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.

US attack on Venezuela: alternative media coverage

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An analysis by CPNN

For the most part the major mass media supports the attack on Venezuela led by the government of the United States. They give the headlines to the US and EU charges against Venezuela, and imply that the Chinese and Russian refusal to go along with the American initiative at the UN Security Council is simply a revival of the Cold War.

According to the news agency of the United Nations, some other countries also gave reasons to oppose the US initiative during the Security Counil meeting, as described below.

Meanwhile, the website Common Dreams carries a statement from 70 intellectuals opposing the US initiative.

Here are the remarks at the UN Security Council from the representatives of South Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Cuba, Bolivia and St Vincent and the Grenadines:

JERRY MATJILA (South Africa) emphasized that, in any country, political parties choose the provisions on which to conduct elections.  Recalling that Venezuela held presidential elections in May 2018 on the basis of its national laws, he voiced deep concern over the “clear attempt […] to circumvent the country’s constitutional legal mechanisms which govern its elections”.  Any grievances or disputes should be resolved in a peaceful manner through the proper mechanisms, without external influence.  Echoing calls for the swift de-escalation of tensions to prevent violence, and for the relevant actors to commit to inclusive and credible political dialogue, he urged the international community and United Nations entities to work with Venezuela and its neighbours to assist those in need.  South Africa stands against any attempt at undue constitutional change of Government in Venezuela, he stressed, warning that the Council must never be an instrument that validates such attempts.

ANATOLIO NDONG MBA (Equatorial Guinea) appealed to Venezuelans to arm themselves with courage and wisdom to overcome this crisis.  The solution, aside from being peaceful and democratic, must be in accordance with the Venezuelan Constitution.  The situation in Venezuela is an internal matter and does not pose a threat to international peace and security, and the Security Council must be cautious in that regard.  The main focus of the United Nations and the Council should be on encouraging the parties to negotiate the differences that are “pushing them to the edge”.  The international community “should not put fuel” on the situation, but rather, facilitate a dialogue.  External interference will only exacerbate tensions.  Recalling the suffering caused by foreign interventions in the Middle East and Africa — “only to change a regime and without any consideration of what could happen afterwards” — he said Equatorial Guinea acknowledges, respects and adheres to the constitutional order of Venezuela.  He expressed hope that all parties will resolve their differences through dialogue, calling on Secretary-General António Guterres to use his diplomatic experience to mediate this crisis.

PAUL OQUIST KELLEY (Nicaragua) reiterated his Government’s full solidarity for the legitimately elected President, Mr. Maduro.  The situation in Venezuela does not represent a threat to international security, he added, strongly urging that the sovereign decisions of the country’s people be respected.  The interest and insistence of the United States to include the subject of Venezuela in the agenda of the Security Council is another form of interventionist action into another nation’s internal affairs.  Its clear objective is to impose a change of Government and replace the constitutional Government of President Maduro through a coup d’état.

(Article continued in the right column.)

Question(s) related to this article:

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

What is really happening in Venezuela?

(Article continued from left column)

These actions do not contribute to a political solution, which belongs to the Venezuelan people as the ones to exercise their right to self-determination, he said.  What characterizes the situation in Venezuela are the brazen attempts to destroy prior achievements made in health, education, housing and reducing poverty.  Nothing should hinder the peace zone of Latin America and the Caribbean and therefore any threat of military aggression is condemnable.  Venezuela is defending non-interventionism and the multilateral order based on independence, sovereignty and the equality of States.

ANAYANSI RODRÍGUEZ CAMEJO (Cuba) said the Caribbean is the stage for threats that are incompatible with the region’s zone of peace, recalling that the 2014 proclamation signed at the second summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) enshrined a duty to uphold the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, notably to refrain from interference in internal affairs, and respect for sovereignty and equal rights.  The current United States Administration appears to have “dusted off the Monroe Doctrine”, and in a fresh extension of imperialism in the region, gone so far as to say that all options are on table.  The region is like a lawn during a drought — a single spark could set off an uncontrollable fire that damages the interests of all, she said, calling it a “tinder box”.  She rejected statements by the United States delegation made today, seeking to exploit the Council to illegitimately campaign against Mr. Maduro’s constitutional leadership.  The main threat to the region is the bullying by the United States and its allies, she said, calling it a flagrant affront to the popular will of Venezuelans.

She voiced unwavering support to the Bolivarian revolution, the union of the Venezuelan people and their democratic Government.  She condemned in the strongest terms, attempts, through a coup d’état, to install a lackey Government to United States interests.  She supported Venezuela’s right to chart its own future.  She decried unilateral coercive measures, calls for a military coup to topple Venezuela’s Government, warnings that the use of military might is an option, the 4 August attempt to assassinate Mr. Maduro, actions by a group of countries, the shameful role of OAS and attempts to apply a worthless policy of regime change, which has been frustrated, time and again, by the resistance of the Venezuelan people.  She advocated respect for the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, expressing Cuba’s unwavering support for the principles of sovereignty, non-use of force or the threat thereof, and non-interference in domestic affairs.  History will judge those who push for a coup d’état, she cautioned.

GARETH BYNOE (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) said his county has been monitoring developments in Venezuela at the bilateral and multilateral levels and expressed deep concern over the unfolding events.  Stressing his Government’s adherence to the principles of non-interference, non-intervention and sovereignty, along with respect for human rights and democracy, he emphasized the need for meaningful dialogue among all stakeholders.  “We are undoubtedly living in an unpredictable era and must reject all attempts to aggravate dangerous situations or engender change of democratically elected leaders,” he said.  The history of Latin America and the Caribbean is indelibly scarred by military interventions and imposition of dictator Governments.  The need to triumph over its lingering remnants drives the countries in the hemisphere “to be viscerally abhorrent to any semblance of its re-emergence”.  Constitutionally, Venezuela has an elected President in Mr. Maduro, but an unconscionable crusade against the legally elected President, orchestrated by OAS, aims to erect a parallel unelected Government.  OAS has abdicated its role of arbiter.  Venezuela is not a threat nor represents a danger to international peace and security.  History teaches that rejection of dialogue is often the precursor to unilateralism and war, he said, an option that cannot be allowed in the region’s zone of peace.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America, United Nations,

Greta Thunberg: My Message to Davos Elites: Act As If Our House Is on Fire. Because It Is.

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article from Common Dreams reprinted under under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License

The following is a slightly edited version of remarks delivered by 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg to attendees at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Friday, January 25, 2018.

video of Greta’s speech
”

Our house is on fire. I am here to say, our house is on fire.
According to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), we are less than 12 years away from not being able to undo our mistakes. In that time, unprecedented changes in all aspects of society need to have taken place, including a reduction of our CO2 emissions by at least 50%.

And please note that those numbers do not include the aspect of equity, which is absolutely necessary to make the Paris agreement work on a global scale. Nor does it include tipping points or feedback loops like the extremely powerful methane gas released from the thawing Arctic permafrost.

At places like Davos, people like to tell success stories. But their financial success has come with an unthinkable price tag. And on climate change, we have to acknowledge we have failed. All political movements in their present form have done so, and the media has failed to create broad public awareness.

But Homo sapiens have not yet failed.

Yes, we are failing, but there is still time to turn everything around. We can still fix this. We still have everything in our own hands. But unless we recognize the overall failures of our current systems, we most probably don’t stand a chance.

We are facing a disaster of unspoken sufferings for enormous amounts of people. And now is not the time for speaking politely or focusing on what we can or cannot say. Now is the time to speak clearly.

Solving the climate crisis is the greatest and most complex challenge that Homo sapiens have ever faced. The main solution, however, is so simple that even a small child can understand it. We have to stop our emissions of greenhouse gases.

Either we do that or we don’t.

(article continued in right column)

Question for this article:

 

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

(Article continued from the left column)

You say nothing in life is black or white. But that is a lie. A very dangerous lie. Either we prevent 1.5C of warming or we don’t. Either we avoid setting off that irreversible chain reaction beyond human control or we don’t.

Either we choose to go on as a civilization or we don’t. That is as black or white as it gets. There are no grey areas when it comes to survival.

We all have a choice. We can create transformational action that will safeguard the living conditions for future generations. Or we can continue with our business as usual and fail.

That is up to you and me.

Some say we should not engage in activism. Instead we should leave everything to our politicians and just vote for a change instead. But what do we do when there is no political will? What do we do when the politics needed are nowhere in sight?

Here in Davos—just like everywhere else —everyone is talking about money. It seems money and growth are our only main concerns.

And since the climate crisis has never once been treated as a crisis, people are simply not aware of the full consequences on our everyday life. People are not aware that there is such a thing as a carbon budget, and just how incredibly small that remaining carbon budget is. That needs to change today.

No other current challenge can match the importance of establishing a wide, public awareness and understanding of our rapidly disappearing carbon budget, that should and must become our new global currency and the very heart of our future and present economics.

We are at a time in history where everyone with any insight of the climate crisis that threatens our civilization—and the entire biosphere—must speak out in clear language, no matter how uncomfortable and unprofitable that may be.

We must change almost everything in our current societies. The bigger your carbon footprint, the bigger your moral duty. The bigger your platform, the bigger your responsibility.

Adults keep saying: “We owe it to the young people to give them hope.” But I don’t want your hope. I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act.

I want you to act as you would in a crisis. I want you to act as if our house is on fire. Because it is.

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

Europe, global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT,

French Organizations Commemorate the Rejection of Nuclear Weapons by the UN in 1946

.DISARMAMENT & SECURITY.

Press Release January 24, 2019

On 24 January 1946, the very first resolution of the United Nations General Assembly called for the elimination of atomic weapons. Despite this historic decision, the nucleararmed States still continue to ignore this call and, on the contrary, are embarking on a new nuclear arms race.


Since the entry into force of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in 1970, the United Nations initiatives for nuclear disarmament have multiplied, until the adoption by 122 countries on 7 July 2017 of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. In spite of these numerous resolutions and the commitment to nuclear disarmament by the NPT Nuclear-Weapon States enshrined in Article VI of the NPT, those states still reject the horizon of a world without nuclear weapons.

While the world stockpiles of nuclear weapons remain staggering, nuclear-armed states are developing new, more sophisticated and usable nuclear weapons that increase the risk of destruction of humanity caused intentionally (by nuclear war) or unintentionally (by human or technological error).

The threat of such destruction is now ranked among the highest for our planet.

In France, the absence of any objective debate on nuclear weapons suggests to public opinion that they would be an absolute guarantee of security. On the occasion of this anniversary of the first United Nations resolution, our leaders must become aware of the urgency of this situation and put an end to this absurd and suicidal nuclear arms race by finally committing to the path of general, progressive and controlled nuclear disarmament.

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

(Continued in right column)

Question related to this article:

Can we abolish all nuclear weapons?

(Continued from left column)

Let us remember the statement by Theodore Monod, French scientist and humanist in 1999: “Nuclear weapon is the accepted end of humanity”.

Signatory organizations

AFCDRP – French Association of Local Governments for Peace
michel.cibot@gmail.com
https://afcdrp.com/

AMFPGN – French Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
r.galinski@amfpgn.org
https://www.amfpgn.org/

GRIP – Research and Information Group on Peace and Security

Home

IDN – Initiatives for Nuclear Disarmament
idn.france.association@gmail.com
http://www.idn-france.org/

Mouvement de la Paix
national@mvtpaix.org
www.mvtpaix.org/

Pax Christi France
delegue@paxchristi.cef.fr
https://www.paxchristi.cef.fr/

Pugwash France
contact@pugwash.fr
pugwash.fr/

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Europe

“Peace and Love rooms in schools”

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

Sent to CPNN by Shahin Gavanji, World Peace Ambassador

Here on the earth, we have thousands of religions and ideologies in which their creators were completely sure about their authenticity. But every day we are faced with wars and bloodsheds. We should ask ourselves why?

When I was a kid I wanted to grow up and tell the world “I love you, let’s love each other and be friends”, so that no kid should be without shelter and food. But as I was growing up a question troubled me: what does peace mean? Is it just the absence of war? Or does it mean something beyond that? I saw countries in which there is no war but nobody gives water to the tree of love. Indeed what happen to the world if the tree of love becomes thirsty?


Shahin Gavanji on left
(click on photo to enlarge)

(Article continued in right column)

 

Question related to this article:

What is the best way to teach peace to children?

(Article continued from left column)

Then an idea came to my mind. What we teach to our children in childhood and adolescence is the same as what they will build in the world. Our children spend most of their time in schools. They get familiar with physics and mathematics, but nobody make them familiar with the most important subjects which are Love and Friendship. Indeed there is no lesson related to these important subjects. In my opinion if in every school we make a room with the name” Peace and Love room”, students will get familiar with the basis of peace and love.

With attention to students we can increase the self confidence between them so that they understand that they can help humankind at the national and international levels. We should teach the student how to love other in this industrial world. Every student can communicate with students in other schools. They should learn “international love” by sending a letter or a picture. In this room the students should learn the equality of men and women.

In this way children can grow up with Love as an essential part of their lives, because they have become familiar with it for many years and it was one of the most important challenges they have faced.

By the use of this idea we can create a world without enmity and hatred, a world of social justice without poverty, racism and any racial discrimination. We can live in a world with social safety, equity, peace and love and the tree of love will no longer be thirsty anywhere in the world.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, global

Democratic Republic of Congo: Activities Report of JFDHOP during the 2018 elections

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

by Medard du Rocher-BOPE, President, JFDHOP (Youth and Women for Human Rights and Peace)

The year 2018 was marked by strong tensions associated with national elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). On the side of power (the rulers), there was no desire to organize these elections and they sought by all means how to circumvent them.


One of their strategies was to offer one of the opposition leaders the post of Prime Minister, which would allow them to extend the term of office of those in power. This would have bypassed the election agreements of Saint Sylvestre that had been agreed on 31/12/2016.

The electoral center, an accomplice, proposed the delay the dates of the election, hoping to provoke a popular uprising that would enable them to declare a state of emergency and simply cancel the elections for a later date.

Also to circumvent the elections, a coup d’etat was prepared, the army and / or the National Police would take power by force for a few days as was done in the past with Kasa Vubu and Mobutu after independence, enabling them to declare the impossibility of organizing elections as a result of insecurity.

Several strategies were mounted; the most recent was the scenario of a fire to burn up the voting machines and bulletins on the high command avenue in Kinshasa / Gombe. Under the watchful eye of the international community, with divided opposition. Part of the latter supported the elections with or without voting machines and another was categorical: elections without a machine for several reasons:

One reason given was that the Congolese people do not have experience with voting machines. One of the proponents has even stated that he needed 6 minutes to use it, and he felt that those who do not master computers would need more or less 20 minutes.

Another argument was that by manipulating the computers, the results could be determined in advance by programming it so that each vote would be counted 3 or 5 times for one of the candidates.

All this was said to discourage the people from going to vote, to sabotage the elections and allow those holding power to cling and extend their power. Finally, the voter turnout turned out to be low at only 37%.

In brief, this was the context in which your Association “J.F.D.HO.P” went to work. Sometimes, security guards would charge us for being supporters of KAMWENA SAPU. But they ended up freeing us when they could not find any indication of KAMWENA SAPU supporters.

Several activities were organized to offer the population to go to the polls and vote. A motorized caravan was organized in October during the submission of applications, encouraging women to come forward, and to realize that they are the majority of the population. This caravan organized for 2 days in Kimbaseke, Ndjili, Makala, Nsele, part of Maluku, Masina, Ngaba, Limete and Matete.

During this period, doubts hovered over the heads of the Congolese people. Everyone supported the elections but the voting machines were called “machine to steal” and this did not inspire confidence.

(continued in right column)

Click here for the version in French)

Question(s) related to this article:

Can you add to this analysis of the Democratic Republic of the Congo?

(continued from left column)

Faced with this situation, your Association organized a morning with the Youth at the Church of God’s Elect at Residential Limit 13th Street to discuss the subject of elections. The theme was “Democracy and Elections”. The Association urged the youth not to give way to discouragement. They must seize the opportunity because their future depends on it. In turn, the young people gave us the mission to bring them the information about whether they were really”machines to steal”.

Your Association attended the sensitization on the voting machine in Ndjili  [a municipality in the Tshangu district of Kinshasa] and we had the opportunity for the first time to use the voting machine and to ask the necessary questions.

After this session, your Association has once again convened a meeting, this time also inviting the elders as well as youth. We explained to them how to vote with the machine. Young people as well as old people who have android phones quickly understood. For the others, it was necessary to explain them more. And, we asked the participants to reiterate to others, to convey the information that the machine is not complicated, it is enough to have in advance the numbers of your candidates, in which case everything is easy. It is more complicated and takes longer if you have to look for the number of your candidates.

But the tension was increasing around the voting machine. One of the leaders of the opposition declare openly that they would sabotage the machines.

Faced with this situation, your Association with the support of the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office distributed T-shirts with various messages of peace, (among others: voting is a right and a duty; violence is a crime; your choice in the elections; it is the Congo of tomorrow; Election yes! violence no!, etc.).

Your Association went to meet with youth associations in Kasavubu, Limete, Makala, Kalamu, Kingasani, Masina, Ndjili, Mont-ngafula and Nsele to exchange and give these messages in the churches and finally with the activists of the political parties. We first went down to the UDPS / Tshisekedi headquarters at Limete 10th Street. We exchanged with the militants of this party and distributed to them the messages of non-violence and peace. To avoid being confused with the candidates to the elections and to avoid being stoned by the population, the members of the Association wore the T-shirt when going to the peripheral districts of the city of Kinshasa such as Malueka, Kimbaseke, Ferbois , Siwabanza, Makala etc.) At bus stops, markets, etc. we distributed messages and spread this message of non-violence and peace. A strong sensitization was also made to the Church of the elect of God in Limete 13th Street by the president of the Association Mr. Medard du Rocher-BOPE. Your Association has also used social networks (facebook, etc.) for a wide dissemination of message.

The postponement of the elections from December 23 to December 30 further sowed doubt about effective organization. Your Association, always close to young people, reassured them by reminding them of the will of the International Community to bring our country to the organization of elections.

Finally, J.F.D.HO.P are volunteers. After voting, they circulated in different polling centers to see what was happening and to assess the degree of violence. Some of our members were in the center until the results were posted.

[Editor’s note: As of the date of posting of this article, the opposition candidate Felix Tshisekedi has been sworn in as President in the country’s first transfer of power via an election in 59 years of independence. However, there are claims that the election was actually won by another opposition candidate, Martin Fayulu, and tensions remain high in the country.]

Africa, DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Book review: On the frontlines of peace

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An article from  Peace News

In places like South Sudan, Syria and Congo failed peace pacts have devastating consequences. Now, renowned author Séverine Autesserre is writing a new book [“On the frontlines of peace”] that focuses on a different approach to peace than traditional high-level negotiations: ‘peace from below’. And where it’s working.


video

“Peace from below is peace built by ordinary people, people like you and me,” Dr Autesserre, a professor of Political Science at Barnard College, Columbia University, said. 
 
“It’s peace that’s built by teachers who go and decide to meet with former students who have become militia leaders, it’s peace built by uncles, mothers, fathers, cousins, who go and meet with family members who are fighting. It’s peace built by local leaders as well, by traditional chiefs or local mayors or local elite who decide to do whatever they can to mediate conflict within their communities.”
 
Just one peace summit, arranged at a national or international level can cost millions, so why aren’t the big negotiations working?
 
“There is absolutely nothing wrong with peace by political leaders,” said Dr Autesserre. “Except that very often it doesn’t happen, it just doesn’t work.”

”What happens is political leaders sign agreements, sometimes they hold elections, and very often the media headlines praise peace, and then a week or two later – sometimes just days after – violence flares up again. Often it never actually ended, and in many cases it lasts for years after.”
 
(Continued in right column)

Question for this article:

What are the most important books about the culture of peace?

(Continued from left column)

“The problem is that currently we are always focusing our efforts on the top, on political leaders, on elite, and we very rarely support peace at the grassroots.”
 
But Dr Autesserre explained that lasting peace requires both these top-down and ground-up approaches. 
 
“Because very often the causes of violence themselves are both top-down and bottom-up. The causes are both political leaders who are fighting (presidents, rebel leaders who are fighting) but also ordinary people who are fighting or who are supporting combatants.”

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo the residents on the island of Idjwi have used a ‘peace from below’ approach to avoid violence, despite surrounding conflict claiming millions of lives.

“Idjwi has all of the conditions that have led to violence in surrounding provinces in other parts of Congo,” said Dr Autesserre. “So you have ethnic tension, you have land conflict, you have geo-strategic location, mineral resources, I could go on and on. But the inhabitants of Idjwi have managed to build peace, and maintain peace, by building on ordinary people and local leaders.”


”What they’ve done is promoted what they call a ‘culture of peace’ – they are very, very proud of their identity as a peaceful island.”


The island’s schools, churches and local organizations strengthen peace here, and respect for local customs also helps. For example, the community sometimes build on blood pacts, a kind of traditional promise between two families who to refrain from violence against each other.

A lack of research means grassroots peacebuilding needs more attention in the academic sphere, but there’s one common theme Dr Autesserre has observed in the various locations she’s studied.
 
“It’s, again, the involvement of ordinary people and local leaders,” she said. 
 
“It’s really the fact that every single member of the community feels that is it his or her responsibility to help build peace, rather than waiting on a Hail Mary, or rather than waiting on a savior, rather than waiting for political leaders, or for United Nations peacekeepers to come and build peace, it’s really taking peace in to their own hands and trying to build peace on an everyday level. That’s what really matters.”

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, global

Lesotho: Is 2019 a year of peace in our schools as peaceful school model takes shape?

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An article from Development for Peace Education

“Students’ enthusiasm in learning has been unleashed by peaceful school model”. This was said by teachers at Fusi and Hareeng teachers at the plenary session organised by Development for Peace Education in Maseru on the 11th December 2018. They shared how the students took a lead on different activities they were assigned responsibility on.


Molefi Pakiso teacher at Fusi Secondary, Senekane Community Council  in Berea shared his excitement “ through the effectiveness of  sports minister the school is now engaging on sports activities unlike the past years….”..

(Continued in right column)

Question for this article:

Where is peace education taking place?

(Continued from left column)

Madam Joalane Sekoati from Hareeng High School said she was amazed by one of the campaigners who used teachers’ dodging of classes as his promise message. “one of the students who campaigned for the position of education minister stated that he is going to ensure that a teacher who may miss his/her lessons will pay for those lessons missed…… that  made every teacher to attend lessons to avoid further embarrassment ….”. She said.

A total of 12 schools in the 8 DPE areas are ready to have students’ elections in the first quarter of 2019. This shall be preceded by leadership orientation on peaceful school model that shall take teachers and principals including those not directly involved.This shall make all DPE areas have functional peaceful school models. It is anticipated that schools will deal better with conflicts and employ peaceful strategies to address problems. Involving students positively will enhance school performance. The baseline study on how these schools deal with conflict and how students are allowed and enabled to participate in the creation of peaceful learning environment is underway. It shall be used against what would have been achieved in the next 18 months. This initiative is proudly supported by Bread for the World.       

Africa, EDUCATION FOR PEACE

Promotion of peace and peace education through schooling: Perspectives and experiences of girls and boys in Mauritius

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

Abstract from the thesis of Priya Darshini Baligadoo at Nottingham University

This thesis explores young boys’ and girls’ perceptions and experiences of their schooling in the small island developing state of Mauritius. It brings to the forefront problems related to cultural and structural violence that can hamper a peaceful schooling in three state secondary schools: a single-sex girls’ school, a single-sex boys’ school and a mixed school which also promote the educational theories of M.K. Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore. The findings reveal that there can be a ‘fideistic’ attitude to Gandhi and Tagore in this context, which highlight the need for a critical peace education that question taken-for-granted assumptions. It also shows that in schools, problems can be hidden and not discussed.

video of Priya Darshini Baligadoo

(Continued in right column)

Question for this article:

Where is peace education taking place?

(Continued from left column)

The methodology was based on a participatory worldview that asserts the importance of a ‘holistic inquiry’ and learning from the ‘Other’ for peaceful coexistence. In this regard, there can be serious ethical challenges for a ‘native’ researcher to conduct participatory research with young people in a small-connected community like Mauritius.

The research also brings together various philosophies of education and peace for the promotion of peace education. It builds on commonalities from the East and West to highlight the importance of the ‘holistic’ in peace education. It promotes the concept of ‘wholeness’ as much emphasised in the East. The research was informed by M.K. Gandhi’s, Rabindranath Tagore’s and Maria Montessori’s educational theories for peace. It was also gender-sensitive and promoted a ‘peace-focused-feminism’, which is grounded in the Eastern philosophies of ‘Yin’ and ‘Yang’, ‘Shakti’ and ‘Shiva’ and ‘Prakriti’ and ‘Purusha’.

[Editor’s note: The full thesis is available from the University by requesting here.]

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, South Asia

2019 Doomsday Clock Statement

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

Press release by The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Humanity now faces two simultaneous existential threats, either of which would be cause for extreme concern and immediate attention. These major threats—nuclear weapons and climate change—were exacerbated this past year by the increased use of information warfare to undermine democracy around the world, amplifying risk from these and other threats and putting the future of civilization in extraordinary danger.


Video of announcement

In the nuclear realm, the United States abandoned the Iran nuclear deal and announced it would withdraw from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), grave steps towards a complete dismantlement of the global arms control process. Although the United States and North Korea moved away from the bellicose rhetoric of 2017, the urgent North Korean nuclear dilemma remains unresolved. Meanwhile, the world’s nuclear nations proceeded with programs of “nuclear modernization” that are all but indistinguishable from a worldwide arms race, and the military doctrines of Russia and the United States have increasingly eroded the long-held taboo against the use of nuclear weapons.

On the climate change front, global carbon dioxide emissions—which seemed to plateau earlier this decade—resumed an upward climb in 2017 and 2018. To halt the worst effects of climate change, the countries of the world must cut net worldwide carbon dioxide emissions to zero by well before the end of the century. By such a measure, the world community failed dismally last year. At the same time, the main global accord on addressing climate change—the 2015 Paris agreement—has become increasingly beleaguered.The United States announced it will withdraw from that pact, and at the December climate summit in Poland, the United States allied itself with Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait (all major petroleum-producing countries) to undercut an expert report on climate change impacts that the Paris climate conference had itself commissioned.

(Continued in right column)

Question related to this article:

Can we abolish all nuclear weapons?

(Continued from left column)

Amid these unfortunate nuclear and climate developments, there was a rise during the last year in the intentional corruption of the information ecosystem on which modern civilization depends. In many forums, including particularly social media, nationalist leaders and their surrogates lied shamelessly, insisting that their lies were truth, and the truth “fake news.” These intentional attempts to distort reality exaggerate social divisions, undermine trust in science, and diminish confidence in elections and democratic institutions. Because these distortions attack the rational discourse required for solving the complex problems facing humanity, cyber-enabled information warfare aggravates other major global dangers—including those posed by nuclear weapons and climate change—as it undermines civilization generally.

There is nothing normal about the complex and frightening reality just described.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Science and Security Board today sets the Doomsday Clock at two minutes to midnight—the closest it has ever been to apocalypse. Though unchanged from 2018, this setting should be taken not as a sign of stability but as a stark warning to leaders and citizens around the world. The current international security situation—what we call the “new abnormal”—has extended over two years now. It’s a state as worrisome as the most dangerous times of the Cold War, a state that features an unpredictable and shifting landscape of simmering disputes that multiply the chances for major military conflict to erupt.

This new abnormal is simply too volatile and dangerous to accept as a continuing state of world affairs.

Dire as the present may seem, there is nothing hopeless or predestined about the future. The Bulletin resolutely believes that human beings can manage the dangers posed by the technology that humans create. Indeed, in the 1990s, leaders in the United States and the Soviet Union took bold action that made nuclear war markedly less likely—and that led the Bulletin to move the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock far from midnight.

But threats must be acknowledged before they can be effectively confronted. The current situation—in which intersecting nuclear, climate, and information warfare threats all go insufficiently recognized and addressed, when they are not simply ignored or denied—is unsustainable. The longer world leaders and citizens carelessly inhabit this new and abnormal reality, the more likely the world is to experience catastrophe of historic proportions.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global

Mexico: Teachers from more than 800 schools trained in culture of peace

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An article from Notimx

With the objective of sensitizing Mexican teachers about the importance of the process of peaceful conflict transformation within the classroom and school, the Secretary of Education of the State of Mexico, through the Council for School Coexistence ( Convive), has launched the program “Learning to live together in a culture of peace”.


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Questions for this article:

Where is peace education taking place?

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As the central axis of this program, Convive has developed a series of manuals for teachers, students and parents at all educational, which provide theoretical and practical tools for the strengthening of harmonious coexistence .

In this regard, Elizabeth Ozuna Rivero, Director General of the Council, explained that the program follows the educational policy of Governor Alfredo Del Mazo Maza, who positions the education sector as one of the determining factors for the welfare of society. In the first stage of the program the principals of the primary schools of the regions of Toluca, Atlacomulco, Metepec and Valle de Bravo were trained, representing a coverage of 876 schools, both public and incorporated.

It is intended that by 2019, all schools in the state will have this material that will strengthen the teaching task to promote a culture for peace.

In addition, training sessions will be conducted for school leaders in each of the regions of the State of Mexico.

(Click here for the original article in Spanish)

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America