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.

Amnesty International: New generation of young activists lead fight against worsening repression in Asia

… . HUMAN RIGHTS … .

An article from Amnesty International

A wave of youth-led protests across Asia is defying escalating repression and a continent-wide crackdown on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, Amnesty International said today as it published its annual report on human rights in the region.

‘Human Rights in Asia-Pacific: A review of 2019’, which includes a detailed analysis of human rights developments in 25 countries and territories, describes how a new generation of activists are fighting back against brutal crackdowns on dissent, poisonous social media operations and widespread political censorship.

“2019 was a year of repression in Asia, but also of resistance. As governments across the continent attempt to uproot fundamental freedoms, people are fighting back – and young people are at the forefront of the struggle,” said Nicholas Bequelin, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and South-East Asia and the Pacific.

“From students in Hong Kong leading a mass movement against growing Chinese encroachment, to students in India protesting against anti-Muslim policies; from Thailand’s young voters flocking to a new opposition party to Taiwan’s pro LGBTI-equality demonstrators. Online and offline, youth-led popular protests are challenging the established order.” 

Hong Kong’s defiance echoes across the world

China and India, Asia’s two largest powers, set the tone for repression across the region with their overt rejection of human rights. Beijing’s backing of an Extradition Bill for Hong Kong, giving the local government the power to extradite suspects to the mainland, ignited mass protests in the territory on an unprecedented scale.

Since June, Hong Kongers have regularly taken to the streets to demand accountability in the face of abusive policing tactics that have included the wanton use of tear gas, arbitrary arrests, physical assaults and abuses in detention. This struggle against the established order has been repeated all over the continent.

In India, millions decried a new law that discriminates against Muslims in a swell of peaceful demonstrations. In Indonesia, people rallied against parliament’s enactment of several laws that threatened public freedoms. In Afghanistan, marchers risked their safety to demand an end to the country’s long-running conflict. In Pakistan, the non-violent Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement defied state repression to mobilize against enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions.

Dissent met with crackdown

Peaceful protests and dissent were frequently met with retribution by the authorities.

Protesters faced arrest and jail in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand as repressive governments across South-East Asia took severe steps to silence their opponents and muzzle the media.

In Indonesia, several people were killed as police clamped down on protests with excessive force. Yet few steps were taken to hold anyone to account for the deaths; no police were arrested nor were any suspects identified. 

In Pakistan and Bangladesh, activists and journalists alike were targeted by draconian laws that restrict freedom of expression and punish dissent online.

(Article continued in right column)

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

Question(s) related to this article:

What is the state of human rights in the world today?

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And in Hong Kong, police deployed reckless and indiscriminate tactics to quell peaceful protests, including torture in detention. Demands for a proper investigation into the conduct of the security forces have yet to be met.

“The authorities’ attempts to crush any form of criticism and suppress freedom of expression were as ruthless as they were predictable, with those daring to speak out against repressive governments often paying a high price,” said Biraj Patnaik, South Asia Director.

“Asians are told their aspirations for fairer societies are fantasies; that economic disparities can’t be addressed; that global warming is inexorable and natural catastrophes unavoidable. Most emphatically of all, they are told that challenging this narrative will not be tolerated,” said Biraj Patnaik.

Minorities feel the weight of intolerant nationalism

In India and China, the mere risk of insubordination in nominally autonomous areas has been enough to trigger the full force of the state, with minorities conveniently deemed a threat to “national security.”

In the Chinese province of Xinjiang, up to a million Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities have been forcibly detained in “de-radicalization” camps. 
 
Kashmir, India’s only Muslim-majority state, saw its special autonomous status revoked as authorities imposed a curfew, cut access to all communications and detained political leaders.

In Sri Lanka, where anti-Muslim violence erupted in the wake of the Easter Sunday bombings, the election of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa dimmed hopes of human rights progress. Another self-styled strongman, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, continued his murderous “war on drugs.”

Governments have tried to justify repression by demonizing their critics as pawns of “foreign forces” and to bolster that repression through sophisticated social media operations. Neither ASEAN nor SAARC, the two main regional bodies, tried to hold their members to account, even in the case of gross human rights violations.

It has been left to the International Criminal Court to investigate crimes against humanity committed by the Myanmar military in Rakhine State against the Rohingya in 2017. The court is also looking into the thousands of killings carried out by police in the Philippines, and hearing an appeal on its decision not to authorize an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Australia’s egregious offshore detention policies left refugees and asylum-seekers languishing in deteriorating physical and mental condition on the Pacific islands of Nauru and Manus, Papua New Guinea.

Progress against the odds

People speaking out against these atrocities were routinely punished, but their standing up made a difference. There were many examples where efforts to achieve human rights progress in Asia paid off.

In Taiwan, same-sex marriage became legal following tireless campaigning by activists. In Sri Lanka, lawyers and activists successfully campaigned against the resumption of executions.

Brunei was forced to backtrack on enforcing laws to make adultery and sex between men punishable by stoning, while former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak took the stand on corruption charges for the first time.  

The Pakistani government pledged to tackle climate change and air pollution, and two women were appointed as judges on the Maldivian Supreme Court for the first time.

And in Hong Kong, the power of protest forced the government to withdraw the Extradition Bill. Yet, with no accountability for months of abuses against demonstrators, the fight goes on.

“Protesters across Asia in 2019 were bloodied, but not broken. They were stifled, but not silenced. And together, they sent a message of defiance to the governments who continue to violate human rights in pursuit of tightening their grip on power,” said Nicholas Bequelin.

East Asia, HUMAN RIGHTS, South Asia,

Uruguay: Pépé Mujica, the ex-President of the Republic voluntarily the poorest in the world.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article from the website of Pierre Martial, writer and journalist (To share as widely as possible, my friends and friends! Sharing is already acting.)

“The President’s house? It’s over there, at the very end of the dirt road! You see? It is the small shack with a green zinc roof and with chickens in front! “.

In the depths of this poor suburb of Montevideo, at Paso de la Arena, everyone knows José Mujica, affectionately nicknamed, at more than 84 years old, “Pépé Mujica“.


Copyright D.R.

Firstly, because he has lived in this modest 45 square meter farmhouse for over 20 years with his wife Lucia and his disabled dog, on three legs, Manuela.

Then, because he was President of the Republic of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015! And that he never stopped living in this modest house, even when he was the head of the nation!

Pépé Mujica was born into a family of poor peasants,, and he always wanted to stay in the midst of the most disadvantaged. He got involved and campaigned from a young age,precisely to defend the poorest and the oppressed!

So no question of abandoning them, even when he was President, for the gold of the Republic and the Presidential Palace, too luxurious for his taste!

It was at the age of 15, in 1950, that young José, orphaned by a father at 6, began to take action against misery and injustice.

In the 1960s, faced with the rise of paramilitary groups who wanted to take the law into their own hands and take power in his country with forceful attacks, kidnappings and assassinations, José Mujica was one of the founders, along with Raoul Sendic, of the emblematic group of Tupamaros. A kind of “Robin Hood” of Uruguay, the Tupamaros had given themselves the mission of protecting the people and containing the rise of the paramilitaries.

In 1973, when the military dictatorship raged, he was taken “prisoner-hostage” by the junta and was imprisoned in unsustainable conditions.

Tortured every day, put in total isolation, he was detained for more than 10 years, including 2 years at the bottom of a well. He came out in 1985, half crazy, a madness and a terrifying experience of which became, paradoxically, his greatest strength.

“It’s strange, he confides today, but a person sometimes learns more from difficult times than moments of happiness. These dark years were horrible and yet they taught me a lot”

(Article continued in the column on the right)

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

Questions related to this article:

Where in the world can we find good leadership today?

(Article continued from the column on the left)

A silence, then: “For example, I can no longer hate. Do you know the luxury of not hating?”

As soon as he left prison, the ex-Tuparamo resumed fighting, a more peaceful fight this time but still as tireless and uncompromising.

In 1994, he became a deputy. In 1999, he was elected senator and was re-elected to the same office in 2004. While continuing to work as a farmer.

In 2010, consecrating his life to the service of his people, he was elected President of the Republic.

No more farmhouse and hard agricultural work? And welcome to presidential comfort, official cars, the luxurious Presidential Palace and the very comfortable emoluments of the Republic?

Not at all! Never! Not if you know Pépé Mujica!

The day after his election, he announced – to the chagrin of the Protocol – that it was out of the question for him to live in the Presidential Palace. Too rich for him! He would stay in his little house, full stop! But he reassured the world: the presidential residence would continue to serve, he committed to it. In 2012, for example, during the terrible cold wave that hit the country, he had it registered as a refuge for the homeless!

Second, he refused all official cars that were imposed on him. His Ladybug, blue bought in 1987, was more than enough for him, he said.

And thirdly, he decided to redistribute 90% of his monthly salary as President to charitable organizations, declaring himself well-off to keep the remaining 10%, the equivalent of 900 euros, the average salary in Uruguay.

It was on March 1, 2015 that Pepe Mujica ended his presidential functions. Not that he had had enough! At 80, he is still in great shape! Nothing beats the love of family, friends and dogs to keep you young! But the Constitution of Uruguay only allows one 5-year presidential term.

Pépé Mujica therefore returned, serene and good-natured, to his farmhouse, his flowers and his garden, in the depths of his suburbs and alongside his friends.

Is he satisfied with what he has done, with the example he has been able to set? He rolls his eyes.

“I did what I could … I have dedicated a large part of my life to trying to improve the social condition of the world in which I was born. I had a few disappointments, many injuries, a few years in prison …. Finally, the routine for someone who wants to change the world … “

His projects?

“Continue to live as long as possible! It is a miracle that I am still alive after all that I have experienced! And then read too, read a lot! I spent more than 10 years in a dungeon including 7 without being able to read. I’m late to catch up! ”

We wish you many more years of life and reading, Pépé Mujica, and we hug you with emotion.

You are for me – for all of us – much more than an example …

You give us hope!

(Thanks to Kiki Chauvin Adams who sent this article to CPNN.)

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America

Mexico: Culture of peace in higher education

. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION .

An article by Jaime Valls Esponda in El Universal

On February 17, the proposal of the Comprehensive Culture of Peace Plan in the Higher Education Institutions was presented at the headquarters of the ANUIES [National Association of Universities and Institutions of Higher Education]. In addition to the subject of peace, it contains measures for the prevention of addictions and seeks to contribute to the development of young people in school and social settings.

Statistics indicate a deterioration of values ​​that has increased insecurity, which especially affects the most vulnerable sectors of the population: women, the elderly , children and low-income households in general. Without values, society loses cohesion and the social fabric is eroded. What is needed is a culture of peace that returns stability throughout the nation and ensures harmonious coexistence. An active contribution of higher education institutions is needed; they are spaces for the socialization of essential principles of well-being and peace. They are the ideal environment for the flourishing of the rule of law, inclusive justice and citizenship.

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

Question for this article:

Is there progress towards a culture of peace in Mexico?

Where is peace education taking place?

(continued from left column)

The proposal, which is the result of the work of the academics and specialists of the associated institutions, will be submitted to the ANUIES National Council for consideration next March. One of the main actions foreseen is the figure of Peace Agents formed by university students and citizens, in order to strengthen the social fabric in their environment. Similarly, it is proposed to establish Specialized Care Centers to delineate peace programs with a social sense. The “Together for Peace” campaign will be supported with the participation of academics and students; the opening of Clubs for peace, the implementation of health and wellness projects with drug use prevention measures and the offer of courses, workshops and materials related to addictions.

Likewise, it was agreed to integrate an inter-institutional group of specialists and experts from the Center for Documentation, Research and Prospect for Security, Justice and Peace of ANUIES. They are to develop programs and indicators on the subject. It was proposed to create, in the medium term, a School of thought for peace, with an educational offer focused on social transformation. Finally, it was recognized that since society is central to the construction of peace, there is need for an active change that involves the joint management of citizenship, family and school.

ANUIES calls for the creation of a National Network of Specialists and Experts in the Criminal Justice System. One of its tasks should be the promotion of a culture of peace in the justice system in all regions of the country.

Higher education institutions, in the full exercise of their social responsibility, expressed in teaching, research, innovation and culture, should recognize the demands of society and contribute to solving the problems of the nation. Higher education institutions are sensitive and in solidarity with the causes of a culture of peace, social justice and full respect for human rights.

Jaime Valls Esponda is the Executive Secretary General of ANUIES.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

Strong Cities Network: Reducing violence is not impossible, and cities are proving this

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

Article by Joe Downy from the Strong Cities Network

Today, 83% of deadly violence occurs outside of conflict zones, with the majority of this violence concentrated in cities. Nation states have dominated the global political arena for centuries, but with more than half of the world’s population today residing in cities, it may be time to rethink who should be at the table when it comes to decisions on how we can reduce violence.


Video of Glasgow program

Recently, a coalition  of cities and organisations, including the Strong Cities Network, have pledged action to help halve urban violence by 2030, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 16.1 to ‘significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere’. Such a goal is undoubtedly ambitious, but cities hold a number of advantages  over nations that may help to tip the balance in their favour. The gathering momentum of new city-based alliances such as C40 Cities, the Global Parliament of Mayors, United Cities and Local Governments, and the Strong Cities Network is proof of a shift away from solely state-dominated approaches to global issues to new, collaborative forms of decision-making between the national and the local level.

The challenge of reducing urban violence is not just limited to the act itself, but also in overcoming our perception that violence is inevitable. When violence is normalised in this way, it is seen as an inescapable part of everyday life which stymies any attempts to radically reduce it.

This is far from the truth. Cities all over the world have pioneered responses to their own complex and contextualised problems of localised violence, and there are important lessons and insights to be learned from one another.

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Questions for this article:

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

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In the early 2000s in Glasgow, Scotland, knife crime and homicide rates were double those of the national level, and Scotland itself was regarded among the most violent countries in the developed world. To help stem this, the city’s leadership established a specialist Violence Reduction Unit, which coordinated community outreach, educational and employment initiatives in the neighbourhoods most affected by violence. Under the motto ‘violence is preventable, not inevitable’, the city’s homicide rate halved  within ten years, and the numbers continue to drop. Lessons learned from this programme are now being applied in London, which established its own Violence Reduction Unit last year.

In collaboration with local governments, Ecuador took a radical step in the way it was dealing with gangs in 2007 – looking beyond solely punitive approaches and starting to engage with them through new and innovative ways. Working relationships  were established between gangs, law enforcement and local government, and members were encouraged to become positive community leaders. Grants were set up and incentives put in place, and gangs could apply for state funding if they fulfilled certain requirements to develop their own initiatives. This saw organic and unprompted partnerships develop between community actors and gang members, such as the Catholic University of Quito, which sponsored 15 gang members to study to become nurses. A decade later, homicide rates in the cities of San Domingo, Quito and Guayaquil had plummeted to a third of what they had been in the early 2000s.

In Oakland, California, which once ranked among America’s most dangerous cities, homicide rates have fallen by almost 50%  since 2012, a drop which bucked the national trend in the same period, which has seen sharp increases in homicides in many major U.S. cities. This remarkable change has been attributed largely to collaboration  between law enforcement, community actors and civil society. It was recognised early on that a law enforcement-led approach was not enough by itself, and was both financially unsustainable and sent the wrong message to the communities it was seeking to serve. Instead, by engaging with the wealth of community actors and violence prevention groups such as Caught in the Crossfire, the Khadafy Washington Project, and Cure Violence, whole-of-society and preventative approaches to tackling the issue were allowed to thrive. One of the most impressive examples of this was seen in the local ‘Ceasefire’ policing programme, which saw local actors collaborate with law enforcement to create a tailored strategy.

All of these approaches display the role that cities areand should be playing in helping to reduce violence. By engaging with communities, forming strategic partnerships with civil society, local organisations, businesses and their national counterparts, and treating violence as a preventable phenomenon, cities are setting the examples for nations to follow.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, global

Global Parliament of Mayors: Virtual Parliament at the World Urban Forum

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

An article from the Global Parliament of Mayors

For the first time ever, the Global Parliament of Mayors was officially represented at a World Urban Forum. The World Urban Forum, organised by UN-Habitat, is the world’s premiere international conference on all aspects of urban policy. The World Urban Forum 10 in Abu Dhabi, UAE, in February 2020 brought together 12.000 politicians and city experts from 168 nations.

The GPM, together with the City of Mannheim, hosted a networking event on the topic “The Global Parliament of Mayors (GPM) Virtual Parliament – the solution to accelerate digital democracy.” The event was moderated by Juliana Kerr, Director Global Cities at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and brought together GPM-Mayors and affiliated Mayors from Katowice (Poland), Banjul (Gambia), Dortmund (Germany), Quelimane (Mozambique), Bulawayo (Zimbabwe), Duhok (Iraq).

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Questions for this article:

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

(Continued from left column)

Mayor of Mannheim and GPM Chair, Dr Peter Kurz, whose city administration successfully applied for the GPM networking event with UN-Habitat, gave an opening speech, explaining the idea and rationale of GPM. The major planetary challenges, such as global warming, migration, and the globalisation of the economy, are dealt with through a complicated system of global governance. Within this system, Cities and their representatives are there mainly as observers. That is what the Global Parliament of Mayors project wants to change. The global governance has to be opened to cities and their representatives. “Cities are not primarily a subject for discussion; they are a level of governance” explained Mayor Dr Peter Kurz. “The GPM offers Mayors all around the world, especially from middle sized cities and the global south a unique opportunity to exchange and make their voices heard on the international level.

Mayor Peter Kurz furthermore presented the GPM’s Virtual Parliament (VP) to the interested audience. The VP is an online tool to connect with Mayors around the world, to debate and vote on political issues and to exchange experiences. It was launched during the 2018 GPM summit in Bristol. The first worldwide online voting session for mayors was organised one year later. As a result, a resolution was agreed on, which was presented during the First UN-Habitat Assembly in May 2019. As additional examples for the working procedure of the VP, Mayor Kurz mentioned the survey for Mayors on the roadmap of the Mayors Migration Council and the support of an action of the US congress of Mayors against gun violence.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, global

World Urban Forum ends with call for united action to ensure sustainable future for cities and towns

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

An article from the United Nations News Service

The premier international gathering on the future of cities wrapped up on Thursday [February 13] in Abu Dhabi with delegates urging action on all aspects of rapid urbanization, recognizing that an increasingly urbanized world is a ‘transformative force’ that can be harnessed and steered to boost sustainable development.


video of Forum

The Tenth World Urban Forum (WUF 10), which attracted over 13,000 attendees taking part in more than 540 official events, focused on the theme ‘Cities of Opportunities: Connecting Culture and Innovation,’ and called for united action to ensure a better future for cities and towns. 

The outcome, known as the Abu Dhabi Declared Actions, includes commitments from international organizations, national, local and regional governments, the private sector, civil society, academia and others for the next two years and beyond to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals  (SDGs) agreed by world leaders in 2015.  

“All three ingredients – culture, innovation and cities – are co-dependent and co-creating. Human settlements exist and excel on the dynamic mixture of cultures.” @MaimunahSharif UNHabitat Executive Director puts into context the theme of #WUF10 at the closing ceremony

Alongside their declared actions, the participants hailed cities as centres of creativity and innovation, as well as places with valuable cultural heritage and identity. And they were convinced that ‘culture is an integral part of the solution to the challenges of urbanization and achieving the New Urban Agenda.’  

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Questions for this article:

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

(Continued from left column)

Adopted in Quito, Ecuador, in 2015 at the UN conference known as Habitat lll, the Agenda represents a shared vision for a better and more sustainable future – one in which all people have equal rights and access to the benefits and opportunities that cities can offer, and in which the international community reconsiders the urban systems and physical form of urban spaces to achieve this. 

On Thursday, Maimunah Mohd Sharif, the Executive Director of UN-Habitat, the UN agency that convenes the WUF, told  the Closing Ceremony that during six-day meeting, delegates from all walks of life had insisted on the importance of a common goal of leaving a legacy of a better world for future generations.  

All the SDGS came together in ‘urban’ goal SDG 11  aimed at achieving inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and human settlements, said Ms. Sharif, stressing that: “Through the Abu Dhabi Declared Actions, we now have the what, how and when components as well.”  

The UN-Habitat  Assembly President and Under-Secretary of Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights of Mexico, Martha Delgado, who co-chaired the Advisory Group which put together the WUF10 Abu Dhabi Declared Actions, said they had listened to participants thoughts, wishes and aspirations. 

The Executive Director of Strategic Affairs at Abu Dhabi’s Department of Municipalities and Transport and General Coordinator of WUF10, Mohamed Al Khadar Al Ahmed, said their job with UN-Habitat was “not to only masterplan our cities we want to masterpiece our cities and that’s a big difference.” 

Other speakers at the Closing Ceremony included Mukhisa Kituyi, the Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), who stressed the importance of bringing all sectors together to think afresh on overcoming challenges.  

In addition, Fabrizio Hochschild Drummond, the Special Advisor to the Secretary-General on Preparations for the 75th anniversary of the United Nations (UN75), said it was inspirational to see the mixture of idealism, practical reflection, lessons learnt and suggestions for action. 

In a video message, UN General Assembly  President Tijjani Muhammad-Bande  referred to the WUF10 theme, saying: “We must take urgent action to utilize culture and innovation as an accelerator of SDG implementation if we are to create a better world for all.” 

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, global, United Nations,

Mexico: The World Forum on Cities and Territories of Peace 

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

Information compiled by CPNN

Metropolis , the metropolitan section of the World Organisation of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) has announced on their website, the The World Forum on Cities and Territories of Peace to take place in Mexico City 5-7 October, 2020.


Foto from the Madrid Forum of 2018

According to the website, the forum is conceived “as a multi-faceted and multi-level meeting place for local leaders, international organizations and networks, NGDOs, academia, and civil society, aimed at opening dialogue, reflection and the construction of solutions that promote urban environments capable of eliminating expressions of violence.”

(Continued in right column)

Questions for this article:

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

(Continued from left column)

This initiative follows previous forums to combat urban violence that took place in Madrid in 2017 and 2018 as a joint initiative of the mayors of Madrid and Paris (see CPNN from April 2017 and from November 2018).

At the time the mayors of Madrid and Paris were both women. An interview with Madrid mayor Manuela Carmena, quoted her as saying “I have insisted repeatedly on the fact that women’s culture is more closely linked to daily, practical affairs. It is the culture of life. . . . . [peace education] starts at school. We want children to learn the value of dialogue and mediation, and for them to learn to solve their own problems among themselves.”

At the second Madrid forum it was pointed out that “All have agreed on the importance of talking about education, changing the conception of masculinity and giving more economic autonomy to women to ensure that future generations really live in cities of peace.”

In this regard it is significant that the mayor of Mexico City is now a woman, Claudia Sheinbaum, the first woman elected by popular vote to govern Mexico City. At her inauguration, she stated that “I am going to lead an honest, open, democratic, austere, inclusive government that acts with, for and for the citizenship, without distinction of party, religion or socioeconomic level, but putting all our effort to make of this, a city of rights, with justice and that diminishes the still serious social inequalities.”

Mayor Sheinbaum is a member of the Board of Directors of Metropolis.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Latin America

Iran: Children from 41 countries participated in the Global Campaign for the Prevention of Child Marriage

. HUMAN RIGHTS .

Sent to CPNN by Mr. Daniel Petrosiyan

Child Marriage is fundamental violation of human rights, which depriving children from their right to education, health and safety. The U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, estimates more than 650 million women alive today had been married off when they were before the age of 18. The statistical analysis show that If child marriage had continued, more than 150 million girls will marry by 2030. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have set a target To eliminate child, early or forced marriage by 2030.

According to SDG 5.3 which has targeted the end child of marriage by 2030, Shahin Gavanji and Jahangir Gavanji launched a new international program in 2019 which is called “Painting your dreams for your future”, and invite all children in world to stand against child marriage. In this program they asked all children in the world to paint their dreams for their future.

In the campaign all children in the world were invited to Join the program in taking action to advance gender equality and end child marriage, and children announced that they are artists of their life, and let them to paint their dreams for their future.

Question related to this article:

How can this program help societies to end child marriage?

The campaign received 1869 painting from 41 countries in the world (Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria, Mauritius, Azerbaijan, Portugal, Turkey, Thailand, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Egypt, Lebanon, Canada, Romania, Sri Lanka, Somalia, The United States, Iraq, Philippines, The United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Sierra Leone, Sweden, Malaysia, Italy, Zimbabwe, Croatia, Finland, India, Indonesia, Bahrain, Uganda, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kenya), and children send a united message that Child marriages should be banned and together we can make world free of child marriage.

The goals of this campaign:

Raising awareness on child marriage and declares the negative impacts on overall development, prosperity, and stability.

Send a message that education is a powerful strategy in keeping girls from child marriage, since educated youth paves the way for a better future for the country and every child has the right to dream for his or hers future and it’s a duty of parents to help and encourage them.

Calling the attention of governments to reinforce their commitment to end child marriage by 2030.

(Editor’s note: the World Academy of Medical Sciences informs us that “In this program, more than 31000 brochure were delivered to people in 31 cities in Iran and helped Iranian people getting them informed in full knowledge of the harmful effects of child marriage on physical and mental health. The campaign encourages people to read the brochure thoroughly and share it with families and friends.”)

HUMAN RIGHTS, South Asia

Neighbours as friends, not enemies: Nordic-Russian seminar, Oslo, 3.- 4. February 2020

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Statement sent to CPNN from Ingeborg Breines

A Nordic-Russian civil society seminar was organized in Oslo 3. – 4. February 2020 by the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Norway, and the Norwegian Peace Association. The theme of the seminar was “Neighbours as friends, not enemies”. The seminar, which gathered some 45 participants from Denmark, Finland, Norway, Russia and Sweden was a follow up to a Nordic peace and dialogue trip to Russia in May 2018. The seminar was held at the Peace Research Institute Oslo, and was funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The organisers are already planning a follow up seminar in Norway in 2021.


Photo from the 2020 dialogue trip – click on image to enlarge

The main intention with the seminar was to strengthen relations between peace activists in the North, discuss common challenges and visions and contribute to mutual understanding and perhaps even help reduce the present tension. The tension between the West and Russia is one of the drivers behind the present militarization and arms’ race, involving both conventional and nuclear weapons.

Participants had open discussions on how to promote peace, disarmament and a sound environment, and agreed to seek ways to continue with practical and strategic forward-looking initiatives and solution-oriented dialogues. Many echoed the words of the Mayor of the border city of Kirkenes that our security lies in the strengthening of people to people cooperation across borders.

The use of enemy images and the demonization of leaders both in mainstream political discourse and media is dangerous as it installs fear and also is meant to influence peoples acceptance of rising military budgets.

Participants agreed that we should not accept that the world’s resources, natural, financial and intellectual, are being misused for military purposes, and that we need to prove that this thinking is dangerous, naive and obsolete. The military actually makes us less safe, both economically and ecologically, by taking so much of the resources that are needed for other purposes and by the enormous greenhouse gas emissions, the radiation and pollution it provides. We cannot allow the military to be an exception to international climate agreements. Instead we must move the money to be able to tackle the real security issues such as the threat to the very survival of humanity and the planet, be it by climate change, environmental degradation, excessive inequality or nuclear weapons.

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Question related to this article:

Solidarity across national borders, What are some good examples?

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Different alternatives were discussed of how we can contribute to changing attitudes in order to reverse the nuclear and space-arms race, reduce defence spending and get us out of the dominant growth oriented, militarized, confrontational and competitive patterns. In short, how can we build common security, human security, a culture of peace, and non-violence.

Among the concrete suggestions were to:

* continue the sharing of knowledge and ideas,

* get inspiration from each other’s culture and art,

* work for the strengthening of civil society and democratic practices,

* seek ways of producing and consuming which ensures the well being of all and the integrity of the biosphere.

* establish permanent structures for peace, such as ministries and departments for peace to promote peace at all levels,

* cherish and use the UN, diplomacy and multilateral cooperation,

* help implement the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate,

* strive for a non militarized and nuclear free Arctic and Baltic Sea basin,

* maintain the Arctic Council non-militarized and operational,

* gather individual signatures and cities in support of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons,

* continue to warn against nuclear and other hazardous waste and make waste management safer,

* seek closer cooperation between the peace movement and environmental organizations,

* actively learn to work across generations and share knowledge and priorities,

* cross borders and seek new partnerships with “sister” groups and organisations.

Finally, it was considered most vital to build trust between peoples, so essential for real cooperation, and for our survival.

Click here for the final report from the seminar.

Europe, FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Peace promotion in the Sahel: The best award-winning radio productions

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An article by Tiga Cheick Sawadogo in Le Faso

The Sahel Peace Promotion Program, implemented by the Norbert Zongo National Press Center, has celebated the best radio productions on peace on February 13, 2020 in Ouagadougou, the day of celebration of World Radio Day. In magazines, microprograms and round tables, the works of four journalists have been recognized above others from twelve radio stations.


The National Press Center Norbet Zongo implements with the support of EIRENE, the peace promotion program in the Sahel. In this context, twelve partner radios from the North Central, North and Central Plateau regions benefited from capacity building and technical support to produce programs related to peace.

To capitalize on the achievements of the program, a competition for the best radio productions on peace was launched. And 84 works were recorded by the jury made up of Jean Baptiste Ilboudo, Clémence Tuina and Smaïla Rabo.

“The task was not easy. We judged the relevance of the subject, the sound quality of the work, originality of the treatment, the quality of the music, the dressing… “, explained Clémence Tuina, representative of the members of the jury. For six days, the jury worked to decide between the candidates.

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Click here for the original version in French)

Question(s) related to this article:

African journalism and the Culture of Peace, A model for the rest of the world?

How can peace be promoted by radio?

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“The jury regrets, the low participation of candidates and radio stations, including only four radio stations out of the dozen concerned. He therefore recommends that organizers institute a mentoring system to monitor and galvanize the radios to be produced after IN SITU training. It also recommends that they continue to build the capacity of partner radios and provide them with production equipment (recorders).

The jury urged the radio managers to encourage and motivate their journalists to produce programs (round tables, magazines, microprograms, reports and surveys).

In the microprogram category, Boureima Ouédraogo of the radio station Voix du paysan de Ouahigouya was the winner with the title “living together”. “The work deals with peace, social cohesion, showing how different communities can accept each other and how people can work to promote peace. This award galvanizes us to work more in the promotion of peace. As radio producers, we are the spokespersons of the populations and in the current context of Burkina, we have an important role to play”, explained the winner.

In the round table category, it is also a rural voice who wins with Abdoulaye Sawadogo for his work entitled “contribution of religious leaders to cohesion, in a context of violent extremism”.

As for the best magazine, the winners, a duo of radio journalist Vénégré de Ziniaré Alfred Kagambèga and Toussaint Soré,
deal with land speculation in Loumbila,

The Sahel peace promotion program also named the best radio station. There too, it was Ziniaré’s Vénégré radio which stood out. “We appreciated the team spirit that prevailed on this radio. The radio has created a program called Voices for a Culture of Peace, a program which is hosted by different journalists in turn. The magazines are punctuated; there are several voices involved, the tasks are shared and we really liked it, ”explained Clémence Tuina.

All of the winners received prizes in kind, including computers, recorders and certificates.

Africa, FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION