Category Archives: Uncategorized

English bulletin July 1, 2017

. . . PEACE IS ADVANCING . . .

It has been a busy month at CPNN, reflecting progress in many areas of the culture of peace (37 articles in English, 8 of which also in Spanish and 5 of which are in French).

Four of the articles follow the ongoing development of negotiations at the United Nations for a treaty to ban nuclear weapons. As the July 7 deadline for the vote approaches, the work has been intense by Member States and Non-Governmental Organizations. Delegations from the Member States concluded their first read-through of the entire draft on June 21, and a revision on June 27.

The nuclear states and their allies are boycotting the negotiations; hence the treaty will not affect them directly. However, there are a number of proposed elements of the draft treaty which could impact them indirectly, although agreement on these proposals is proving to be difficult to achieve. They include proposals to prohibit the transit of, threat to use, and financing of nuclear weapons.

Nuclear-armed states currently spend US$100 billion collectively on nuclear weapons programs annually and the corporations manufacturing the weapons and their delivery systems are a major driver of the nuclear arms race. If all of the States joining the nuclear ban treaty divested their public funds from these corporations, and disallowed banks from investing in them, it could radically change the economics of the nuclear arms industry. And it would give support to efforts of parliamentarians and civil society in the nuclear arms States to cut the exorbitant nuclear arms budgets and re-direct these funds to health, education, jobs, environment and sustainable development.

We see an example of this strategy in the decisions this month by the U.S. Conference of Mayors at their annual meeting. They supported two resolutions submitted by member cities urging Congress to move funding out of the military and into human and environmental needs rather than the reverse. And they adopted a new resolution which concludes as follows:

“BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors urges all U.S. mayors to join Mayors for Peace in order to help reach the goal of 10,000 member cities by 2020, and encourages U.S. member cities to get actively involved by establishing sister city relationships with cities in other nuclear-armed nations, and by taking action at the municipal level to raise public awareness of the humanitarian and financial costs of nuclear weapons, the growing dangers of wars among nuclear-armed states, and the urgent need for good faith U.S. participation in negotiating the global elimination of nuclear weapons.”

Meanwhile, four of this month’s articles follow the progress towards peace in Colombia. On June 26, the United Nations announced that the FARC has completed the process of turning in their weapons as called for in last year’s peace agreement. And on June 6, the Colombian Government and the other guerilla group, the ELN, announced that they reached a series of agreements, including international financing to push forward the peace process. Although violence continues in many regions of the country, there are important grass-roots initiatives to promote non-violence, including “Community Radios for Peace and Coexistence”, launched in mid-2016, with support from the European Union. This supports 400 of the 627 community radio stations in Colombia to generate a culture of peace in the most remote rural areas, those most affected by the armed conflict.

Seven articles this month reflect the ongoing progress in peace education around the world, including initiatives in the Dominican Republic, Northern Ireland, Ecuador, Mexico and Cote D’Ivoire, as well as plans for the annual meetings of the International Institute for Peace Education and the Asia-Pacific Peace Research Association.

Also three articles inform us about the continuing development of journalism and writing for a culture of peace in Africa. A regional seminar on “ The role of journalists and the media in preventing violence” was sponsored by the United Nations in Dakar, Senegal. Also in Dakar, the members of the Writers’ Union of Africa, Asia and Latin America refirmed their commitment to promote a culture of peace. “Children, adolescents and adults who read us need to read positive things that can boost their creativity, and it is in peace that we can create,” said the Special Advisor to the President of the Republic, Macky Sall. And in Uganda, traditional leaders who have been active in the peace and reconciliation efforts say that peace journalism as a tool has been “useful in mobilising people and reaching out to rebels”.

Finally, in a good surprise for the peace movements around the world, Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the British opposition Labour Party and former chairman of the Stop the War Coalition, led his party to a remarkable advance in the recent General Elections. It was all the more remarkable because the attacks by his opponents and much of the mainstream media against his anti-war positions seem to have backfired, and to have helped rather than hurt him and his party in the elections. It seems that British voters want peace instead of continuing their involvement with the various wars and military threats headed up by the United States and NATO.

      

DISARMAMENT AND SECURITY


UN: Conference Considers Revised Draft of Proposed Legally Binding Instrument to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY



Côte d’Ivoire: Preservation of the peace in Port-Bouët: Communal youth give their recipes

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION



U.S. Conference of Mayors Opposes Military-Heavy Trump Budget

 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT



Montreal: Official Conference of the UN International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development

WOMEN’S EQUALITY


UN: New films on Global Goals spotlight women’s journeys of resilience

HUMAN RIGHTS


USA: A Call to Mobilize the Nation through 2018

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION



The Government of Colombia and the ELN agree on international aid to support the peace process

EDUCATION FOR PEACE


Africa: In a World of Turbulence, Writers Reaffirm Their Role for Enlightenment and Information
Uncategorized

The theatre, How can it contribute to the culture of peace?

Here is a response to the question submitted to CPNN by Kiki Chauvin.

The actor lives between two worlds, one of which is his proper existence and the other, the world of fiction where he takes on the role of his character. He seems to have one foot on each of them while his head collects, combines, mixes, synthesizes and puts together the emotions that are translated and expressed by body and voice.

We get it directly, it is “in our face” with no escape possible!  The richness of this mixture “reality/fiction” allows the artist to enter into us through hidden doors.

Using texts with humor and irony, the actor passes messages to which our minds would otherwise be deaf!  He affects us, challenges us, plays with us,  provokes us, making our attention an accomplice of what he has to say.

The direct contact and proximity, sometimes intimate, between stage and audience send us messages that we hear, questions that provoke us to transferring images to our daily experience, our reality, to “real life”!

Thus we are pushed and shaken from calm to storm, from injustice to anger, from hatred to solidarity,  from indifference to empathy in the face of violence.

Actors are in the public service. They are “Public Friends Number One!” They are chroniclers, “troublemakers,”  breakers of habit, forcing us to think things through.

The culture of peace needs the oxygen of this youthful spirit! ,  I believe that art in general, with its playfulness, has the power to awaken us. It is an excellent support to the promotion of the Culture of Peace.

I love the theater, it is a space of freedom where actors can transmit an energy drawn from the conviction of what they say.

We hear, receive, understand  for a digestion that may be immediate and /or delayed. Some part is absorbed immediately, but the rest we take home with us.  . . .  and that is where the seeds of consciousness begin to germinate into the Culture of Peace.

d-education, Uncategorized

English bulletin April 1, 2017

WOMEN ARE ON THE MOVE .

Since women’s equality is an essential part of the culture of peace, we must appreciate the great mobilization around Women’s Day, March 8, and the annual meeting of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

On International Women’s Day, women around the world celebrated by marching in more than 50 countries. The photo essay republished by CPNN includes images from Ukraine, Bangladesh, Australia, Nigeria, Georgia, Palestine, Spain and USA. Especially impressive was the mobilization in the United States where millions of women took part in a “Day without a woman.” It was organized by means of social media in the same way as the women’s demonstrations January 21 in which over 2 million protested the policies of the newly inaugurated President Trump. We have not found any way to measure how many women participated by staying away from work or to what extent their refusal to shop led to decreased sales on March 8, but we provide links to many descriptions of the day in the mass media.

Women activists were featured by various international NGOs in March. The Coalition for the International Criminal Court presented women leading the fight for global justice from Colombia, Mexico, Philippines, Lebanon, Ukraine and Mali. Amnesty International celebrated the US mobilization of “Day without a woman” by publishing “eight women who are battling on the frontline to claim their rights, refusing to wait in the face of injustice.” They came from South Africa, Canada, El Salvador, China, Afghanistan, Norway, Saudi Arabia and Iran. And Nonviolent Peaceforce presented a tribute to Joan Bernstein: “Joan was the heart and soul of the U.S. and Canadian chapters of NP for many years. She helped organize the founding conference for NP, and later the annual conference of North American chapters. She provided us with vision, inspiration, resources, skills — and the endless belief that we could rise to any challenge.”

Women activists from around the world gathered at the United Nations for this year’s meetings of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). The meetings featured :

– The priority theme: Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work
– Review theme: Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls (agreed conclusions of the fifty-eighth session)
– Emerging issue/Focus area:The empowerment of indigenous women

They received a report from the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel (HLP) on Women’s Economic Empowerment which identified seven main drivers of transformation:

1) tackling adverse norms and promoting positive role models;
2) ensuring legal protections and reforming discriminatory laws and regulations;
3) recognizing, reducing and redistributing unpaid work and care;
4) building digital, financial and property assets;
5) changing corporate culture and practice,
6) improving public sector practices in employment and procurement; and
7) strengthening visibility, collective voice and representation.

Many of these points were addressed in the opening statement of the CSW by the Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.

In one of the many side events of the CSW, the International Institute on Peace Education and the Pasos Peace Museum urged women to use important existing UN resolutions as tools for achieving equality:

– UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security
– the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
– the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Several speakers and reports pointed to Iceland as an example of a country where women’s equality is being achieved. To mark International Women’s Day, the government of Iceland announced that they will become the first country in the world to require companies to prove they pay all employees the same, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexuality and nationality.

We conclude with the words of Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, in her speech to the CSW: “The much-needed positive developments are not happening fast enough. . . . let us agree to constructive impatience.”

      

WOMEN’S EQUALITY



Opening statement by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women for the 61st session of the Commission on the Status of Women

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY



Burkina Faso: Dialogue of religions and cultures: prospects for the Ouagadougou symposium

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION



USA: Video about the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission

 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT



France: The farmers who bought an old Lidl supermarket

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION



Colombia: Santos Welcomes Approval of Special Jurisdiction for Peace

HUMAN RIGHTS

Amnesty: 8 women show us why International Women’s Day is the day to declare: We won’t wait for our rights!

DISARMAMENT AND SECURITY



UN commences nuclear abolition negotiations

EDUCATION FOR PEACE


Peru: Art in the streets to promote the culture of peace
Uncategorized

Photos: A look at International Women’s Day marches around the world

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

A photo essay by Dayana Morales Gomez for the Public Broadcasting Service

On International Women’s Day, women around the world celebrated by marching in more than 50 countries, taking off from work to make clear what “A Day Without A Woman” would look like and wearing red in solidarity. In New York, a bronze statue of a girl was installed to stare down the iconic Wall Street Bull over gender inequality.

The day was first observed in 1908 in New York City, where women marched for suffrage and workplace improvements. After several years of continuous demonstrations across the U.S. and Europe, March 8 was officially designated as International Women’s Day. The date is significant because it was the day a women’s march in Pretograd, Russia led to the start of the Russian Revolution.

This year, the United Nations used the day to shine a light on the 2030 Agenda, an ambitious plan to ensure girls and boys have equal access to education, that discrimination and violence against women are halted, and that forced marriage and female genital mutilation end.

Below, see photos of International Women’s Day demonstrations from around the world [click on photos to enlarge].



A woman holds a placard during a rally on March 8, 2017 for gender equality and against violence towards women on International Women’s Day in Kiev, Ukraine. Photo by Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters.


Bangladeshi activists and garment workers attend a rally on March 8, outside National Press Club during International Women’s Day in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Photo by Zakir Chowdhury/Barcroft Images / Barcroft Media via Getty Images)


Thousands of demonstrators attend a rally for International Women’s Day on March 8 in Melbourne, Australia. Marchers were calling for de-colonisation of Australia, an end to racism, economic justice for all women and reproductive justice, as well as supporting the struggle for the liberation of all women around the world, inclusive of trans women and sex workers. Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images


Nigerian women gather on March 8 to protest violation and sexual abuse against women during the World International Women’s Day in Lagos, Nigeria. Photo by Stringer/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

(Article continued in the right column)

Question for this article

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

(Article continued from the left column)


Costumed women shout slogans during a march on March 8 as part of International Women’s Day in Kiev. Photo by Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images


Georgian feminist supporters attend a rally on March 8 to mark the International Women’s Day in front of the Georgian parliament in central Tbilisi. Photo by Vano Shlamov/AFP/Getty Images


Palestinian women take part in a demonstration on March 8 to protest against sexual discrimination during the International Women’s Day in front of the unknown soldier’s monument in Gaza City, Gaza. Photo by Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images


A man and his dog walk past the sculpture of a woman covered in paper and ropes as part of a performance to protest the lack of visibility of women in public spaces, on March 8, International Women’s Day in Oviedo, Spain. The covered statue is “La Pensadora” (The female Thinker) by Spanish artist Jose Luis Fernandez. Photo by Eloy Alonso/Reuters.


A statue of a defiant girl stands facing the Charging Bull sculpture in the Financial District of New York on March 8. State Street Global Advisors, a nearly $2.5 trillion investor and unit within State Street Corp., installed the bronze statue in front of Wall Street’s iconic charging bull as part of its new campaign to pressure companies to add more women to their boards. Photo by Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

global, Uncategorized, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

English bulletin March 1, 2017

MASS MOBILIZATIONS FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE

It is evident that national elections are not sufficient to guarantee democracy. As we have seen many times over the past year, the people have had to take to the streets in order to resist government corruption and/or oppressive measures.

Most recently, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Barcelona to demand that the Spanish government accept more refugees. The demonstration was supported by the new progressive mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau.

And in the Philippines capital of Manila, at least 10,000 people joined the “Walk for Life” march on February 18, to protest against President Duterte’s brutal crackdown against drug dealers and users. It marked the largest show of opposition from the Roman Catholic Church against the brutality of the government’s anti-drugs campaign, which has seen more than 7,600 mostly poor people killed in the past seven months without any judicial procedure.

In the major cities of Romania last month hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets against a decree that would have decriminalised abuses of public office. The demonstrations forced the government to withdraw the controversial law, but the protests are continuing with the demand that the government resign.

Following the inauguration of President Donald Trump in January, millions of people joined in the Women’s Marches in the major cities of the United States, to fight for a new era of civil rights. As CPNN has documented, this is part of the ample evidence that the post-election fightback to defend peace and human rights is underway.

Over 40,000 people participated in October in human chains throughout Honduras, including in the capital, Tegucigalpa and about 300 other cities, protesting against violence and homicide rates. High-ranking politicians and business tycoons have been implicated in a wave of violence against environmental activists, with at least 123 land and environmental activists murdered since a military coup d’état forced out the populist president Manuel Zelaya.

An estimated 20,000 women and men marched in Jerusalem for the final rally of the Women Wage Peace “March of Hope” in October. The March of Hope culminated in a historic rally outside the Prime Minister’s Residence, demanding a political solution to the conflict. Unfortunately, at this point, the conflict seems to be getting worse rather than better.

Tens of thousands of people marched on October 5 in at least 16 cities in Colombia demanding the government and the opposition to reach a peace agreement with the FARC, after the rejection of the agreement with the guerrillas in a plebiscite. In November the Congress of Colombia approved the agreement, but congressional opponents of the deal had walked out of the chamber in protest before the vote took place.

Also in October, massive mobilizations by women in Poland forced the government to reject a proposed amendment that would have added more restrictions to their already restrictive abortion laws.

Other massive mobilizations against government corruption took place last year in South Korea, Brazil and Malaysia. In South Korea, the President was ultimately impeached, although observers consider that the problem of government corruption persists. In Brazil, the problems continue with less than 15% of Brazilians approving the present government. And in Malaysia, despite the accusations of corruption, prime minister, Najib Razak remains “untouchable.”

So far some government changes can be seen in Romania, Poland and South Korea and the Colombian peace accord was officially endorsed, while time will tell if public pressure can lead to changes in the other situations described above.

      

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY



Barcelona demonstration calls for the reception of refugees

WOMEN’S EQUALITY



UN Commission on the Status of Women – 2017

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION



Live long and protest: the power of mass action is alive in Romania

 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT



Latin America and the Caribbean could be first developing region to eradicate hunger

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION



16th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates

HUMAN RIGHTS


Philippine Catholics march against Duterte’s deadly war on drugs

DISARMAMENT AND SECURITY



Increase in arms transfers driven by demand in the Middle East and Asia, says SIPRI

EDUCATION FOR PEACE


Africa: The Festival of Amani strengthens our ability to live together
Uncategorized

English bulletin February 1, 2017

THE UN WORKING FOR PEACE .

In recent years the United States, Europe and their allies have increasingly addressed world problems without involving the UN, for example in the 2008 financial crisis, and their 2012 meeting in Washington against nuclear proliferation. In the past few days, the new US President has prepared an executive order that would radically reduce American funding of the U.N. And last month the lack of support was clearly evident in the negative votes of these countires concerning the resolutions for the human right to peace, the annual resolution for the culture of peace and the decision to hold a high level meeting on nuclear disarmament.

The resolution on the human right to peace was adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 19 by 131 in favour, 34 against, with 19 abstentions. Among the negative votes were Australia, Canada, United States, Israel, South Korea, United Kingdom, and members of the European Union including France, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and Spain, and many Eastern European countries. Similarly on December 23, the General Assembly adopted by consensus its annual resolution on the culture of peace that was presented by 102 sponsoring countries. None of the above countries were among the sponsors, except for Belgium, Netherlands and South Korea.

The resolution on nuclear disarmament was supported by 140 countries, but once again,among the 30 countries voting against were Australia, Canada, United States, Israel, South Korea, United Kingdom and members of the European Union including France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Spain and many Eastern European countries. While China voted for the resolution, Russia voted against.

When the culture of peace was initiated by UNESCO, it was not supported by all of the socialist countries, but that has evolved in recent years. This year the culture of peace resolution was sponsored by, among others, China, Cuba, Georgia, Russian Federation, Viet Nam and the former Soviet countries of Central Asia. In addition, the Cuban ambassador to the UN introduced the resolution for the right to peace, and the Chinese ambassador to the UN recently stated that “The United Nations should advocate a culture of peace.”

Meanwhile, despite opposition, UN continues to work for peace.

One of the first actions of the newly elected UN Secretary-General António Guterres was to chair a dialogue between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot leaders aimed at reunifying the island that has been split in two since 1983.

The peace accords in Colombia, perhaps the most important peace agreement last year, was greatly aided by the United Nations, and the UN continues be active in its maintenance.

Tourism can make a major contribution to the culture of peace as we have shown in a previous CPNN bulletin on Peace through Tourism. Hence it is important that the United Nations has designated this year, 2017, as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.

Another major contribution to culture of peace is the free flow of information. Here, too the UN is active. Alfred de Zayas, the UN Independent expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order recently welcomed the amnesty to American whistleblower Chelsea Manning He went on to call for amnesty to other whistleblowers like Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, the Luxleakers Antoine Deltour and Raphael Halet [See CPNN article] and the Israeli tax corruption whistleblower Rafi Rotem.

There are some initiatives that the United States, Europe and their allies continue to support at United Nations where they need support of all countries; for example, they voted for the recent Security Council resolution to guard against the risk that non-State actors may acquire or use nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.

The UN continues to show it is our best hope for peace. We showed it’s potential to promote peace during the years of the tenure of Director-General Mayor at UNESCO in the last decade of the 20th Century. Imagine what the UN could do for peace in the future if it were being run by the people, by the cities of the world, for example!

      

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION



‘Cyprus can be symbol of hope’ the world badly needs, says UN chief Guterres as conference opens

WOMEN’S EQUALITY



Dutch to set up global abortion support fund to counter Trump’s cuts

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION



Madrid: World Forum Against Violence and for Peace Education

 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT



2017 International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY



From the “jungle” to the theater, refugees replay their exile to Europe

HUMAN RIGHTS


Canada: teachers are victorious as bargaining rights acknowledged by Supreme Court

DISARMAMENT AND SECURITY



UN Security Council underlines need to halt proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

EDUCATION FOR PEACE


Benin to introduce education for culture of peace
Uncategorized

English bulletin January 1, 2017

. . . REVIEWING 2016 . . .

Despite the deterioration of national politics as we leave the year 2016, we continue to see progress towards a culture of peace in the areas we have featured each month in our bulletins.

The biggest news in 2016 was the peace agreement in Colombia that ended half a century of civil war. This was featured in our JULY BULLETIN. Last month we featured words from the lecture by Colombian President Santos on receiving the Nobel Peace Prize: “With this agreement, we can say that the American continent – from Alaska to Patagonia – is a land in peace. And we can now ask the bold question: if war can come to an end in one hemisphere, why not one day in both hemispheres? Perhaps more than ever before, we can now dare to imagine a world without war. . . . We must replace the culture of violence with a culture of peace and coexistence; we must change the culture of exclusion into a culture of inclusion and tolerance.”

Of course, the development of a culture of peace requires much more than the end of the civil war. What is required in Colombia is “territorial peace” such as that beginning in the Colombian departments of Magdalena Centro, Cesar, Valle de Cauca and Antioquia, feaured in the DECEMBER BULLETIN. According to the most recent article on territorial peace in Colombia, “what is at issue is to build and / or strengthen a Social and Democratic State at all levels of national life and in all corners of the country. This requires a strong civil society, with high levels of organization and public involvement, that is to say, an active citizenship.”

Despite the fact that the countries that took part in the UN conference on the environment failed to address the continued reliance on fossil fuels, as we discussed in the JANUARY BULLETIN, there continues to be progress on other fronts. Increasingly we find that civil society institutions are divesting from the business of fossil fuel, with the last news indicating $5 trillion of divestment. In this regard, Nobel laureates and scientists have called on the Nobel Prize Foundation to set a good example by divesting from fossil fuels. And we found in the NOVEMBER BULLETIN that renewable energy is beginning to overtake fossil fuels, beginning with the generation of electricity. The most recent news in this regard indicates that 47 of the world’s poorest nations have pledged to skip fossil fuels altogether and jump straight to using 100 percent renewable energy instead.

The second international conference on the culture of peace in Africa was hosted in December by Angola. This continues the work for a culture of peace in Africa that we remarked in the BULLETIN OF MARCH, with articles from the African Union as well as Senegal, Tunisia, Cameroon, Morocco, Malia, Ethiopia, Congo, Sierra Leone, the Gambia, South Africa and Chad.

Recently we reported on a meeting between representatives of the Peace Commissions of New Haven (USA) and Santos (Brazil). This continues the progress of cities towards a culture of peace that we covered in the BULLETINS of APRIL and SEPTEMBER, including news from Mayors for Peace, International Cities of Peace and a new network of Nonviolent Cities.

In the OCTOBER BULLETIN, we surveyed activities around the world for the International Day of Peace. We found 182 events in 85 countries from every region: USA/Canada, Latin America/Caribbean, Western Europe, Africa, Arab States, Russia/Ukraine, and Asia/Pacific. The largest number of events involved children, especially schoolchildren. The celebration was especially intense in some of most conflictual regions of the world, such as the Ukraine, Kashmir/India/Pakistan, and Colombia/Venezuela. And to this list we added the United States.

In the JUNE BULLETIN, we considered proposals to reform the United Nations. One of the proposals was reform of the process to choose the Secretary-General and to increase the leadership of women. Recently, the new Secretary-General, António Guterres, was elected by a process with increased transparency, and he is appointing a number of women to high posts.

Nonviolence, as considered in our MAY BULLETIN, is one of the key methods of a culture of peace. Highlights of nonviolent movements from 2016 include photos from South Korea, Brazil, Malaysia and the United States. And most recently, Pope Francis issued his annual peace message on the theme, Nonviolence: A style of politics for peace. He urges people everywhere to practice active nonviolence and notes that the “decisive and consistent practice of nonviolence has produced impressive results.”

Another key method is peace education. El Salvador is now in discussions to include culture of peace in national educational curriculum. In the AUGUST BULLETIN, we covered peace education articles reprinted by the Global Campaign for Peace Education from Myanmar, Bosnia, United Kingdom, Rwanda, Georgia, United States and the Seychelles.

Finally, we arrive at the fightback folowing the election of President Trump in the United States. The movements for sanctuary cities and sanctuary campuses were featured in the DECEMBER BULLETIN. Since then, we add the specific resolution of the city of San Francisco, as well as sanctuary churches in New York and Minnesota.

La lucha continua! The fight continues!

      

HUMAN RIGHTS


San Francisco’s Official Response to the Election of Trump

WOMEN’S EQUALITY



UN Women: 16 days of activism against gender violence

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION



Colombia: The Challenge of Territorial Peace

 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT



REPORT: Fossil Fuel Divestment Doubles in Size as Institutions Representing $5 Trillion Commit to Divest

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY



Morocco: Madagh hosts eleventh World Meeting of Sufism

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION



Nobel Lecture by Juan Manuel Santos:”Peace in Colombia: From the Impossible to the Possible”

DISARMAMENT AND SECURITY



Building on gender promise, Guterres names three women to top UN posts

EDUCATION FOR PEACE


El Salvador: Discussions to include culture of peace in national educational curriculum
Uncategorized

Sponsors of 2016 Culture of Peace Resolution

Afghanistan
Algeria
Angola
Argentina
Armenia
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Belarus
Belgium
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Brazil
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Chile
China
Colombia
Comoros
Costa Rica
Cuba
Cyprus
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Egypt
El Salvador
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Georgia
Greece
Guatemala
Guinea
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Italy
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Kuwait
Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Lebanon
Lesotho
Libya
Madagascar
Malaysia
Maldives
Malta
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nepal
Netherlands
Nicaragua
Nigeria
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Qatar
Republic of Korea
Russian Federation
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Seychelles
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Togo
Tonga
Tunisia
Turkmenistan
United Arab Emirates
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
Viet Nam
Yemen

Uncategorized

Culture of Peace Resolution

Seventy-first session
Agenda item 14
Culture of peace

Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bhutan, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Djibouti, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Kuwait, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Libya, Madagascar, Maldives, Malta, Malaysia, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Palau, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Senegal, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Viet Nam and Yemen: draft resolution

Follow-up to the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace

The General Assembly,

Bearing in mind the Charter of the United Nations, including the purposes and principles contained therein, and especially the dedication to saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war,

Recalling the Constitution of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which states that, “since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed”,

Recognizing the importance of the Declarationand Programme of Actionon a Culture of Peace, which serve as the universal mandate for the international community, particularly the United Nations system, for the promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence that benefits humanity, in particular future generations,

Recalling its previous resolutions on a culture of peace, in particular resolution 52/15 of 20 November 1997 proclaiming 2000 the International Year for the Culture of Peace, resolution 53/25 of 10 November 1998 proclaiming the period 2001-2010 the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World, and resolutions 56/5 of 5 November 2001, 57/6 of 4 November 2002, 58/11 of 10 November 2003, 59/143 of 15 December 2004, 60/3 of 20 October 2005, 61/45 of 4 December 2006, 62/89 of 17 December 2007, 63/113 of 5 December 2008, 64/80 of 7 December 2009, 65/11 of 23 November 2010, 66/116 of 12 December 2011, 67/106 of 17 December 2012, 68/125 of 18 December 2013, 69/139 of 15 December 2014 and 70/20 of 3 December 2015, adopted under its agenda item entitled “Culture of peace”,

Recalling also its resolution 70/109 of 10 December 2015 on a world against violence and violent extremism, and resolution 70/291 of 01 July 2016 on the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy Review,

Reaffirming the United Nations Millennium Declaration,which calls for the active promotion of a culture of peace,

Reaffirming also its resolution 70/1 of 25 September 2015, entitled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”,

Taking note of the 2005 World Summit Outcome adopted at the high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly,

Welcoming the observance of 10 December as Human Rights Day,9 December as the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of This Crime,and 2 October as the International Day of Non-Violence,as proclaimed by the United Nations,

Recognizing that all efforts made by the United Nations system in general and the international community at large for peacekeeping, peacebuilding, the prevention of conflicts, disarmament, sustainable development, the promotion of human dignity and human rights, democracy, the rule of law, good governance and gender equality at the national and international levels contribute greatly to the culture of peace,

Recognizing also the importance of respect and understanding for religious and cultural diversity throughout the world, of choosing dialogue and negotiations over confrontation and of working together and not against each other,

Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General,which provides an overview of the activities that have been carried out by the main United Nations entities working in the areas of a culture of peace and interreligious and intercultural dialogue, understanding and cooperation for peace since the adoption by the General Assembly of its resolutions 70/19 and 70/20 of 3 December 2015,

Recalling the proclamation by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization of 21 February as International Mother Language Day, which aims at protecting, promoting and preserving linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism, in order to foster and enrich a culture of peace, social harmony, cross-cultural dialogue and mutual understanding,

Recalling also the proclamation by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization of 30 April as International Jazz Day, which aims to develop and increase intercultural exchanges and understanding between cultures for the purpose of mutual comprehension, tolerance and the promotion of a culture of peace,

Welcoming the efforts of the international community to enhance understanding through constructive dialogue among civilizations, in particular through various initiatives at the local, national, regional and international levels, including relevant efforts affiliated with the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21stCentury Maritime Silk Road (the Belt and Road),

Expressing its appreciation for the ongoing efforts of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations in promoting a culture of peace through a number of practical projects in the areas of youth, education, media and migrations, in collaboration with Governments, international organizations, foundations and civil society groups, as well as media and the private sector,

Welcoming the successful holding on 1 September 2016 of the General Assembly High-level Forum on the Culture of Peace, convened by the President of the Assembly, and the greater participation and increased interest, in particular of Member States, in making country statements during its plenary session and the wide-ranging partnership and inclusive collaboration among Member States, international organizations and civil society, as evidenced at the Forum, while taking note of the President’s summary of the deliberations during the day-long Forum focusing on the implementation of the Declaration and Programme of Action,

Recognizing the role of women and youth, as well as the contribution of children, in advancing the culture of peace, and in particular the importance of greater involvement of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in activities promoting a culture of peace, including in post-conflict situations,

Welcoming the adoption by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization at its thirty-sixth session of a programme of action for a culture of peace and non-violence, and noting that the objectives of that programme of action are in line with the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace adopted by the General Assembly,

Recalling the Yamoussoukro Declaration on Peace in the Minds of Men, and acknowledging the observance in 2014 of the twenty-fifth anniversary of its adoption,

Noting the initiatives of civil society, in collaboration with Governments, to strengthen civilian capacities to enhance the physical safety of vulnerable populations under threat of violence and to promote the peaceful settlement of disputes,

Encouraging the continued and increasing efforts and activities on the part of civil society organizations throughout the world in advancing the culture of peace as envisaged in the Declaration and Programme of Action,

1. Reiterates that the objective of the effective implementation of the Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace2 is to strengthen further the global movement for the culture of peace following the observance of the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World, 2001-2010, and calls upon all concerned to renew their attention to this objective;

2. Welcomes the inclusion of the promotion of a culture of peace in “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”;

3. Invites Member States to continue to place greater emphasis on and expand their activities promoting a culture of peace at the national, regional and international levels and to ensure that peace and non-violence are fostered at all levels;

4. Invites the entities of the United Nations system, within their existing mandates, to integrate, as appropriate, the eight action areas of the Programme of Action into their programmes of activities, focusing on promoting a culture of peace and non-violence at the national, regional and international levels;

5. Commends the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for strengthening efforts to mobilize all relevant stakeholders within and outside the United Nations system in support of a culture of peace, and invites the Organization to continue to enhance communication and outreach, including through the culture of peace website;

6. Commends the practical initiatives and actions by relevant United Nations bodies, including the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) and the University for Peace, as well as their activities in further promoting the culture of peace and non-violence, in particular the promotion of peace education and activities related to specific areas identified in the Programme of Action, and encourages them to continue and further strengthen and expand their efforts, and in this context notes with appreciation the global launch of the United Nations Children’s Fund Early Childhood Peace Consortium in September 2013 and its activities, including those for vulnerable children;

7. Encourages the United Nations peacebuilding architecture to continue to promote peacebuilding activities and to advance the culture of peace and nonviolence in post-conflict peacebuilding efforts at the country level;

8. Urges the appropriate authorities to provide age-appropriate education in children’s schools that builds a culture of peace, including lessons in mutual understanding, tolerance, active and global citizenship and human rights;

9. Encourages the involvement of media, especially the mass media, in promoting a culture of peace and non-violence, with particular regard to children and young people;

10. Commends civil society, non-governmental organizations and young people for their activities in further promoting the culture of peace and nonviolence, including through their campaign to raise awareness on the culture of peace and the peaceful settlement of disputes;

11. Encourages civil society and non-governmental organizations to further strengthen their efforts to promote the culture of peace, inter alia, by adopting their own programme of activities to complement the initiatives of Member States, the organizations of the United Nations system and other international and regional organizations, in line with the Declaration1 and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace;

12. Invites Member States, all parts of the United Nations system and civil society organizations to accord increasing attention to their observance of the International Day of Peace on 21 September each year as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 55/282 of 7 September 2001, and of the International Day of Non-Violence on 2 October, as decided by the Assembly in its resolution 61/271 of 15 June 2007;

13. Requests the President of the General Assembly to consider convening a high-level forum, as appropriate and within existing resources, devoted to the implementation of the Programme of Action on the occasion of the anniversary of its adoption, on or around 13 September, and requests the Secretariat to support its effective organization within their respective mandates and existing resources;

14. Invites the Secretary-General, within existing resources, in consultation with the Member States and taking into account the observations of civil society organizations, to explore mechanisms and strategies, in particular strategies in the sphere of information and communications technology, for the implementation of the Declaration and Programme of Action and to initiate outreach efforts to increase global awareness of the Programme of Action and its eight areas of action aimed at their implementation;

15. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at itsseventy-second session a report, within existing resources, on actions taken by Member States, on the basis of information provided by them, and those taken system-wide by all concerned entities of the United Nations to implement the present resolution and on heightened activities by the Organization and its affiliated agencies to implement the Programme of Action and to promote the culture of peace and non-violence;

16. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-second session the item entitled “Culture of peace”.

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Declaracion Conjunta sobre el Medioambiente, la Desigualdad Social y la Eliminación de la Amenaza Nuclear, con Propuesta para la Refundación de la ONU

. . DESARME Y SEGURIDAD . .

De la página web de la Fundación Cultura de Paz

Nosotros, personas e instituciones profundamente preocupadas por la situación del mundo, en particular por los procesos sociales y medioambientales potencialmente irreversibles, y por la carencia de un multilateralismo democrático respetado por todos y eficaz, imprescindible para la gobernanza planetaria en tiempos de celeridad y complejidad extraordinarias,

mayor

URGIMOS

A unirse a esta declaración conjunta con el fin de contribuir a la apremiante adopción de las siguientes medidas cuyos fundamentos se hallan en documento I y documento II adjuntos.

1- Medioambiente

Las presentes tendencias, fruto de un lamentable sistema económico que solo tiene en cuenta los beneficios inmediatos, deben enderezarse con urgencia para evitar puntos de no retorno.

Tanto el presidente Obama –“somos la primera generación que sufre las consecuencias del cambio climático y la última que puede tomar medidas para solucionarlo”- como el Papa Francisco –“(…) no estamos hablando de una actitud opcional sino de una cuestión básica de justicia ya que la Tierra que recibimos pertenece también a las que vendrán”- han alertado con sabiduría y liderazgo sobre las impostergables acciones a adoptar en relación al cambio climático. El futuro debe ser inventado. La capacidad creadora distintiva de los seres humanos es nuestra esperanza. “Situaciones sin precedentes requieren soluciones sin precedentes”, advirtió Amin Maalouf.

Vivimos un momento crucial de la historia de la Humanidad en el que tanto su número como la naturaleza de sus actividades influyen en la habitabilidad de la Tierra (antropoceno).

Los intereses de todo orden deben subordinarse al profundo conocimiento de la realidad. La comunidad científica, guiada por los “principios democráticos” que con tanta clarividencia establece la constitución de la UNESCO, debe aconsejar a los gobernantes (a escala internacional, regional, nacional y municipal) las acciones a adoptar no solo en una esencial funcion de consejo sino de anticipación. Saber para prever, prever para prevenir.

Está claro que disponemos actualmente de diagnósticos adecuados pero que no desembocan en lo que realmente importa: el tratamiento oportuno.

Los medios de comunicación y las redes sociales deben procurar sin pausa que se forme, en un gran clamor, una conciencia solidaria y responsable, adoptándose a todas las escalas las resoluciones colectivas y personales- incluyendo cambios radicales en las entidades- que puedan detener, antes de que sea demasiado tarde, el deterioro presente.

El presidente Nelson Mandela nos recordó que “el supremo compromiso de cada generación es atender debidamente a la siguiente”.

2-Desigualdades sociales y extrema pobreza

Es humanamente intolerable que cada día mueran de hambre y desamparo miles de personas, la mayoría de ellas niñas y niños de 1 a 5 años de edad, al tiempo que se invierten en armas y gastos militares 3.000 millones de dólares. Sobre todo cuando, como acontece ahora, se han reducido, indebida y dolosamente, los fondos destinados al desarrollo sostenible y humano. La insolidaridad de los más prósperos con los menesterosos alcanza límites que no deben seguirse tolerando. Para la transición desde una economía anti-ecológica de especulación, deslocalización productiva y guerra a una economía basada en el conocimiento para un desarrollo global sostenible y humano, y de una cultura de imposición, violencia y guerra a una cultura de la palabra, de conciliación, alianza y paz, debe procederse de forma inmediata a prescindir de los grupos plutocráticos (G7, G8, G20) y reponer los valores éticos en el centro del comportamiento cotidiano.

3-Eliminación de la amenaza nuclear y desarme para el desarrollo

La amenaza nuclear sigue consituyendo un inverosímil y éticamente insensato y siniestro peligro. El desarme para el desarrollo, bien regulado, no solo permitiría garantizar la seguridad internacional sino que proporcionaría los fondos necesarios para un desarrollo global y la puesta en práctica de las prioridades de las Naciones Unidas (alimentación, agua, salud, medioambiente, educación para todos toda la vida, investigación científica e innovación, y paz.).

(El artículo continúa en el lado derecho de la página)

( Clickear aquí para la version inglês )

Question for this article:

Proposals for Reform of the United Nations: Are they sufficiently radical?

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Por razones tan relevantes y urgentes

PROPONEMOS,

La celebración de una sesión extraordinaria de la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas, que adopte las apremiantes medidas necesarias, tanto sociales como medioambientales, y establezca, además, las directrices para la refundación de un sistema multilateral democrático. El “nuevo Sistema UN”, con una Asamblea General compuesta por el 50% de representantes de la sociedad civil, añadiendo el actual Consejo de Seguridad, un Consejo Medioambiental y un Consejo Socioeconómico ha sido
estudiado en profundidad. En todos los casos, no habría veto pero sí voto ponderado.

A la vista de los precarios resultados alcanzados en el cumplimiento de los ODM (Objetivos del Milenio), nadie confía, vista la insolidaridad actual, las crecientes desigualdades sociales y la subordinación a los grandes consorcios mercantiles, en la puesta en práctica efectiva de los ODS (Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible) que se formularán el presente mes de septiembre.

La solución es la democracia participativa e inclusiva, en la que todas las dimensiones de la economía estén subordinadas a la justicia social.

Jose Luis Sampedro dejó este fantástico legado a los jóvenes: “Tendréis que cambiar de rumbo y nave”. En el informe anexo (I) se detallan recientes hechos y proyectos que constituyen un buen augurio. La Humanidad, ahora que ya puede expresarse libremente gracias a la tecnología digital, ha adquirido una conciencia global y cuenta –piedra angular de la nueva era- con un número progresivamente mayor de mujeres en la toma de decisiones. Se avecina la inflexión histórica que le permitirá llevar en sus manos las riendas del destino común.

* * * * * * * * *

Signatarios a partir de septiembre 2015

Federico Mayor (Presidente de la Fundación Cultura de Paz y ex Director General de UNESCO)

Mikhail Gorbachev (Ex Presidente de la Unión Soviética; Presidente de Green Cross
International y del World Political Forum)

Mario Soares (Ex Presidente de Portugal y Presidente de la Fundaçao Mario Soares)

Garry Jacobs (Director Ejecutivo de la World Academy of Art & Science)

Colin Archer (Secretario General), Ingeborg Breines (Co-Presidenta) and Reiner Braun (CoPresidente) del International Peace Bureau

Roberto Savio (Fundador y Presidente de IPS-International Press Service).

François de Bernard (Presidente y Co-fundador de GERM (Group for Study and Research on
Globalization)

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