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.

USA: Ashland Culture of Peace Commission – A small town can play a big role

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article by David Wick for the Ashland Daily Tidings

From its inception, the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission (ACPC) has been a local–global initiative. Some people refer to this as, “think globally and act locally,” or vise versa. In the case of ACPC and the city of Ashland, the Culture of Peace model we are developing is of interest far beyond Southern Oregon and does have an impact on national and international levels.

For many months Bob Morse of ACPC has written articles which were developed through conducting interviews with people representing various sectors of our local community. Each article provided a different view of a Culture of Peace and hinted at a new emerging model. This has been informative and generated dynamic conversations and new thinking with article titles ranging from, “Nourishing our children and ourselves” and “Peace through feeding the hungry” to “Bringing peace to healing”.

Over the next several months ACPC will begin a new series of articles which focus on the national and international evolution of a Culture of Peace and the important role Ashland and ACPC play in this vital global initiative. The variety of authors have made important contributions toward shifting mindsets and behaviors in their spheres of influence. These leaders are also very aware of the developing peacebuilding activities taking place in Ashland and will reflect upon the importance of what we are doing from their perspective.

The authors currently include: Bangladeshi Ambassador Anwarul Karim Chowdhury, the United Nations; David Adams, Culture of Peace News Network; Dot Maver, National Peace Academy; Avon Mattison and Tezikiah Gabriel, Pathways To Peace; Fred Arment, International Cities of Peace; and David Hazen, Eugene Peace Team.
 
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Question related to this article:

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

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On May 16, 2017 the Ashland City Council joined the International Cities of Peace and proclaimed Ashland a City of Peace. This created a focus to work toward that goal. In part the proclamation states, “Official recognition of

Ashland as an International City of Peace will provide inspiration for all citizens to create an emerging, evolving, living model for thriving together as fellow humans. NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council and Mayor, on behalf of the citizens of Ashland, do proclaim that the City of Ashland, Oregon, is a City of Peace in perpetuity and encourage city and community leaders to work with concerned citizens to develop policies and procedures that promote a culture of peace in our region.”

What does this matter, one may ask; we have real problems at home, why look outside of Ashland? In the April 10, 2016 Daily Tidings article titled “Ashland Culture of Peace Commission: Does Ashland matter globally?” Fred Arment, executive director of the international Cities of Peace answered this question directly.

“I want to emphasize that Ashland is ahead of the curve. I have a lot of communication with cities around the world, and you guys are definitely ahead of the curve on all of this!” declared Arment. “You have basically made a very sophisticated approach involving political with grassroots organizations and done it in a way that has integrity and promise, unity and purpose. You guys are leading the pack, and I’m really interested in doing a case study of your city and your approach for the rest of the world to see.”

Arment continued, “Just the idea of your being in the United States — and for peace — gives encouragement and support to other cities around the world. So it’s not just Ashland that you are dealing with. When Ashland proclaims that it is a City of Peace, other cities in war-torn areas see that as a way forward. So it’s very powerful!”

Dedicated people, time, energy and money will be required to walk the pathway to co-creating a Culture of Peace in Ashland and elsewhere. We are not talking about a few changes here and there. We are talking about new models. In large part Buckminster Fuller identified our pathway when he said, “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

Ashland does matter globally. ACPC is planning to install the World Peace Flame in Ashland in 2018, and convene a global peace conference here in 2019. Let us be clear: There are positive leadership and economic implications for Ashland as our reputation grows as an innovative International City of Peace. Most important, a Culture of Peace is a living legacy which our children, grandchildren and future generations can build upon. Please join us!

— David Wick is executive director of the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission. Email comments and questions to ashlandcpc@gmail.com. The ACPC website is www.ashlandcpc.org; like the commission on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AshlandCultureofPeaceCommission; follow twitter.com/AshlandPeace on Twitter. All are welcome to join the ACPC’s Talking Circle at 11 a.m. each Tuesday and Community Meeting at 4 p.m. each Wednesday, both at the ACPC oice, 33 First St., Suite 1, diagonally across Lithia Way from the Ashland Post Oice.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, North America

World body of parliaments discusses nuclear-risk-reduction and disarmament

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

An article from Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament

Parliamentarians from around the world, who gathered in St Petersburg for the 137th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union from Oct 14-18, held a special session on Monday organised by PNND to discuss the role of parliamentarians in reducing nuclear dangers and supporting nuclear disarmament.

Bruce Blair, co-founder of Global Zero and a former nuclear missile controller, outlined the growing risks of a nuclear catastrophe due to increasing tensions and conflicts between USA & North Korea, Russia & the West, and India & Pakistan, combined with the high operational readiness of many of these countries to use nuclear weapons. He noted that the potential of nuclear-weapons-related conflicts escalating into war – and the possibilities of nuclear weapons being used by accident, miscalculation or even intent – are even greater now than during the Cold War.

Ambassador Elayne Whyte Gómez, President of the UN negotiating conference for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, updated parliamentarians on the adoption of the treaty on July 7, the number of countries that have signed the treaty to date (53 countries) and the role that parliamentarians have in ratification of the treaty in national legislatures in order to ensure the treaty’s entry-into-force and implementation. She also called on parliamentarians from countries that have not yet signed the treaty, to call on their governments to sign in order to reach 100 signatories as soon as possible.

Alyn Ware, global coordinator of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, highlighted the opportunity to advance nuclear risk-reduction and disarmament measures at the United Nations High-Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament (UNHLC), which will take place at the UN in New York in May 2018. Such UN high-level conferences have been very successful in other areas (sustainable development, climate change, oceans and refugees), and could make a significant contribution to nuclear disarmament. (See UNHLC food-for-thought paper).

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Questions for this article:

How can parliamentarians promote a culture of peace?

A UN High-Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament: Distraction or progress?

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Goals proposed for UNHLC could include: achieve 100 signatories to the nuclear ban treaty (many governments could sign at the UNHLC); renew the UN process for a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction; agreements by nuclear armed States to take all nuclear weapons off alert, make further cuts in nuclear stockpiles, give assurances to non-nuclear States that nuclear weapons will not be used against them, commit never to be the first to use nuclear weapons, and outline a framework to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world.

A number of delegations took the opportunity to make comments and ask questions on various aspects of the issue, including: how to strengthen international criminal law against nuclear weapons regardless of whether its use or possession by terrorists or governments, how to engage youth and build a stronger civil society movement for nuclear abolition, how to maintain existing agreements (such as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action regarding Iran’s nuclear energy which is under threat from the new USA administration), how to reduce nuclear tensions and build confidence, and how to move the nuclear-armed States to phase out their reliance on nuclear weapons and negotiate a comprehensive agreement on the elimination of nuclear weapons.

The event also included the launch of a new publication – the Parliamentary Action Plan for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World. The Action Plan, which has been developed by Parliamentarians for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament in consultation with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), includes 14 key nuclear disarmament actions that can be taken by parliamentarians.

Some of these are actions that parliamentarians from States Parties to the nuclear prohibition treaty can take to implement the treaty in their parliaments. These are all non-nuclear States, as the nuclear-armed and allied States do not currently support the treaty.

Other actions in the Plan are those that parliamentarians from nuclear armed and allied States can take to reduce the risks of nuclear weapons being used, and move their governments to adopt incremental disarmament measures, phase out the reliance on nuclear deterrence and negotiate for nuclear disarmament.

And some actions in the Plan are those that parliamentarians from all States can take to build public awareness and political will for the achievement of a nuclear-weapon-free world.

The plan draws from reports and resolutions on nuclear disarmament adopted by the IPU in 2009 and 2014, as well as resolutions of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and a series of consultations undertaken by PNND in key capitals and UN centres during 2016-2017.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, global

Ecuador: Rumiñahui for a Culture of Peace

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

An article from the Associación de Municipalidades Ecuadorianas

“Peace is not written with letters of blood, but with intelligence and heart,” is a phrase of reflection written on one of the many posters on the stands at the first “Nonviolent Initiatives Fair” held in the city of Rumiñahui on the initiative of the municipality of the town, on October 14, 2017.

The director of Citizen Participation of the municipal government, Angela Figueroa, thanked the inhabitants and the different entities for welcoming this initiative, which was born from hard work, from the grassroots of the community, little by little a culture of non-violence for the whole canton.

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Questions for this article:

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

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The Municipal Band of Rumiñahui, the Orquesta Patrulla 12, the Los Kitus Group and other artists were among those who participated in the event, which began at 10:00 am on boulevard Santa Clara.

The campaign was joined by the football team that is vice-champion of America, Independiente del Valle, Ambassador for Peace since 2016. Managers, coaches and players will join on October 18 during the match between Independiente and Delfin, corresponding to the National Football Championship, to send a message of peace to the country from the stadium of Rumiñahui Stadium.

This program was carried out within the framework of the national campaign “October for Peace and Nonviolence”, which calls on public and private companies, local governments and NGOs to raise the awareness of the community about respect for human rights.

The Municipality held the event for the second consecutive year with the promotion of activities including a cinema forum, assemblies, conversations and cultural caravans with themes of peace.

(Click here for the Spanish original of this article)

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Latin America

Spain: Melilla Unesco Center will host the presentation ‘Islam: Culture of peace and non-violence’

. TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An article from Islamedia (translated by CPNN)

The Unesco Center in Melilla announced yesterday [October 17] the celebration of the conference: ‘Islam: Culture of peace and non-violence’. The talk will take place in the Salón de Grados of the Campus of the University of Granada in Melilla, at 19:30 hours.


Amaruch Mohamed and Juan Antonio Vera (Photo: Christian Calvo)

The speaker, Amaruch Mohamedi Amaruch, is a doctor in the area of ​​Didactics of Language and Literature (University of Granada) and has obtained the Degree of Expert in Islamic Legislation by the European Institute of Human Sciences (in Chateau Chinoun, France).

Islamic religion

He also has linguistic competence in Tamazight and has completed the Higher Cycle of Arabic and French by the Official Language School of Melilla. He is currently a teacher of Islamic Religion on the staff of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport.

Common origin

In his presentation, the lecturer plans to delve into the common origin of the three major monotheistic religions of the world, the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths, in the figure of the prophet Abraham and religion in young people today.

This conference is an event organized by the Unesco Center of Melilla, with the sponsorship of the Institute of Cultures and with the collaboration of the University Campus of Granada in our city. Last week another conference was held in the series that addressed the melting pot of cultures that is Spain.

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

Question related to this article:
Europe, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Discussion concerning the question: A UN High-Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament: Distraction or progress?

(Editor’s note: Since this discussion was posted, the UN High Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament has been postponed, perhaps permanently. This appears to be the result of diplomatic pressure from the nuclear weapons states, as described in a more recent article by Alyn War: Nuclear Weapon States’ Long Arm Seen Behind Deferral of Landmark UN Conference).

Here is a response to the question from Alyn Ware. Although Alyn is a leading member of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Disarmament, this is written in his personal capacity, not in the name of the organization.

When a group of countries moved the United Nations General Assembly to commence negotiations on a Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons that only non-nuclear weapons countries supported, a number of the nuclear-armed and allied States announced that such an initiative was a distraction from the real business of nuclear risk-reduction and disarmament which they are actively pursuing in other forums such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Process.

This argument was fallacious and self-serving.

It was clearly false, as the nuclear-armed and allied States had themselves agreed at the 2010 NPT Review Conference that “All States need to make special efforts to establish the necessary framework to achieve and maintain a world without nuclear weapons.” The non-nuclear States who were advancing negotiations on the Prohibition Treaty were merely doing their part to fulfill this agreement.

And the argument was self-serving, as it aimed to prevent progress on the prohibition of nuclear weapons in order to allow them (the nuclear armed and allied States) to continue indefinitely with their nuclear deterrence policies and practices.

The Prohibition Treaty has now been concluded and opened for signature. A good step, but the nuclear armed and allied States have reaffirmed that they will not join, so it won’t apply to them.

In 2018, there will be another process that could elevate the Prohibition Treaty (including by increasing the number of countries signing), as well as putting pressure on the nuclear armed and allied states to adopt incremental nuclear disarmament measures that will bring them closer to commencing negotiations on nuclear weapons elimination.

This is the UN High Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament, which aims to build global attention and the necessary political will for nuclear disarmament in the nuclear-reliant States.

Similar UN High Level conferences on other core issues for humanity have been remarkably successful. The Sustainable Development Conference (2015) adopted the Sustainable Development Goals. The Climate Change Conference (2016) adopted the Paris Agreement. The Oceans Conference (2017) adopted the 14-point action plan ‘Our Oceans, Our Future’. The Refugees conference (2016) adopted the New York Declaration. One key aspect which ensured their success was strong cooperative action by civil society.

The 2018 UN High-Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament has the potential for similar success, but appears thwarted by a lack of support and cooperation amongst civil society. Some of the same disarmament organisations that scorned the nuclear-armed States for calling the Prohibition Treaty a ‘distraction’, are now using those same fallacious arguments to undermine the UN High Level Conference calling it a distraction. To claim that the UN High-Level Conference is a distraction from the Prohibition Treaty is a use of ‘alternative facts’ as Orwellian as those of the US President. Here is a fact check: The President of the UN negotiating conference for the Prohibition Treaty has supported the UN High Level Conference as a way to advance both the ban treaty and incremental measures by nuclear-armed and allied States. Civil society should get on board, and not weaken itself and the nuclear abolition campaign through division.

The manufactured ‘competition’ between nuclear disarmament initiatives is one of the key reasons that the nuclear disarmament movement cannot garner the political traction that has led to success in other areas – such as chemical weapons, biological weapons, cluster munitions and landmines – all of which have prohibition treaties which include (current and former) possessor States, and have been instrumental in changing policies of possessors and destroying actual weapons. If the ban treaty remains stuck in its competitive silo, then it will have next-to-no impact on the States who possess the weapons.

The High-Level Conference provides a forum which can bridge the differences and advance both the comprehensive ban treaty approach, and the incremental measures, i.e. those in which there is a possibility of being adopted by nuclear armed and allied States. Civil society should come in behind this and help make it work.

This question pertains to the following articles

Nuclear Weapon States’ Long Arm Seen Behind Deferral of Landmark UN Conference

Prague: International youth conference: Reaching High for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World

World body of parliaments discusses nuclear-risk-reduction and disarmament

United Nations: Reaching HIGH civil society ‘virtual’ conference for nuclear disarmament proposals

Parliamentarians for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament releases Action Plan for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World

Unfold Zero: Making Use of the New Nuclear Ban Treaty

Abolition 2000 Annual Meeting: Supports Women’s March. Calls for Nuclear Risk Reduction

UN commences nuclear abolition negotiations

Civil Society and the UN High Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament

Banning Nukes: Divergence and Consensus at the UN Working Group on Nuclear Disarmament

d-disarmament

Catholic Institutions Announce Largest-Ever Joint Divestment from Fossil Fuels

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

A press release from The Global Catholic Climate Movement

A coalition of Catholic institutions has today [October 4] announced its divestment from fossil fuels. The coalition of 40 is the largest joint announcement of divestment by Catholic organizations to date. The institutions are located on five continents, and represent fields ranging from a holy site to finance to church hierarchical entities.

Catholic institutions’ decision to remove their support for fossil fuels is based on both their shared value of environmental protection and the financial wisdom of preparing for a carbon-neutral economy.

In Assisi, Italy, the home of St. Francis and a deeply significant place for the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, three institutions and a municipal government have divested. The Assisi group includes the Sacro Convento, a monastery complex and holy site that houses the remains of St. Francis, from whom Pope Francis took his name. The Sacro Convento is considered the spiritual home of the world’s Franciscan brothers.

Along with the Sacro Convento, the diocese of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino has divested. The diocese, which includes more than 80,000 people and the town of Assisi, is the site of several important pilgrimages each year. Assisi’s Seraphic Institute, a religious medical center that provides care for disabled children, has also joined the divestment announcement.

In a complementary move, the mayor of the town of Assisi has announced its divestment from fossil fuels.

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Question for this article:

Divestment: is it an effective tool to promote sustainable development?

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In addition to divestment in the highly significant home of St. Francis, church entities around the world are stepping away from fossil fuels. The Episcopal Conference of Belgium, which is the Catholic Church’s policy arm in Belgium, has divested. This is the first Catholic episcopal conference in the world to divest. In South Africa, the Catholic Archdiocese of Cape Town has invested in social and ethical funds. Within the Church hierarchy, a total of one episcopal conference, one archdiocese, three dioceses, and a vicariate have divested.

These spiritual leaders are joined by business leaders. Two financial institutions have announced their divestment. Germany’s Bank für Kirche und Caritas eG (Bank for the Church and Caritas) is one of the first Catholic banks in the world to divest from fossil fuels. The bank, which has a balance sheet of €4.5 billion, is breaking from coal, tar sands oil, and oil shale because it is both morally imperative and fiscally responsible.

The bank is joined in its divestment by Oikocredit Belgium, an ecumenical financial institution and one of the world’s largest sources of private funding for microfinance. Oikocredit is joined by 12 other Belgian institutions.

These institutions are among the 40 that have divested in total. The joint commitment by 40 Catholic institutions more than quadruples the size of an announcement made in May, when nine Catholic organizations divested. Worldwide to date, the total value of those institutions that have committed to divest surpasses $5 trillion.

This divestment announcement comes amid united Christian action to protect the environment during the Season of Creation. The Season of Creation is a monthlong celebration of prayer and action for the environment, and it is embraced by a broad ecumenical community.

Global Catholic Climate Movement is a community of hundreds of thousands of Catholics and a global network of member organizations responding to Pope Francis’ call to action in the Laudato Si’ encyclical.

global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The Elders applaud Palestinian reconciliation; renew call for end to blockade of Gaza

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

A press release from The Elders

The Elders warmly welcomed the reconciliation agreement reached by Fatah and Hamas in Cairo last Thursday. The agreement is an essential step towards the full reunification of the West Bank and Gaza, and keeps alive prospects for the peaceful emergence of a Palestinian state.

After 10 years of internal conflict, and several previous failed attempts at reconciliation, the latest developments also hold out the prospect of an end to the blockade of Gaza. During this period, the lives of over two million Gazans have been blighted by three destructive wars and tight restrictions on the movement of people and goods in and out of the territory.

The Elders commended the crucial role played by the Egyptian Government in bringing about this latest – and most promising – reconciliation initiative.

Kofi Annan, Chair of The Elders and former UN Secretary-General, said:

“The restoration of a single authority throughout the occupied territories is long overdue. The feud between Hamas and Fatah has done no good to the Palestinian people and has seriously damaged prospects for the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state. Those in the international community who have rightly decried the absence of Palestinian unity must now seize this opening to push decisively for resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

Lakhdar Brahimi, a member of The Elders and former Algerian Foreign Minister, commented:

“There are difficult challenges ahead before we can begin to speak of full unity having been restored to Palestinian ranks. Egypt’s constructive role will be needed over the coming weeks and months.”
Supporting a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, along the lines of the two-state solution, has been a key priority for The Elders since the organisation was founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007. Elders’ delegations have visited the region on four occasions, meeting Israeli and Palestinian leaders and supporting their civil societies. The Elders have also spoken out regularly on the urgent need to end the unjust Gaza blockade and restore Palestinian unity.

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

Question related to this article:
DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Mideast

United Nations: Reaching HIGH civil society ‘virtual’ conference for nuclear disarmament proposals

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from UNFOLD ZERO

Governments have gathered at the United Nations in New York this month (October) to discuss and adopt nuclear disarmament proposals, including a draft resolution to set the dates and mandate for the first ever UN High Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament (UNHLC), scheduled for 2018. A coalition of international civil society organisations and networks used this occasion to meet on Oct 11-12 in a ‘virtual’ conference to discuss action plans and strategies to ensure success of the UNHLC.


Alyn Ware and Marzhan Nurzhan at the hub of the virtual conference – the Global Security Institute office next to the United Nations in New York

The conference involved a series of webinar sessions with civil society representatives participating from around the world through their home/office computers, laptops, cell phones and smart phones.

It was convened by the Basel Peace Office, Global Security Institute, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, UNFOLD ZERO and the Abolition 2000 working group on the 2018 UN High-Level Conference.

Why the UN High-Level Conference

‘We are at a cross-roads of increased nuclear dangers and alternative realities,’ said Alyn Ware, convener of the conference.

‘On the one hand regional conflicts and tensions, such as in North-East Asia, and between Russia and the West, are increasing the reliance on nuclear weapons and the risk of a nuclear catastrophe by accident, miscalculation or even intent. On the other hand, we have a majority of UN member states – all non-nuclear countries – adopting a Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).’

‘These two communities are living in different realities, and the divide between them is increasing. The 2018 UN High-Level Conference provides an opportunity to bridge the communities, and make progress on both nuclear-risk reduction and disarmament measures.’

‘The UN Conference can also bridge the different multilateral processes and forums such as the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review process, UN General Assembly (through which the TPNW was negotiated), UN Security Council and the Conference on Disarmament.’

Most importantly, the UN High-Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament, which will take place in May 2018, can elevate the political, media and public attention to nuclear disarmament in all UN member states, and establish a global expectation of a concrete outcome or outcomes.

We have had considerable success with similar high-level UN conferences on Sustainable Development (2015) which adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals; Climate Change (2016) which adopted the Paris Agreement; Refugees and Migrants (2016) which achieved the New York Declaration; and Oceans (2017) which adopted the 14-point action plan Our Ocean Our Future.

But these all required cooperative action by civil society to push their governments into concrete action. The civil society virtual conference on Oct 11-12 is one of the many efforts to build cooperation and action to ensure the 2018 UNHLC on Nuclear Disarmament is also a success.

The Oct 11-12 conference included six sessions focusing on:

* Politics of current nuclear weapons policies. Nuclear risk-reduction and disarmament initiatives;

* Value of UN High-Level Conferences/Summits. Learning from UN summits on other issues (climate change, sustainable development);

* Visions for the 2018 UNHLC. What are possible outcomes which we should be promoting;

* Engaging governments and preparatory work. How to ensure governments will attend at the highest level and take action in good faith on concrete nuclear disarmament measures;

* Summarizing and packaging the politics and opportunities of the UNHLC; Making it understandable to public.

* Engaging key constituencies and building the campaign. Involvement of parliamentarians, mayors, youth, religious leaders/communities, academics… Public events and promotion.

The conference built on a series of consultation events and meetings conducted by the co-sponsoring organisations in key capitals, UN centres and inter-parliamentary assemblies over the past year. Input from these consultations provided the basis for a food-for-thought paper which explores the optimum agenda and approach of the 2018 UNHLC to ensure success.

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Question for this article:

A UN High-Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament: Distraction or progress?

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Key themes and approaches;

There were a number of key themes and approaches to the UNHLC discussed during the Oct 11-12 conference. These included:

Civil society should call on all governments to attend the UNHLC at the highest level. This call can be made to governments of nuclear-armed, allied and non-nuclear countries alike;

Governments already supporting the UNHLC could do joint calls on all other governments to attend the UNHLC at the highest level. CELAC (organisation of Latin American and Caribbean governments) is an obvious possibility given their initial push for the high-level conference;

The UNHLC should provide a space for all countries to participate, and for a range of initiatives to be advanced, including the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, lowering the salience of nuclear weapons, de-alerting, no-first-use, ending nuclear tests, negative security assurances, nuclear stockpile reductions, establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones and developing a framework for global elimination;

A goal for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons could be to obtain 100 signatures by the close of the UNHLC (a number of governments could choose to sign at the UNHLC);

A ‘gift-basket‘ approach could be useful, as it was in the Nuclear Security Summits. This would involve the announcement and/or adoption of a range of measures and initiatives by groups of States, without requiring unanimity of all at the UNHLC;

The UNHLC could recommend UN Security Council action on a number of initiatives, such as that any testing of nuclear weapons would be a threat to peace and security, and that any use of weapons of mass destruction would be a crime against humanity and a threat to peace and security;

In order to move nuclear-armed and allied States to agree to eliminate the role of nuclear weapons in their security doctrines, it will probably be necessary to advance common security approaches for addressing security situations in which they currently believe that nuclear deterrence is necessary. Common security approaches (diplomacy, mediation, arbitration, adjudicaton…) and mechanisms (United Nations, International Court of Justice, International Criminal Court, Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe…) are already available but need promoting;

Parliamentarians have a key role to play in moving governments to attend the UNHLC and to commit to concrete outcomes. Civil society should work with parliamentarians to raise questions and advance debates/motions about the 2018 UNHLC in their parliaments;

Civil society should also contact their government officials (foreign ministries and UN ambassadors) directly. PNND and GSI maintains (and will expand) a database of government officials from key countries, plus background on ‘entry points’ (relevant UN resolutions they have supported, and IPU resolutions their parliaments have supported) in order to assist civil society advocates.

Actions and commitments arising from, or announced at, the Oct 11-12 conference include:

1. Abolition 2000 has established a working group on the 2018 UNHLC which is open to anyone to join.This will provide a basis for building cooperation amongst civil society on actions and plans for the 2018 UNHLC;

2. PNND is organising an event at the Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly in St Petersburg to promote the ban treaty, nuclear-risk reduction measures and the 2018 UNHLC;

3. The Abolition 2000 Youth Network and PNND are organising an international youth conference on the 2018 UNHLC. The youth conference will take place in Prague, Czech Republic on Nov 28-29, 2017;

4. UNFOLD ZERO maintains a webpage dedicated to the 2018 UN High-Level Conference. This includes all relevant documents, reports and actions;

5. The Abolition 2000 Youth Network is planning a global Reach HIGH for a nuclear-weapon-free world video, which will involve youth around the world lifting a peace sign high and then passing it to youth video video connection (more detailed explanation to follow). The final video will be shown during the Prep Com for the 2018 UNHLC in New York on March 28;

6. PNND has just produced a Parliamentary Action Plan for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World which includes parliamentary actions to support the 2018 UNHLC;

7. UNFOLD ZERO and PNND will produce a civil society action guide for the 2018 UNHLC;

8. PNND, Mayors for Peace and Religions for Peace will present the joint appeal ‘A Nuclear-Weapon-Free World: Our Common Good‘ to the President of the 2018 UNHLC and participating governments at the UNHLC Preparatory Meeting in New York on March 28. Additional mayors, parliamentarians and religious leaders can be invited to endorse before March 25, 2018.

9. World Future Council, PNND, Basel Peace Office and the Abolition 2000 working group on the 2018 UNHLC are planning an action ‘Count the nuclear weapons budget‘ in New York over the three days of the UNHLC. Celebrities, youth and peace activists will count 1 million mock $1 million notes = $1 trillion dollars (the nuclear weapons budget for the next decade).

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global, United Nations,

How Rwanda’s Amahoro Tours has established itself as a leader in eco and community-based tourism

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article from eTurbo News

“Amahoro” is Kinyarwanda for “peace.” Literally translated, Amahoro Tours would translate to “Peace Tours.” The word is also used as a form of greeting – to mean “hello.”

At Amahoro Tours, “Amahoro” denotes not just the company’s name, but its motto as well. The company strives at nurturing interaction between members of local communities and visitors with a view to promote sustainable development locally.


Greg Bakunzi at the Kwita Izina 2017 ceremony

Of primary focus to the company is local tour itineraries. “We do it with a view to not only contribute to the economic development of the region and the prosperity of all those involved, but also to raise awareness and help visitors understand better the Rwandan way of life,” explains Greg Bakunzi, the founder and CEO of Amahoro Tours.

This fidelity to the local community out of which it operates has not gone unnoticed.

On September 1, 2017, on the occasion of the 13th baby gorilla naming ceremony (Kwita Izina) in Rwanda, Amahoro Tours and sister company, Red Rocks Rwanda, received a special and rare joint pat on the back. The pat came in the form of the privilege and honor by the founder Greg Bakunzi to be among the 19 distinguished individuals that bestowed names upon the newly-born members of the gorilla family.

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Question related to this article:

How can tourism promote a culture of peace?

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This was basically in honor of Amahoro Tours and Red Rock’s firm commitment to a community-based tourism business model that seeks to position the local communities meaningfully at the heart of the tourism food chain.

The inspiration for setting up a tour operation had struck Bakunzi way back in 1997, following his first trip to see gorillas in the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Southwestern Uganda.

Spotting an opportunity, he started working as a freelance local guide the following year, taking tourists to see the mountain gorillas. This went on until 2001, when he created Amahoro Tours.

It is with the creation of Amahoro Tours that Bakunzi attained the clarity of vision that has since helped cement the company’s hard-earned credentials as a community-focused tourism business.

“When I started my own tour company, it was not only for the purpose of gorilla trekking, but a combination of community, tourism, and conservation around the Volcanoes National Park,” Bakunzi said.

Over the years, Amahoro Tours has established itself as a market leader in eco and community-based tourism in Rwanda. The company’s dynamic and tailor-made tour packages have been designed to offer tourists as much interaction with the locals and likeminded visitors as possible, while at the same time enabling guests to enjoy the trappings of nature.

Since then, Amahoro Tours birthed a sister tourism entity, Red Rocks Rwanda, a backpackers’ campsite and hostel located some seven kilometers outside Musanze town, where Amahoro Tours is based.

The introduction of Red Rocks was a well-orchestrated strategy to incorporate the local communities around Volcanoes National Park into the tourism value chain and, as Bakunzi notes, “we are proud that our dreams are coming true.”.

To achieve this, Amahoro Tours works in partnership with an extensive network of likeminded community-based organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations, and volunteers from all the far corners of the world.

The company tasks itself with turning a traveler’s sojourn, however brief, into a splendid journey of exploration, “through prompt, efficient, engaging, and safe service,” Bakunzi guarantees.

He concluded: “Amahoro Tours would like to call upon all well-wishers to join hands in order to bring community, conservation, and tourism together for future sustainability. Without the involvement of the local community, our tourism sector won’t move forward, and conservation might soon be history. We invite other conservationists, universities, and institutions, to join us as we move to address conservation issues through tourism initiatives.”

Latin America, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Costa Rica A Role Model for Sustainable Tourism to the World

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article from The Costa Rica News

On October 9 to 11, the Sixth International Conference: Planet, People, Peace (P3), the most important international venue on sustainable tourism, will be hosted by Costa Rica. This conference is organized by the Costa Rican Chamber of Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism (CANAECO) together with the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT).


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P3 International Conference will mark the high point to celebrate in this country the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, so declared by the United Nations General Assembly. 25 keynote speakers –from Costa Rica and other 15 countries such as Canada, Chile, Ecuador, Germany, Island, Jordan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, South Africa and the United States, will participate in this conference.

“P3 contributes to positioning Costa Rica as a leading destination for sustainable tourism, ensuring the wellbeing of communities while being the driving force of the social and economic development in the country. In this way, our commitment transcends words, and by hosting this event, the eyes of the world will be in Costa Rica, as it will be developing a high-profile activity attended by world leaders, renowned lecturers, and the world’s highest authority on tourism, the Secretary-General of the UNWTO,” stated Mauricio Ventura, Minister of Tourism.

“P3 strengthens the position of Costa Rica as a responsible destination, highlighting the efforts, best practices and innovative initiatives of the public and private sector in the country, while being the most important venue in the region to discuss what is happening in other parts of the world,” explained Jackeline López, President of CANAECO.

At the invitation of the Costa Rican Tourism Board, Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), will attend the conference to talk about the sustainable tourism as a driver for development.

Costa Rica has been more involved and active in the World Tourism Organization. The country has a seat at the UNWTO Executive Council representing countries in the American continent and The UNWTO also recognized Costa Rica, of 55 countries and 139 nominees, with an award for Tourism Innovation and Excellence, where it took second place in the Public Policies and Governance category, becoming the first country to measure the Social Progress Index in Tourism Destinations.

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Question related to this article:

How can tourism promote a culture of peace?

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In addition, the United Nations General Assembly appointed Luis Guillermo Solís, President of Costa Rica, as Special Ambassador of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, and for the first time ever, the ICT partnered with UNWTO and CNN International to build a new tourism identity: “Costa Rica. My Choice, Naturally.”

Mr. Rifai has been Secretary-General of the UNWTO since 2010. Earlier, from February 2006 to February 2009, he was Deputy Secretary-General.

Cooperation on sustainable tourism and climate change

In its five years of existence, this conference has become one of the largest and most prominent events on sustainable tourism in the region. A triangular cooperation project among Uruguay, Costa Rica and Spain has been one of the outcomes, starting learning exchange on climate change and sustainable tourism.

This contact resulted in an exchange that allowed the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) and key stakeholders to share the Sustainable Tourism Certificate with the Ministry of Tourism in Uruguay (MINTUR), the Ministry of Housing, Land Planning and Environment in Uruguay (MVOTMA), the National Climate Change Response System (SNRCC) and Uruguayan stakeholders in tourism, who are working on a sustainable tourism certification for Uruguay –Green Tourism Certificate (SVT).

Under this project, Uruguay has shared experiences on a recovery of beaches through ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) techniques, implementing train-the-trainers activities with experts from the ICT and representatives from local committees of the Programa Bandera Azul Ecológica de Playas (Ecological Blue Flag Programme for Beaches), running this institute.

About the conference

The conference will be structured around four themes. The Earth theme will analyze how tourism –one of the largest and most dynamic economic sectors– can contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), pervading local communities and destinations.

The Water theme will focus attention on new market trends and how the tourism industry evolves. The Air theme will address climate change and how it affects tourism. Experts will share precautionary and mitigation measures through best practices and new technologies.

Finally, the Fire theme will explore the main challenges in the sector, such as sharing economy and the carrying capacity of destinations against the decision whether to bet on quantity or quality of tourists.

For the second consecutive year, P3 International Conference has been declared an event of cultural interest by the Ministry of Culture in Costa Rica and for the third time, awarded the declaration of tourist interest. Registrations are open.

Latin America, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT