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.

Spain: 100 Cities for Peace recognizes the town of Coria for its ties with Japan

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

An article from Canal Sur

The international movement 100 Cities for Peace has awarded Coria del Río (Seville) the Pax Urbis prize, considering it a model of a culture of peace and tolerance thanks to its links and its historical relations with Japan.

The prize is being given in the context of the commemoration of the 150 anniversary of diplomatic relations between Spain and Japan, according to the official notice sent of the City Hall.

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(Click here for the Spanish original of this article)

Questions for this article:

How can culture of peace be developed at the municipal level?

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The notice adds that the mayor of Coria del Río, Modesto González, has thanked 100 Cities for Peace for this recognition, assuring that “for all the Corians there can be no greater pride than being considered a people of peace and an example to follow. The prize should inspire us to make an even greater effort to deepen and spread Japanese culture with its many enriching values.”

The Pax Urbis award is granted annually as a prize that commits the winners to responsibility and continuity of their efforts for peace.

100 Cities for Peace has granted the Pax Urbis International Awards since 2007 to cities, people and institutions that have promoted the culture of peace and its fundamental values.

The award will be given to the mayor, as representative of the municipality, next October during the celebration of the Japanese Cultural Week.

The award aims to recognize all the efforts made by citizens and the government of Coria del Río to maintain and promote relations with Japan, relations that have intensified especially in recent years, bringing benefits to the municipality; tourism, business, cultural and educational agreements.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Europe

The carnage against Gaza civilian protesters

. HUMAN RIGHTS .

A message received by email from Nonviolence International (info@nonviolenceinternational.net)

Dear Friends–

Jonathan Kuttab, our Treasurer and Co-Founder, has this to say in the wake of the dozens killed in peaceful protest this past weekend:

The carnage against Gaza civilian protesters in shocking and unconscionable. Over 40 people have been killed just today and over a thousand wounded by live fire. Palestinians have a right to protest peacefully, and Israel has no right to shoot at protesters except in self defense. No Israeli soldier or civilian has been hurt or endangered. There is absolutely no excuse for this carnage. We cannot be silent in the face of this massacre.

Our sorrow and pain at this human loss is tempered by our admiration for the protesters.

We are awed and impressed by the determined nonviolence of these Palestinians. They go to their protests knowing that Israeli deadly drones and snipers are awaiting them, yet they go ahead to make their voices heard and their demands, which have been ignored for far too long known to the world. This is a reminder of Gandhi’s Salt March in India and the Sharpesville massacre in South Africa, and we have no doubt that their legitimate demands will eventually be realized. Brute military force cannot ultimately prevail against the determined spirit of a people prepared to die for their beliefs.

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Questions related to this article:

Rights of the child, How can they be promoted and protected?

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

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We denounce in the strongest possible terms the use of deadly violence against unarmed protesters and call on Israel to refrain from such murderous behavior which constitute a crime against humanity. We also call for the immediate lifting of the illegal siege of Gaza and the permission of the flow of civilian goods and people in and out of Gaza. Non-violent protests and attempts to break this siege will continue and Nonviolence International is proud to support such actions.

With this tragedy in mind, we are excited to introduce a new project into the Nonviolence International family. We Are Not Numbers, spearheaded by American journalist Pam Bailey, aims to humanize the victims of mass conflict through storytelling and mentoring. On their website, you can find dozens upon dozens of real-life accounts of the Palestinian struggle. From stories told by small children to octogenarians, We Are Not Numbers helps to provide faces to the statistics that are so widely spread.

You can read their tales here: https://wearenotnumbers.org/home/Stories, and, as always, you can donate here: http://nonviolenceinternational.net/wp/donate/.
With Peace,

Nonviolence International

HUMAN RIGHTS, Mideast, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

USA: Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

Excerpts from annual report of Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance

Quite a year—OREPA members rose up to meet the greatest financial challenge in our 30-year history, raising more than $50,000 in less than 60 days to fund a lawsuit to stop the Uranium Processing Facility nuclear bomb plant planned for Oak Ridge.

At the same time, it was the year the future broke open with new possibilities—the UN passed the Ban Treaty that outlaws all nuclear weapons development, production, possession, deployment, testing, use, threat of use…


It was the year that we traveled to Germany and came to a new collaboration with colleagues in Europe who are aggressively resisting the deployment of US nuclear weapons in five countries there.

It was the year we went to the United Nations to help lead a workshop on US nuclear weapons production and participate in the initial negotiating stages of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons—it was exciting and humbling to watch the deliberations and realize history was turning before our eyes because of the courage of the delegates and the leadership of Costa Rica’s Elayne Whyte Gómez.

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Question related to this article:

Can we abolish all nuclear weapons?

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It was the year we turned our eyes to the future with determination to develop a new generation of leaders in the struggle to abolish nuclear weapons as we began to implement the goals of our Next Generation Leadership Fund.

Meanwhile, we continued to do the many things that has made OREPA a strong and effective organization—publishing a newsletter that Ralph Nader called, in his year-end blog, a “must-read.”

And we maintained our on-line presence; celebrated the conclusion of the 18th year of uninterrupted Sunday vigils at the Y12 Nuclear Weapons Complex by launching year 19; published the Reflection Booklet; kept our staff and our bills paid; took seven people to Washington, DC, to oppose the UPF bomb plant in meetings with Congress and Administration officials; and worked with our colleagues in the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability to develop and carry out strategies to oppose new bomb plants and new bombs while we advocate for responsible policies for nuclear waste and cleanup programs.

Oh, yes—we also sued the National Nuclear Security Administration and celebrated the Nobel Peace Prize going to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

Most important of all—not one bit of OREPA’s work this past year would have been possible without the persistent, amazing support of our members. Many of you not only sent money, but wrote letters to the editor, pressured your elected officials, invited OREPA to make presentations, held fundraising events for the lawsuit, and educated yourselves about the trillion dollar plan to “modernize” the US nuclear arsenal.

So our year-in-review closes with a huge Thank You to everyone who took part in this grand year.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, North America

Campaign for Compliance with the Nuclear Ban Treaty 

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

Campaign description from Nuclear Ban US (excerpts)

The Campaign for Treaty Compliance is about getting individuals, businesses, faith communities, schools, organizations, cities and states to be in ‘compliance’ with the Nuclear Ban Treaty. This will put pressure on the nuclear weapons industry and eventually force the federal government to implement the Treaty.


Click for more information about…

Becoming ‘treaty compliant’ yourself

For most people, Treaty Compliance is pretty simple. It means:

* You are not employed by any of the companies that make nuclear weapons.

* You do not have personal investments in any of them.

* You will not buy any of their products in future . . .

Helping to get a group or organization to be ‘treaty compliant'(neighborhood, club, school, university, business, faith community, civic organization)

Any organization or institution that wants to be on the right side of history and help rid the world of nuclear weapons can decide to be in ‘compliance’ with the Nuclear Ban Treaty. To have the force of legality behind it, normally it will be the board or trustees or some similar body who will need to agree to this. That body may then oversee the rest of the process or assign a smaller (sub-)committee to do so. . . .

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Question related to this article:

Can we abolish all nuclear weapons?

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Working locally to get your town/city to be ‘treaty compliant’

There are 220 towns, cities, counties and Native American nations across the United States which declared themselves Nuclear Free Zones (NFZs) in the 1980s. Some of the local ordinances and city codes that established these zones were largely symbolic, but many had real teeth and included fines and other sanctions for violations. Sample ordinances and city codes are located here.

Many of these existing NFZs are already Treaty Compliant with the Nuclear Ban Treaty. Others may want to revise their existing legislation to be fully in compliance with the new Treaty.

In addition to NFZs, there are 211 cities in the United States who have signed the Mayors for Peace (MfP) covenant. This commits the mayor to “make every effort…to achieve the total abolition of nuclear weapons…” These mayors may choose to appoint a Mayoral Commission to oversee Treaty Compliance for their city. . . .

Campaigning state-wide to get your state to be ‘treaty compliant’

Individual states of the Union cannot sign international agreements, but they can decide to comply with such agreements. When President Trump announced he would be pulling the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement, cities and states across the country stepped up to the plate to commit themselves to this Agreement, with or without the federal government’s blessing.

Sixteen states (plus Puerto Rico) have so far committed themselves to meeting these targets because they recognize that climate change poses an existential threat to humanity and that the US government is out of step with the global consensus on what to do to address this problem. Nuclear weapons also pose an existential threat to humanity, and once again the US government is out of step with the global consensus on how to eliminate these weapons once and for all. . . .

Campaigning nationally to get the federal government to sign the Treaty

The only protection from nuclear weapons is to eliminate them all. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons bans all nuclear weapons and seeks their total elimination. Ultimately, we want the US President to sign this Treaty, we want the Senate to ratify it, and we want to see it fully implemented and enforced. You can sign the WILPF petition calling for this here. You can also urge your member of Congress to sign the ICAN Parliamentary Pledge here. . . .

JOIN THE CAMPAIGN .

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, North America

African Union: Africa’s Peace and Security Landscape by the Year 2023: A Prospective Analysis of Peace and Security Challenges

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from the African Union

The Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU), dedicated its 766th meeting held on 24 April 2018, to an Open Session on the theme: “Africa’s Peace and Security Landscape by the Year 2023 (End of First Ten-Year Implementation Plan of Agenda 2063): A Prospective Analysis of Peace and Security Challenges”.

Council and participants took note of the opening statement made by the Chairperson of the PSC Chairperson for the month of April 2018, Ambassador Bankole A. Adeoye of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. They also took note of the presentations made by the AU Acting Director for Peace and Security, Dr. Admore Mupoki Kambudzi; Dr. Kassim Mohammed Khamis from the AU Directorate for Strategic Policy Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, International Cooperation and Resource Mobilization; the Chief Executive Officer of the African Peer Review Mechanism, Professor Eddy Maloka and Dr. Jakkie Cilliers from the Institute for Security Studies. Council and participants also took note of the statements made by the representatives of AU Member States, Regional Economic Communities, as well as by the representatives of the AU partners, other institutions and organizations;

Council and participants recalled the AU Vision of achieving an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena. They also recalled Agenda 2063, as Africa’s endogenous plan for structural transformation and a shared values strategic framework for inclusive growth and sustainable development in the continent, including its seven aspirations. They recalled in particular aspiration number four on building peaceful and secure Africa. They further recalled the 50thOAU/AU Anniversary Solemn Declaration on Silencing the Guns in Africa by the Year 2020 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) also known as Agenda 2030.

Council and participants acknowledged that most of the violent conflicts and crises facing parts of the African continent are rooted in governance deficits, which include mismanagement of diversity, manipulation of constitutions, marginalization of the youth and mismanagement of natural resources. In this regard, Council and participants urged all Member States to redouble their efforts and improve their governance systems. In the same context, participants underscored the importance of further enhancing the capacity of AU Election Observation Missions, with a view to ensuring that they discharge their mandates professionally and contribute towards ensuring the credibility of elections in Member States and hence preventing election-related violent conflicts and crisis situations. They also underscored the critical role that the Panel of the Wise can play in preventing election-related conflicts in Africa.

Council and participants also acknowledged that although the AU has most of the required normative instruments for preventing conflicts and crises, as well as promoting sustainable peace, security and stability in the continent, some Member States have not yet signed and ratified these instruments. In this regard, Council urged all Member States, which had not yet done so, to urgently sign, ratify and domesticate all AU normative instruments, which among others, include the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance; the OAU Declaration On Principles Governing the Conduct of Democratic Elections in Africa, the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union.

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

Question for this article:

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

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Council and participants underlined the importance of the AU Commission to ensure that the implementation of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) and the African Governance Architecture (AGA) are harmonized. Within the context of implementation of the AU Master Roadmap of Practical Steps to Silence the Guns in Africa by the Year 2020, Council and they also underlined the importance of enhanced collaboration and cooperation between the AU and the RECs/RMs; the AU and the United Nations; as well as between the AU and similar international entities in the promotion of durable peace, security and stability African. 

Council and Participants emphasized the importance of the PSC to fully discharge its mandate as provided for by the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union.

Council and participants noting the close link between violent conflicts and illegal exploration of natural resources, particularly, the mineral resources, in parts of the African continent, underscored the importance of Member States to put in place effective natural resources management systems, in order to ensure that the proceeds from these resources are not used to fuel conflicts but rather, to benefit the population of the Member States concerned.

Council and participants also noting the direct link between abject poverty and violent conflicts, emphasized the importance of Member States to promote sustainable and balanced economic development programmes, which take into full consideration the needs of the population. In the same context, they encouraged Member States to invest more in modernizing Agriculture, with a view to ensuring food security to the population, and to effectively regulate the mining industries. Furthermore, they emphasized the need for Member States to effectively combat corruption, money laundering and externalization of Africa’s scarce financial resources;

Council and Participants also emphasized the importance of understanding regional dimensions of African conflicts and, hence, the significant contribution that the countries of the region can make in finding lasting solutions to protracted conflicts in Africa. Furthermore, they emphasized the importance of understanding the exogenous factors that drive and fuel violent conflicts in Africa, including the role of multi-national corporations/companies;

Mindful of the close links between some cases of relapses in parts of the African continent and non-implementation of peace agreements, Council and participants emphasized the importance of the signatories of peace agreements in countries emerging from conflict situations to sign and implement those agreements in their letter and spirit, with a view to effectively preventing future relapses. In the same context,  they underscored the importance of engaging constructively with all key political actors in conflict contexts, with a view to ensuring that they develop the necessary political will to end violent conflicts and restore peace, security and stability in their countries;

Council and participants also mindful of the fact that some violent conflicts in parts of the continent are a result of regionalism, ethnic and racial marginalization, encouraged Member States to ensure that the compositions of all State institutions clearly reflect the ethnic and racial compositions of their countries.

Council and participants, mindful of the need to harness the demographic dividend and the potential security threat that can be posed by the unemployed and marginalized youth, underscored the importance of Member States to mainstream youth inclusion in peace processes and to create conducive conditions for youth empowerment.

Council and participants underscored the importance of expediting the operationalization of the African Standby Force, in order to ensure that the Force is readily available at the disposal of the PSC for possible use pursuant to Article 4 (h) of the PSC Protocol and the AU Constitutive Act;

Council and participants underscored the importance of inculcating the culture of peace, unity in diversity, tolerance in education curriculum. In this regard, they encouraged all Member States, RECs/RMs, civil society organizations, the private sector and the international community to ensure that, beyond slogans, they collectively contribute towards the realization of the goal of silencing the guns in Africa by the Year 2020.

Africa, DISARMAMENT & SECURITY

Europe’s Religious Leaders to discuss the role of multi-religious cooperation in social cohesion

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

A press release received by email from the European Council of Religious Leaders

On the 7 and 8 May 2018, Senior Religious Leaders from many different countries and Religious traditions across Europe will be meeting together in Budapest, Hungary.

The European Council of Religious Leaders is the most representative interreligious council in Europe and is part of the global Religions for Peace network. Though the European Council of Religious Leaders was established in 2002, this will be the first time they will meet in Hungary.


(click on image to enlarge)

The council draws on the spiritual, ethical and moral wisdom and resources of the world’s great religious traditions and leaders in order to support the building of peace, social harmony and security throughout Europe and the wider world. In Hungary the council will be discussing the role of multi-religious cooperation in social cohesion and human security.

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

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It is evident that the changing political, social and demographic dynamics in contemporary Europe present some of the biggest challenges for a generation to European citizens, communities and governments. Religions role in many of these challenges is often ambiguous: for example it is often implicated in extremism, but is also a vital positive resource in welcoming the increasing numbers of migrants into European community. The symposium will explore how religion might support and enhance efforts to break down negative stereotypes, create unanimity where deep division currently exists, and contributing to safe, peaceful and cohesive societies and communities in Europe today.

The European Council of Religious Leaders’ representatives from many different countries and religions, will also work together to distribute hundreds of plates of hot lunch, and dry food though participation in a major free food distribution event for those in need in Budapest.

The council will be meeting with a number of religious representatives from Hungary during their visit. The delegation will include the renowned theologian and former politician Bishop Gunnar Stalsett, the distinguished Sikh spiritual leader, Bhai Sahib Bhai Mohinder Singh, the award-winning human rights advocate, lecturer, writer and environmental activist Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp, and His Eminence Metropolitan Emmanuel, European Orthodoxy’s most prominent advocate for peace and dialogue.

The European Council of Religious Leaders (ECRL) brings together senior religious leaders from Europe’s historical religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam together with Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs and Zoroastrians. ECRL is one of five regional Interreligious Councils within the Religions for Peace global network. Religions for Peace – accredited to the United Nations – is the world’s largest and most representative multi-religious coalition advancing common action for peace since 1970.

More information: www.ecrl.eu.

Media Contact:
Thomas Flügge, Media Relations, tf@bildwort.com
Rebecca Bellamy, Secretariat Management, secretariat@ecrl.eu

Europe, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Pontifical Council, WCC develop joint text on education for peace

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article from the World Council of Churches (reprinted as non-commercial use)

The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID) of the Vatican and the Office of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation of the World Council of Churches (WCC) met in Geneva from 16-18 April for their annual meeting. Staff from the two offices united in prayer, fellowship and joint work on a document titled “Education for Peace in a Multi-Religious World”.

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Question for this article:

Where is peace education taking place?

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The PCID delegation also met with Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, WCC general secretary. Expressing his delight at the forthcoming visit of His Holiness Pope Francis to the WCC on the occasion of WCC’s 70th anniversary, Tveit emphasized that the papal visit would be both a testimony of hope as well as an opportunity for further ecumenical collaboration in the service of our common humanity.

The PCID delegation also acknowledged with gratitude the friendship and collaboration they experienced during the tenure of Dr Clare Amos, who retired recently from the WCC.

Both delegations agreed to continue their close collaboration in fostering interreligious dialogue ecumenically.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, global

Mapping Youth Involvement in Colombia’s Peace Process

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article from Search for Common Ground

In collaboration with USAID’s Program of Alliances for Reconciliation, our most recent report, Peacebuilding in Colombia: A Youth Perspective, maps the current landscape of youth leaders and youth-led organizations in post-conflict Colombia. It also examines their potential in playing a key role to drive positive social change.

Too often, in post-conflict environments, youth perspectives are ignored or undervalued. To promote youth inclusion in Colombia, we employed our innovative Youth Mapping Methodology, which allowed us to better understand how they use their influence within their communities. Overall, we collected information from 391 youth in 21 municipalities.

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Question related to this article:

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

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The key findings shed light on various aspects of youth participation, including the demographic makeup of youth leadership and youth-led organizations, the range of activities conducted by these organizations, and the operational and societal challenges faced by these groups, among others. 91% of the youth indicated that they are ready to leave the past behind and are open to dialogue with those different from them. Based on the youth mapping findings, we make four recommendations promoting ways to better incorporate youth into the peacebuilding process.

Download the full policy brief to learn more:

Full Report – English

Highlights – English

Full Report – Spanish

Highlights – Spanish

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America

Nonviolence Charter: Progress Report 12 (April 2018)

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An article by Robert J. Burrowes, Anita McKone & Anahata Giri in the Transcend Media Service (abridged)

This is the latest six-monthly report on progress in relation to ‘The People’s Charter to Create a Nonviolent World’ together with a sample of news about Charter signatories and organizations.


Robert J. Burrowes, Anita McKone & Anahata Giri

Our collective effort to build a worldwide consensus against the use of violence in all contexts continues to make progress, even against rather overwhelming odds!

Our last report on 5 October 2017 was kindly published by Antonio C. S. Rosa in the TRANSCEND Media Service Weekly Digest. At the time of today’s report, we have signatories in 104 countries with our first signatories in Bolivia, Rwanda and Slovakia since the last report. We also have 114 organizations/networks from 36 countries with our first organization in Rwanda. If you wish, you can see the list of organizational endorsements on the Charter website.

If you wish to see individual signatories, click on the ‘View signatures’ item in the sidebar. You can use the search facility if you want to look for a specific name.

The latest progress report article ‘Nonviolence or Nonexistence? The Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.’ was recently distributed to many progressive news websites: it was published by a number of outlets in 15 countries, thanks to very supportive editors (several of whom are Charter signatories: special thanks to Antonio Rosa, Gifty Ayim-Korankye, Korsi Senyo and Pía Figueroa). If you like, you can read the article (in English and Spanish), published on the anniversary of the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. here: ‘Nonviolence or Nonexistence? The Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.’ and ‘¿No violencia o No existencia? El legado de Martin Luther King Jr.’

If you feel inclined to do so, you are welcome to help raise awareness of the Nonviolence Charter using whatever means are easiest for you. Given recent revelations of the corruption of Facebook, this Charter account has been closed.

And our usual invitation and reminder: You are most welcome to send us a report on your activities for inclusion in the next report. We would love to hear from you!

Anyway, here is another (inadequate) sample of reports of the activities of individuals and organizations who are your fellow Charter signatories.

Given that dysfunctional parenting is ultimately responsible for the behaviour of those individuals – including political, corporate, military and religious leaders – who generate and perpetuate violence, a number of Charter signatories are now making ‘My Promise to Children’ so that we start to produce a higher proportion of functional individuals who know how to powerfully resolve conflicts in their lives without resort to violence. Still other signatories are now prioritizing their own recovery from childhood violence by ‘Putting Feelings First’.

Some other signatories are developing more sophisticated nonviolent strategies to deal with peace, environment and social justice issues more effectively, or so they can be more strategic in their liberation struggle. If you are interested in nonviolent strategy for your campaign or liberation struggle, these websites (which include photos of several Charter signatories) will be helpful:

Nonviolent Campaign Strategy

Nonviolent Defense/Liberation Strategy

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Question for this article:

Can peace be guaranteed through nonviolent means?

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If any of you have high quality photos of nonviolent actions that you are willing to have published on these sites, please send them to Robert All photos will be acknowledged where published.

If you would like to see Venezuelan Antonio Gutiérrez Rodero’s Spanish translation of the Nonviolence Charter, it is available here.

Deciding to recognize some of the many fine peace and justice leaders around the world, Charter signatory Professor Kathleen Malley-Morrison and her colleague Professor Anthony J. Marsella researched the efforts of hundreds of fine activist leaders. They compiled these names into a succession of ‘lists of 100’ and had these lists published. You can see the names of the people they decided to recognize, including many Charter signatories, in the first three lists here:

‘In Pursuit of Peace and Justice: 100 Peace & Justice Leaders and Models’.

‘In Pursuit of Peace and Justice: 100 Peace & Justice Leaders and Models (List #2)’.

‘100 Living Peace and Justice Leaders and Models (List #3)’.

Thank you for all your work Kathie and Tony.

Daniel Dalai’s visionary initiative Earthgardens, originally based in Bolivia and now in Guatemala, provides opportunities for girls to realize and practice their inherent leadership potential, particularly as part of Eco Teams in preserving natural biodiversity. Their beautiful website has just been updated and the stunning photos alone will tell you much about what these remarkable girls are doing. See Earthgardens.

The Afghan Peace Volunteers, mentored by Hakim, continue their visionary work in ‘Pursuing Peace Despite Everything’ in war-torn Afghanistan. Recently, on 21 March – which was ‘Nao Roz’ or ‘New Day’, the Afghan New Year – a suicide bomb attack occurred near Kabul University, not very far from the Borderfree Nonviolence Community Centre of the Afghan Peace Volunteers; it killed 32 people. ‘Despite the complicated fears and emotions that arise with each security incident, Zekerullah, Bismillah, Nisar and others gathered at the Centre, built a peace sign and lifted it up into the air with multi-coloured balloons.’ You can see their beautiful achievement and beautiful faces in the photos at the link above.

Among her ‘endless’ activist commitments, including with the Afghan Peace Volunteers, Kathy Kelly still manages to write regularly to tell us what she is experiencing and, often enough, what others are experiencing as a result of being targeted by the US military. This thought-provoking article ‘From the Ground Up’ begins by describing the experience of Afghan mothers living in a perpetual war zone.

Pía Figueroa in Chile is Co-Director of ‘Pressenza International Press Agency’, ‘a site that feeds media every day for free with news, opinions, interviews and contributions regarding peace, nonviolence, disarmament, human rights, nondiscrimination and humanism in eight different languages, thanks to the volunteer work of more than 100 people based in 25 different countries.’ Pía is also a writer; her books have been published in several languages and presented in more than forty places. She specializes in Silo’s proposals on inner development and the creation of a Universal Human Nation, where all kinds of violence and discrimination will be surpassed. Pía presently lives in Santiago de Chile, where she is an active member of the Humanist Party and the Frente Amplio political coalition. Nevertheless, she travels a lot, participating in public events and journalistic forums as well as in nonviolent gatherings, since she considers herself a global activist for peace. In a recent insightful commentary on politics in Chile, Pía wrote The era is decisive’. . . .

Click here for additional reports from Cambodia, Morocco, West Papua, Slovakia, Russia, Malaysa, USA, Nigeria, Ghana, Iraq, Brazil, Palestine, Australia, Canada, Ethiopia, D.R.Congo, New Zealand, Myanmar, India, Denmark, UK, Rwanda and Bolivia,

(Click here for the Spanish version of this article)

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, global

English bulletin May 1, 2018

IS THERE PROGRESS TOWARD PEACE ?

We started off this year with news that South and North Korea would hold high-level talks and that they would compete jointly in the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. That came off well. “In PyeongChang, the world became one,” said Lee Hee-beom, head of the PyeongChang Organizing Committee. “Transcending the differences of race, religion, nation and gender, we smiled together, cried together, and shared friendship together.”

Progress is continuing this month with the announcement that the leaders shook hands at the Demilitarized Zone between the two countries and pledged to work to denuclearize the peninsula and to declare the official end to the Korean War. In the words of South Korean President Moon Jae-In: “Kim Jong-un and I declared together that there will be no more war on the Korean Peninsula and a new age of peace has begun.”

The struggle for justice for the Palestinian people, that featured the young activist Amed Tamimi in last month’s bulletin, became more dramatic this month as thousands of Palestinians took part in a month of nonviolent marches called the Great March of Return. Israel could not tolerate such a massive demonstration and used snipers to shoot the unarmed participants. . Veteran peace activist Uri Avnery compares this to the British atrocities against Gandhi and his followers in India and the racist attacks on Martin Lurther King and his followers in Alabama and he reminds us that eventually the British had to leave India.

Meanwhile, the Palestinians do not give up hope, despite hardship and war, as illustrated by the Gaza Children Cinema, “born out of a desire to create a safe haven for children . . . evidence of the magic of cinema—of how film can relieve suffering and provide light to literally one of the darkest places in the World.”

This year was the 62nd session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, and as a follow-up we publish brief interviews with 15 of its participants coming from all corners of the world. In the words of Sohini Shoaib from India, “Women are rising up, and not just women, all these people who feel they have been silenced.”

And finally, the schoolchildren of the United States, who took to the streets on March 24 to protest gun violence following the shooting in the school of Parkland, Florida, have continued their mobilization. There were again walkouts in over 2500 schools across the country on April 20, the anniversary of the 1999 school massacre in Columbine, Colorado, and students are planning to continue mobilizing during the summer vacation this year. As explained by one of the organizers, speaking to her group of students, “”Change happens through patience and this fight does not stop after April 20.”

As one commentator remarks, the student protests are part of a broader agenda to “stop fueling the culture of violence and militarism,” which includes training programs in the schools to prepare students to become military officers.

Are we making progress toward a culture of peace? Only time will tell.

      

DISARMAMENT AND SECURITY


“Our Dreams Are Coming True”: Peace Activists Celebrate as Korean Leaders Vow to Officially End War

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION


Bolivia calls for the preservation of South America as a zone of peace free of nuclear weapons

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION



First Congress of World Leaders, International Cities of Peace, at the invitation of the Fundación El Sol

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT



Latin American mayors meet in Costa Rica for development goals

WOMEN’S EQUALITY


Voices from 62nd session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW62)

HUMAN RIGHTS



Amnesty International: Israeli forces must end the use of excessive force in response to “Great March of Return” protests

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY



Palestine’s Great March of Return: A New Defiance Campaign

EDUCATION FOR PEACE



Dominican Republic: Integrating art subjects in centers helps create a culture of peace
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