amnesty issued an urgent action. In April, there was more good news with the release of prisoner of conscience, Mohammed Hassan Jawad, who had been serving a 15-year prison sentence for his peaceful participation in the 2011 uprising. Amnesty International has been campaigning for his release for a decade. In another breakthrough, on 11 March, the European Parliament adopted a resolution  on Bahrain’s human rights situation and its treatment of human rights defenders, followed by another  in September on Emirati prisoner of conscience Ahmed Mansoor – which echoed Amnesty’s recommendations.

Japan: In March, a Japanese court ruled that the government’s failure to recognize same-sex marriage was unconstitutional – the country’s first-ever judicial ruling on marriage equality. The decision was a ground-breaking step for same-sex couples in their pursuit of equal rights and could set an important precedent for similar cases filed by other same-sex couples in Japan. This followed campaign calls and petitions  from Amnesty International and others.

Iraq: The Iraqi parliament passed the Yezidi Survivors Law  which provides a framework for reparations for many survivors of ISIS atrocities in northern Iraq, including women and girls who were subjected to sexual violence and child survivors who were abducted before the age of 18. This was a key recommendation in a report published last year  by Amnesty International on the physical and mental health crisis endured by Yezidi children separated from their families. The report was also referenced by Angelina Jolie in a speech  to the UN Security Council regarding sexual violence in conflict. Additional bylaws were passed in September.

Global: In March, October and November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced it would open formal investigations into the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the Philippine  government’s deadly ‘war on drugs’ and crimes against humanity in Venezuela. Amnesty International has been documenting crimes against humanity in all these countries for several years, its research was cited dozens of times in the Prosecutor’s filing.

Madagascar: After months of refusing to acknowledge https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-03-22-danger-and-despair-in-madagascar-president-rajoelina-opts-for-miracle-cure-over-covid-19-vaccine/Covid-19, the Malagasy government finally dropped its policy of refusing to order Covid-19 vaccines following pressure from Amnesty  and others – giving more people a chance to access life-saving vaccines.

South Africa: In March, police revived an investigation into the 2017 murders of best friends Popi Qwabe and Bongeka Phungula, after receiving a petition  signed by more than 341,000 Amnesty International supporters worldwide demanding that their killers be brought to justice. The police have now completed their investigation and handed over the case to the country’s National Prosecuting Authority. After years of distress and anger over irregularities and delays in the original police investigation, Popi and Bongeka’s friends and families finally have reason to believe that justice for their loved ones is on the horizon. “I feel optimistic,” said Popi’s sister Thembelihle. “I feel like finally, something is about to change.”

April

Global: Amnesty International released its flagship annual report, The State of the World’s Human Rights. This latest edition covered the human rights situation in 149 countries and was translated into a record 38 languages. It also included specific advocacy calls on a range of human rights issues.



May

Global: Amnesty International won a prestigious Webby Award  for its microsite on the abuse of tear gas by police forces around the world. The site was originally launched in mid-2020, and is frequently updated with new content and evidence of abuses. The material is also still being cited in ongoing advocacy, including in recent US Congressional debates around regulating or banning police use of tear gas.

June

Burundi: NGO worker and human rights defender Germain Rukuki was released from prison  after spending more than four years behind bars for standing up for human rights. Initially sentenced to 32 years in prison on baseless charges, Germain was jailed before getting a chance to hold his youngest child, born just weeks after he was detained in July 2017. After more than 400,000 actions calling for his release, Germain is looking to be reunited with his family, who fled the country for fear of reprisals.

China: Amnesty International published an extensive report detailing how the draconian repression faced by Muslims in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region amounts to crimes against humanity. The report garnered significant global media coverage, and was followed up with a campaign calling for the closure of the internment camps. To date, the ‘Free Xinjiang Detainees’ petition  has been signed by more than 323,000 people around the world and Amnesty International’s national teams in 10 countries have held petition handover events.

Pakistan: Amnesty International successfully campaigned for the acquittal and release of  Shafqat and Shagufta Emmanuel, a Christian couple, who spent seven years on death row on blasphemy charges.

USA: Decode Surveillance  NYC saw more than 7,000 Amnesty International supporters from 144 countries map 15,000 surveillance cameras across New York City which can be used by the NYPD to track people using facial recognition software. The results of the innovative project helped campaigners push local legislators for a ban on the use of the discriminatory technology.

Nepal: After the launch of Amnesty International’s report, “Struggling to breathe”: The second wave of Covid-19 in Nepal, which was followed by sustained campaigning and advocacy initiatives, the Japanese government donated 1.6 million vaccines to Nepal, Bhutan donated 230,000 and the UK donated 130,000 doses.

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Question(s) related to this article:
 
What is the state of human rights in the world today?

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Nigeria: The Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) granted an order to prohibit Nigerian authorities from prosecuting anyone using Twitter in the country. This victory for freedom of expression came after Amnesty International  helped Nigerian NGO, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), to bring a case against the Nigerian authorities over their threat to prosecute anyone using Twitter after they implemented a blanket ban on the social platform in June.

July

Nicaragua: After more than two years locked up in an immigration detention facility in California where she was abused and denied access to adequate medical care, Maura Martínez, a transgender woman originally from Nicaragua, was finally freed in July.  Martínez had spent half her life in the United States where she sought safety after experiencing relentless gender-based violence while living in Mexico. However, after a legal incident, US authorities detained and threatened to deport her. Thanks to a global campaign by Amnesty International and partner organizations, she is now free and able to live in the USA while she awaits the adjudication of her asylum claim.

Honduras: On 5 July 2021, a court in Honduras convicted David Castillo, the former manager of the company Desarrollos Energéticos and the person in charge of the Agua Zarca hydroelectric project, of participating in the 2016 murder of the human rights defender Berta Cáceres. Amnesty International has campaigned for justice for Berta for years and continues to demand that all those responsible for ordering or carrying out her murder face justice.

Denmark: In early 2021, the Danish government proposed a draft law to parliament granting police the power to issue a “security-creating assembly ban” if a group of people exhibited “insecurity-inciting behaviour”. Amnesty Denmark and partners successfully prevented the Danish government from passing the law, which would have put undue restrictions on the right to protest. They won the Civic Pride Award 2021  for their campaigning. Another award winner was Amnesty Hungary, which campaigned against the abusive and stigmatising LexNGO law, as part of the Civilisacion coalition. Over 3 years, the coalition fought LexNGO, taking the case to the European Court of Justice, which eventually led to the repeal of the law.

Sierra Leone: After years of sustained campaigning from Amnesty International and others, the parliament voted to abolish the death penalty in Sierra Leone  for all crimes. The Act, approved by parliament in July, was being finalised before President Julius Maada Bio can sign it into law. The process of commuting all outstanding death sentences has already begun. As of 30 June 2021, 21 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa had abolished the death penalty for all crimes.

Latin America: Amnesty International celebrated the achievements of its five-year human rights education programme, It’s My Body!, which set out to educate young people in Argentina, Chile and Peru about sexual and reproductive rights, enabling them to make positive changes in their community. Hundreds of young people were trained to provide support to others and the impact has been incredible. In Argentina, one young person successfully reformed a school curriculum to include comprehensive sexuality education, while in Peru, young people who took part in the project trained parents and teachers across the country.

USA: After the previous US federal administration carried out 13 executions in six months, on 1 July 2021, the US Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the establishment of a moratorium on executions pending the review of policies and procedure by the Department of Justice. Amnesty International has been one of the organizations campaigning for this outcome and will continue to work until this temporary measure is turned into permanent abolition of the US federal death penalty [and all death sentences are commuted.

August

Afghanistan: Following the collapse of the Afghanistan government after the Taliban seized power in mid-August 2021, Amnesty International researchers continue to investigate atrocities committed by the group and were able to verify two massacres of Hazara people in the provinces of Ghazni  and Daykundi  by Taliban fighters. These reports were among the first evidence that the Taliban continued to persecute marginalized communities in Afghanistan as they took control of the country. Amnesty International also published powerful testimony from girls  who were excluded from school, amidst ongoing Taliban threats and violence.



September

Guinea: After months of campaigning  from Amnesty International and its supporters, pro-democracy activist Omar Sylla was unconditionally released on 6 September, the day after the military led a coup against President Alpha Conde. Following his release, dozens of political activists were also released and charges were dropped by the judiciary.

Tunisia: Research by Amnesty International helped to end the practice of arbitrary travel bans imposed on many Tunisians following President Kais Saied’s seizure of exceptional powers. After Amnesty published a story on the situation, the president issued a statement  on 17 September ordering the border police “not to impose any travel ban on people unless through a judicial order”.

Global: Following years of advocacy, pressure and engagement from Amnesty International, the Human Rights Council recognized the Right to a Safe Clean Healthy and Sustainable Environment and created a Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Climate Change – an emphatic statement leading up to COP26 about the link between human rights and the environmental crisis.

Central African Republic: Two men suspected of crimes against humanity Mahamat Said Abdel Kani and Eugene Barret Ngaikosset were finally arrested, with Ngaikosset placed in custody by the Special Criminal Court (SCC). It was the first time the SCC publicly named  a suspect and it came after Amnesty International called  for the SCC to address its lack of transparency. Amnesty International has been advocating for justice for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in CAR for a number of years and our work – together with others – contributed to these two individuals being arrested.

October

Global: The European Parliament’s Daphne Caruana Prize for Journalism was awarded to the Pegasus Project, which saw Amnesty partner with major media organizations to expose the vast scale of violations perpetrated through secretive cyber surveillance. The revelations made global headlines and led to spyware company NSO Group being blacklisted by the USA, as well as triggering investigations in multiple countries, and calls for the surveillance industry to be properly regulated.

Moldova: The parliament of Moldova ratified the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention and Suppression of Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention), opening the door to better protection and support to survivors of domestic violence and violence against women. According to the Moldovan government, the country has already adapted more than 20 legislative acts to meet the requirements of the convention. To date, the only other country in Eastern Europe and Central Asia to ratify the convention, in addition to Moldova, is Georgia. Amnesty has been actively promoting women’s rights and the fight against domestic violence for years.

Kosovo: Following an intervention from Amnesty International, Austrian-based Kelkos Energy withdrew its baseless defamation lawsuits  against environmental activists Shpresa Loshaj and Adriatik Gacaferi, who had publicly raised concerns about the environmental impact of hydropower projects. Austrian-based Kelkos Energy was using these lawsuits to intimidate and silence Shpresa and Adriatik from speaking out about the possible environmental damage caused by the company’s exploitation of Kosovo’s natural resources.

Turkey: A court acquitted  18 students and an academic who had been prosecuted for taking part in a peaceful campus-based Pride parade in Ankara in May 2019, which was met with police using pepper spray, plastic bullets and tear gas. Their acquittal after a protracted legal battle was a victory for justice. The case of the METU students was part of Amnesty International’s flagship Write for Rights campaign in 2020. More than 445,000 people from 43 countries demanded their acquittal.

Global: Following pressure from Amnesty’s international and partner organisations, the Executive Office of the UN Secretary-General announced plans to mainstream children’s rights within the UN system. The announcement followed a successful UN side-event organised jointly by Amnesty International and its partners, featuring an address by Amnesty’s Secretary General, Agnes Callamard.

November

Guinea Bissau and Niger: Guinea Bissau and Niger declared  they would allow individuals and NGOS to submit complaints to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, bringing the number of countries to sign the declaration to eight. Amnesty’s advocacy campaign was pivotal, thanks to its educational video, social media campaign and sustained engagements with African Union actors and civil society groups.

global, HUMAN RIGHTS

United States : Marquette Law School Establishes Center for Restorative Justice

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article by Rebecca Kelliher in Diverse, Issues in Higher Education

Marquette University recently announced its creation of the Andrew Center for Restorative Justice at Marquette Law School. To establish the Center, Marquette alumni couple Louis and Suzanne Bouquet Andrew have committed $5 million. Janine P. Geske, a retired professor of law at Marquette and a current trustee of the University, will be the Center’s inaugural director.

In a statement, Geske described restorative justice as “a powerful, peace means for addressing conflict, promoting healing, and facilitating problem solving that differs from current mediation practices.” Until 1998, Geske had been a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court before teaching restorative justice to students for about twenty years. Prior to her retirement at Marquette, Geske directed the Law School’s Restorative Justice Initiative. 

“It has been my dream to have a permanent restorative justice program at Marquette Law School,” she said. “As a judge and attorney, I experienced both the successes of our criminal justice system as well as its failures in bringing restoration to victims and communities harmed by crime. I left the bench because I wanted to help better address the needs of those who have been harmed and marginalized in society.”

The Center will build upon Geske’s work, training law students in how to use restorative justice at local, national, and international levels. Restorative justice often involves lawyers, judges, or other professionals who engage in a guided civil dialogue to address conflict, promote healing, and facilitate problem solving. Such dialogues can be between the victim, the victim’s family members, the offender, and other members of the impacted community.

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Discussion question

Restorative justice, What does it look like in practice?

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“I am most excited that this gift will enable us to continue Janine’s restorative justice work in a robust way and thereby help give our students a broad sense of what the possibilities are for lawyers in not just the legal system per se but in serving the community generally,” said Joseph D. Kearney, dean of Marquette Law School and a professor of law.

He noted that recent years have drawn greater attention to how a crime harms not only the victims but surrounding communities. A restorative justice approach aims to mend these ripple effects alongside or separate from the formal processes of the legal system.

“This is not intended in most instances to be an alternative to traditional criminal law or a way for people who have committed a substantial wrong to get a lesser consequence for their action by making a face-to-face apology,” said Kearney.

The Center will also support faculty research and strengthen restorative justice work in the wider community. Geske previously participated in restorative justice efforts that addressed bullying in primary and secondary schools, for instance. This sometimes involved creating a safe setting for a student who was bullied to enter an open dialogue with the student who did the bullying. Through the Center, such community work could be expanded, including training school counselors in similar techniques.

Kearney added that restorative justice can be highly sensitive work. In some cases, a facilitator like Geske could work with an offender and victim for up to a year on taking steps toward restorative justice before deciding it is appropriate for the two to have a face-to-face discussion.

“And in some instances, it will be evident that it will not be appropriate, that there may be too great a risk of re-traumatizing the victim,” said Kearney. 

Such delicacy in restorative justice highlights to Kearney why someone as skillful as Geske is an ideal person to come out of retirement to get the Center off the ground. Later this month, Geske will facilitate the Center’s launch and, while director, help search for its permanent director.

“It is so exciting that because of the Andrews’ generous gift, we will be able to permanently support the teaching, practicing, and promoting of restorative processes to some of our society’s greatest problems,” she said. 

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, North America