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.

English bulletin August 1, 2018

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

Last month we reported on reforestation projects in Africa: the Great Green Wall that streteches from one side of Africa to the other; and the Million Tree Initiative in Zambia. And previously we reported on reforestation projects in China , Pakistan and Brazil.

This month we add reports on the Greentrees Sequester initiative in North Americ and the project Defenders of the Forest in Madagascar. The Greentrees initiative recerived an award from the American Carbon Registry “in recognition of exceptional implementation of the world’s largest reforestation project both in terms of volume of high-quality verified emissions reductions issued and number of participating landowners and acres.”

The Madagascar project is important because the island is one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots with the vast majority of its species of fauna and flora endemic to the island. Much of Madagascar’s wildlife is under threat, particularly its humid forests.” The Mitsinjo Association, composed of the local conservationists, hires local youth to plant trees and conserve the animals that are in danger of extinction. The Association engages in a variety of education and capacity building programs for the communities they support, including schools.

Meanwhile the divestment from fossil fuels continues to gather force. We have previously reported on divestment initiatives by a wide variety of local and global organizations, including the World Bank, Catholic institutions, Norway and New York City. Go Fossil Free, a group that advocates for fossil fuel divestment, estimates that $6.15 trillion worth of fossil fuel assets have been sold off since the movement started in 2010.

In Japan, which has been one of the biggest financiers of coal technology in the world, Nippon Life Insurance, Japan’s largest life insurer, with assets of $667 billion, has announced that they will stop financing coal-fired power plants.

This month we report that the Parliament of Ireland has voted to sell off its estimated $370 million in fossil fuel investments “as soon as is practicable.” Ireland’s vote is particularly important because it reflects a major shift in the divestment movement, Originally, fossil fuel divestment was entirely driven by moral concerns—institutions pulled their money out of oil, gas, and coal companies because they didn’t want to be contributing to the destruction of a stable climate. Now, divestment is increasingly seen as a smart financial move for investors.

Perhaps most important of all, there continues to be progress in renewable energy that does not pollute the atmosphere. A few months ago, we reported on increased investment in solar power in China, Australia, Sweden, UK and Germany, including electric cars and a solar highway in China. And this month we see that India is making strides towards leadership in wind and solar power. Although renewable energy currently supplies only 20% of the country’s needs, this is beginning to change as a result of financial considerations. New renewable energy is less expensive to build than it costs to run most of the existing coal fired power in the nation—let alone construct new plants.

Finally, for a holistic approach, we can recommend that of Agroecology. In Brazil, the National Association of Agroecology has brought together several hundred farmers’, women’s, artists’ and activists’ organizations over the course of the last fifteen years to promote a new model of development based on farming and land use practices in an ecological and common good perspective centered around traditional and popular knowledge and culture. The very nature of agroecology is transversal and holistic. Considering the 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations, agroecology covers the majority of them: climate, water, the fight for gender equality, against poverty, hunger, decent work, etc.

      

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT



India strides towards clean energy leadership

DISARMAMENT AND SECURITY



Campaign Nonviolence National Convergence in Washington, DC this September 21-22, 2018

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION



II World Forum on Urban Violence and Education for Coexistence and Peace: Madrid, 5-8 November

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION



Peace Boat returns to Cuba with a message of peace and global solidarity

WOMEN’S EQUALITY



Women in school to promote a sustainable peace in Cameroon

HUMAN RIGHTS



9th International Conference on Human Rights Education

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY



USA: A call to resist immigrant concentration camps

EDUCATION FOR PEACE



Peru: Law to promote the culture of peace and non-violence in basic education

d-sustainable

India strides towards clean energy leadership

.. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ..

An article by L. Michael Buchsbaum in Energy Transition: the Global Energiewende

It looked as if India’s plan to power up the country using coal would be a disaster for the environment. But renewables changed the game: they currently make up 20% of the energy mix and are growing fast. L. Michael Buchsbaum explains.


New solar and wind in India are now 20% cheaper to build than coal (Photo by Raj, edited,CC BY 2.0)

Illustrative of India’s economic miracle, just this spring, its last village without access to electricity was finally connected to the energy grid. But to fuel this growth, beginning in 2010 India rapidly initiated development of almost 1,000 gigawatts (GW) of new coal-fired energy. With the fifth largest domestic coal reserves worldwide, and Australian and Chinese mines eager to supply immediate demand, India’s economic miracle seemed like game over for the health of planet Earth.

But nearly simultaneous to their swift coal build up, India also began developing green energy. Though only 20% of the current energy mix, roughly 70 GW of renewable capacity has been installed and at least another 40 GW is under construction according to the latest government data.

With around 11,788 megawatts (MW) more being added between April 2017 and March 2018, India is now positioned 4th globally in wind, and 6thin solar. Additionally, last year the renewable energy sector created 47,000 new jobs while sustaining almost 400,000 more positions, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

The sheer pace of India’s adoption of renewables has reduced aggregate installation and production costs by 50% over the last two years according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), flipping earlier economic projections and torpedoing plans for hundreds of megawatts of new coal power. Though coal still supplied 80% of the economy last year, new wind and solar is now 20% cheaper than existing coal-fired generation’s average wholesale power price. Moreover, rising domestic production costs, the doubling of imported coal prices and a crippling delivery shortage continues to plague the industry. Currently new renewable energy is less expensive to build than it costs to run most of the existing coal fired power in the nation—let alone construct new plants.

Case in point: in June the state owned utility, NTPC, the largest owner and developer of coal plants in India, cancelled its planned 4 GW Pudimadaka “Ultra Mega” Power Plant project in the state of Andhra Pradesh. No longer economical, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), since the 2010 build out announcement, India’s coal plant pipeline has shrunk by 547 GW.

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Question for this article:

Are we making progress in renewable energy?

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To put that into perspective, that figure amounts to almost three times Germany’s total installed capacity. And while 80 GW of new coal-fired capacity is still technically “progressing” through myriad approval processes, IEEFA estimates that no more than 10-20 GW might actually see the light of day. “That means more than 84% of India’s 2010 coal pipeline will have been cancelled when all is said and done,” said Tim Buckley, IEEFA’s Director of Energy Finance Studies, Australasia.

Moreover, under the nation’s 2018 National Energy Plan (NEP), India’s Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has recently proposed closing nearly 50 GW of inefficient and heavily polluting coal capacity by 2027. Retrofitting those that remain open to achieve new compliance standards will cost millions more, forcing operators to reconsider future investments as renewables elbow them out.

So how will India keep both the existing lights on and enable millions more citizens to power up? The new NEP calls for an incredible 275 GW of total renewable energy capacity by 2027. In June the trajectory for the build-out was increased to no less than 227 GW by 2022. At these rates, clean energy is projected by BNEF to constitute 75% of total capacity by 2050, essentially inverting the status quo.

Illustrative of this leap forward, on June 21, India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) R.K. Singh announced a 100GW solar tender, with an emphasis on battery storage and domestic solar manufacturing. This announcement follows on the heels of plans for 8-10GW of annual onshore wind installations, plus an ambitious 30GW of offshore wind by 2030. Under the Paris Climate agreement, India had already committed to produce 40% of its installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030. Singh has since vowed to have over 55% installed by then.

While an enormous task, a large portion of the support and financing for this is coming from Japan’s richest man, SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son, who has reportedly told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he will underwrite most of the 100GW of new solar with a US$60-100 billion investment.

But can this and the overall 275 GW target realistically be met on time? While not sure if the giant solar tender “makes a lot of sense”, IEEF director Buckley, offered instead that the plan is indeed a “brilliant statement of intent.” Certainly, by setting the aspirational goal, India has attracted investors and further spurred the development of their domestic manufacturing industry. Tulsi Tanti, chairman and managing director of the Suzlon Group, one of the nation’s leading wind energy suppliers, expects that there will be at least two million workers employed in the wind energy manufacturing industries by 2022. Suzlon currently commands a 35% share of the market since over 8,500 of their turbines with a cumulative generation capacity of 11,919 MW power it. “In the next financial year, a minimum of 1 GW more [of wind energy] installation will happen every month,” Tanti said as the nation ramps towards 50-60MW of total wind capacity.

While coal will continue to constitute India’s baseload energy backbone for the next few decades as a hedge against intermittency, its role will diminish as the grid becomes better integrated, more decentralized and additional battery power comes on line. “We have missed the first and second industrial revolutions,” Minister Singh said recently. “We caught up with the digital revolution, but we need to lead this revolution towards clean energy and renewable energy.”

South Asia, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Faces Of Africa – Defenders of the Forest [Madagascar]

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article from CGTN

Madagascar is one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots. The vast majority of its species of fauna and flora are endemic to the island. Much of Madagascar’s wildlife is under threat, particularly humid forest. The severe poverty that afflicts the island communities is causing serious damage to its environment. Turning these practices around will mean finding ways for locals to benefit from the natural environment. This is where Mitsinjo Association comes in. The organization is composed of the local conservationists who are dedicated towards the conservation of the island’s heritage.



Video

It all started when tourists would go into Andasibe village and requested to see the forest. Later in 1999, Mitsinjo was formed by local villagers. “We started as guides only, protecting the forest, trying to plant trees,” told Justin Claude – Mitsinjo Amphibian conservation director. When Justin joined Mitsinjo, he was only seventeen years old. He was the youngest founder in the group. The group embarked on planting trees and conserving the animals that were in danger of extinction. Each member is assigned a particular zone depending on their expertise. One of the members Youssouf Martin is in charge of tree nurseries while Justin is in charge of the Amphibians.

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Question for this article:

When you cultivate plants, do you cultivate peace?

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“Before, I was a guide and afterwards they asked me to help them do reforestation here. Because I was born here in this village I can do this work because I have much knowledge about the rainforest. This project is a program to plant more native trees. We’re restoring 25 hectares per year so we must grow 30, 000 seedlings with the 60 different species of the native tree,” told Youssouf – Mitsinjo tree nursery specialist.

Madagascar is thought to have more than three hundred species of frogs, ninety nine percent of which are endemic. These are one of the most critically endangered creatures on the Island. Hence in 2010, Justin started the amphibian conservation project. The project is the first one of its kind in Madagascar. In 2013, Justin went for training on amphibian conservation in the United States of America. Coming back to Madagascar, he established a breeding facility for the frogs. The facility remains under his supervision.

Besides the wildlife being under threat of endangerment, the environment faces serious threats too. Clearance of forests primarily for firewood and charcoal is rampant in Madagascar. Hence the group carries out sensitization forums with the locals to stress on the importance of conserving the forests.

This is where education comes in. Mitsinjo engages in a variety of education and capacity building programs for the communities they support, including schools. “Mitsinjo needed a head for environmental education, which also has a link to teaching. I accepted, because I was born here. The environment and love of nature are important to me too. We work with schools all over the region of Andasibe (their village). Over the holidays we create clubs for children who don’t have the money to travel”, said Irene Ramanantenasoa – Mitsinjo environmental education officer. This group of Andasibe local conservationists is working tirelessly to ensure that the glory of its forests is restored and conserved.

Africa, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Coal Divestment Reaches Japan

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article from Treehugger

Nippon Life Insurance will become first major Japanese institutional investor to ditch coal.

News reported by Reuters that Nippon Life Insurance is going to stop financing coal-fired power plants  should be welcome news for all of us who care about the fate of the planet.

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Question for this article:

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

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True, it might not be news quite on the magnitude of Ireland divesting from all fossil fuels. But for fossil fuel divestment to work we need it to spread and deepen — meaning more institutions, in more locations, divesting from an increasingly comprehensive list of fossil fuel-related interests. And—as The Church of England has taught us —we most urgently need to start with the dirtiest of fossil fuels.

As Japan’s largest life insurer, with assets of $667 billion, this is a significant announcement in and of itself. But the Reuters report also states that Japan as a whole is currently one of the biggest financiers of coal technology in the world. Given that Nippon Life Insurance is apparently the first institutional investor in Japan to make such a move, activists will surely be hoping that it has ripple effects across the country’s financial scene.

As I’ve argued before, the real test for divestment will be when folks divest not because of ethical pressures, but because continuing to pour money into the technologies of the past no longer makes financial sense. But every move like this brings that moment closer to fruition.

East Asia, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Mauritania: Creation of the Youth Movement for Employment

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article from Maghreb Emerging

On Thursday [July 26] the Youth Movement for Employment held a press conference at which this movement announced its creation.


Photo by CRIDEM

The president of the movement, Mr. Balle Diagne spoke about the causes behind the creation of the movement and reviewed its objectives which aim, among other things, the recovery of young people exposed to a potential rupture with society and to fight at their side against drug abuses, narcotics, criminal gangs, as well as extremist currents etc.

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

Question(s) related to this article:

Youth initiatives for a culture of peace, How can we ensure they get the attention and funding they deserve?

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To this end, the movement aims to create a space for exchanges and functional learning between state and non-state institutions, to popularize national unity and cohesion and to challenge decision-makers and economic operators to invest in promoting of youth development and raising awareness of the values ​​of citizenship and the culture of peace.

In this context, the president of the movement stressed the importance for young people to preserve national assets and to promote development projects for young people.

As for the secretary general of the movement, Mrs. Malika Mint Mohamed Saleck, she reaffirmed the same principles and objectives inviting all young Mauritanians to join the movement that aims to develop Mauritania and protect against all dangers.

Responding to a question from the Mauritanian Information Agency on the nature of the movement, Balle Diagne said the movement is not political, but he called on Mauritanian youth to register on the electoral roll and to participate fully in the elections.

He added that his movement does not operate within the framework of tribal and regional sectarian structures but, on the contrary, strongly opposes them. He said he believes in the skills and abilities of young Mauritanians.

Africa, FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Mideast,

I Am the Flame

. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION .

An article by Irene Kai

I am honored to be telling my story as a peace builder, and an immigrant in the United States of America. I met my partner David Wick in 1999. He worked with Avon Mattison and Joanie (Misrack) Ciardelli since 1980 on the foundation of Pathways To Peace (PTP) which became a United Nations NGO. Pathways To Peace then developed Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and works with the U.N. Centre for Human Rights, U.N. Centre for Human Settlements, UNESCO, UNICEF and other Agencies. It is also an official Peace Messenger of the United Nations.


World Peace Flame Monument, Snowdonia Mountain Lodge, Wales

I arrived in New York’s Chinatown from Hong Kong in 1965 at the age of fifteen, not knowing how to speak English. I learned quickly that for me to survive, I had to learn the language, get educated and assimilate into the American culture. In the process, I learned to be a keen observer of both cultures. I soon recognized and retained what serves me. From the Chinese, I work hard, fiercely adhere to devotion, discipline and humility, from the American, I am creative and daring to forge new paths. I am a quick learner, I apply what I learned into practices, therefore, I created my own culture.

David introduced me to Avon Mattison not long after we met. I joined PTP as a director and assisted in various projects and created the Culture of Peace Initiative logo which is seen on this CPI newsletter and a print of this image hangs in the United Nations.

On September 21, 2015, the International Day of Peace, David and I launched the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission (ashlandcpc.org) which was based on the years of experience working with PTP and the United Nations. This was a unique opportunity to organize on the ground, in a dynamic and creative community and a small city, the principles, practices and insights of what a Culture of Peace can be.

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Question related to this article:

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

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A week before the launch of the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission, I traveled to the UK for an art exhibit created by Banksy with my daughter. We decided to visit Wales since we had rented a car. Deep in the Snowdonia Mountains, I needed to turn my car around to go back to town and I turned into an outlet behind the mountain and I was stunned to see a glass monument with a flame near the top with the words “World Peace Flame” etched on the glass. I gazed at the flame in awe. The flame ignited the sacred flame in my heart and I knew instantly, peace starts with me – I am the flame.

In 1999, seven sacred flames from five continents were joined in Wales to become the World Peace Flame. The Asian flame was lit from the eternal flame at Gandhi’s memorial. My deep desire to bring the World Peace Flame to Ashland, Oregon, USA is to share the inspiration with each person to take responsibility to practice peace. There is only one other World Peace Flame in the United States, it is in the Civil Rights Museum, Memphis, Tennessee, the assassination site of Dr. Martin Luther King. Peace is not just a concept or to help some other causes in faraway places. It is a daily practice. I experienced and learned about tremendous anger in communities in our country and in the world. Anger is an expression of deep passion; the same fierce passion also was expressed by Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King for peace. It is a choice.

My family is from China, immigrants to the United States. Many of us are immigrants in this country. I am proud to be an American. I am not defined by the US national politics. I traveled to many countries and experienced many cultures and America is the only country that offers freedom and the opportunity for a girl from New York Chinatown, who did not speak English, to have a vision and then through hard work and determination is bringing the World Peace Flame to the United States. The World Peace Flame is being lit on the International Day of Peace, September 21, 2018 in Ashland, Oregon.

There is only one race in this country and in the world – the Human Race. We have different history and habits, but we share the same humanity. We put the stake in the ground, we light the World Peace Flame along with the sacred flame in our hearts. We declare that we are defined by our desire and action to bring peace to ourselves and to the world. We unite with our hearts to protect and care for each other, our children, our community, our country and our planet. We choose Peace.

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

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, North America

Women in school to promote a sustainable peace in Cameroon

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article from Media Terre (translation by CPNN)

“The role of women in conflict resolution and in the construction of a lasting peace in Cameroon”: This was the theme of the program “Ladies Hours” held by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung for Cameroon and Central Africa in Bastoson July 24, 2018. The program is a platform for exchange, information and training of women on the issues of the hour. Twenty-five women decision-makers from the government, political parties, civil society, cultural and professional associations and the media were invited to this quarterly meeting. They shared their experiences and worked for reforms to improve the status of women to be better partners in building sustainable peace and development in Cameroon.

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(Click here for the original French version)

Question for this article

Can the women of Africa lead the continent to peace?

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What role do women play in today’s conflicts?

An inventory of women’s activity in the current security situation in our country indicates that it is women and girls who suffer the most in conflicts because of their vulnerability: poverty, rape, destruction of their homes. sometimes their relocation, loss of loved ones. Women are absent in decision-making bodies. They are not involved in socio-political activity and do not confront the different crises such as Boko Haram and the Anglophone crisis. Women in the English-speaking regions have formed an awareness and mediation group for a return to calm.

What can women do in building lasting peace?

The education of a society is mainly based on women. They are life givers, protectors of life, initiators of life. They therefore have a very great responsibility in the culture of peace through the initiation of children and society to justice, to peace. The culture of peace is a set of acts and attitudes that give precedence to social harmony and that have as a prerequisite social justice. Women must therefore be agents of peace and actors of peacebuilding in Cameroon through their attitudes, the language they hold, the positions and analyses they make of different situations in life. Justice and equity must govern their actions. For this, they must use all the means at their disposal to build peace in Cameroon, and advocate for the protection of women and girls in times of conflict. In addition, women must work together to engage in an inclusive dialogue on the culture of peace.

In conclusion, an invitation was made to women decision-makers for awareness-raising and ongoing training of women members of their organization on the context and the need for women to be key players in building lasting peace in the world in general and in Cameroon in particular.

Africa, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

The Emergence of Global Institutions for the 21st Century

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Abstract of Global Governance and the Emergence of Global Institutions for the 21st Century by Augusto Lopez-Claros, Arthur Dahl, and Maja Groff

This proposal builds upon structures for international cooperation existing at least since the creation of the UN. The proposed institutions and processes aim to strike a balance between overly ambitious proposals with little chance of acceptance, and more politically feasible ones that fail to solve the multiple problems of today’s world. 

We propose revisions to the UN Charter that provide the legal basis for a new system of global governance, supplemented by other reforms not requiring Charter amendment. 

The powers, composition and voting method of the General Assembly (GA) are revised, giving it some powers to legislate with direct effect on member states, mainly in the areas of security, maintenance of peace and management of the global environment. These powers would be explicitly enumerated in the revised Charter, also specifying those which remain vested with member states. The system of representation in the GA is revised to enhance its democratic legitimacy. 

A Second Chamber is proposed, deriving its authority directly from the global citizenry; its representatives would serve as advocates of particular issues of global concern, rather than representing the interests of their respective states. At the outset, the chamber would have advisory powers, but would be gradually integrated into the international constitutional order, attached to the GA, thus creating a bicameral world legislature. 

An Executive Council, composed of 24 members, elected by the GA and operating under its jurisdiction, would replace the UN Security Council. Its focus would shift to implementation, management and effective operation of the UN. The veto power of the five permanent members of the current Security Council would be eliminated. An executive arm of the new UN, the Council would have broad authority to monitor, supervise and direct various aspects of its work in security, conflict prevention and management of the global environment, as well as other areas of priority identified by the GA. The Executive Council would provide general oversight and ensure good governance, transparency, efficiency and coherence of an effective, new UN system. The Secretary General would chair the Executive Council, facilitating continuity within the UN system and linking to the UN Secretariat. 

A UN International Security Force would be created, deriving its ultimate authority from the GA via the Executive Council. This two-part Force would consist of a Standing Force and a Security Force Reserve, both composed of volunteers. The Standing Force would be a full-time body of professionals, numbering from 500,000 to 1,000,000 as determined by the GA. The Force would provide for security and promote peace around the world, firmly anchored in the notion that force may at times be necessary to deliver justice and the rule of law. It would also address one of the main flaws of our current UN system: namely, the absence of a reliable, legitimate international mechanism to enforce decisions made by the Security Council. Subject to a number of safeguards, the International Security Force will be vital to enhancing the credibility of the UN, and to preventing conflicts and maintaining peace and security throughout the world. 

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Question(s) related to this article:

What is the United Nations doing for a culture of peace?

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The peaceful settlement of international disputes and enforcement of international law will become mandatory, giving the International Court of Justice (ICJ) compulsory jurisdiction over all substantive matters pertaining to the interpretation and/or enforcement of international law for all UN members, overturning the current requirement for states’ agreement to adjudicate. A revised Charter would also make acceptance of the statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) mandatory. An International Human Rights Tribunal would be established for systematic, binding adjudication and review, significantly strengthening the existing weak and non-binding human rights oversight mechanisms. The substantive rights adjudicated by the international Tribunal will include key UN human rights treaties, many of which currently have non-binding individual complaint mechanisms. 

To reassure the people of the world that basic individual rights will not be violated in the exercise of the UN’s strengthened mandate, a new Bill of Rights prescribing parameters for UN action would include fundamental human rights protections to be applied and interpreted by a new, specialized chamber of the ICJ. 

Recognizing that a strengthened UN system with a broader set of responsibilities and institutions would need reliable funding, we propose a mechanism linking national contributions to the UN budget to a fixed proportion of indirect tax collection, similar to mechanisms currently operating in the EU. Additional funding mechanisms will be explored balancing universal participation and the ability to pay.

Implementation will require UN Charter reform, building on existing Charter amendment provisions, and mechanisms for built-in flexibility through future amendments. Most of the broader UN system of bodies, commissions, programmes and specialized agencies will be retained, evolving under the new system as necessary. A World Conference on Global Institutions in 2020 is proposed as a starting point for the reform process.

Beyond the above structural components, we address specific challenges to the global order as examples of implementation. Effective security requires general disarmament, and we propose a binding, staged approach to reduce armaments to only those needed for internal security. To address growing income inequality and begin global management of the world’s resources will require a new multilateral specialized agency. The corruption undermining effective governance requires a global response through new international implementation and enforcement tools for existing mechanisms. Education will be an important support to the reforms.

The model corrects the failures in the present UN Charter that prevent its security function from operating effectively, enabling the UN to implement the decisions taken in the global interest. It creates a legally-binding international legislative function, beginning with security, maintenance of peace, and management of the global environment, given significant current and emerging global challenges and risks, as climate change accelerates and population growth threatens planetary carrying capacity and boundaries. It places the core values necessary for a global community at the heart of international governance and action, builds on the existing positive accomplishments in global governance and international consensus, and opens the door to widespread civic participation and acceptance.

(Thank you to Transcend Media Service for bringing this to our attention.)

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global, United Nations,

Violent Conflicts: Kaduna To Start Peace Education In Primary Schools (Nigeria)

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article by Aza Msue published by Leadership Nigeria

The Kaduna State Peace Commission (KAPECOM) has revealed that they will develop peace education to be included in the primary schools curriculum for pupils as one of the steps to address crisis and insecurity.

Addressing a news conference in Kaduna, Chairman of the State Peace commission,Most Rev. Josiah Idowu-Fearon, along with his team explained that, the proposed peace education to be taught at primary education will promote peaceful co-existence among residents, urging youths to be peace ambassadors in communities.


Recall that, governor Nasir El-Rufai had in November last year inaugurated the Kaduna State Peace Commission to promote and sustain peaceful and harmonious coexistence in the state. The establishment of the commission was necessitated by the frequent and avoidable violent conflicts that bedevilled the state for over the last 30 years.

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Questions for this article:

Where is peace education taking place?

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KAPECOM chairman, said in the last six months,the commission has taken its assignment with seriousness it deserves and initiated broad level engagement with diverse stakeholders including traditional,religious,political leaders among others:”Adopting a conflict-sensitive approach,the commission has intervened in many communal disputes in the state particularly in Kajuru,Jama’a and Kauru local government areas,where interventions were taken to prevent escalation of violent conflicts”

“In some LGAs such as Kauru,Igabi and Chikun,proactive measures were taken by stakeholders with support of the commission to prevent violent conflicts. Some unfortunate incidences of violence were recorded in Kaduna State in the last six months.The most worrisome of these were in Kasuwan Magani,in Kajuru,Angwan Mailafiya and Ninte in Jama’a and Kizakoro in Kauru local government areas of the state”

” The commission conveys its deepest sympathy to all the victims,while urging the relevant institutions and law enforcement agencies to strengthen surveillance to prevent the recurrence of these dastardly acts.Persons that lost loved one,persons that were wounded and who lost property are urged to remain peaceful and adopt non-violent means in seeking redress”

“Presently,we are at the stage of developing a strategic plan that will guide the activities of the commission over the next five years.In this process,we will make wide ranging consultations,and will engage all segments of the society.” Bishop Idowu-Fearon said.

He urged political parties in the state to be active agents of peace as another round of political activities ahead of 2019 elections draw near.

Bishop Idowu-Fearon, who is also the Secretary of the World Anglican Communion, however,called on stakeholders in the society to do and say things that bring people together rather than things that divide them.

(Thanks to the Global Campaign for Peace Education for bringing this to our attention.)

Africa, EDUCATION FOR PEACE

Campaign Nonviolence National Convergence in Washington, DC this September 21-22, 2018

. .DISARMAMENT & SECURITY. .

An email received on July 14, 2018 from Ryan Hall of the Pace e Bene Community//Campaign Nonviolence

We’re working hard to get the word out about the Campaign Nonviolence National Convergence in Washington, DC this September 21-22, 2018.

[Editor’s note: Click here for the Campaign’s actions last September]


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Question for this article:

The peace movement in the United States, What are its strengths and weaknesses?

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In preparation, John Dear has put together a Covenant of Nonviolence that we wil be using for the Saturday march from the King Memorial to the White House. It’s also a great tool to use for any actions you hold locally during the September CNV Action Week.

John Dear writes that, “This covenant of nonviolence is based on the guidelines of nonviolence which Dr. King used in the Birmingham, AL Campaign, in the Spring of 1963. We encourage everyone to reflect on these guidelines and to deepen their nonviolence during our time together and the days ahead.” Read the covenant here. If you plan to join us in DC, let us know by filling out the form on the Convergence page here.

Be sure to also let us know if you’re planning a CNV Action this year. So far we’ve got over 1000 actions against war, poverty, racism and environmental destruction being planned this September. Let us know about yours here if you haven’t done so yet.

Finally, John Dear has a new 4 week online course coming up next month organized by Monasteries of the Heart focused on the Beatitudes of Peace. Learn more about it and how to register here.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, North America