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.

Bolivia: XVIII World Mediation Congress

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article from Corrreo del Sur (translation by CPNN)

“We are moved by the hope that another world is possible, that spending one’s life serving others is worth it…” These emotional words were expressed by the president of the University Network of Conciliation and Mediation Centers and dean of the Faculty of Law, Political and Social Sciences of the Universidad San Francisco Xavier, Fátima Tardío, during the closing ceremony of the XVIII World Mediation Congress, co-organized by the Universidad de San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca in Sucre, Bolivia, the Universidad de Sonora (Mexico) and the Institute of Mediation of Mexico.

The congress took place for five days, between August 1 and 5 and brought together more than 2,000 people including exhibitors, workshop leaders, teachers and university students from different parts of the world. They came from countries such as Germany, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Spain, France, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Portugal and Uruguay.

Its success is due to the quality of the participating professionals and also to the efforts of the teams responsible for every detail of the organization: a battalion of University officials and generous volunteers. At the level of authorities, the Vice Chancellor Peter Campos and Dean Tardío were in charge, in addition to the Director of Social Interaction and University Extension, Narda Gonzáles, and the articulating link with the Mediation Institute of Mexico, César Rojas.

THE SEED, THE CONGRESSES

“From this event will come the seed of a new way of understanding education in Bolivia, that change is possible, that utopia is possible and that it is worth fighting for a dream,” emphasized the Dean, who had previously described as “very symbolic” the fact that Vice President David Choquehuanca and the President of the Supreme Court of Justice, Ricardo Torres, were present at the closing ceremony of the congress.

Walt Disney warned of the risk of dreaming by indicating that if one has dreams, they are likely to come true…

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(click here for the original version in Spanish).

Question for this article:

Mediation as a tool for nonviolence and culture of peace

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A few weeks ago, the conflictologist from Chuquisaca, César Rojas, was in charge of the conversation “Culture of peace, mediation and journalism”, organized by the National Association of the Press (ANP), and there he expressed his hope that Sucre could host more congresses such as the which was developed between the historic building of the Faculty of Law and the modern International Center for Conventions and Culture (CICC).

Following this route, on Friday, the Vice Chancellor of San Francisco Xavier, Peter Campos, announced the letter of intent for the 400 years that this institution will celebrate in 2024: “We want our city of Sucre to be the capital of international congresses”. He made an important announcement: in 2023, in the Bolivian capital, the “First World Congress of Restorative Justice” will be installed and in 2024, the Latin American Congress of Research for Peace (CLAIP).

ONE CHANGE, ONE COMMUNITY

Also in his farewell speech, the president of the Mediation Institute of Mexico, Jorge Pesqueira Leal, awarded with the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa by the San Francisco Xavier University, advocated “the desire to build a change for the good of our planet ”. He said: “We have been truly cruel to our home… it is inadmissible, but it is a reality, the social injustice that we live.”

“Let’s generate that much-needed change,” he invited the crowd, which once again packed the CICC auditorium.

María Auxiliadora Moreno Valenzuela, head of the University Rights Ombudsman of the University of Sonora, on behalf of María Rita Plancarte Martínez, University rector, highlighted the work, the meeting and the learning of the congress days. “Especially important are the new processes to disseminate mediation within the framework of the culture of peace (…), the creation of a large community of mediators, as well as promoters of mediation, to improve relationships in families, schools and workplaces; also in the universities, since these are the motor and impulse of the works related to mediation”.

She expressed her conviction that the results of the congress will result in “alliances and projects that serve to create in everyone’s consciousness the need to make our environments and spaces into friendly places with positive human relationships and healthier environments.” She called on everyone to contribute to “a more egalitarian world and, with it, a more humane one.”

The Sucre congress also served to consolidate the new Ibero-American Network of Conciliation and Extrajudicial Mediation Centers, made up of 17 countries, which was underlined by its ad hoc president, José Javier Tapia Gutiérrez.

ORGANIZERS

In San Francisco Xavier, the departments or units that worked on the organization of the XVIII World Mediation Congress were: Infrastructure (30 people), Academic Commission (5), Administrative and Logistics Commission (6), Systems Area (10 engineers), Accreditors and Registration (16), Social and Cultural Commission (4 in charge of 100 Protocol students), Choristers (30). Source: Narda Gonzales, director of Social Interaction and University Extension (USFX).

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

Mexico: Curricular Strategy on Gender Equality to be implemented in public schools

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article by Aura Moreno for the Estado de México

Gender stereotypes have been identified in children up to 5 years old, so when they join primary school they already have extensive knowledge about what it means socially to be a man or a woman, said Rosa María Torres Hernández, rector of the National Pedagogical University and member of the Consultative Council for the Review of Educational Content in the Matter of Gender Equality for Basic and Upper Secondary Education of the State Educational System

“These ideas are built in a society with a history that has generated unequal relationships, privileging the masculine over the feminine, according to what we know from the 2018 youth consultation of the INE and the consultation carried out by INMujeres”

In a public event, she pointed out that in recent decades gender studies have multiplied in the face of the growth of violence, especially that experienced against women.

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(Click here for the original Spanish version)

Question for this article

Gender equality in education, Is it advancing?

Is there progress towards a culture of peace in Mexico?

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Gender stereotypes

The results of these analyzes have allowed us to know that children, from a young age, acquire basic concepts about gender. To address this problem, she said, the Curriculum Strategy on Gender Equality will be implemented in public and private schools at the basic and upper secondary levels in the State of Mexico.

This in a state where more than half of the students in the state public system are women and 60 percent of the enrollment of the Autonomous Mexiquense is made up of women. Practically 7 out of 10 Mexican teachers are also women.

Curricular Strategy on Gender Equality will be implemented in public schools

“One of the problems in the national territory is gender inequality and violence, especially towards girls and women of all ages, mainly indigenous women, poor women, with low schooling, sexual diversity or if they live with a disability.”

For his part, the governor, Alfredo del Mazo, added that with the matter of Gender Equality they seek to build a fairer society. He explained that they have prepared 4 books for teachers and 5 for students that will be distributed in public and private basic and upper secondary education.

(See also Unesco Recognizes the Implementation of the Subject of Gender Equality in Edoméx Schools.)

Latin America, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Honduras: A massive march cries out for peace in Olancho

. HUMAN RIGHTS .

An article from La Tribuna

JUTICALPA, Olancho. Representatives of public and private institutions joined the “Walk for Peace 2022”, through the main streets of this departmental capital.

Marchers called for an immediate ceasefire in the face of criminal acts that affect municipalities, delabdubg the authorities for greater security, and for the investigation and punishment of those responsible materially and intellectually for the violent acts.


The march concluded in the Municipal Plaza of Juticalpa.

The authorities, teachers, administrative staff and students of the North-East Regional University Center, CURNO, joined the “Walk for Peace 2022”.

(Click here for the original article in Spanish about this event)

Questions related to this article:

How effective are mass protest marches?

Students from the “Francisco Morazán” National Pedagogical University, UNP-FM, and from primary and secondary schools also participated.

The activity also had the organizational support of the Network of Families Living Together in Peace, with the intention of developing a culture of peace and a resounding no to violence among children and young people.

Educational institutions of all levels participated. They were supported by the authorities of CURNO, the Political Government of Olancho, the mayor of Juticalpa and the Departmental Directorate of Education of Olancho.

The “Walk for Peace 2022” was a desperate call to Olanchana society to eliminate violence and strengthen peace.

The department of Olancho, with 24,000 square kilometers ,is the largest in Honduras, similar in size to countries like El Salvador and Israel.

The department is whipped mercilessly by crimes and threats of all kinds, but the most serious thing is the environment of impunity with which those responsible for these criminal acts act, the march condemned.

According to official sources, the population in the department of Olancho is approximately 600 thousand people, almost 50 percent concentrated in the municipalities of Juticalpa and Catacamas.

Official statistics show that the municipalities of Juticalpa, Catacamas Patuca and Dulce Nombre de Culmí have the highest number of homicides between men and women.

HUMAN RIGHTS, Latin America

UK: Mayor of Winchester hosts peace event to mark the A-bombing of Nagasaki

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article from the Hampshire Chronicle

The Mayor of Winchester, Cllr Derek Green, hosted Winchester’s fourth Mayors for Peace event to commemorate the 77th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.

More than 40 guests were present at Abbey House on August 9, representing Winchester City Council, Hampshire County Council, the University of Winchester, community organisations and a number of faiths groups in the city.

Mayors for Peace is an international, non-political organisation with a membership of more than 8,500 cities and regions, including 85 in the UK. It aims to realise a world without nuclear weapons, support safe and resilient cities and promote a culture of peace. Winchester joined in 2020.

Cllr Green said: “I was delighted to host the Mayors for Peace event. I share the spirit of my fellow Mayor of Nagasaki in his message to the event, who stated, ‘I hereby declare to do the utmost to realise the abolition of nuclear weapons and everlasting world peace’.”

Presentations included an experience of living through the bombing, read by members of SGI-UK, who organised the event.

The University of Winchester showed the ginkgo saplings they are growing from seeds of trees that survived the atomic bombing, presented last year by the Mayor of Hiroshima to the Mayor of Winchester. These will be used in schools as part of a developing education programme.

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Question related to this article:
 
How can culture of peace be developed at the municipal level?

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PeaceJam spoke of their work to inspire young people for the future. Former PeaceJam director Sally Milne recalled working with Prof Sir Joseph Rotblat, a prominent nuclear physicist who renounced nuclear weapons and became a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

Winchester’s City of Sanctuary movement highlighted how conflict is driving refugee flows all over the world – and raised the frightening prospect of nuclear weapons being used in the current conflict in Ukraine.

The event ended on a positive note with a song from a Ukrainian choir and a determination among everyone present to work more closely together to do everything in our powers to ensure that the second atomic bombing of Nagasaki, will be the last experienced by humanity.

John Brackstone, director of faculty operations for Education and the Arts at the University of Winchester, said: “It is a great honour that the University of Winchester can help to nurture these saplings and create a suite of materials that bring the themes around the ginkgo tree’s survival of Hiroshima, global peace and environmental awareness into a format that is accessible and appropriate for primary school children.”

Caroline Millman of PeaceJam UK, said: “PeaceJam UK was grateful and proud to be part of such an inspirational and thought-provoking occasion and have the opportunity to connect with like-minded people who also have a genuine respect for humanity.”

Chair of Winchester City of Sanctuary, Both Flint, said: “Winchester City of Sanctuary’s vision is for Winchester to be a welcoming place of sanctuary for all, a peaceful space where people can feel safe and protected. We cannot do this alone which is why it is so important to work together, with partners and our wider community to promote peace and sanctuary and a world free from conflict. We stand in solidarity with Mayors for Peace and partners like SGI-UK and Peace Jam and look forward to working with both more closely.”

Paul Williams of event organisers SGI-UK, said: “I’m pleased that our Buddhist organisation for culture, education and peace was able to be an effective catalyst to bring together such a wonderful group of partners, working together under the Mayors for Peace banner”.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Europe

Nigeria: Reps Push For ‘Silence The Guns’ Implementation

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article by Philip Nyam in New Telegraph

The House of Representatives recently passed a resolution calling on the executive to immediately implement the “silence the guns” peace policy of the African Union (AU). PHILIP NYAM reviews the roadmap

Worried by growing conflicts and widespread insecurity across the continent, the African Union met in Lusaka, Zambia in 2016 and drew a master roadmap of practical steps to silence guns in Africa by the year 2020. Six years after, the implementation of the roadmap titled “Lusaka Master Roadmap 2016” has been beset by challenges and Nigeria, the biggest black nation on earth is yet to fully integrate the policy.

It was in view of this that the House of Representatives last month passed a resolution to impress on the government to speed up the process of its implementation. The House resolution came barely after the meeting of the African Union Commission in Lusaka, Zambia, between June 6 and 8 brought together participants from the relevant departments of the AU Commission, Divisions within the Political Affairs, Peace and Security Department, representatives from RECS/RMs, representatives of the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL), African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism (ACSRT) and Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) and representatives of AUC partners supporting silencing the guns project such as the UN Department of Political and Peace-building Affairs.

The meeting finalised an implementation plan that will guide the operationalisation of the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework of the AU Master Roadmap Silencing the Guns AU and Regional Economic Communities converge to finalise the implementation plan and road map on practical steps to silence the guns in Africa. This is in addition to adopting the terms of reference of an AURECs/ RMs Steering Committee on Silencing the Guns. The meeting also agreed on the establishment of the Steering Committee including the relevant departments of the AUC and focal points/officers in each REC/RM to follow up and coordinate activities related to the STG Initiative.

It also served as a collaborative platform to facilitate regular exchanges between the AU, RECs/RMs, Civil Society Organisations, academia, the private sector and other stakeholders that have a role to play in the implementation of the Silencing the Guns Master Roadmap. Explaining why the implementation had to be postponed from 2020 to 2030, the Coordinator of Silencing the Guns under the Political Affairs, Peace and Security at the African Union Commission, Mr. Advelkader Araoua, said that “the extension of the life span of the AU master roadmap on practical steps to silence the guns in Africa to the year 2030, is a test of our ability to deliver on our commitments to free the African continent from wars, civil conflicts, humanitarian crises, human rights violations, gender-based violence, and genocide.” Also, the Head of Governance, Peace and Security at the COMESA Secretariat, Ms. Elizabeth Mutunga stressed the need to continuously assess the external environment in developing an implementation plan for the monitoring and evaluation.

“Emerging and unpredictable factors, that have not necessarily originated from our region are having a very big impact on the peace, conflict and security dynamics of our region,” she noted. The motion It was after the meeting that the House of Representatives passed a resolution pushing for the implementation of the roadmap. In a motion titled “Need to adopt and implement the “Silencing the Guns” Road Map, Hon. Ahmed Munir noted that “Silencing the Guns 2030” is a flagship roadmap project adopted in Lusaka, Zambia in 2016 by the African Union with the aim of realising a Conflict-Free Africa by the year 2030. He said that the concept of silencing the guns was borne out of the observation that the African Continent is the scene of numerous violent conflicts that make the desired economic and political integration of the continent difficult. As part of the AU’s Agenda 2063, the AU sought to ensure that Africa is characterised by peace, political tolerance and good governance.

Hon. Munir expressed concerns that initially, the roadmap was to be achieved by 2020 of which the continent fell short and the goal was further extended to 2030 “cognisant that peace and security matters across Africa are interwoven and the continent cannot afford to further miss the 2030 set target.” In adopting the motion, which was unanimously endorsed, the House urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to fully embrace the report and ensure relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA’s) key into the roadmap. The lawmakers also urged the office of the National Security Adviser to fully adopt the report and cascade it down to other relevant security agencies.

Synopsis of the roadmap

The African Union Master Roadmap of practical steps to silence guns in Africa by the year 2020 better known as the Lusaka Master Roadmap 2016 entails the following. The continuing insecurity, instability, disruption of political harmony, erosion of social cohesion, destruction of the economic fabric and public despondency in various parts of Africa call on the Peace and Security Council (PSC) to play a locomotive role in spearheading strategic interventions to put this sad situation to an end.

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Question related to this article:

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

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Most crises and violent conflicts in Africa are being driven by poverty, economic hardships, violation or manipulation of constitutions, violation of human rights, exclusion, inequalities, marginalisation and mismanagement of Africa’s rich ethnic diversity, as well as relapses into the cycle of violence in some post-conflict settings and external interference in African affairs. Undoubtedly, these challenges can be overcome, as long as the correct remedies are idenpletified and applied.

It is in this context that the PSC convened a Retreat that was dedicated to the theme: Practical Steps to Silence the Guns in Africa by the Year 2020, from 7 to 9 November 2016, in Lusaka, Zambia. The Retreat regrouped the PSC Member States, representatives of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), the AU Commission, Regional Economic Communities/ Regional Mechanisms for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution (RECs/RMs), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), the Committee of Intelligence and Security Services of Africa (CISSA) and the Regional Centre on Small Arms (RECSA).

This was all the more urgent given the central thrust of Agenda 2063 and the overall AU Vision of building a peaceful, stable, secure, integrated and prosperous Africa, and the essence of Agenda 2030 on sustainable development goals. Notably, the 4th aspiration of Agenda 2063, which is the African Union’s strategic framework for socio-economic transformation of the continent over the next five decades, highlights the need for dialoguecentred conflict prevention, as well as the management and resolution of existing conflicts, with a view to silencing the guns in our Continent by the Year 2020. Agenda 2063 provides that in order to achieve sustainable conflict prevention and resolution, a culture of peace and tolerance must be cultivated and nurtured in our children and youth, among others, through peace education.

Furthermore, in its first 10 years implementation plan, Agenda 2063 stresses the imperative of ending all wars, civil conflicts, gender-based violence and violent conflicts and prevent genocide, as part of Africa’s collective efforts to silence the guns in the continent by the year 2020. In organising the retreat, the PSC was inspired and guided by the clarion call in the OAU/AU 50th Anniversary Solemn Declaration adopted by the AU Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa on 26 May 2013, in which they, among other aspects, expressed their “determination to achieve the goal of a conflict-free Africa, to make peace a reality for all our people and to rid the continent of wars, civil conflicts, human rights violations, humanitarian disasters and violent conflicts, and to prevent genocide.”

The PSC’s resolutions further read: “We pledge not to bequeath the burden of conflicts to the next generation of Africans and undertake to end all wars in Africa by 2020. In this regard, we undertake to address the root causes of conflicts, including economic and social disparities; put an end to impunity by strengthening national and continental judicial institutions, and ensure accountability in line with our collective responsibility to the principle of non-indifference.

“We undertake to eradicate recurrent and address emerging sources of conflict including piracy, trafficking in narcotics and humans, all forms of extremism, armed rebellions, terrorism, transnational organized crime and new crimes such as cybercrime; push forward the agenda of conflict prevention, peace-making, peace support, national reconciliation and post-conflict reconstruction and development through the African Peace and Security Architecture; as well as, ensure enforcement of and compliance with peace agreements and build Africa’s peacekeeping and enforcement capacities through the African Standby Force.

“We will maintain a nuclear-free Africa and call for global nuclear disarmament, nonproliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy; ensure the effective implementation of agreements on landmines and the non-proliferation of small arms and light weapons; address the plight of internally displaced persons and refugees and eliminate the root causes of this phenomenon by fully implementing continental and universal frameworks.”

In conceiving practical steps to silence the guns in Africa by the year 2020, the PSC took into consideration the political history of the African continent, which has been marred particularly by three major tragedies, namely, slavery, colonization and the unpaid extraction/ exploitation of natural resources, which have created a huge burden for Africa and its people. The end of slavery at the end of the 19th century and the fall of colonialism under the weight of protracted nationalist and liberation struggles across the continent ushered in a new era in Africa.

However, the new era is faced with a myriad of challenges that the continent has not yet been able to successfully overcome. The cycle of violent conflicts and disruptive crises persist on the continent, so do situations of relapses back into the cycle of violence and destruction for some countries that were perceived to have already emerged from conflicts. It is therefore critically important for Africa and its people to put in place strategic guidelines for addressing these challenges.

In some instances, the African continent has also not been able to foster and manage effective political transitions, partly due to the fact that the erstwhile liberation movements have taken too long to transform themselves into dynamic governing political parties, which could more successfully adapt to operating in pluralistic democratic societies as agents of political discourse and crucial facilitators rather than act as a stumbling block to any democratic dispensation.

Similarly, failures to transform some of the military wings of some of the liberation movements into professional and disciplined national armies, which pledge loyalty to civilian government regardless of the political party in power, have brought problems to some parts of Africa. All of these facts have stifled serious attempts to silence the guns in Africa.

Yet, peace, security and socio-economic development should be pursued simultaneously. Equally challenging is the task of sustaining transitions from war to peace and to prevent relapses. This is why the AU PSC developed a Master Roadmap of realistic, practical, time-bound implementable steps to silence the guns in Africa by 2020.

The master Roadmap is premised on the principle that Africa should take, assume total responsibility for its destiny. Assuming such responsibility should also take into account the fact that, while appropriate decisions and programmes have been adopted with a view to resolving some of the challenges Africa is faced with, there has been encroachment on some of those decisions by the implementation deficit.

Africa, DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Solidarity with the Palestinians and the forces of peace operating in Israel

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

A press release from Mouvement de la Paix Corrèze (translation by CPNN)

Mouvement de la Paix condemns the Israeli bombings on the civilian population of Gaza. These are not preventive strikes, as the Israeli army and government call them, but war crimes against civilian populations, already victims of an inhuman blockade. The strikes have caused dozens of deaths and injuries among the population, including children. Our solidarity is expressed with the victims, but also with the peacekeeping forces who demonstrated in Tel Aviv against these bombings and against Israeli policy against the Palestinian populations.

In Gaza, as elsewhere, war and bombardments bring no solution.

For the Mouvement de la Paix, the official recognition by France of the State of Palestine, in compliance with resolution 2887 adopted almost unanimously on December 2, 2014 by the National Assembly, would be a strong gesture to reinforce the pressure on the Israeli government for a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

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

Question for this article

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

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There is urgency because, as this resolution underlines, “the status quo is untenable and dangerous because it feeds frustrations and growing mistrust between the two parties”. This resolution also “stresses the imperative for a rapid resumption of negotiations between the parties according to clear parameters and a determined timetable; affirms the urgent need to reach a definitive settlement of the conflict allowing the establishment of a democratic and sovereign State of Palestine in peace and security alongside Israel, on the basis of the 1967 lines, with Jerusalem as its capital of these two States, and based on mutual recognition; affirms that the two-State solution, consistently promoted by France and the European Union, presupposes the recognition of the State of Palestine alongside that of Israel; calls on the French Government to recognize the State of Palestine with a view to to obtain a final settlement of the conflict. »

The Mouvement de la Paix, as a partner of a European citizens’ initiative made up of a coalition of around a hundred organizations and in France of a coalition of around thirty trade unions, associations, NGOs and political parties , calls for the promotion and signing of the petition aimed at obtaining an end to European trade with the colonies illegally established in the occupied territories.

Click here to sign the petition.

Mouvement de la Paix. August 11, 2022

(Thank you to Roland Nivet for sending this article to CPNN.)

Mideast, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Nagasaki mayor warns of ‘crisis’ on atom bomb anniversary

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from Radio France International

Nuclear weapons present a “tangible and present crisis” after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the mayor of Nagasaki said Tuesday, August 9, the 77th anniversary of the atomic bombing that destroyed the Japanese city.

On August 9, 1945, Nagasaki was flattened in an inferno that killed 74,000 people, three days after the world’s first nuclear bomb attack in Hiroshima.

The twin strikes by the United States led to the end of World War II, and to this day Japan remains the only country to be hit by atomic weapons in wartime.

But on Tuesday, mayor Tomihisa Taue sounded a note of alarm.

“In January this year, the leaders of the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and China released a joint statement affirming that ‘a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought’,” he said.

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Question related to this article:
 
Can we abolish all nuclear weapons?

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“However, the very next month Russia invaded Ukraine. Threats of using nuclear weapons have been made, sending shivers throughout the globe.

“The use of nuclear weapons is not a ‘groundless fear’ but a ‘tangible and present crisis’,” Taue said, warning that they could be unleashed through mistaken judgements, malfunctions or in terror attacks.

Survivors and foreign dignitaries joined by hundreds of members of the public offered a silent prayer at 11:02 am (0202 GMT), the exact moment the bomb was dropped on the port city.

Bells rang out and doves were released during the sombre memorial at Nagasaki’s Peace Park, with purified water offered in a prayer ceremony for the victims who died of burns and other injuries.

Instead of waging war, mankind should foster “a ‘culture of peace’ that spreads trust, respects others and seeks resolutions through dialogue”, Taue said.

On Saturday, UN head Antonio Guterres gave a speech in Hiroshima on the anniversary of the attack that killed around 140,000 people, including those who perished after the blast from radiation exposure.

He warned that “humanity is playing with a loaded gun” as crises with the potential for nuclear disaster proliferate worldwide.

A message from Guterres, read out in Japanese at Tuesday’s ceremony, said that “in these times of high tensions and low levels of trust, we should draw on the lessons of Nagasaki”.

Japan has long called for a world free of nuclear weapons but has not joined a nuclear ban treaty that took effect in 2021, saying it hopes to bridge the gap between nuclear powers which did not join the treaty and non-nuclear countries.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, East Asia

Gabon: Women’s Commitment to Health and Sanitation in the Province Woleu-Ntem

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article for CPNN by Jerry Bibang (translation by CPNN)

The Pan-African Youth Network for the Culture of Peace, Gabon section (PAYNCoP Gabon) launched, on Wednesday August 03, in Oyem, in the north of Gabon, the project “Women’s Commitment to Health and Sanitation in the Province Woleu-Ntem”.

The initiative supported by the Conference of Ministers of Youth and Sports of the Francophonie (CONFEJES) and the Town Hall of the municipality of Oyem is part of a vast program of CONFEJES entitled Woman – Sport – Health .

Its general objective is to encourage women to practice physical and sports activities as well as environmental protection, according to Rachel Oyane, member of the project team.

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(Click here for the original French version.)

Questions for this article

Prospects for progress in women’s equality, what are the short and long term prospects?

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The initiative, which targets 200 women in the province of Woleu-Ntem, is based on three main activities, in particular an awareness campaign on the benefits of sport for women, a walk with the collection of plastic waste, a fitness session and a provincial women’s football tournament which will engage women from Woleu-Ntem province in northern Gabon, said Jerry Bibang, the project coordinator.

After the launch in Oyem, our team will crisscross the municipalities of Mitzic, Minvoul and Bitam for the implementation of these various activities which primarily concern women who do not have regular physical and sports activity, explained Jimmy Thalès ONDO, also a member of the project team.

The objective is to get them to understand the benefits of sport, in particular the fight against certain diseases, but also the need to keep their environment clean, hence the activity of walking and collecting plastic waste.

For the Town Hall of Oyem, represented by the 4th deputy mayor, Mrs. Angue Owono Françoise, the initiative is in line with the vision of the municipal council of the town of Oyem which is to make the provincial capital of Woleu-Ntem a beautiful town. and clean, in accordance with the will of the highest authorities of the country. This project is a real opportunity to encourage women to get involved in the fight for healthy lifestyles and for the practice of physical and sports activities. The town hall, under the leadership of Mayor Christian Abessolo Menguey, will reflect on how to continue these activities even beyond the project, she said.

The implementation of this project follows a call for applications, launched by CONFEJES to public organizations and civil society at the pan-African level. Out of 79 applications, only 14 were selected. The PAYNCoP Gabon project was ranked 4th best project by an international jury.

Africa, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

‘Dictatorship Never Again’: Massive Pro-Democracy Protests Sweep Brazil

. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ; .

An article by Brett Wilkins in Common Dreams ( licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.)

Protests—some of them massive—in defense of democracy and education and against far-right President Jair Bolsonaro’s coup-mongering were held in cities across Brazil Thursday, less than two months before the first round of the South American nation’s presidential election.


A massive pro-democracy demonstration takes place at the University of São Paulo School of Law in São Paulo, Brazil, on August 11, 2022. (Photo: Miguel Schincariol/AFP via Getty Images)
Click on image to enlarge

Demonstrations took place in at least 23 of Brazil’s 26 state capitals, as well as in the national capital of Brasília. Many of the protests featured readings of a pair of pro-democracy manifestos, including the “Letter to Brazilians in Defense of Democracy and Rule of Law.”  The missive, which has been signed by nearly one million people, was inspired by a similar 1977 document that helped bring down a 21-year, U.S.-backed military dictatorship admired by Bolsonaro, who served in its army.

During the reading event at the University of São Paulo (USP) School of Law—where large banners read “dictatorship never again” and “state of rights, always”—presidential candidates spoke out in defense of Brazil’s electronic voting system, which has been the target of baseless allegations of fraud by Bolsonaro and his allies. The right-wing president, who is pushing for paper ballots, has threatened  to reject the results of October’s first-round presidential election if he loses under the current electronic voting system.

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Question related to this article:
 
How effective are mass protest marches?

(article continued from left column)

“Defending democracy is defending the right to quality food, a good job, fair wages, access to healthcare, and education,” said Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the former leftist president who is running again representing the Workers’ Party and leads  Bolsonaro by double digits in aggregate polling.

“[This is] what the Brazilian people should have,” da Silva added. “Our country was sovereign and respected. We need to get it back together.”

Bolsonaro mocked the massive nationwide rebuke of his rule, tweeting  that “today, a very important act took place on behalf of Brazil and of great relevance to the Brazilian people: Petrobras once again reduced the price of diesel.”

A broad range of leftist activists spoke at and about the demonstrations across Brazil.

“Running over democracy is not as simple as the militiaman imagined,” tweeted Ivan Valente, leader of the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL) in Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Congress. “Bolsonaro is much closer to jail than to the coup… Brazilian society does not accept setbacks or coup bravado.”

Beatriz Lourenço do Nascimento of Black Coalition for Rights—one of the few Black faces in the room during the USP reading—recited  her group’s anti-racist manifesto during the event.

“Brazil is a country in debt to the Black population,” she asserted. “We call on the democratic sectors of Brazilian society, institutions, and people who today show emotion over the ills of racism and claim to be anti-racist: Be consistent. Practice what you speak. As long as there is racism, there will be no democracy.”

Economist and social activist João Pedro Stédile, a co-founder of the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST), said  members of the group took part in Thursday’s “historic event” in “defense of Brazilian society.”

“We are in the process of building this broad front, representing all Brazilians who defend democracy,” he continued. “Democracy involves changing the government and eliminating neo-fascism, but above all, ensuring that the working class, the people, have the rights guaranteed in the Constitution. Right to work, income, land, education, health.”

“Today’s act is just the start of a great journey of activities centered around 200 years of Brazilian independence,” Stédile added, referring to Brazil’s bicentennial on September 7. “We are organizing to continue with demonstrations and mobilizations, especially in the week of September 7th to 10th, when we take to the streets to defend democracy, sovereignty, and the Brazilian people.”

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Latin America

Moscow TV protester plays ‘Russian roulette’ with risky comeback

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A dispatch from Agence France Presse (AFP) published by Radio France International (copyright 2022 AFP)

Marina Ovsyannikova, who denounced Russia’s intervention in Ukraine during a live TV broadcast, knew that coming back to Moscow would be akin to playing a game of Russian roulette.

Speaking to AFP in an interview, the 44-year-old mother of two, who returned from Europe last month, said she understood she could be arrested at any moment.


Photo Stringer AFP

“I decided to play Russian roulette,” the former editor at Channel One television said, sitting on a bench in central Moscow in an elegant black dress.

“If they make this decision, they will arrest me in a single day. It will only take a few seconds,” she said after dropping her 11-year-old daughter off for art lessons.

In March, Ovsyannikova shot to prominence for interrupting a live TV broadcast to denounce President Vladimir Putin’s military intervention in Ukraine.

In the months following her protest, Ovsyannikova spent time abroad, working for Germany’s Die Welt for three months.

In early July, she made the “difficult decision” to return home when her ex-husband, an employee of Kremlin-backed broadcaster RT, sued her for custody of their two children.

Since her widely publicised protest, Ovsyannikova has been fined several times and is due to appear in court again on Monday over discrediting the Russian army.

She will also be attending custody hearings.

Public criticism of Russia’s intervention in Ukraine has been outlawed, and most government critics have either fled the country fearing prosecution or ended up behind bars.

Ovsyannikova said however she would continue speaking up.

“I am a fighter, I continue to actively denounce the war,” she said cheerfully.

“I do not plan to stop, I am not afraid despite the constant intimidation from the authorities.”

‘Putin the murderer’

Since her return, Ovsyannikova came out to support opposition politician Ilya Yashin in court, staged a protest with a poster calling Putin a “murderer” and published anti-government posts online. She was briefly detained by police near her home in mid-July.

Ovsyannikova, who does not currently have a permanent job, works as a freelancer for foreign media. Most of Russia’s independent media have either been shut down or operate from abroad.

(Continued in right column)

Questions related to this article:
 
Can the peace movement help stop the war in the Ukraine?

The courage of Mordecai Vanunu and other whistle-blowers, How can we emulate it in our lives?

How can just one or a few persons contribute to peace and justice?

(Continued from left column)

he journalist, who worked for state TV for 19 years, said she had recently sold her car to bring in some extra money.

Her protest has drawn hostile reactions from many quarters.

Pro-Kremlin officials and former colleagues have accused Ovsyannikova of betraying her country. Critics in Ukraine and the West have claimed she is a spy still embedded in the Russian state media.

Many members of the Russian opposition have blamed her for jumping ship in an opportunistic move and seeking fame.

Ovsyannikova rejects the allegations.

“It is convenient for the authorities to constantly create new conspiracy theories around me, people already don’t know what to believe,” she said.

But Ovsyannikova admitted she had made mistakes in the past and has stayed “too long” in her comfort zone, without “finding the strength” to leave state television sooner.

For her, inaction and indifference, embraced by many Russians, are a form of “self-preservation” fuelled by fear.

“Our people are really very frightened,” she said.

“Even those who understand the absurdity, the horror of what is happening prefer to stay silent.”

In a throwback to the Soviet times, many Russians now criticise authorities only “in their kitchens” where nobody can hear them, she said.

‘Unenviable fate’

Apart from facing criticism in Russia and abroad, Ovsyannikova said she also had to fight a “war at home.”

She said her mother had become a victim of state propaganda, her son turned against her and she had to fight for the custody of her children.

“My fate is unenviable,” Ovsyannikova said.

She stressed, however, that her problems were nothing compared to the suffering of the Ukrainian people, faced with an offensive that has claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions.

Authorities have not announced the opening of any criminal investigation against Ovsyannikova. But her repeat convictions of discrediting the Russian army may lead to a criminal conviction, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Ovsyannikova believes that authorities will be reluctant to draw more attention to her case, pointing to her “solid international support”.

Ovsyannikova said she would like to be able to leave the country together with her daughter.

For now, she will stay in Russia.

She is under no illusion that official pressure on her will grow.

“They will intimidate me further,” she said.

Using an old Soviet expression, she said authorities under Putin could punish just about anyone.

“Give me the person and I’ll find the crime.”

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