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 European Union, the Colombian Government and the civil society work together in the project: “Community Radios for Peace and Coexistence”

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article by Radios Comunitarias para la Paz (translated by CPNN)

With the presence of the Ambassador in Colombia of the European Union, the High Commissioner for Peace, the Minister of Culture and the Vice-Minister of ICT, an ambitious project of support for community radio is being launched on Thursday 9 February. It seeks to strengthen community radio as a relevant actor in the construction of peace and coexistence.


The project “Community Radios for Peace and Coexistence”, is funded by the Delegation of the European Union (EU) and implemented by the Cooperative Network Of Community Media of Santander, Resander. The project has the support of the Presidency of the Republic through the Conversación más Grande del Mundo, the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace (OACP), the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies .

This project is in addition to other initiatives that recognize the community radios as protagonists of peace building in the territories, and who have confidence in the potential that this sector has. This has been expressed by the European Union Delegation in Colombia, whose Ambassador Ana Paula Zacarías is convinced of the fundamental role that community radio plays in building a stable and lasting peace: “Peace is in the regions and it is there The community broadcasters have their goals, their broadcasts and their audiences. They contribute to strengthening the social fabric and reconciliation, “said the diplomat.

In order to strengthen community radio broadcasters as relevant actors in the construction of a territorial peace and, taking advantage of the celebration of Journalist’s Day, it will open with the program: “This is how peace sounds in the territories”, which will support 50 community stations, granting them more than 600 million pesos for the production and broadcast of radio programs with contents on a culture of peace and coexistence. This figure is in addition to the more than one billion pesos that the project will deliver to the community radio sector during 2017.

(Article continued in right column)

(Click here for the original Spanish version of this article

Question related to this article:

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

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

How can peace be promoted by radio?

(Article continued from left column)

The launch will coincide with the National Meeting of Regional Networks of Community Radios that will gather in Bogota, about 70 percent of the representatives of more than 600 community stations in the country.

This launch is also the opening of the 5th Workshop: Building Peace and Culture of Coexistence from the Community Radio in which radio broadcasters from the center of the country and six journalists from stations located in Transitional Zonal Transitional Areas (ZVTN) will participate. Representatives of community stations in Anorí, Ituango, Remedios (Antioquia), San José del Guaviare, El Retorno (Guaviare) and Policarpa (Nariño) will be present, whose communication work is vital not only for the implementation of the Final Peace Agreement, but also to achieve the reconstruction of the social fabric of territories and to emerge from the conflict.

Community Radio is an actor and agent of local change. Its journalists know the region in which they live and understand it in all its dynamics. It is also a first-hand amplifier of the concerns, needs, visions and dreams of the communities on this path that Colombia has begun towards reconciliation and peace building. This is evidenced by the 90 second micro-pedagogical messages that have produced about 140 community radio broadcasters throughout the country in the IV workshops that this project has done so far.

 “The philosophy and the missionary aspects of community radio, as an actor of development close to the communities from the communication in the territories, constitutes great potential in this post-conflict era in Colombia,” says Fernando Tibaduiza, Manager of the project.

it is very important to have the assistance of the European Union, Resander and the Colombian Government as allies, in launching and making visible this joint work, which strengthens communication from the local level for the construction of a peaceful Colombia.

For more information contact Luisa Fernanda López, luisalopez@radioscomunitariasparalapaz.co, 3003077819

You can download all the press material (photos, videos, announcements, profiles etc.) at this link>

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America

Live long and protest: the power of mass action is alive in Romania

. . . EDUCATION FOR PEACE . . .

A Blogpost by Irina Bandrabur for Greenpeace

At the beginning of this month, the biggest mass protest in Romania since the fall of communism in 1989 unfolded across the country. Hundreds of thousands of people in the capital, Bucharest, and every major city in Romania took to the streets against a decree that would have decriminalised abuses of public office. After a week of peaceful protests, the government withdrew the controversial law


Photo (c) Mihai Stoica / Greenpeace
Click on photo to enlarge

You don’t see mobilisation like this every day, but it happens when the stakes are high – and it can be extremely powerful. Previous mass demonstrations highlighted cyanide open-pit mining in Rosia Montana (2013), forest protection (2015) and again corruption, after a horrible fire in a nightclub that could have been prevented if the people responsible had applied the law (Colectiv, autumn 2015).

Greenpeace Romania joined protesters because we believe the consequences of the emergency ordinance decree would have affected our work to protect the environment. It would have indirectly allowed companies to choose less costly and environmentally-damaging alternatives for their projects without fear of legal repercussions. The recently-passed executive order also threatened the already limited checks and balances against environmental crimes.

(Article continued in right column)

Questions for this article:

Can peace be guaranteed through nonviolent means?

How effective are mass protest marches?

(Article continued from left column)

The reasons that hundreds of thousands of people so vocally rejected this decree may vary in tone from one to the next, but we knew the country needed to stand together against corruption: in a country that decriminalises corruption, there is no protection against environmental crimes.

Crowds all over Romania braved a bitter winter chill to protest. With creativity and humour on the banners displayed they inspired many more to join in and add their own – or even fly in from other countries where they now live – to show solidarity. Because of the pressure exerted by the large number of people that took to the streets to protect democracy, the Government repealed the ordinance.

Each time people demonstrate for something is a reminder that we must act together to protect our fundamental rights and that we have the power to change unjust actions. We are experiencing challenging times and the clock is ticking on the health of the planet. Now, more than ever, we need to unite in the fight to protect our planet from the threats posed by climate change.
Protests are going on, all over the world. If you are reading this and you feel that all might be lost, remember that someone, somewhere is just now realising that it’s time to act and is not giving up hope. There’s simply too much to lose now. We resist and insist on the fact that holding political office does not give anyone the right to exploit it to legitimise environmental, or any other kind of abuse. We are used to hard fights and improbable victories. We are stronger together. Take action now and get involved in a local active group to make your voice heard.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Europe

16th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Press release form the 16th World Nobel Peace Prize Summit (translated by CPNN)

With their final declaration, gathering their thoughts and messages to the world, the 30 or so laureates participating in the 16th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates formally closed their meeting, which for the first time took place in Latin America.


Click on photo to enlarge
At the closing ceremony of the Summit, held on Saturday, February 4, at 5:30 p.m. in Corferias, their Peace Prize was presented as a recognition to an important world leader for his Actions oriented to peace; as well as the Social Activist Medal for a Colombian leader, and the Social Transformation Award for a youth project that promotes positive change on a local or global scale.

Culture, as an integral and transversal part of this Summit, was also present at the closing ceremony, with presentations by the Bogota Philharmonic Orchestra, artists César López, Marta Gómez and other special guests that surprised the audience.

FINAL DECLARATION

We, the Nobel Peace Prize laureates, gathered in Bogota to promote world peace and support the efforts of the Colombian people’s to achieve a just and lasting peace, welcome President Juan Manuel Santos to the Nobel family. We congratulate him on the agreement reached to end the internal armed conflict of 52 years. We thank the people, the Colombian civil society, and in particular the Chamber of Commerce of Bogotá, for their extraordinary support for this Summit.

We are also here in Colombia to share with the Colombian people our own experiences in building peace and to seek a consensus on the fundamental principles that should guide the paths that lead to it.

We welcome the recent signing in November 2016 of the agreement between the Colombian Government and the FARC guerrillas, which ended the last and longest armed conflict in the Western Hemisphere, a conflict that left more than 8 million victims and displaced persons, as well as more than 220 thousand dead.

We highlight some characteristics of the peace process in Colombia, which can be taken as lessons for other conflicts to be resolved in the world:

– The positive and negative experiences of other processes were considered and taken into account.
– The negotiation started from a fundamental postulate: central to the solution of the conflict is the claim and guarantee of the rights of the victims to the truth, justice, reparation and non-repetition.
– An innovative model of transitional justice was achieved that, while respecting international standards, seeks to achieve maximum justice without sacrificing peace.
– The process was carried out in an environment of discretion, patience and seriousness, with periodic communications to the media, avoiding the pressure to produce news or results every day.

We call on the international community to accompany and support the implementation of the peace process in Colombia. This includes ensuring the presence of the State and its services in areas most affected by the conflict; demining of the territory; implementation of the transitional justice system; rural development programs, replacement of illicit crops and reparation for victims; the fight against violence generated by criminal gangs, such as those formed by former paramilitaries, and the reincorporation of ex-guerrillas into civilian life, including the participation of FARC in the political process, once disarmament has been completed.

The agreement to terminate the conflict in Colombia has been the best news of peace on the planet in a long time. That is why, as laureates of the Nobel Peace Prize, we pledge to support the consolidation of that peace, for the benefit of Colombians, the Latin American region and the world.

We also receive with special consideration “The Charter of Colombia: 10 Principles for Peace”, which President Santos has proposed to this Summit for support by his fellow laureates and for international dissemination.

We are confident that the example of Colombia will inspire peoples who face other conflicts to persist in their efforts to find a just and lasting peace.

Challenges to world order and peace have been increasing in recent years and represent a huge challenge for the international community and multilateral institutions. We are deeply concerned about the threat to global cooperation of the new wave of populism, exclusionary nationalism and protectionism. The threats facing humanity can only be addressed if we continue to cooperate globally.

The greatest existential threats to humanity today are climate change and environmental degradation, and the continued existence of more than 14,000 nuclear weapons. The arms race, the continuing wars, the dictatorships, the terrorism – including the terrorism of State -, in their diverse facets and denominations, have sowed and continue to sow death and pain in many countries. We recognize that terrorism can be better combated if social justice, democratic institutions and good governance are guaranteed. The war in Syria and the drama of its population is a wound in the consciousness of humanity that does not stop bleeding. The crisis of refugees and migration continues to escalate. The various migratory waves that we have experienced in recent decades require an unprecedented effort of human solidarity and long-term strategic planning. We must be on our guard to avoid politicizing humanitarian aid. We express our extreme concern about the bombing of hospitals and schools. Other global crises, such as endemic poverty, social injustice, child labor, urban violence, sexual violence against women and children, trafficking in persons, drug trafficking and the devastating effects of the war on drugs continue to claim victims In various regions of the world, and impede sustainable development. In the face of these threats and challenges facing peace, we issue a CALL TO ACTION by the international community, by governments, civil society, youth and the private sector – to:

(Article continued in the column on the right)

(Click here for the original version of this article in Spanish)

Question related to this article:
 
Where in the world can we find good leadership today?

(Article continued from the column on the left)

* Implement the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and advance a coherent global strategy that will ensure the long-term protection of our precious planet;

* Work for inclusive development and sustainable peace, addressing the root causes of poverty and war, giving priority to the United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and urge the international community to allocate the necessary financial resources for its implementation;

* Renew the vision of a world without nuclear weapons and support the urgent negotiation of a new treaty to prohibit them, leading to their complete elimination;

* Confirm the need to eradicate other weapons that particularly affect the civilian population, such as anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions, as well as to preemptively prohibit fully autonomous weapons, and to control the possession and use of small arms;

* Advance in the development and implementation of coherent and interrelated policies that promote a harmonious and sustainable development of our societies and that generates peace, prosperity and well-being for all – particularly for marginalized children, young people and women -, emphasizing the importance of reducing inequality;

* Work on the compelling evidence that our world will only achieve higher levels of peace, prosperity and development if the rights of women, children and minorities are reflected in peace processes, public policies and budget allocations with clear commitments that lead to more inclusive leadership;

* Promote integrated and inclusive policies that generate productive and quality education and employment that benefit young people, women, victims and those displaced by violence, who are reintegrated into society after a peace process, as well as those discriminated against for ethnic, racist, religious, gender, disability or any other reasons, so that they can be incorporated into the labor force; We call upon States to combat hate speech based on any of these motivations;

* Call on all sectors to make concerted action to end human trafficking, modern slavery, sexual exploitation, child labor and all forms of violence against women and children;

* Advance concerted actions at the global, regional, national and local levels to combat drug trafficking, narco-politics and corruption, and accelerate the process of civil disarmament, always within parameters of protection and guarantee of human rights; We must not allow the criminalization of human rights defenders and we must resolutely oppose new forms of racism, discrimination or xenophobia;

* Promote campaigns and program development in which youth, teachers, civil society, social and technological networks take a responsible and active part in order to strengthen a culture of peace;

* Urge States to include public policies that promote and strengthen education for peace;

* Develop a complete, modern and effective operational peace architecture, including improving the means for resolving international disputes and disputes, for sustainable peace and for advancing a broad, common and inclusive strategy to end conflicts, war and the threat of war;

* Defend and revitalize the United Nations, strengthening the supremacy of law at the international level and at the level of the member countries of the organization, and condemning impartially and forcefully all violations of human rights, violations of international humanitarian law, repression and persecution of peaceful opposition, and the massacres of civilians carried out with impunity; We call upon States and the international community to ensure the rule of law;

We invite the States, peoples and religions of the world to recognize and understand the interdependence between people, communities and nations, in a sense of unity, compassion and solidarity. Only in this way can we transform the Earth – the common home of the human family – into a world in peace.

Nobel Peace Laureates who confirmed their participation in the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Bogota:

Lech Wałęsa
Óscar Arias Sánchez
Rigoberta Menchú Tum
José Ramos-Horta
Jody Williams
David Trimble
Shirin Ebadi
Mohamed El-Baradei
Leymah Gbowee
Tawakkul Karman
Kailash Satyarthi
Juan Manuel Santos

Click
here to see a history of the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America

Coal and oil demand ‘could peak in 2020’

. .. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT .. .

An article by Megan Darby in Climate Change News

Fossil fuel giants are vastly underestimating the disruptive power of solar panels and electric cars, which could see coal and oil demand peak by 2020. That is the conclusion of a report by the Carbon Tracker Initiative and Grantham Institute published on Thursday.


A 10MW solar plant at Masdar City, Abu Dhabi (Pic: Masdar)

Energy companies pursuing business as usual are in for a rude awakening, by this analysis, with many mines and oil fields likely to become surplus to requirements.

Based on dramatic cost reductions in recent years, the model foresees these two technologies taking a 10% chunk of market share from carbon majors in a decade. That may not sound like much, but was enough to devastate the US coal sector.

“If people are just waiting on policy to happen, they could get bitten by clean technology coming up behind them,” said James Leaton, an author of the report.

Solar panel costs have fallen 85% in the past seven years and car battery costs 73%. Despite these advances, the traditional energy companies continue to forecast linear growth at best.

BP predicts electric cars will make up 6% of the market by 2035. Carbon Tracker reckons a third is feasible.

Exxon Mobil expects all renewables to supply 11% of electricity in 2040. Carbon Tracker says solar alone could produce 23%.

It is not enough to meet the Paris Agreement upper limit on global warming of 2C, but bends the curve to 2.4-2.7C, compared to 3-4C under industry scenarios. Policies targeting other sectors would bring the international climate goal within reach.

Question for this article:
global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

A Call to Address Identity-based Violence through Teach-ins at American Universities [and around the World]

…. HUMAN RIGHTS ….

A call from the International Institute on Peace Education

Dear Colleagues in Peace Education,

The rise in hate crimes experienced during these months of intense political is an assault on the fundamental rights of citizens integral to our constitutional democracy. They also pose a serious obstacle to the essential goals of peace education and peace studies, learning toward the achievement of a just and peaceful global order. While identity violence is not unique to the US it is in our own society that we have the opportunity and responsibility to take civic action toward overcoming it. Certainly, confronting the open manifestation of hatred toward any groups or individuals in this country is a responsibility to be taken up by all citizens, but most especially by peace educators who have committed themselves professionally and personally to educate for and to strive toward overcoming violence in all its manifestations. The public articulation of racial, religious and gender prejudice and hatred with the resulting discrimination and violence should be addressed by all realms of education, and most especially by university level peace studies.

American universities have a history of rising to such challenges. The struggle for civil rights, the Vietnam War, South African Apartheid, campus gender violence and climate justice, among other such challenges have produced responses of learning/action at colleges and universities across the country. We believe that this epidemic of hate, particularly Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, should be similarly confronted by the academic community. Multiple possibilities and resources can be drawn upon, from holding campus-wide teach-ins that address the crimes and their causes, to introducing study of religious beliefs and practices into peace studies programs. The extreme ignorance about the religious beliefs, cultural practices and histories of the multiple faiths that profoundly influence the worldviews and ways of life of most peoples of the world has been a significant factor in the occurrences of hate crimes. This ignorance that facilitates such egregious violation of human rights is an issue that the peace studies community is well able to address.

Some of your campuses have partnered with Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC)** to train student leaders, develop curriculum, or advance a campus strategy focused on interfaith cooperation. Others have civically active campus ministries, representing multiple faiths. We call on peace educators to consider exploring with the IFYC-related group on your campus and/or your campus ministries to cooperate in organizing such a teach-in.

(Article continued in the right column)

Questions related to this article:

The post-election fightback for human rights, is it gathering force in the USA?

(Article continued from the left column)

While crimes against any and all groups might be considered as the focus of your efforts, those manifesting virulent Islamophobia and violent outbursts of Anti-Semitism combined with proposals for a Muslim registry, and the executive order banning entry to the US of some Muslim countries, as well the intense conflicts over BDS makes these especially acute problems. These crimes are not only assaults on American values of religious tolerance and the right to personal dignity and security, they are violations of international human rights standards that as stated in the UDHR are “the foundation of peace in the world.” The teach-ins might set the consideration of the crimes in terms of both these national values and constitutional rights and the relevant human rights standards with which all citizens should be familiar. They are essential knowledge for those seeking to become agents of peace.

Should you undertake to introduce this possibility, we would appreciate your sharing your plans and experience, so that we may pass them on to others in a series of posts via the Global Campaign for Peace Education news feed in April.

We would, as well, be glad to pass on and to suggest resources for teach-ins or for the inclusion of the study of various religious beliefs in peace studies courses. Especially relevant would be the teachings about peace and relations with others that are set forth by multiple world religions, including denominational statements on issues such as nuclear weapons, disarmament, nonviolence and the environment.

Please let us hear from you about your plans or what you may already be doing on your respective campuses. Please contact us at info@i-i-p-e.org.

We send our wishes and hopes that the year ahead will see some significant advances toward the tolerance of differences, appreciation of diversity so essential to a just peace on our campuses, in our communities, this country and the world,

The International Institute on Peace Education Secretariat:
Tony Jenkins, Georgetown University
Janet Gerson, IIPE
Dale Snauwaert, The University of Toledo
Betty Reardon, IIPE Founding Director Emeritus

*We welcome and encourage participation from universities and community groups from around the world!

**IFYC offers campus innovation grants, faculty development grants, free educational resources, and other tools to help you plan and implement events. Contact Julia Smith (julia@ifyc.org) to discuss opportunities that may be right for you and your campus.

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

HUMAN RIGHTS, North America

English bulletin February 1, 2017

THE UN WORKING FOR PEACE .

In recent years the United States, Europe and their allies have increasingly addressed world problems without involving the UN, for example in the 2008 financial crisis, and their 2012 meeting in Washington against nuclear proliferation. In the past few days, the new US President has prepared an executive order that would radically reduce American funding of the U.N. And last month the lack of support was clearly evident in the negative votes of these countires concerning the resolutions for the human right to peace, the annual resolution for the culture of peace and the decision to hold a high level meeting on nuclear disarmament.

The resolution on the human right to peace was adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 19 by 131 in favour, 34 against, with 19 abstentions. Among the negative votes were Australia, Canada, United States, Israel, South Korea, United Kingdom, and members of the European Union including France, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and Spain, and many Eastern European countries. Similarly on December 23, the General Assembly adopted by consensus its annual resolution on the culture of peace that was presented by 102 sponsoring countries. None of the above countries were among the sponsors, except for Belgium, Netherlands and South Korea.

The resolution on nuclear disarmament was supported by 140 countries, but once again,among the 30 countries voting against were Australia, Canada, United States, Israel, South Korea, United Kingdom and members of the European Union including France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Spain and many Eastern European countries. While China voted for the resolution, Russia voted against.

When the culture of peace was initiated by UNESCO, it was not supported by all of the socialist countries, but that has evolved in recent years. This year the culture of peace resolution was sponsored by, among others, China, Cuba, Georgia, Russian Federation, Viet Nam and the former Soviet countries of Central Asia. In addition, the Cuban ambassador to the UN introduced the resolution for the right to peace, and the Chinese ambassador to the UN recently stated that “The United Nations should advocate a culture of peace.”

Meanwhile, despite opposition, UN continues to work for peace.

One of the first actions of the newly elected UN Secretary-General António Guterres was to chair a dialogue between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot leaders aimed at reunifying the island that has been split in two since 1983.

The peace accords in Colombia, perhaps the most important peace agreement last year, was greatly aided by the United Nations, and the UN continues be active in its maintenance.

Tourism can make a major contribution to the culture of peace as we have shown in a previous CPNN bulletin on Peace through Tourism. Hence it is important that the United Nations has designated this year, 2017, as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.

Another major contribution to culture of peace is the free flow of information. Here, too the UN is active. Alfred de Zayas, the UN Independent expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order recently welcomed the amnesty to American whistleblower Chelsea Manning He went on to call for amnesty to other whistleblowers like Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, the Luxleakers Antoine Deltour and Raphael Halet [See CPNN article] and the Israeli tax corruption whistleblower Rafi Rotem.

There are some initiatives that the United States, Europe and their allies continue to support at United Nations where they need support of all countries; for example, they voted for the recent Security Council resolution to guard against the risk that non-State actors may acquire or use nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.

The UN continues to show it is our best hope for peace. We showed it’s potential to promote peace during the years of the tenure of Director-General Mayor at UNESCO in the last decade of the 20th Century. Imagine what the UN could do for peace in the future if it were being run by the people, by the cities of the world, for example!

      

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION



‘Cyprus can be symbol of hope’ the world badly needs, says UN chief Guterres as conference opens

WOMEN’S EQUALITY



Dutch to set up global abortion support fund to counter Trump’s cuts

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION



Madrid: World Forum Against Violence and for Peace Education

 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT



2017 International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY



From the “jungle” to the theater, refugees replay their exile to Europe

HUMAN RIGHTS


Canada: teachers are victorious as bargaining rights acknowledged by Supreme Court

DISARMAMENT AND SECURITY



UN Security Council underlines need to halt proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

EDUCATION FOR PEACE


Benin to introduce education for culture of peace
Uncategorized

Dutch to set up global abortion support fund to counter Trump’s cuts

. HUMAN RIGHTS .

An article from Reuters (reprinted by permission)

The Netherlands is launching a global fund to help women access abortion services to compensate for U.S. President Donald Trump’s ban on U.S. federal funding for foreign groups providing abortions or abortion support for family
planning abroad.


Protesters gather for the Women’s March in Oslo, Norway, January 21, 2017. The march is being held in solidarity with similar events taking place internationaly. NTB Scanpix/Stian Lysberg Solum via REUTERS
Click on image to enlarge

The Dutch government has held preliminary discussions on the initiative with other European Union members who have responded positively, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Wednesday. Governments outside the EU, companies and social institutions will also be approached to participate.

Trump on Monday reinstated a policy that requires foreign NGOs who receive U.S. global family planning funds to certify that they do not perform abortions or provide abortion advice as a method of family planning.

Dutch officials estimate that Trump’s restrictions will cause a funding shortfall of $600 million over the next four years. Women’s rights and health campaigners have reacted with anger at Trump’s move. They say restrictions on abortion endanger women’s lives. Trump has also pledged to withdraw funding from U.S. domestic abortion services.

The policy was announced on Tuesday by Liliane Ploumen, minister for international development cooperation, whose Labour Party – the junior coalition partner in the government – is traditionally staunchly in favour of abortion rights.

The Netherlands’s laws on reproduction and reproductive health are among the world’s most liberal. The Dutch vote in parliamentary elections in March.

Foreign ministry spokesman Herman van Gelderen said he was confident relations with the new U.S. administration would not be damaged by the measure.

“Where decisions are taken that are bad for women in developing countries we should help those women,” he said. “It’s not about the politics, it’s about those women.”

The policy also prohibits U.S. federal assistance for foreign groups that use non-U.S. funds for those abortion services or lobby foreign governments to legalise abortion, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, which looks at U.S. global health policy.

Intermittently implemented by U.S. governments since 1984, Barack Obama lifted the measure at the start of his own presidency in 2009. It does not apply to abortion or abortion advice in cases where a pregnancy is a risk to the life of the mother or has resulted from incest or rape.

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

Question related to this article:

Abortion: is it a human right?

Janet adds the following to this article.

Dutch International Development Minister, Lilianne Ploumen, said earlier this week that as many as 20 countries had indicated their support for the effort to replace the $600 million U.S. in funding that will be lost because of Trump’s decision.

“Yes, we will support the [Dutch] effort,” Canada’s counterpart, Marie-Claude Bibeau said.

The US president carries through on campaign promises but apprehensive advocates and governments around the globe react with such engagement as we haven’t seen for a very long time.

Trump’s announcement that he will stop other countries from supporting family planning, that is, they must be certified as not providing abortions or lose funding, speaks to another of his misguided instincts for control. What with the power he holds now, he is in his element with this syndrome of many men. As women have the ultimate power—of populating the planet, or not—the Trumps of the world are driven to find a way to take it away and this performance exposes the US president as one of those by withdrawing support for global family planning to the tune of $600 million.

As Trump withdraws aid from and denounces countries providing abortions or support for abortions, Holland and Canada react with commitments to fill the gap. As well, discussions begin with other EU members and countries outside. This may result in the kind of weight of interest and aid that is so desperately needed.

Europe, HUMAN RIGHTS

Latest Data Support Bullish Stance on Commercial Energy Storage

. .. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT .. .

An article by Vic Shao for Green Charge

Recently, I spoke to Green Charge employees about the state of the commercial energy storage industry and my vision for our role in it. There was much room for optimism: As the cost of a kilowatt-hour of solar power has finally sunk below the average cost of a kilowatt-hour from coal, the ranks of the solar naysayers have diminished. In fact, this isn’t the first time the skeptics have been proven wrong. Since 2002, International Energy Agency (IEA) projections have repeatedly underestimated the pace of solar energy adoption.¹

So what does this mean for commercial energy storage? Though the data in Figure 1 is limited, Bloomberg has found that the adoption trajectory for lithium-ion battery storage bears a remarkable resemblance to that of solar PV.


(Click on image to enlarge)

This makes sense, since the two technologies are symbiotic: Energy storage enables solar PV users to make use of all the energy they generate and alleviates the intermittency associated with solar. Meanwhile, solar PV increases the potential savings of a battery-based storage system, because the battery can often charge from the solar panels rather than the costlier grid. So, as time passes, it gets easier to justify investing in battery-based energy storage, although, as noted in an earlier Green Charge post, it doesn’t pay to let time pass, especially when customers can take advantage of no upfront cost options such as our PEA™ as well as government incentives, which decline over time.

Beyond the solar boost, energy storage also benefits from the growing trend towards greater self-sufficiency in power generation and management. Stemming from financial and security considerations, the ambition to “own” one’s energy resources also dovetails with increasingly important corporate sustainability and social responsibility objectives.

Finally, the energy storage industry stands to gain significant leverage from the growth in electric vehicle (EV) adoption. In its latest research, Germany’s Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) found that the number of EVs worldwide doubled between 2015 and 2016 to 1.3 million cars. That’s 1.3 million drivers who will be looking for economical ways to charge their vehicles. A battery-based energy storage system, charged at the cheapest rate and integrated with the EV charging station, offers the least expensive option. When the energy storage system draws on self-generated renewable sources, it is also the most environmentally friendly.

As we charge into 2017, I see bright prospects for energy storage on the horizon.

¹See Metayer, M., Breyer, C., Fell, H., “The projections for the future and quality in the past of the World Energy Outlook for solar PV and other renewable energy technologies”, Energy Watch Group, 2015, p.8, for a compilation of IEA’s World Energy Outlook projections for solar PV-sourced electricity capacity from 2002 to 2014 compared with actual capacity growth during those years.

Question for this article:
global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Book Review: Towards Less Adversarial Cultures by Ray Cunnington

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

Book description from Amazon and biography from Gail Rappolt (for Culture of Peace Hamilton)

Towards Less Adversarial Cultures shows how the cultures into which people are born can exert a lifelong grip on what they believe and how they act. Rather than feeling free to follow their mature consciousness, many are driven to implement the same ideas they were taught as children. What goes unnoticed is that what was deemed an eternal truth in the time of the Pharaohs may appear quite different in today’s world, particularly in matters relating to war, law, money and the media. For the sake of future generations it is vital that humans reflect upon their evolutionary heritage and matters like climate change, and not remain locked in narrow national animosities, battling it out for the last fish, the last tree, and the last piece of land. It is strongly suggested that ordinary people will swing the balance back to a more cooperative, less violent, society.


Ray Cunnington receives the YMCA Peace Medal
(Click on photo to enlarge)

Biography

It isn’t often that someone aged 96 writes and publishes a book. But that is just what Ray Cunnington, a resident of Dundas, has done. He is a founding member of Culture of Peace Hamilton, a member of the Hamilton Board of the United Nations Association in Canada, and a member of the Department of Peace Initiative — to name a few of his involvements in peace and social justice over the last decade and a half.

Two years ago at 94 he established the United Nations Culture of Peace Fund with the Hamilton Community Foundation. At 95 he was awarded the Hamilton Burlington YMCA Peace Medal, and this year he has written and published a book that is not only about peace, but infused with a generally optimistic view of human evolution, in spite of the wars and conflict all around us

Where did the drive to write this book come from? Such questions aren’t easily answered, but old age certainly creates perspective if a person is still willing and able to learn. For Ray the book’s genesis came from the discussions he had with members of Culture of Peace Hamilton and the Hamilton Peace Think Tank. This latter group is made up of a few remarkable academics and individuals who have lived their lives in quest of peace. Other strands that influenced Ray’s thinking came from United Nations examples, Quaker practices, and the non-violence of Gandhi and Martin Luther King. In his book he asks why so many seemingly loving people attack each other so viciously. In a world under threat of climate change and nuclear war he wonders why so many call for deliberate harm to be inflicted on other people without concern for the planet. His book, Towards Less Adversarial Cultures, is readily available at Amazon book

Ray Cunnington was born in England and educated at a British boarding school. From 1941 to 1946 he served as a medical orderly in the Royal Air Force, mostly in India. After demobilization he was a keen supporter of the movement to ‘Ban the Bomb’ initiated by Einstein and Bertrand Russell. Later he worked in the British film industry and knew many of the stars of the time such as Elizabeth Taylor and Deborah Kerr.

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Question for this article:

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

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Ray came to Canada in 1953 with his wife and their small son and daughter. They chose Canada at least partly because it did not have conscription, unlike Britain and the U.S.. Settling first in Montreal, Ray did many jobs in films, on radio and in advertising before moving to Ontario and being hired as a Communications teacher at Loyalist College Belleville

Many years later, by that time a college administrator, he prepared himself for retirement by taking a college program at night in what for him was the new and intriguing field of human relations. After five years of becoming a student at night and taking night and weekend courses, he graduated with a diploma. Months later he helped to found a local agency designed to end violence against women by working with abusing men. Because of this experience he was invited to teach a course to men at a federal jail.

Family reasons took Ray and his wife to Winnipeg for a few years. They returned to Ontario in 1998 and Ray renewed his association with the peace community by attending Hamilton’s Gandhi Peace Festival. The millennium was coming to a close and there was much hope for world peace.

When the U.N. proclaimed its Manifesto for a Culture of Peace with its six great pathways to more peaceful societies, Ray was among the founding members who helped to establish Culture of Peace Hamilton.

It was a bitter blow when, in the very first year of the new century, the twin towers were attacked on 9/11, the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, and hate crimes were committed in Hamilton. As a response, members of Culture of Peace and United Nation Association, came together with a plan to protect immigrants and the vulnerable from becoming victims of harassment.

It took another year to raise funds, but Ray was among those who, in 2002, obtained a $120,000 grant from the National Crime Prevention Centre to create ‘safe havens’ in public buildings downtown. When that proved to be impractical because it would increase the cost of public insurance, Ray was still determined to ‘Wage Peace’.

He helped to develop ‘Peace Dollars’, a democratic fundraising effort that did not rely on the capricious support of big foundations and fund raisers. Priced at only a dollar, he reminded donors that if everyone in Hamilton bought one it would raise half a million. Over ten years he wrote many op-ed pieces about peace in the Hamilton Spectator.

Ray and Culture of Peace have worked with many groups in their efforts to help Hamilton become a safer and more inclusive city. Collectively they have worked closely with Environment Hamilton, the Gandhi Festival, McMaster Centre for Peace Studies and a whole cluster of other compassionate groups and individuals. They hold regular meetings, provide a Peace Luncheon twice a year and, to make the idea of peace more tangible, have planted a number of Peace Poles and donated a thousand narcissi bulbs to the city’s Peace Garden

To create what he hopes will be a sustaining source of funding at the Hamilton Community Foundation, Ray has established the United Nations Culture of Peace Hamilton Fund. It will receive the profits from Ray’s book. He can be reached at ray.c@cogeco.ca

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, North America

Donald Trump Declared War On ‘Sanctuary Cities.’ They’re Already Fighting Back

…. HUMAN RIGHTS ….

An article with reports by Mollie Reilly, Cristian Farias, Elise Foley and Roque Planas in the Huffington Post (reprinted according to the principle of “fair use”)

One of President Donald Trump’s first major executive actions on immigration policy is facing massive political blowback and will almost certainly crash and burn under the Constitution once courts begin to scrutinize the fine print.


Video of press conference by San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee

During a visit to the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday [January 25], Trump signed an executive order aimed at strong-arming so-called “sanctuary cities” into cooperating fully with his efforts to ramp up deportations. Threatening loss of federal funding and using shaming tactics for localities that refuse to comply, the order is styled as a call to obey existing immigration laws ― even though immigration experts and civil liberties groups are doubtful Trump even has the constitutional authority to enforce it.

Independent of the ultimate legality of the executive order, politicians from those sanctuary cities say they aren’t budging, and legal advocacy groups are gearing up for the coming legal fight.

The president is “in for one hell of a fight,” California state Sen. Scott Weiner (D), who represents San Francisco, said in a statement.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh (D) said his city “will not retreat one inch” from its policy against holding undocumented immigrants it otherwise would not hold based on requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said his city “will not be intimidated by federal dollars and … will not be intimidated by the authoritative message from this administration.” San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee (D) said “nothing has changed” in his city, noting the lack of specifics in Trump’s order.

“We are going to fight this, and cities and states around the country are going to fight this,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said at a press conference Wednesday.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D) already began hinting at a legal challenge, releasing a statement that Trump lacks the constitutional authority for his executive order and that he will do “everything in [his] power” to push back if the president does not rescind it.

Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D) also warned of potential legal challenges to come, saying in a statement that the order “raises significant legal issues that my office will be investigating closely to protect the constitutional and human rights of the people of our state.”

There’s no exact definition of “sanctuary city.” Places like San Francisco and New York use the term broadly to refer to their immigrant-friendly policies, but more generally the term is applied to cities and counties that do not reflexively honor all of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s requests for cooperation. Many of these localities do work with ICE to detain and hand over immigrants suspected or convicted of serious crimes, but they often release low-priority immigrants requested by ICE if they have no other reason to hold them.

“The reason that many local law enforcement officers don’t honor detainers is because courts have said that they violate the Constitution, and if they violate the Constitution, the localities are on the hook financially,” said Cesar Cuauhtemoc Garcia Hernandez, a law professor at the University of Denver who teaches on the intersection of criminal law and immigration.

Just on Tuesday, a federal court in Rhode Island joined several others that have ruled in recent years that certain ICE detainers can violate people’s constitutional rights ― even those of U.S. citizens.

But Trump’s executive order seems to overlook this legal reality, and instead frames sanctuary cities with the alarmist rhetoric he used on the campaign trail.

”Sanctuary jurisdictions across the United States willfully violate Federal law in an attempt to shield aliens from removal from the United States,” his order declares. “These jurisdictions have caused immeasurable harm to the American people and to the very fabric of our Republic.”

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Questions related to this article:

The post-election fightback for human rights, is it gathering force in the USA?

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Thomas Saenz, who heads the Mexican American Legal and Educational Defense Fund, said that on paper the order wouldn’t give Trump the authority to crack down on sanctuary cities, as Trump claimed.

“It’s hot air, but it’s extremely dangerous hot air,” Saenz told The Huffington Post. “It’s designed to intimidate community members.”

To force sanctuary jurisdictions to hold detained immigrants at the behest of ICE would require Congress to pass new legislation, but Congress in 2015 already rejected similar legislation, said Cecillia Wang, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union and a specialist in immigrants’ rights.

“The federal government and specifically the president is trying to coerce states and localities that have made the decision to protect constitutional rights and provide services without regard to immigration status,” she said.

“I’m not sure what Trump thinks he’s doing that’s different,” Saenz said. “The law is already being enforced. If they ― in practice or in intent ― go beyond existing law, it would be subject to challenge as it’s beyond his authority as president.”

As legal twists would have it, the constitutional source for such a challenge would be the Supreme Court’s landmark 2012 decision upholding the Affordable Care Act, in which the court rebuked the federal government for threatening loss of funding for states that refused to expand their Medicaid programs under the law. In his majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts said Congress couldn’t hold “a gun to the head” of the states.

Wang echoed those words and said she’d be monitoring what consequences befall sanctuary cities. “President Trump is holding a gun to their heads and forcing them to comply with his priorities,” she said.

But in California, where immigrants make up roughly one-third of the population, lawmakers said they aren’t waiting on challenges in court, vowing to take the fight into their own hands.

In a press conference Wednesday, state Senate President pro tempore Kevin De León said the legislature will fast-track bills in response to Trump’s orders, including a bill to prevent local law enforcement from using their resources for immigration enforcement.

“These are spiteful and mean-spirited directives that will only instill fear in the hearts of millions of people who pay taxes, contribute to our economy and our way of life,” he said of the orders. “We will have no part in their implementation.”

“We will not spend a single cent nor lift a finger to aid his efforts,” he added.

The legislature has already taken several pre-emptive steps to combat Trump’s policies. In December, the senate and assembly passed a resolution calling on Trump to abandon his promise to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. The chamber has also taken up a bill to establish a legal aid fund for those facing deportation, as well as a bill to create training centers to educate legal workers on immigration law.

“It’s sad Donald Trump thinks these executive orders make America safer, and it’s sad he thinks they make America,” said Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon in a statement.

“Today is a shameful day for our country, but it only strengthens my resolve to stand up against the alarming bigotry and hatred emanating from the White House,” Weiner, the San Francisco state senator, said. “If President Trump believes signing a piece of paper will for one second change how San Francisco and California value and protect our immigrant neighbors, he is underestimating our strength and spirit.”

Their statements came just one day after Gov. Jerry Brown (D) dedicated a portion of his State of the State address to praising the contributions of California’s immigrants, a clear rebuke of Trump’s worldview.

“Immigrants are an integral part of who we are and what we’ve become,” he said. “Let me be clear: We will defend everybody ― every man, woman and child ― who has come here for a better life and has contributed to the well-being of our state.”

HUMAN RIGHTS, North America