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.

Peace Activist Kathy Kelly Heads to Prison for Protesting U.S. Drone War

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article and video from Democracy Now

Peace activist Kathy Kelly is about to begin a three-month prison sentence for protesting the U.S. drone war at a military base in Missouri earlier this year. Kelly, along with another activist, was arrested after offering bread and an indictment against drone warfare. Kelly is the co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, a campaign to end U.S. military and economic warfare.

Kelly
Video of interview with Kathy Kelly

TRANSCRIPT – This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: Kathy Kelly, in addition to U.S. troops staying, 11,000 troops staying, and participating not only in Operation Resolute Support, but fighting themselves directly, they’ll be supported by bombers, drones. You participated in a drone strike, and you’re headed home to Chicago, then to prison. Talk about this drone strike and why you chose to get arrested.

KATHY KELLY: Well, I think it’s a good time to be very uncompromising with regard to the United States’ wars. These wars are murderous. The wars are killing civilians, as has been happening in the United States’ wars since World War II. Now 90 percent of the people killed in wars are civilians. And this is true certainly with the drone strikes. The Reprieve organization has said that for every one person who is selected as a target for assassination, 28 civilians are killed. And even just three nights ago, there was another targeted assassination in which they hit two homes in the Logar province, and six people were wounded, four people were killed, all of them civilians.

And so, I crossed a line at Whiteman Air Force Base. A squadron operates weaponized drones over Afghanistan. Afghanistan has been an epicenter of drone warfare. And a good symbol for people in Afghanistan is breaking bread. I carried a loaf of bread and a letter, wanting to talk to the commandant. We thought it was important to know how many people were killed by Whiteman Air Force Base on that day.

AMY GOODMAN: Where is Whiteman?

KATHY KELLY: That’s in Knob Noster, Missouri.

AMY GOODMAN: And what’s its relationship with Afghanistan?

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Question for this article:

Drones (unmanned bombers), Should they be outlawed?

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KATHY KELLY: Well, the weaponized drones are flown—once they’re airborne, they’re operated entirely by people in United States Air National Guard bases and air bases. And so, Whiteman Air Force Base won’t disclose, neither will the CIA disclose, information about the results of these killings, but this is what people in the United States need to know. We have a First Amendment right to seek redress of grievance. And having been in Afghanistan, living with young people who are too frightened to go back to visit their own relatives, who see for themselves a future that could be a prolonged, exacerbated warfare, there is a grievance, and we wanted to bring that to the commandant at that particular base.

AMY GOODMAN: I said you participated in a strike; I meant to say in a drone protest. So, exactly what was the action you engaged in?

KATHY KELLY: Well, I think I stepped one or two steps over a line. And—

AMY GOODMAN: Holding a loaf of bread and an indictment?

KATHY KELLY: And so the military prosecutor said, “Your Honor, Ms. Kelly is in grave need, great need, of rehabilitation.” But I think it’s a—this is an important time to connect these oppressive issues. You know, while we’re spending $1 trillion on warfare in Afghanistan and looking at another $120 billion that will be spent—the Pentagon wants $57 billion for this year alone—we’re squandering needed resources. We’re undermining the possibility of solving extremely serious problems that we’re moving into.

AMY GOODMAN: How long will you be going to prison for?

KATHY KELLY: Three months.

AMY GOODMAN: Where?

KATHY KELLY: Well, I don’t know yet. The Bureau of Prisons will tell me where I’m to be put, probably at the end of January.

AMY GOODMAN: How many times have you gone to prison for protesting war?

KATHY KELLY: Well, this will be my third time in a federal—well, no, fourth time in a federal prison. And I’ve been jailed in various county jails and other kinds of lockups more times than I can count.

AMY GOODMAN: Kathy Kelly, I want to thank you very much for being with us—

KATHY KELLY: Thank you, Amy.

AMY GOODMAN: —co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, a campaign to end U.S. military and economic warfare, just returned from Kabul, Afghanistan. We’ll link your recent piece, “Obama Extends War in Afghanistan: The implications for U.S. democracy aren’t reassuring.” And, Matt Aikins, please stay with us. I want to talk about your latest piece looking at Afghanistan; the piece is “Afghanistan: The Making of a Narco State.” Stay with us.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, North America

USA: Culture of Peace Commission: Compiling Ashland’s ‘Community Peacebuilders’ network

. .DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION. .

An article by Will Sears in Ashland Daily Tidings (abridged)

. . . Every city and village on earth has individuals and organizations that work at the local level to promote the social order, health and sustainability of their communities. The Rogue Valley is especially blessed with a huge number of such individuals, businesses and organizations that, each in their own way and throughout all sectors of our local society, are already contributing to some aspect of transforming our current culture into one of justice, interconnectedness and peace. That richness, relative to our small population, makes Ashland the perfect place to begin to consciously create a model for a local Culture of Peace that just might spread throughout the world.

Ashland

Global organizations related to the United Nations and the International Cities of Peace are watching us with interest and encouragement as we endeavor to become the first city on earth to consciously and systematically create an overarching local culture of peace. We are being seen as a valuable case study as we deliberately create templates for use in other cities.

Toward this end and among several other programs, the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission (ACPC) has created the Community Peacebuilders Network. This is an as-yet small but constantly growing listing of all of those local groups and individuals, from all sectors of our community, that have already decided to join us, and each other, in this adventure. Each has described in their own words how the work they do contributes to an overall culture of peace in our local area. They are each listed under one of the broad cultural categories of “Business,” “Education,” “Food /Habitat,” “Arts/Culture,” Religion /Spirituality,” “Health /Science,” Legal /Social,” “Environment” or “Multi-sector.” We also have a category for “Individuals” who are working toward peace in some way.

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Questions for this article:

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

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This listing serves to acknowledge the important and often unnoticed work that is being done in our community that moves us toward a better world. It invites and encourages collaboration. It further serves to inspire us all as we realize that we are not alone, that our work is part of a much larger movement sharing an overall common purpose that could potentially change the world.

Another purpose of this listing is to help us to see how we are all contributing to a culture of peace in some way. Farmers and restaurants that foster environmental stewardship, businesses that treat their employees and customers fairly and respectfully, churches that work to promote unity and eliminate bias are all contributing to the peaceful, cooperative health of our society.

As we move forward the ACPC will begin to host periodic conferences aimed at inspiring communication about elements in our community that can be improved and encouraging collaborative solutions as we work toward our goal of creating an interconnected web of peace, justice, sustainability and inclusion in our local area.

The Community Peacebuilders Network is currently viewable on our ACPC website (ashlandcpc.org). You, your business, or your organization are invited and encouraged to be included in this list by filling out a form which you will also find on our website under “join the movement.”

Please do join us as we work together to stitch a seamless new culture of peace that works for us all. Help us to build a model of a single city and its surroundings working together to make a better world from the grassroots up. Help us to create a replicable example for the rest of the world to follow.

At long last, we and the people of the world seem ready!

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, North America

Rio Olympics: Why the opening ceremony’s spotlight on climate change matters

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

Blogpost by Diego Gonzaga for Greenpeace

There is such a complex mix of political, social and economic issues happening in Brazil right now, it is hard to know where to start. Should I mention the president’s impeachment? What about the corruption scandal involving so many Brazilian politicians right now? And don’t get me started on the Zika virus.

Greenpeace
Performance around climate change during Rio Olympic Games opening ceremony. Credit: Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil/Wikimedia Commons

I’ve lost count of how many articles I’ve seen talking about the water pollution in Rio and concerns for the health of the athletes and tourists. Even though I knew deep down that Brazil was not going to be able to meet the world’s expectations — or my own — before the Olympics started, I really hoped that they would somehow figure it out. Unfortunately, that did not happen.

Don’t get me wrong, amongst so much bad media, there is still good news. Brazil just celebrated the tenth anniversary of the Soy Moratorium, an agreement that helps protect the Amazon from deforestation for soy farming. And I cannot forget to mention the huge news that the license for building a mega-dam in the heart of the Amazon was cancelled just last week. But there is always more to be done.

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Question for this article:

How can sports promote peace?

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Brazil may have missed the opportunity to have the sustainable event it planned, but the silver lining is that in this international spotlight, Brazil’s leaders can make the right choices for the environment. There are still other hydroelectric dam projects in the Amazon that should be cancelled. Brazil’s focus needs to be on clean energy options like solar and wind instead — energy sources that protect Brazil’s biodiverse ecosystems and the climate.

Watching the opening ceremony, I was glad to see that at least one opportunity was not missed: bringing climate change front and center. Two powerful messages were delivered during the event. The first was a video about global warming. Seeing Amsterdam, Rio, Florida and so many other places around the world being flooded due to the rise of sea level gave me chills. These are the real consequences if the whole world does not commit to fight against climate change. The second message announced that more than 11,000 trees will be planted in Rio, representing each Olympic athlete.

This part of the opening ceremony was just a symbolic act, but I hope that both messages serve as a wake up call for everyone who watched it — and that the sense of togetherness it provided can make people feel that it is possible to make a difference, even through small acts like planting a tree. The fight against climate change is everyone’s fight. Even some Olympic athletes are recognizing the role they can play.

The whole ceremony was amazingly beautiful, inclusive and exceeded my expectations. It made me feel proud of being Brazilian, because it showed the whole world our culture, history and diversity. And it reminded us all that, if we are capable of joining forces to celebrate Olympic Games together, we can make the world a better place as well.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Latin America

Three Colombian women tell us why preserving seeds is an act of resistance

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article by Fernanda Sanchez in Rabble (reprinted by permission)

Protection of native seeds is growing strong in Colombia. Colombian women are preserving seeds from multiple threats such as mining, free trade agreements, agrochemicals, hybrid and transgenic seeds among others. Fernanda Sánchez Jaramillo spoke with three women from three different provinces in Colombia about how being a seed guardian is an act of resistance, promotes food security and maintains cultural identity.

seeds
Photos provided by the women in the article: (left: Alba Portillo; right: Velma Echavarría)
Click on photos to enlarge

Tulia Álvarez is a 70-year-old smallholder farmer and a seed guardian in Colombia. Her family has lived all its life in the countryside where Álvarez learned how to raise animals and cultivate the land. Life in the cities scares her. She prefers to stay away and travels occasionally to Duitama and Bogotá to sell food that she grows at her farm. Álvarez sells carrots, corn, beans, cilantro, quinoa, amaranth, lettuce, chard, peas and native seeds.

“Our seeds are the most important for our food security and food sovereignty; if we don’t take care of our seeds we won’t have food,” Álvarez told rabble. When asked why women become seed guardians, she responded that women are traditionally responsible for the family orchards and they are concerned about providing food to their families.

There are several women’s organizations protecting seeds in Boyacá such as San Isidro, Asociación de Mujeres Presente y Futuro, among others. “Seeds are sacred. It is why we have to protect them and love them. If there is abundance of seeds and we waste them, they will be gone… like a child that is reprimanded and never comes back.”

While Álvarez is preserving seeds in Boyacá, thousand of kilometers south of Colombia, Alba Portillo is doing the same with other women.

Portillo is 32 years old and was born in Yacuanquer, a small town located near the Galeras Volcano. Yacuanquer is a Quechua word that means sepulchre of the Gods.

Her parents are farmers. She was raised by a family, which has the tradition to talk in the kitchen while making meals on a wood stove with food they grew and harvested such as beans, corn, squash, arracacha and cilantro.

“In my opinion each afro-Colombian woman, female farmer or Indigenous woman who decides to plant native seeds is a seed guardian,” Portillo told rabble.

Being a seed guardian is more than a job, it is her vocation. When she was growing up, Portillo observed that the landscape of the territory she calls home was dramatically changing. Famers had less water and food. She also encountered classmates at school who thought that kids from the countryside were poor and fools.

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Question for this article:

What is the relation between movements for food sovereignty and the global movement for a culture of peace?

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Later on she came to the conclusion that a lot of people in the cities don’t value farmers who grow their food. “Farmers’ work is underpaid and not appreciated. Then, I reflected that food is life’s centre and without seeds food won’t exist. If seeds are gone it will be the extinction of a millenary culture, identity, memory and our roots,” Portillo says.

Portillo belongs to an organization called Red the Guardianes de Semillas de Vida were she promotes growing food in a sustainable way and without agrochemicals. “If farmers don’t have seeds, water and land, they lost everything. Losing the seeds is like being orphans of history.”
Nariño is the centre of agro diversity on the Ecuadorian Andes region. Nowadays Portillo’s organization has 1,200 seed varieties such as quinoa, amaranth, native corn, beans, peas, flowers, tomato and different kinds trees.

“Seeds are sacred. They have lived here and evolved during 11,000 years — in relation to human beings — as part of our family, who has the food has the power,” says Portillo.
Velma Echavarría is an Embera Chamí Indigenous woman who belongs to the Cañamomo-Lomaprieta Reserve in Riosucio (Caldas). She and approximately 40 other women take part of the network that guards seeds.

Cidra, yacón, sagún, cassava, beans, corn, medicinal plants and timber-yielding trees are some of the seeds they protect. Their task is not easy.

“Corn seeds are the most threatened and more difficult to preserve because transgenic corn crop is legal in Colombia and there is not protection from the state for afro-Colombians,

Indigenous and farmers who want to preserve native seeds; on the contrary, regulations pose a risk to native seeds and rural communities,” Echavarría told rabble.

On her reserve, Echavarría and other people offer educational sessions to their community about the harmful impact of transgenic seeds on their food sovereignty and food security.

Thanks to their work, Cañamomo-Lomaprieta Reserve was declared a Transgenic Free Territory in 2009.

Preserving seeds is crucial to Indigenous autonomy. “The relation is direct and essential. This is an act of resistance and autonomy because we pursue the good life for communities within the ancestral territory, prevent displacement and the lost of cultural identity.”

Fernanda Sánchez Jaramillo is a Colombian journalist, has amaster’s degree in international relations and is a social service worker. During her time as a social service worker, she was elected as a human rights representative for people of colour at BCGEU union in Vancouver. Fernanda has 20 years of experience. She worked for traditional media sucThree Colombia women tell us why preserving seeds is an act of resistanceh as El Espectador and El Tiempo in her country but now she is a freelancer for online media in Colombia, Spain and Latin America.

She wrote seven books about women. In 2014, she received the Colibrí award in Barrancabermeja (Colombia) for her contribution to peace through journalism. Nowadays, she is a Carter’s Center fellow and a law student. She is a feminist.

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

Latin America, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Iranian Women Won More than a Medal at the Olympics

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

An article from United for Iran

As the world watches the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, it is clear that this year’s games boasts not only incredibly talented athletes who dominate their sport, but also sportsmen and women who are literally making history. From Simone Manuel’s gold-winning and world record-breaking performance in the women’s 100 meter freestyle, making her the first African American woman to win an individual swimming event, to the debut of the first-ever Olympic refugee team (a recognition of the 60 million refugees in the world today), the Rio Olympics have been a vehicle for social change.

Iran
Kimia Alizadeh Zenoorin of Iran celebrates after winning the bronze medal.
(Click on photo to enlarge)

In fact, breaking barriers and protesting social issues have long been a part of the Olympic tradition. In the 1908 London Olympics, the American shot putter and flag bearer Ralph Rose refused to dip the American flag before King Edward the VII, a policy continued by the US team to this day. At the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, American track and field Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists on the medal stand protesting racially discriminatory policies in their home country. At the 2014 Sochi Olympics, LGBT athletes and allies spoke out against Russia’s anti-gay policies and staged protests that ranged from large demonstrations to kisses with their same-sex lovers after winning Olympic gold.

This year, Darya Safai, a Belgium-Iranian woman, joined that fabled Olympic tradition of protest and barrier breaking. At the Iran versus Egypt men’s volleyball match in Rio, Safai held a sign reading: “Let Iranian women enter their stadiums,” protesting the Iranian government’s refusal to grant women access to soccer and volleyball matches in Iran.

Since 1979, Iranian women have been prohibited from attending football matches. That ban was extended to volleyball matches in 2012. What is worse, women who have protested this gender apartheid have been harassed, arrested and imprisoned. In 2014, the Islamic Republic made its opposition to the presence of women in these public spaces clear when it arrested Ghonche Ghavami, a British-Iranian activist who had protested for equal access to a men-only volleyball match at Iran’s Azadi Stadium. She was arrested attempting to enter the stadium, charged with “propaganda against the state” and sentenced to one year in prison. She was held in prison for five months.

In Rio, Safai picked up Ghavami’s torch and helped shine a light on the Islamic Republic’s denial of fundamental human rights to women. By criminalizing women’s bodies and forbidding their attendance in men’s sporting events, the Iranian government is denying women access to public spaces.

And make no mistake — the ability to be in and be seen in public spaces is a fundamental civil liberty. To have access to public spaces is a critical human right; it means that society recognizes your worth as a person with a voice and the ability to contribute.

The policing of Iranian women’s participation is not just limited to sports matches either: In the Northwest Iranian city of Marivan, bicyclists gather and ride through town every Tuesday night as part of a “vehicle-free” campaign. Last month, an Iranian religious leader declared that women biking was a sin, and for two weeks guards stopped female bikers from participating in the cycling event. Since the state-enforced religious edict came down, women and their allies have held multiple protests in Marivan demanding equal access‌ to the right to bike.

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Question for this article:

How can sports promote peace?

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Of course, any form of public participation by Iranian women have to‌ meet the government-required dress code. All Iranian women, regardless of faith must adhere to hijab (modest islamic dress that includes the headscarf). For Iranian women who are not observant Muslims this means their access to public space has been forcefully limited.

However, despite all of the Islamic Republic’s efforts to keep women out of public spaces and sporting events, Iranian women refuse to end their fight, as they took center stage at the Olympic games in Rio this year.

Just last night, Kimia Alizadeh won the bronze medal in Taekwondo, becoming the first ever Iranian woman to win a medal. “I am so happy for Iranian girls because it is the first medal and I hope at the next Olympics we will get a gold,” she said.

Zahra Nemati is another inspiring story. Athletic from a young age, Zahra was a taekwondo prodigy. She took up taekwondo and while still a teenager qualified for Iran’s National Taekwondo Team. But life for this Olympic hopeful changed in an instant. When she was 18, a car accident left her with a spinal cord injury, and paralyzed her in both legs. But that tragedy did not put an end to Zahra’s Olympic dreams. She continued to press on with incredible determination and courage, winning the gold medal in archery at the 2012 London Paralympic Games, and qualified for both the Olympics and Paralympics in Rio. Zahra is, as one fan described, the epitome of the Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has made a public stance stating in its charter that it is “committed to the goal of equal participation by women in sport.” The IOC has set up the Women in Sports Commission to ensure its gender-equality policies are overseen and implemented.

Though a small and tacit gesture of solidarity, the IOC’s permission for Daraya Safai to hold her sign at the Olympics will be remembered by Iranian women fighting for their rights for years to come, and it sends a clear message to the Islamic Republic. It is now time for the Olympic Committee to put their words in practice and explicitly support those who object sports gender apartheid. Gender-equality practices must be encouraged and enforced both on and off the field. The ability for women to participate and watch sports is nothing short of a pressing human rights issue, and the IOC has a responsibility to ensure that female athletes and fans can participate in the sports they love.

As Kimia and her fellow women Olympians finish their competitions in Rio, they have become beacons of hope to many Iranian women, demonstrating that even in the face of extreme discrimination they can aspire to achieve more. But equally as important, Iranians are looking at how those who dare to ask for equality for women are treated in the International domain — as we look back on these Olympics and remember what we’ve protested and celebrated, we should remember Darya Safai alongside brave Iranian women Olympians.

In the same way that the 1968 Olympics has been remembered as a sign of the times — then the civil rights movement in the US, the Vietnam War, and South Africa’s Apartheid regime — the 2016 Olympics will be known for #BlackGirlMagic, Team Refugee, and for the brave Iranian women fighting for gender-equality and public access to sports.

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

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, South Asia

Changing the system to address injustices: discussing with Mamadou Goita on the World Social Forum

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article from CIDSE

Mamadou Goita is the Executive Director of the Institute for Research and the Promotion of Alternatives in Development (IRPAD/Afrique), based in Bamako, Mali. An active participant of the World Social Forum since its first edition in Porto Alegre, he participated in Montreal as a panelist in the workshop “Agroecology for a healthy planet” organized by Development & Peace with USC Canada, Union Paysanne and SUCO. On that occasion we had a chance to chat with him on the most pressing challenges of our time, on the possible alternatives, and on the role the World Social Forum can play.

CIDSE
Mamadou Goïta – Investing in Agriculture for Food Sovereignty conference, 16 Jan 2014, London

Mamadou Goita is the Executive Director of the Institute for Research and the Promotion of Alternatives in Development (IRPAD/Afrique), based in Bamako, Mali. An active participant of the World Social Forum since its first edition in Porto Alegre, he participated in Montreal as a panelist in the workshop “Agroecology for a healthy planet” organized by Development & Peace with USC Canada, Union Paysanne and SUCO. On that occasion we had a chance to chat with him on the most pressing challenges of our time, on the possible alternatives, and on the role the World Social Forum can play.

What is an important challenge or an injustice that the world needs to address?

There are lots of challenges that need addressing if you look at the different domains. One injustice is the fact of concentrating all the resources in the agricultural industry, while farmers through family farms are feeding the world, and this fact is recognized by all the international institutions. More than 70% of the food that is consumed in the world is produced by small-scale producers, all over the world. The imbalance of the investments in comparison with the industrial agriculture is an injustice that we need to address, the system has to change. This is concerning agriculture, but if you look at the mining resources, you see how the issue of the illicit financial flow is dominating. Those who have resources are those who are poor, exactly like the farmers are those who are hungry. So those who have natural resources in their countries, mainly in the case of Africa, they are those who are suffering from poverty. This is unjust, we need to change it! And if you look at the climate issue: those who are polluting…they are polluting the soil, they are polluting the air, are those who are still benefitting from the investments that we are doing, and this is unjust. Some countries are not polluting at all, but they are continuing to have the burden of the consequences of this. This is a matter of climate justice.

(Interview continued in right column)

Questions for this article:

World Social Forums, Advancing the Global Movement for a Culture of Peace?

What is the relation between movements for food sovereignty and the global movement for a culture of peace?

(Interview continued from left column)

Which alternatives exist for these systemic injustices?

I think first that we need to give power to people, and this means that we have to change the system. The model of governance that we have today cannot work. There are very few corporations dominating the economic system; the State has become the market selling everything and the market has become the State because it is the market that is now making the laws in our countries. The alternative would therefore be to change the system that we have today, giving power to people, listening to what we have been saying in the agricultural sector, in the mining sector, in the financial system, and in other domains like climate and so forth. We need to implement these alternatives in the sense that we need to change the world: another world is possible, but only if you go with the alternatives that we highlight here in these kinds of meetings.

What is the World Social Forum for you?

For me the World Social Forum is a citizens’ space, that can allow not only to analyze the state of the world, but also to draw alternatives and make connections among people, especially those who are committed in the fight against the system. I was lucky to participate in the very first edition of the World Social Forum and since then I missed only one. I saw the way that it has evolved from the past and how it has become today.

How did the World Social Forum change?

The change is firstly related to the context that we are living in. In 2001 things were very tough and corporations tried to hijack processes in the world. There was a lot to say to understand what was going on around the key challenges that we were facing as citizens all over the world. It was a space that was really welcomed in that period, it was necessary to have a counter-power against the corporate system that was present and against some governments that were trying to dominate. I think that a lot has been done in analyzing the context. People were also making some proposals, but on the other hand there was not a lot of follow-up on what was going on between two forums. There was also a very interesting tool in the past, that still exists but its power is now very low, it was the idea of having the “Wall of proposals”, the idea was to look at the key outcomes of the workshops and then use them as a link for collective fight.

Now that we have been growing from Porto Alegre to Mumbai, to the polycentric way of doing the World Social Forum, and back to Porto Alegre, and then to Bamako, to Caracas and Karachi, to Nairobi, Dakar, to Tunisia, then to Tunisia again and then now to Canada…things are completely different. They are different because people are not interested, the locals are not interested in the World Social Forum, or if they are interested they are not aware of what is happening. We say that the forum belongs to the citizens, it belongs to us, and it’s our space.

But if you look at what is happening this year, it’s completely different. I was coordinating the forum in Mali in 2006 and we had control on what was happening there, we refused to let policemen come, we refused to let soldiers, we decided that we would look after our own security. This year many of my friends and colleagues from Africa were denied the visa to come here, so this one is like a selective forum, where you choose who you want, and others are not welcome. But the forum is not about that!

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global

Canada: World Social Forum: a success despite the low turnout

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article from Métro (translated by CPNN)

We expected 50 000, but it was rather 35 000 people who participated in the World Social Forum (WSF) 2016, which ended Sunday in Montreal. Organizers estimate however that the event is a success. According to the co-ordinator Carminda Mac Lorin, visa applications from hundreds of international guests were refused or delayed which has undoubtedly contributed to the low number, as compared to 60 000 people in 2013 in Tunis and 155 000 in Porto Alegre in 2005.

wsf
Barely a hundred people attended the closing ceremony of the World Social Forum on Sunday at Jarry Park. Photo by Mario Beauregard / Metro

“These refusals were ultimately positive, because they have made it possible to make public a subject we do not talk about enough: the issues of international mobility, closure of borders, and refugees,” said Mrs. Mac Lorin, who conducted a debriefing meeting on Sunday with the International Council of the WSF.

The organizers are also proud of the diversity of countries represented by the participants (125), and the variety of topics covered in the forum. “The people who were involved at the forum put forward many initiatives they are going to implement, whether in relation to the status of women, indigenous rights, demilitarization or the fight against violations of human rights by mining companies, “expressed Mrs. Mac Lorin. During the week, about 70 concrete action plans have been adopted and made public Monday.

“We saw that there are practical collective solutions to global issues. I was able to build links that will result in something. “- Ramiro Lopez, Colombian activist

Mrs. Mac Lorin also welcomed the strong contribution of young people in the event. This also impressed Raymonde Maisonneuve, a participating member of the religious congregation of the Holy Cross Sisters. “To a great extent, it was managed and presented by youth. It’s amazing. This is the future “, welcomed Ms Maisonneuve, who yesterday attended the WSF closing ceremony at Jarry Park.

It lacked atmosphere in the park on Sunday, where only a hundred people attended the ceremony. To some participants who were there, it was like the rest of the week. “I was expecting huge crowds at our demonstration, but that was not the case. In addition, various activities were very scattered, “said Marie Guerda Saint-Fort, a citizen of Haiti.

Several participants, however, were satisfied with the exchange of ideas which resulted from the WSF. “The issues that affect the entire planet, such as mining, oil and food safety, we addressed them,” said Ramiro Lopez, an activist who paid his way to come from Colombia.

In the same vein, the WSF international council is satisfied that such a space of convergence is always needed and that it will be back soon in another corner of the world.

(Click here for the original article in French)

Question for this article:
FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, North America

UCLG City of Bogotá Peace Prize: Finalists selected!

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

An article from the UCLG Peace Prize

Out of many applications from across the globe, the high-level jury has now selected the five finalists for the UCLG City of Bogotá Peace Prize. This was not an easy decision, as many local governments have submitted high-quality and innovative projects. The finalists are invited to present their case to the jury and public at the world congress of the international organization of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG).

UCLG

The finalists comprise a diverse range of innovative peace projects by local governments. Out of many initiatives across the globe that had been submitted, these following innovative projects have been selected as top contenders for the award:

* Canoas, Brazil: in Canoas, local authorities have designated Peace Territories in which they combine initiatives in technology, social inclusion and community policing to address causes of violence.

* Cali, Colombia: the Think About Peace programme comprises workshops for children and parents while training community mediators and social workers to promote peace in the community.

* Palmira, Colombia: through the Palmira, tu Voz es Paz urban music competition local authorities raise young people’s awareness of the importance of living together peacefully.

* Shabunda, Democratic Republic of Congo: in this remote area, Permanent Peace Committees have been created to establish peace, restore government authority, reintegrate members of a local militia into the community and end the area’s isolation.

* Kauswagan, the Philippines: the From Arms to Farms programme is a comprehensive approach to demobilization and reintegration of former rebel fighters, engaging them in organic farming.

These shortlisted candidates are invited to present their case to the jury and public at the World Congress of the global organization of UCLG, which will take place in Bogotá, Colombia, from 12 to 15 October 2016. There, the winner will be awarded a modest prize package, aimed at strengthening its peace projects and facilitating learning and exchange with other local governments that are facing similar challenges. We would like to thank all participants for their participation and invite all to apply again in future editions of this prize.

In the upcoming weeks we will publish articles about these projects individually, providing more in-depth information in the run-up to the final presentations in Bogotá.

Questions for this article:
DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, global

UN talks recommend negotiations of nuclear weapons ban treaty

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)

In a dramatic final day [August 19], the groundbreaking UN talks on nuclear disarmament concluded by making a clear recommendation to start negotiations on a treaty banning nuclear weapons.

nuclear
Photo: Xanthe Hall
Click on photo to enlarge

Known as the “Open-Ended Working Group” (OEWG), the talks have taken place in February, May and August of this year and have outlined a number of elements that should be included in a new legally binding instrument which prohibits nuclear weapons. The majority support for the ban treaty was clearly underlined by joint statements delivered by Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Southeast Asia and the Pacific as well as statements from several European states.

Resistance continued to come throughout the working group from a small group of states who continued to argue that nuclear weapons are essential to their national security. Despite threatening to block a report which contained a recommendation for a ban treaty, these governments did not have the leverage to thwart the successful outcome of the group.

After long deliberations, it seemed that States were going to agree to a compromised report which reflected the views of both sides of the ban treaty issue. However, after this agreement had seemingly been secured behind closed doors, Australia made a last-second turnaround and announced that it was objecting to the draft of the report and called for a vote. In spite of the opposition from Australia and several other pro-nuclear weapon states, the majority was able to carry the day. On that basis, the working group was able to recommend the start of negotiations on a new legal instrument prohibiting nuclear weapons.

This breakthrough is result of the new global discourse on nuclear weapons. Bringing together governments, academia and civil society, a series of three conferences have uncovered new evidence about the devastating humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons and the risks of their use, whether accidental or intentional. The momentum generated by the “humanitarian initiative” has now culminated with the international community on the verge of negotiating a nuclear weapons ban.

Nuclear weapons remain the only weapons of mass destruction not yet prohibited under international law, despite their inhumane and indiscriminate nature. A ban would not only make it illegal for nations to use or possess nuclear weapons; it would also help pave the way to their complete elimination. Nations committed to reaching the goal of abolition have shown that they are ready to start negotiations next year.

It is now up to the October meeting of the UN General Assembly First Committee to bring forward this process by issuing a mandate to start the negotiating process.

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DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global, United Nations,

Peru: #NiUnaMenos: 50,000 protest violence against women in Lima

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from Peru Reports

At least 50,000 people marched in the #NiUnaMenos protest against violence and abuse of women in downtown Lima on Saturday. The rally dubbed “Not One Less” was organized after reports that 54 women have been murdered so far in 2016. The protest started on Saturday afternoon in downtown Lima’s Campo de Marte park and passed Plaza Bolognesi and Plaza San Martin before ending at the Palace of Justice.

peru
Miles se congregan ahora frente al Palacio de Justicia tras marcha “Ni Una Menos”. (Aarón Ormeño/ El Comercio)

President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and first lady Nancy Lange attended the event as well as actress Wendy Ramos, who has been an outspoken voice for the movement.

“We will march, we will break the silence,” said Ramos in a promotional video leading up to the event.

“We do not allow or want victims of violence,” second Vice President Mercedes Araoz told reporters. Araoz gave fiery rhetoric of standing up to ‘machismo’ in recent weeks. She said that she had been a victim of psychological abuse.

Under the slogan “if you touch one, you touch all,” the cry of songs and drums flowed down street after street, in a show of immense solidarity. Many daubed their faces with make-up bruises and bloody noses. Others donned pink and blew whistles. Children sat on shoulders waving “Ni Una Menos” flags.

(Article continued in the right column)

(click here for an article in Spanish about this event)

Question related to this article:

Protecting women and girls against violence, Is progress being made?

(Article continued from the left column)

There were processions of nurses and clergyman alongside men hooded in leggings pulling their beaten wives. Towering black crosses adorned with flags of other Latin American nations followed chants of “Respect.” Police and representatives from all political parties joined the march and throughout the country people gathered to demand harsher punishments for men who beat or murder women.

“It’s important we go today because inequality is terrible in Peru and too many girls I love are at risk,” one protester said.

“We will promote a culture of peace and tolerance, saying no to violence, no more violence against women and children,” event organizers and victims of domestic violence Arlette Contreras and Lady Guillen told reporters.

Interior Minister Carlos Basombrio told a group of protesters of his promises to “train police commissioners to have better protocols.”

Though brought together by a serious issue, celebration filled the air. Politicians took selfies and few failed to smile.

The fiercer chanters and placard wavers were blocked by police from entering Plaza Grau near the Palace of Justice. One large banner which read “No more sterilizations” hung from the railings outside the Palace of Justice. The songs faded at around 7 p.m. as the march dispersed. Signs were left up against walls and ribbons flickered from the railings.

Three women were murdered in Lima in the week leading up to the march. Two of the women were murdered by scorned lovers. The third, a 16-year-old minor, was forced to a hotel by a taxi driver, who died as he forced her to drink and raped her.

There were smaller marches in Peru’s other cities including Arequipa, Trujillo, Chimbote, Cusco, Juliaca, Tacna, Andahuaylas, Abancay and Ayacucho.

Latin America, WOMEN'S EQUALITY