Category Archives: global

Past virtual events in June

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Here are events and application deadlines in June that were previously listed on the CPNN page for upcoming virtual events. Where possible links are provided to recordings of the events. Unless otherwise noted the events are in English.

1 junio, 10:35 AM – 12:05 PM Argentina, 15:35 España
Justicia Económica, Desarrollo Local, Convivencia y Paz (Sesión 5 – Plenaria)

El objetivo de esta sesión es abordar la importancia que tienen las ciudades y territorios y las políticas públicas impulsadas desde sus instituciones para paliar las desigualdades económicas y, de esta manera, colaborar a fortalecer el clima de convivencia y paz.
IDIOMAS ING ESP FR
— PONENTES :
Ana Barrero Tiscar
Daniel Alejandro Passerini
Franco Ianeselli
Jhon Alexander Rojas Cabrera
María Carolina Duran Peña
Peter Knip
Samuel Rizk
— ORGANIZADORES:
PNUD
— YouTube recording

Wed, June 2, 2021 – noon Eastern Standard Time (USA)
Do Nonviolent Movements Aid the Peaceful Resolution of Civil War? Findings from a Global Analysis

The International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC) is pleased to host Luke Abbs as he discusses his forthcoming monograph, “The Impact of Nonviolent Resistance on the Peaceful Transformation of Civil War.” Events in the last ten years has shown the extraordinary impact that nonviolent resistance can have on political change. Echoing this sentiment, research shows that nonviolent campaigns against the government have a strategic advantage over armed rebellions and are more successful in achieving regime change and democratization.
— YouTube recording

Jun 3, 2021 – 05:00 PM España
La construcción de la paz desde la cooperación transfronteriza

En este cuarto diálogo se trata de generar conversación en torno a cómo la cooperación transfronteriza puede proporcionar herramientas concretas, no sólo en término de seguridad, de políticas estatales, sino también de los gobiernos regionales y locales y de los actores locales de las comunidades. Las zonas fronterizas pueden ser lugares de oportunidades para el desarrollo y la construcción de paz.
— Presentan
AEXCID – Ángel Calle Suárez
PNUD – Johannes Krassnitzer
— YouTube recording

Jun 3, 2021 – 08:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Eyewitness Syria: Resisting US Imperialism

On May 26, 2021 14 million Syrians voted in Presidential elections, overwhelmingly reelecting President Bashar al-Assad. An independent, international delegation of observers called the election “the legitimate, democratic expression of the Syrian people” and noted that “for many Syrians, the election represents the imminent ending of the war, the defeat of foreign plots, and hope for the future.”
— Join International Action Center organizer Ted Kelly, along with others who participated in the delegation, for an eyewitness account of the situation in Syria as the country continues to push back U.S. intervention, reasserts its sovereignty and rebuilds after years of imperialist war.
— YouTube recording

Friday 4 June, 4:00 – 5:30pm PM Jerusalem-Palestine Time
Planning for sustainability in the Urban Context

Palestine Action for the Planet invites you to join us for weekly conversations towards a better future for humans and nature. For this week, we are honored to have Hiba Burqan lead the discussion on “Planning for sustainability in the Urban Context: Towards a new strategic planning model. Heba Burqan is a strategic planning master’s student, working towards investigating tools and methods in urban sustainability and development. As an architect with work experience in architectural firms, Heba investigated the last 5 years in developing exhibits and exhibitions at A.M. Qattan Foundation, and today she aspires to take this experience and utilize it in the field of community design towards sustainable urban development. We also talk about our responsibility to safeguards our environment in honor of world environment day
— Register here

Jun 9, 2021 02:00 PM in Johannesburg
Ending Gender Discrimination: Equitable access to land and ownership for young women in Africa – Towards Gender Equality

Ending Gender Discrimination is demand 2 of the Africa Young Women Beijing+25 Manifesto, but also a widespread demand across the African continent, as it remains a prevalent reality. . . The webinar, co-hosted with SAYoF, will focus more particularly on a sub-demand that has emerged during consultations with young African women on the thematic of ending gender discrimination: The need to for equitable access to land ownership ensuring economic independence and personal empowerment. Young women make a stand against gender-discriminatory laws, customs and practices regulating inheritance and those which impede young women’s fair access to ownership of land and natural resources.
— The format of the webinar will be a hybrid between moderation and open discussion (Q&A).
— zoom registration

June 9, 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (USA)
Asia-Pacific Elites: Money & Trade, and Foreign and Military Policies

State foreign and military policies don’t necessary represent the interests of a nation’s people. In the push-pull between ties with China and the United States, the foreign and military policy policies of South Korea., India and Taiwan, are powerfully influenced by the financial and trade ambitions of their elites. elites have shaped those policies..
— Speakers
— Youkyoung Ko is a consultant for Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom(WILPF) and women-led Korea Peace Now! Campaign, and a standing executive committee member of the Korea Peace Appeal Campaign. She is an expert on impacts of the US-ROK alliance and US military presence in South Korea.
— Andrew Lichterman is a policy analyst and lawyer with the Oakland,
California based Western States Legal Foundation and a member of the
Coordinating Committee of United for Peace and Justice.
— Brian Hioe is a founding editor of New Bloom and former Democracy and Human Rights Service Fellow at the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy
— Organized by the Asia Pacific Working Group – https://www.cpdcs.org/
— Recording of the event

June 12, 2021 02:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Voices of the International Peace Movement

From nuclear weapons abolitionists in Japan to Belgians working to reduce military spending to meet urgent human needs and stanch climate change, Iranian Americans working to build a just society and prevent conflict between the U.S. and Iran., and Spaniards building an integrated justice and peace movement, we have allies and partners around the world. They and thousands of others will be gathering in Barcelona and online this October. In preparation for this World Conference, join us in conversation on June 12 where you can meet, learn from, and build partnerships with them in our Voices of the International Peace Movement.
Speakers:
Reiner Braun – Executive Director, International Peace Bureau, Berlin
Chloe Meulwaeter – Centre Delas, Barcelona
Assal Rad – Senior Research Fellow, National Iranian American Council
Quique Sanchez – International Peace Bureau, Barcelona
Alicia Sanders-Zakere – International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Geneva
Yayoi Tsuchida – Japan Council against A- & H- Bombs, Tokyo
Tom Unterrainer – Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation London
— Recording of the event

Sunday, June 13, 2pm-4pm Eastern Standard Time USA
Remembering Ramsey Clark, hosted by the International Action Center

Ramsey Clark founded the International Action Center in 1992 as a structure to oppose U.S. wars of aggression and occupation, defend liberation struggles, defend political prisoners. IAC militants joined Ramsey Clark’s international delegations that defied the blockade of Cuba, the war and sanctions on Iraq, the U.S.-NATO war on Yugoslavia, the kidnapping of then President Aristide in Haiti or joined the wave of resistance then sweeping Latin America.
— Ramsey Clark guided the production of hundreds of books, videos, mass meetings, internet campaigns and demonstrations that the IAC organized with him. We are determined to continue this vital work and to make available many of his books to a wider audience.
— YouTube recording

Sunday June 13:3pm-6:30pm Central European Time
Global NATO: a Threat to Peace – Online protest action

Since the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, NATO has developed into a global alliance through expansion into Central and Eastern Europe, conducting destabilizing military interventions in the ‘war against terror’ and forging bilateral and multilateral alliances worldwide. At the NATO summit, the report “NATO 2030: United for a new Era” will be discussed. In this webinar we’ll analyse NATO as a global militarist actor.
— Interpretation: English, French and Spanish
— facebook recording

Monday, June 14, 2021 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (USA)
Finding Common Ground Turning Racism & Extremism Into Hope & Healing

Join Common Ground Committee and sponsoring partner Bridge Alliance for a special virtual event to kick off the National Week of Conversation 2021. Our guest Daryl Davis, an award-winning Black musician, race reconciliator and renowned lecturer, has used the power of human connection to convince hundreds of people to leave white supremacist groups. Fellow guest Ryan Lo’Ree, a former white supremacist and extremist, is an interventionist working to deradicalize people who have been lured into extremism and white supremacy. Register now to join them for a Zoom conversation moderated by New York Times columnist David Brooks on strategies that work to combat hate, and how we can all play a part.
— YouTube recording

Monday, June 14 – 7pm to 8 pm EST
Wednesday, June 16 – 7pm to 8pm EST
Thursday, June 17 – 12pm to 1 pm EST
Discussion groups for United States: Root Causes: How Did We Get Here?

The growing divisions and distrust in our nation has led us to a dangerous point for our democracy. To put our country on a better course necessitates understanding how we got here in the first place. FixUS is hosting several small discussion groups throughout the National Week of Conversation on June 14, 16, and 17th where participants will engage with one another on what they view as the top underlying political, cultural, economic, and technological reasons for our current environment. Groups will have varying backgrounds and perspectives, and you can indicate which sessions you may be interested and able to join (via Zoom) below.
— If you’d like to see more about our work, please visit our website. If you have questions, please email fixus@fixusnow.org. Thank you!
— Please fill out the form here to participate in a discussion group.

Wednesday, June 16 • noon-1:30pm Eastern Standard Time (USA)
How Civil Resistance Movements Acquire Material and Other Resources They Need: Case Studies from Northwest Mexico and Palestine Area C

The International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC) is pleased to host the authors of two forthcoming case studies on materials resources: Chris Allan and Scott DuPree, the authors of Social Movements and Material Resources in Northwest Mexico, and Mahmoud Soliman, the author of The Mobilization of Material Resources and Palestinian Nonviolent Resistance in the Occupied Territory of Area C.
— YouTube recording

Thursday June 17 at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (USA)
Voices Against Empire: A Discussion on Black Radical Media

Join the Black Alliance for Peace at for this discussion. We will explore the radical traditions in Black emancipatory journalism and learn about how revolutionary struggle can be supported with media that share a vision for liberation.
— YouTube recording

Thursday, 17 June at 9:00am Costa Rica time
Integral design and regenerative projects through the lens of the Earth Charter

This webinar will offer unique perspectives on regeneration through Integral Design and the Earth Charter in Action. Our guest speakers will share examples of how regenerative climate parks and education programmes based on the Earth Charter are addressing environmental and social challenges in South Africa and Lesotho.
— Speakers: Bjorn Heyerdahl and Janika Heyerdahl
— Bjorn will share lessons in leadership on global citizenship from his recently published book The Midgard Viking Expedition – the Search for Intelligent Life on Earth.
— Janika will share her experience in connecting education, food security, regeneration with the Earth Charter Ethics.
— YouTube recording

Jun 18, 2021 04:00 PM Central European Time
Intergenerational Dialogue Pre-GEF Paris Forum – Young Women Demands at GEF – Ticking a box or Taken Seriously?

Fostering intergenerational co-leadership and dialogues is a pillar as part of Nala’s FEM objectives, as guided by the 10th Demand of the Africa Young Women Beijing+25 Manifesto calling for intergenerational co-leadership. This includes fostering African Young Women participation in intergovernmental spaces and inclusion towards the Decade of Action.
— The intergenerational dialogue at the dawn of the Generation Equality Forum will serve as a platform to converse with youth on specific thematics which touch their livelihoods on the one hand and with African elders who have committed their work to solving the existing gender equality gaps.
— The aim of the webinar is to provide an intergenerational platform as we head towards the Generation Equality Forum, and put an emphasis on the urgency for the institutionalization of co-leadership for young women’s full and effective political participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all decision making levels in the political, social, cultural, economic and public dimensions of life, while strengthening young women’s voices and creating spaces and resources for their agendas.
— Facebook recording

Jun 18, 2021 12:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)
From Dialogue to Systemic Change

Dialogue can bridge divides and decrease polarization—but can it lead to systemic change? Search for Common Ground has a 40-year track record of working on the world’s most challenging conflicts and translating dialogue into collective action and enduring change. Join us on June 18th, 12pm ET to hear personal insights about how to start with bridge-building and end with a transformed society.
Our speakers:
Shamil Idriss, CEO, Search for Common Ground
Nawaz Mohammed, Country Director, Search for Common Ground – Sri Lanka
Claudia Maffettone, Track II Mediation Program Manager, Search for Common Ground
— Register here

Jun 23, 07:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (US and Canada)
Preparations for Nuclear War with China over Taiwan – Then and Now

Daniel Ellsberg has done it again! 50 years after his courageous whistleblowing release of the Pentagon’s secret Vietnam War history, The Pentagon Papers, he has again shaken the nation and the world with a new revelation. It has critically important implications for the new Cold War confrontation with China and the debate over the possibility over Congress or the the Biden Administration adopting a No First Use nuclear policy.
— For more than 60 years the government has kept secret its 1958 willingness to completely sacrifice Taiwan in order to save it. During that Taiwan crisis, the Eisenhower administration prepared and threatened to attack China with nuclear weapons. Ellsberg’s revelation demonstrates that Eisenhower and Dulles were willing to accept a retaliatory Soviet nuclear attack on Taiwan following U.S. nuclear bombing of China.
— As the U.S. and China ratchet up tensions over Taiwan, Ellsberg asserts that the Pentagon must again be debating the possibility of sacrificing Taiwan and its people to save them.
— Sponsored by Massachusetts Peace Action, the Campaign for Peace Disarmament and Common Security, and the Committee for a Sane US-China Policy
— Youtube recording

Thursday, June 24, 2021 8:00pm Eastern Daylight Time (USA)
Ending America’s Forever War in Korea

On the 71st anniversary of what is officially recognized as the start of the Korean War, World BEYOND War will present a panel discussion with preeminent Korea historian Bruce Cumings, Korean-American peace activist Christine Ahn, and Youngjae KIM, a peace activist based in Seongju, South Korea. They will reflect upon the neglected history and human costs of the unresolved war and discuss what is needed to finally bring closure to America’s oldest, endless war.
— This event will include simultaneous translation in Korean.
— YouTube recording

Saturday, 26th June, AGM 1:00 – 16:30, Conference 17:00 – 20:00 CEST
Peace-Building in a post-COVID-19 World

Uniting for Peace is pleased to invite you to the AGM and Spring Conference 2021 on “Peace-Building in a post-COVID-19 World”
Speakers
Chair – Rita Payne, President Emeritus, Commonwealth Journalists Association
Molly Scott-Cato, Former Member of the European Parliament
Vijay Mehta, Author and Chair, Uniting for Peace
Keith Best, Former Member of UK Parliament
Brian Cooper, Vice President, Uniting for Peace
Ahmad Shahidov, Chairman, Azerbaijan Institute for Democracy & Human Rights
Frank Jackson, Vice President, Uniting for Peace
— Meeting Details: The meeting will allow 100 partricipants on first come first serve basis.
— YouTube recording

June 28 and 30
THE IMPORTANCE OF CLIMATE LITIGATION. INTRODUCTION TO THE ICJ INITIATIVE. LESSONS FROM THE ICJ ADVISORY OPINION ON NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Session A: Americas/Europe/Africa/Middle East, Monday 28 June 2021, 3pm Central Europe
Session B: Asia/Pacific, Wednesday June 30, 9am Central Europe Time

— The Normandy Chair for Peace on Law and Future Generations is cooperating with World’s Youth for Climate Justice (WYCJ) on an initiative of WYCJ to achieve an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the issue of climate protection/stabilisation and the rights of future generations.
— This webinar (the first of four global webinars over the next five months) will cover the role of climate litigation, introduce the campaign for an ICJ case on the climate, and explore lessons learned from the historic ICJ Advisory Opinion on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons.
— Click here to register for Session A
— Click here to register for Session B

Wednesday, June 30 • noon-1:00pm Eastern Standard Time (USA)
Webinar: How Does Trust Shape Civil Resistance? Initial Evidence from Africa

The International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC)is pleased to host Dr. Jacob S. Lewis, the author of the forthcoming monograph Trust and Mobilization in Africa’s Third Wave of Protest. Democratic backsliding around the world has highlighted the importance of nonviolent civil resistance as a method of protecting and seeking democracy. One core component in both collective action and democracy is social trust, yet there has been comparatively little research on the role that social trust plays in shaping the onset and maintenance of civil resistance. Drawing evidence from Africa, this study examines two questions. First, do higher levels of social trust correlate with higher willingness to participate in nonviolent protests? Second, does trust correspond with increased preferences for nonviolent action? The study then verifies these individual-level findings by examining real-world data on proportional levels of violent and nonviolent conflict.
— YouTube recording

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global

Movement Letter to Facebook

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION .

A petition from Facebook We Need to Talk


dear sheryl sandberg,

We write as civil society organizations in the United States, Palestine, and beyond, angered and disturbed by the recent censorship of Palestinian users and their supporters on your platforms. We are equally horrified by the high levels of inciting content directed towards Palestinians on Facebook’s platforms. At this moment, social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram are often Palestinian protestors’ and residents’ only tools to share information to keep each other safe in the face of repression by the Israeli government and police, and during attacks on civilians. These platforms also play a key role in Palestinian users and their allies in documenting Israeli government human rights violations, and sharing the images, videos, and accounts of the murder and violent dispossession of Palestinians being perpetrated by the Israeli government and Zionist Israeli settlers. This blatant censorship of Palestinian political content is putting these activists further at risk. 

As Palestinian residents defend their homes in Jerusalem from forced dispossession by the Israeli government and state-sanctioned Zionist settler groups, their calls for support have received widespread international attention—inspiring social media campaigns and mass protests around the world. This international outcry only grew after the Israeli military attacked Ramadan worshippers at al-Aqsa mosque and started brutally bombing Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip —an ongoing onslaught that killed over 200 people, including at least 60 children. And the the international community continued to mobilize as, immediately in the wake of a ceasefire, Israeli police fired stun grenades on Palestinian worshippers at the al-Aqsa complex and embarked on a mass-arrest campaign of Palestinian citizens of Israel that has resulted in over 1,500 arrests targeting protestors.

Facebook executives’ decision at this moment to directly collaborate with Israeli Defense and Justice Minister Gantz on content moderation, without appropriate parity of government engagement until prompted by civil society, is beyond outrageous. Facebook may need to consult governments on various content and policy issues in its work; however, to coordinate with the Israeli government — which the United Nations and multiple human rights organizations have called an apartheid state — publicly in the middle of a military assault on Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, attacks on Palestinian citizens in Israel, and forcible displacement of Palestinians in East Jerusalem is dangerous overreach at best. 

In addition, the numerous reports of removal or chilling of political speech that several of our organizations have received over the past two weeks, combined with the report released by 7amleh last week that includes 429 reported incidents from Instagram and Facebook, raise concerns about Facebook’s relationship with the Israeli Ministry of Justice’s extra-legal Cyber Unit. The fact that since May 6 there has been widespread removal of Palestinians’ content or supportive content (including removal of content and deactivation of accounts or pages based on Community Standards violations, as well as the mass removal of Instagram stories) that after review have been restored for lack of any violation, indicates that Facebook is perhaps voluntarily agreeing to takedowns recommended by the Israeli Cyber Unit. This unclear relationship between Facebook and the Israeli Cyber Unit is concerning, as it is not subject to any formal governmental or legal process. 

Such indications of Facebook’s privileged relationship with the Israeli government contradict the assurances that Facebook community engagement and content policy representatives have repeatedly made to those of us that have engaged in good faith as stakeholders in Facebook’s content policy process, specifically over the past six months around Facebook’s possible reinterpretation of “Zionist.” When expressing concern that current or future policies (such as those stifling criticism of “Zionists” or “Zionist” institutions) would silence Palestinians and those of us organizing to hold the Israeli government accountable, we have often been assured that Facebook does not have a privileged relationship with the Israeli government —that our concerns are unfounded. Given Facebook’s decision to collaborate with the Israeli Ministry of Defense and Justice, the possible relationship between Facebook and the Israeli Cyber Unit, and The Intercept’s recent investigation regarding Facebook’s content moderation rules silencing criticism of Israel, our communities’ mistrust of the company is increasing.

Facebook must take the following urgent and crucial steps to repair this mistrust with our communities and ensure that we can count on Facebook and Instagram as free civic spaces and tools for holding governments accountable:

  1. Uphold your own commitment to respect human rights and “to be a place for equality, safety, dignity and free speech” as set in your corporate human rights policy, engage with human rights organizations and civil society groups to immediately address the concerns we have raised, and stop censoring Palestinians on your platforms.

  2. Provide transparency on how Facebook is applying content policies, such as those around hate speech and incitement of violence, as it relates to the following ethnic and religious identities and political ideologies: Palestinians, Jews, Israelis, and Zionists. 

  3. Evaluate Facebook’s relationship with the Israeli government across ministries and sever ties with Israel’s Cyber Unit, which may be directing the takedown of content that does not violate any community standards and, therefore, may be leading to the censorship or chilling of political speech. 

  4. Preserve and share all data on content removals. This includes, but is not limited to, information about which takedowns did not receive human review, whether users tried to appeal the takedown, and reported incidents from Facebook and Instagram users that were not acted upon.

  5. Allow independent researchers and stakeholders to review blocked or removed content and all data related to such content removals, subject to data protection and privacy requirements. This good-faith gesture will allow external oversight of moderation mechanisms to vetted researchers and independent stakeholders with relevant expertise to provide additional oversight of redress mechanisms and the fairness and effectiveness of appeal mechanisms, particularly for historically marginalized groups, and work to rebuild trust with those groups.

 Urgent action is required from Facebook to examine its complicity with the Israeli government’s apartheid and ethnic cleansing policies. We urge you to reply to this letter publicly and engage with us immediately. 

(Continued in the column on the right.)

Questions related to this article:

Is Internet freedom a basic human right?

Free flow of information, How is it important for a culture of peace?

(Continued from the column on the left.)

Sincerely,

(list as of May 27)

7amleh – The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media

Access Now

Action Center on Race and the Economy (ACRE)

Adalah Justice Project

American Friends Service Committee

American Muslims for Palestine

BDS Berlin

BDS France

Center for Constitutional Rights

CODEPINK

Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

docP – BDS Netherlands

Een Andere Joodse Stem, Another Jewish Voice, Belgium

Fight for the Future

For Us Not Amazon

Free Speech on Israel (UK)

Friends of Sabeel North America

ICNA Council for Social Justice

IfNotNow

Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign

Jetpac Resource Center

Jewish Voice for Just Peace (Ireland)

Jewish Voice for Labour

Jewish Voice for Peace

Jewish Network for Palestine

Jordan Open Source Association (JOSA)

Kairos

La ColectiVA

Masaar – Technology and Law Community

MediaJustice

MENA Rights Group

Mnemonic

MPower Change

National Lawyers Guild

National Students for Justice in Palestine

Palestine Legal

Palestine Solidarity Campaign

Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC)

Ranking Digital Rights

R3D: Red en Defensa de los Derechos Digitales

South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)

SMEX

Taraaz

The Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy

United Methodists for Kairos Response (UMKR)

Uplift – A People Powered Community (Ireland)

We Are Not Numbers

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global, Uncategorized

International Day of Living Together in Peace – Joint Declaration by Mouvement de la Paix and MRAP

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

A declaration of Friendship between peoples

May 16 has been declared by the United Nations as the International Day of Living Together in Peace in order to “regularly mobilize the efforts of the international community in favor of peace, tolerance, inclusion, understanding and solidarity, and the opportunity for all to express the deep desire to live and act together, united in difference and in diversity, with a view to building a viable world based on peace, solidarity and harmony “.

National situations are marked by acts of racism, intolerance, the development of violent and fascistic extremisms including terrorist acts, while the international situation sees the persistence of conflicts, the worrying rise of fascistic far-right movements, the growth world military spending which reached the amount never reached in the history of humanity of 2 trillion dollars in 2020. We are encouraged to give a more important place to this international day which is based on the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter and the United Nations resolution on the Culture of Peace [see below], and more simply on the promotion of friendship between peoples.

Living together in peace means individually accepting differences, listening, showing esteem, respect and recognition towards others. However, these individual or collective attitudes and behaviors can only be fully effective if, at national and international level, economic, social, cultural and humanitarian policies are implemented to fully realize human rights (economic, social, cultural, etc.). environmental) for all without distinction of origin, sex, language or religion. At the same time, these policies must tackle all forms of discrimination affecting individuals or groups, development inequalities that exist within societies or between societies; and substitute for security based on power (in particular military) a collective security based on the realization of human rights.

It is on these foundations that the MRAP and the Peace Movement intend to strengthen their cooperation to participate in the construction of human security in its physical, economic, social, health and environmental dimensions which will promote living together in peace in allowing unification in action around humanist objectives while removing the specter of ideologies of hatred which feed on inequalities, discrimination and the absence or non-realization of human rights.

In Paris, Sunday May 16, 2021

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

Question(s) related to this article:

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

Article 3 of resolution 53/243 of the UN General Assembly on the Declaration and Program of Action on a Culture of Peace states that “The fuller development of a culture of peace is integrally linked to:

Promoting peaceful settlement of conflicts, mutual respect and understanding and international cooperation;

Complying with international obligations under the Charter of the United Nations and international law;

Promoting democracy, development and universal respect for and observance of all human rights and fundamental freedoms;

Enabling people at all levels to develop skills of dialogue, negotiation, consensus-building and peaceful resolution of differences;

Strengthening democratic institutions and ensuring full participation in the development process;

Eradicating poverty and illiteracy and reducing inequalities within and among nations;

Promoting sustainable economic and social development;

Eliminating all forms of discrimination against women through their empowerment and equal representation at all levels of decision-making;

Ensuring respect for and promotion and protection of the rights of children;

Ensuring free flow of information at all levels and enhancing access thereto;

Increasing transparency and accountability in governance;

Eliminating all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;

Advancing understanding, tolerance and solidarity among all civilizations, peoples and cultures, including towards ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities;

Realizing fully the right of all peoples, including those living under colonial or other forms of alien domination or foreign occupation, to self-determination enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and embodied in the International Covenants on Human Rights,2 as well as in the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples contained in General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960.

Europe, FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global, United Nations, ,

Global Calendar of Resistance to Defend Palestine!

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

An article from the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network urges all Palestinian, Arab and international supporters of Palestine to escalate their organizing and struggle to confront massacres and ethnic cleansing and support Palestinian resistance! There are currently over 200 martyrs throughout Palestine and on the borders with Lebanon, and the entire land of Palestine is rising, from the river to the sea, from Haifa to al-Lydd, from Gaza to Rafah, from Ramallah to Nablus, Umm al-Fahm, Yafa, and, of course, Palestine’s capital, Jerusalem, confronting the most brutal violence of the colonizer with steadfastness, struggle, and a revolutionary promise of a liberated future.

Everywhere, Palestinians in exile and diaspora are also rising, taking the streets, and organizing, to build the struggle for liberation, and people of conscience around the world stand with them, filling the streets of the globe with thousands and millions to confront Zionism and imperialism, and stand firmly and clearly with the Palestinian people, their resistance, return and liberation, from the river to the sea.

In this moment, it is particularly important to highlight our unconditional support for the Palestinian people and their right to resist. It is now and has always been the resistance of the Palestinian people, through all forms of struggle, that defends Palestine from colonization. Our solidarity must affirm Palestinian resistance, Palestinian return, and Palestinian liberation, throughout the entire land of occupied Palestine.

(The List below will be constantly updated – our Global Calendar – please share the link with your friends and comrades!) Your action to support the Palestinian people and the Palestinian resistance, for return to Palestine and liberation from the river to the sea is more important than ever — to honor the martyrs, to stop ethnic cleansing, and to stand with Palestine in 73 years of struggle.

READ THE FULL CALL TO ACTION in English — Arabic — German —French — Swedish

See Emergency Actions below and read our calls to action:
>>  From Gaza to Jerusalem: Confront massacres and ethnic cleansing, support Palestinian resistance!
>> Take Action! #SaveSheikhJarrah and Defend Jerusalem: Boycott Israel, Support Palestinian Resistance

TO ADD YOUR EVENT TO THE CALENDAR: Email us at samidoun@samidoun.net, message us on WhatsApp at +32466904397 or tag us on social media! We know that these events are mainly international and that the Arab people are marching everywhere for Palestine — we will be honored to add Arab events!

PLEASE NOTE: Times and details may change. Wherever we have it, we have linked to the original organizers’ accounts, posters and pages. Please follow these for the latest info – and don’t hesitate to send us updates!

Saturday, 22 May

Australia
Adelaide: Protest for Palestine : keep up the struggle – Saturday, 22 May, 11 am, Parliament House Steps, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA, Australia. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/313580253483703/
Brisbane (Meanjin): Save Sheikh Jarrah – Stop the War on Gaza – Free Palestine – Saturday, 22 May, 10 am, Reddacliff Place, Brisbane, Australia. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1196514340795942
Cairns – Saturday, 22 May, 3 pm, Esplanade, outside RSL. Info https://www.instagram.com/p/CPFZASDJtFS/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Hobart – Saturday, 22 May, 11 am, Elizabeth St. Mall, Hobart.
Melbourne: Nakba rally (Naarm): 73 years of Israeli colonisation must end – Saturday, 22 May 1:00 pm State Library Victoria 328 Swanston Street Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/922133665236736/
Sydney: Rally for Palestine – Saturday, 22 May, 1 pm, Archibald Fountain, Sydney. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/766287080680624/
Wollongong: Free Palestine Protest – Saturday, 22 May, 1 pm, Crown St Mall, Wollongong, NSW, Australia. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1300687223679105

Bangladesh
Sylhet: Free Palestine Protest – Saturday, 22 May, 2:30 pm, Shahid Minar Sylhet. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/198265548685469/

Belgium
Aalst – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Werfplein, Aalst. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1472403969775985/
Brussels – Saturday, 22 May, 11 am, Mont des Arts, Brussels, Belgium. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/952953458794746/
Ghent – Saturday, 22 May, 3 pm, Koning Albertpark, Ghent, Belgium. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/139299338243638/
Vilvoorde – Saturday, 22 May, 6:30 pm, Europabrug, Vilvoorde, Belgium. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/313927323473189/
Zelzate – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Grote Markt, Zelzate. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/273008551188905/

Bosnia – Herzegovina
Sarajevo – Saturday, 22 May, 11 am, Plato Prekoputa Vijecnice, Sarajevo. Info: https://twitter.com/do0kunn/status/1395505739410591744/photo/1

Canada
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island – Saturday, 22 May, 2:15 pm, Victoria Park, Prince Edward Battery, Charlottetown, PEI. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/241621111092405/
Montreal – Saturday, 22 May, 1 pm, Israeli Consulate, 1 Westmount Square, Westmount, Quebec/ Montreal. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPG1zvbHRQc/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Saint John, NB – Saturday, 22 May, 1 pm, King Square S (City Hall), Saint John. Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/2238217046310212/
Toronto: Rally for Palestine – Saturday, 22 May, 3 pm, Yonge-Dundas Square – March to Israeli Consulate, Toronto. More info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPCXBg4A2nx/
Vancouver: Vigil and Rally for Palestine – Saturday, 22 May, 6 pm, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/210419577357465/
Surrey, BC: Free Palestine Protest – Saturday, 22 May, 1:30 pm, 128th and 64th Avenue, Surrey, BC
Vernon, BC – Saturday, 22 May, Office of MP Mel Arnold, 3105 – 29th St, Vernon, BC. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1178172509287812/
Winnipeg – Saturday, 22 May, 1 pm, Manitoba Legislative Building, Winnipeg. Info: https://twitter.com/IIIIIIlIIlIIIIl/status/1395505304528359428

Canary Islands
San Fernando – Saturday 22 May, 2:30 pm, Mas Palomas Plaza de los Camellos

Colombia
Bogota, Colombia – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Embassy of Israel, Bogota, Colombia. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1966037970238855

Costa Rica
San José: Saturday, 22 May, 10:30 am, Parque Central de San José, Costa Rica. Red de Solidaridad con Palestina Costa Rica

Denmark
Naestved – Saturday, 22 May, 2:30 pm, Dania 15-4700 Naestved

Estonia
Tallinn – Saturday, 22 May, 1 pm, Tammsaare Park, Tallinn, Estonia. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/2599915946968879/

Finland
Pori: Free Palestine – Saturday, 22 May, 1 pm, Porin Tori, Yronjkatu, Pori, Finland. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/303366541285962/

France
Agen – manifestation le samedi 22 mai à 15h place du Pin
Angers – Saturday, 22 May, 5 pm, Place du Ralliement, Angers. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/301645164787430/
Bordeaux – Saturday, 22 May, 3 pm, place de la Victoire. Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/372295000850445/?ref=newsfeed
Caen – Saturday, 22 May, 4 pm, Boulevard Marechal Lecler (Monoprix)
Clermont-Ferrand – Saturday, 22 May, 11 am, Place de Jaude. Info: https://www.facebook.com/Palestine63Solidarite/posts/2280491735420954
Dunkerque – Saturday, 22 May, 3 pm, Place Jean Bart
Gap – rassemblement le samedi 22 mai à 14h30 devant la Préfecture
Le Mans – Saturday, 22 May, 5 pm, Place de la Republique, Le Mans. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/583738729211785/
Lille – Saturday, 22 May, 3 pm, Grand Place, Lille, France. https://www.nord-palestine.org/art-recom-2021-05-19AppelManif.htm
Lyon – Saturday, 22 May, 3 pm, place Bellecour, Lyon. Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/317949699852126/
Manosque – rassemblement porte Saunerie le samedi 22 mai à 17h
Marseille – Saturday, 22 May, 11 am, Marseille Prefecture
Metz – Saturday, 22 May, 2:30 pm, Parvis des Droits de l’Homme
Montpellier – Saturday, 22 May, 3:30 pm, Place de la Comedie, Montpellier. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/766913020674459/
Mulhouse – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Place de la Bourse, Info: https://www.france-palestine.org/Rassemblement-de-soutien-au-peuple-palestinien-40129
Nancy: Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Place Majinot
Nantes: Saturday, 22 May, 2:30 pm, 50 Otage/Rue de la Barillerie, Nantes. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/476980526957725/
Nice – Saturday, 22 May, 5 pm, Place Garibaldi
Niort – Saturday, 22 May, 11 am, place Auzanneau au Clou Bouchet, Niort, France. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/984478415692634/
Paris – Saturday, 22 May, 3 pm, Place de la Republique, Paris. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/822209835364783/
Reims – Saturday, 22 May, 4 pm, Esplanade de la porte mars, Square Colbert, Reims.
Saint-Etienne – Saturday, 22 May, 3 pm, Place Chavanelle, march at 4 pm. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/953880591836575/
Saint-Pierre des Corps – Saturday, 22 May, 10:30 am, Mairie.
Strasbourg – Saturday, 22 May, 3 pm, Place de la Universite. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/3137872523150228/?ref=newsfeed
Toulouse: Protest to Support the Palestinian People – Saturday, 22 May, 10:30 am, 22 Mai 2021 10H30 Métro François Verdier – Toulouse Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/events/435688644176928/
Valence – rassemblement Place Porte Neuve samedi 22 mai de 10h à 12h

Germany
Berlin – Saturday, 22 May, 4 pm, Oranienplatz, Berlin. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPHBFdkHQIs/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Berlin – Saturday, 22 May, 6 pm, Alexanderstrasse, Berlin (near Park Inn Hotel)
Bonn: Protest for Palestine – Against Apartheid – Saturday, 22 May 2 pm Remigiusplatz Bonn, Germany Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/3868609713256013
Düsseldorf – Saturday, 22 May, 5 pm, DGB Haus, Düsseldorf. Info: https://twitter.com/judy_alchalabi/status/1395505226023673895/photo/1
Siegen – Saturday, 22 May, 4 pm, Bismarckstrasse, Siegen, Germany. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1169709046835116/

Greece
Athens – Saturday, 22 May, 5 pm, Megaro Mousikis Station, Athina. Info: https://www.facebook.com/masarbadil/posts/271686338079667

Ireland
Belfast – Saturday, 22 May, 3 pm, Custom House Square, Belfast, Ireland. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/2799355397043344/
Derry – Saturday, 22 May, 3 pm, Free Derry Corner, Derry, Ireland. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/3870291583025331/
Kilkenny/Drogheda – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, The Tholsel, Drogheda. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/796673654320684/
Dublin – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Spire of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/240520177803738/
Dún Pádraig – Stand up for Palestine: Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Market Street, Dun Padraig (Downpatrick), occupied Ireland. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/744245109577724/
Carlow Town – Saturday, 22 May, 10 am, Town Park
Carrick-on-Suir – Saturday, 22 May, 1:30 pm, Junction Bar
Celbridge – Saturday, 22 May, 11:30 am, Castletown Gates. Info: https://twitter.com/celbridgepsc/status/1393882223020019713
Ennis/Clare County – Saturday, 22 May — Vigils throughout County Clare. To join a vigil, you must register in advance in order to ensure all actions are Covid restriction compliant. Follow directions on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/939739986829202/
Clones – Saturday, 22 May, 4 pm, The Diamond (Vigil)
Cork – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Cork City Library, Grand Parade
Dungarvan – Saturday, 22 May, 2:30 pm, The Square
Galway (vigil) – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, The Prom, Salthill
Letterkenny  – Saturday, 22 May, 3 pm, Market Square. Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/514422979602870/
Limerick – Saturday, 22 May, 12:30 pm, Bedford Row
Maynooth – Saturday, 22 May, 1:30 pm, The Square
Navan – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Kennedy Plaza
Newbridge – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Langton Cross, Newbridge, Ireland. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/314084173444558/
New Ross – Saturday, 22 May, 1:45 pm, O’Hanrahan Bridge, New Ross
Portlaoise – Saturday, 22 May, 3 pm, March from St Peter and Paul’s Church
Tralee – Saturday, 22 May, 1:30 pm, The Square, County Kerry
Waterford – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, John Roberts Square, Waterford, Ireland. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/218689323117527/
Wexford – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Wexford Bridge.

Italy
Bassano del Grappa – Saturday, 22 May, 3:30 pm, Piazza Liberta
Brescia – Saturday, 22 May, 4:30 pm, Piazza Vittoria
Campobasso – Saturday, 22 May, 4:30 pm, Piazza Prefettura
Cesena – Saturday, 22 May, 5:30 pm, Piazetta Amendola
Genzano di Roma – Saturday, 22 May, 10 am, Piazza Tommaso Franconi, Genzano di Roma, Italy. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/4060351720692350/
Lecco – Saturday, 22 May, 3 pm, Piazza Era
Mantova – Saturday, 22 May, 5 pm, Piazza Martiri di Belfiore
Milano – Saturday, 22 May, 3 pm, Arco della Pace, Milan, Italy.
Monza – Saturday 22 May, 3 pm, Largo Mazzini
Napoli – Saturday, 22 May, 6 pm, Piazza S. Croce
Padova – Saturday, 22 May, 11 am, Piazza Cavour, Padova (Padua). Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/924644538355834/
Palermo – Saturday, 22 May, 5:30 pm, Piazza Verdi
Poggibonsi – Saturday, 22 May, 3:30 pm, Piazza del Comune
Prato – Saturday 22 May, 3 pm, Piazza delle Carceri
Ravenna – Saturday, 22 May, 5 pm, Piazza Kennedy, Ravenna, Italy. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/982645729164724/
Saronno – Saturday, 22 May, 5 pm, Piazza Volontari del Sangue
Tavagnacco – Saturday, 22 May, 10 am, Udine Piazza Primo Maggio, Tavagnacco. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1195149217604619/
Teramo – Saturday, 22 May, 6 pm, Piazza Martiri della Liberta
Torino – Saturday, 22 May, 11 am, Piazza Castello
Trieste – Saturday, 22 May, 4:30, Piazza Unita
Varese – Saturday, 22 May, 3:30 pm, Piazza San Giuseppe, Varese, Italy. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/866796780388060/
Verona – Saturday, 22 May, 4 pm, Via Giardino Giusti 2

Lithuania
Vilnius – Saturday 22 May, 2 pm, Kudirkos aikste, Vilnius. Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/812643903014859/

Netherlands
Almere – Saturday, 22 May, 3 pm, Esplanade, Almere. Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/221170156176112/
Amsterdam – Saturday, 22 May, 3:30 pm, Dam, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/182038517145501/
Heerhugowaard – Saturday, 22 May, 3 pm, Stadsplein
Leeuwarden – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Zaailand, Leeuwarden, Netherlands. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1087878488405650/

New Zealand
Auckland – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Aotea Square, Queen Stret, Auckland, NZ. Updates for all NZ events here: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Palestine-Solidarity-Network-Aotearoa-PSNA-403868133556427/events/
Auckland (Vigil by Jews against Occupation) – Saturday, 22 May, 5 pm, Freyberg Square, Auckland. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/817974682158648/
Christchurch – Saturday, 22 May, 12 pm, Bridge of Remembrance, Cashel Street, Christchurch, NZ
Dunedin – Saturday, 22 May, 1 pm, Otago Museum Reserve, Great King Street North Dunedin. March from there to the Octagon
Hamilton – Saturday, 22 May, 1:30 pm, Wairere Drive and Naylor Street, Hillcrest, Hamilton
Napier – Saturday, 22 May, 11 am, Marine Parade, end of Tennyson Street, Napier
Nelson – Saturday, 22 May, 10:15 am, 1903 Square – Trafalgar and Selwyn Place. Details: https://www.facebook.com/events/945585499315977/
Palmerston North – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Te Marae o Hine, Papaioea the Square, Palmerston North, New Zealand. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/4197262880332290/
Rawene – Saturday 22 May, 11 am, No 1 Parnell, Rawene, NZ. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/330336465187878/
Wellington – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Midland Park, 157 Lambton Quay
Whanganui – Saturday, 22 May, 10 am, Tram Shed, Taupo Quay, Whanganui, New Zealand. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/2553993978229858/
Whangarei – Saturday, 22 May, 8-10 am, Water Street, near Growers Market, Whangarei. Contact: <tim.nurm@gmail.com>

Pakistan
Lahore: Free Palestine – Solidarity with Palestinian Resistance – Saturday, 22 May, 4:30 pm, Lahore Press Club, Lahore, Pakistan. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/140239881476708/

South Africa
Durban – Motorcade for Palestine, Saturday 22 May, 1:30 pm, Meet at Addington Hospital. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPHAxWUB_sv/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Spanish State/Spain
Granada, Saturday, 22 May, 7 pm, Fuente de las Batallas, Granada. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPD7rulJ6Pq/
Malaga – Saturday, 22 May, 7 pm, Pza. Merced, Malaga
Mataro, Saturday, 22 May, 6:30 pm, Parc de Cerdanyola
Murcia, Saturday, 22 May, 6:30 pm, Gran Via Alfonso X el Sabio, Murcia. Info: https://www.facebook.com/paca.lopezlabana/posts/1553584368178766
Rivas, Saturday, 22 May, 12 pm, P. de la Constitucion, Rivas. Info: https://www.facebook.com/RivasvahaciaPalestina/photos/a.1470807276570142/2852118458439010/

Sweden
Borlänge – Saturday, 22 May, 12 pm, Sveatorget, Borlänge. Info: https://www.facebook.com/rula.abughoush.3/posts/10165020184790005
Helsingborg, Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Gustaf Adolfs Torg, Helsingborg. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/304406581286095/
Malmo, Saturday, 22 May, 4 pm, Möllevångstorget Malmö, Malmo, Sweden. Info: https://www.facebook.com/masarbadil/

Switzerland
Geneva, Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Palais Wilson, Geneva, Switzerland. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPEJ78cpGhQ/

(continued in the right column)

Question for this article

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

(continued from the left column)

United Kingdom
Bangor, Gwynedd – Saturday, 22 May, 11 am, Pontio by memorials, Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/328890178605492/
Birmingham – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Victoria Square, Birmingham. Info: https://twitter.com/TINYCUPlD/status/1395490886532964353
Bournemouth: Palestine Solidarity Demo – Saturday, 22 May, 12 pm ,Exeter Road march to Bournemouth Square. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/493603321888560/
Bristol – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, March from Shah Jalal Mosque to College Green, Bristol, UK. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/311249393908827/
Cardiff – Saturday, 22 May, 12 pm, BBC Cymru building, Cardiff, Wales. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPAxiIcA2Ix/
Derby – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, The Spot, Derby city Centre, Derby, UK. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/539803320352695/
Dundee – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Dundee, City Square. Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/502988511048117/
Glasgow – Saturday, 22 May, 1 pm, Sauciehall St (M&S Picket), Glasgow, Scotland. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPHFI92gpzD/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Glasgow – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Car Caravan, 30 Finnieston St, Glasgow, Scotland. Info: https://twitter.com/fauziaahmad07/status/1395514539320414214/photo/1
Huddersfield – Saturday 22 May, 3 pm, St George’s Square, Huddersfield
Hull – Saturday, 22 May, 12 pm, Victoria Square. Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/492148565429770/
Inverness – Saturday, 22 May, 12 pm, Town House. Info: https://www.facebook.com/HighlandPalestine/posts/4458040374240039
Leamington Spa  – Saturday, 22 May, 11 am, Leamington Spa, UK. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/3081528072066096/
Leeds – Saturday, 22 May, 1 pm, Leeds Town Hall, Leeds. Info: https://twitter.com/chahrazedtft/status/1395526794716004352/photo/1
Leeds – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, BBC Headquarters. Info: https://twitter.com/MIAxAlix/status/1395491926120570890
Liverpool – Saturday, 22 May, 1 pm, Church St, Liverpool. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPEi2-XH61o/
London: National Demo for Palestine – Saturday, 22 May, 12 pm, Speakers Corner (Marble Arch Tube), London, UK.
Lowestoft – Saturday, 22 May, 1 pm, Outside Britten enter, Lowestoft, UK. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/851092055752578/
Manchester: Speak Out for Palestinian Resistance – Saturday, 22 May, 12 PM, Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/950810015714728/
Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Protest for Palestine! – Saturday, 22 May, 12 pm, Marks and Spencer, 77-87 Northumberland Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/19684705596392/
Northampton: March 4 Palestine – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, BBC Radio Northampton, Abington St. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/320235456125245/
Peterborough: Protest 4 Palestine – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Peterborough Town Center, Peterborough. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/174750394539852/
Plymouth: Stop Bombing Gaza – Saturday, 22 May, 11 am, New George St, Plymouth. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/465720878064565/
Pontypridd – Saturday 22 May, 11 am, Mill Street near the bridge, Pontypridd, Wales. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/246215377292865
Sheffield – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Sheffield City Hall, Sheffield. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPElXtmJOBa/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Swindon – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Morrisons, Regents Circus, Swindon. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/830100164256504/
Waterdale: Vigil for Palestine – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Sir Nigel Gresley Square, Waterdale, UK. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/299139038487186/
Wrexham: Support Palestine – Saturday, 22 May, 11:30 am, Queen Square, Wrexham, Wales. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1399877630380056/

United States
Anaheim, CA: Saturday, 22 May, 12 pm, Brookhurst and Bail, Anaheim, CA. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/2796028500727793/
Anaheim, CA – Saturday, 22 May, 1 pm, Car Caravan from Little Arabia to Santa Ana. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CO-2TppABEH/
Anchorage, AK: Stand with Palestine – Saturday, 22 May, 4 pm, Seward Highway and Northern Lights, Anchorage. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/507826220366469/
Ann Arbor, MI: March for Palestine – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Ann Arbor City Hall, 301 E Huron Street, Ann Arbor, MI. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1390478371322456
Annandale-on-Hudson, NY/Bard College – Saturday, 22 May, 8 pm, Fisher Center, Bard College. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CO2q7k8ALVH/
Athens, GA – Saturday, 22 May, 12 pm, UGA Arch, University of Georgia, Athens.Info: https://twitter.com/UGA_SJP/status/1395473437414600710
Baltimore – Saturday, 22 May, 5 pm, City Hall, 100 Holiday St, Baltimore, MD. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPHRSHCgyrt/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Bar Harbor, ME – Saturday, 22 May, 3 pm, Village Green, Bar Harbor, Maine
Binghamton, NY – Saturday, 22 May, 12 pm, Binghamton University Academic A Building, Binghamton. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/474065420554402
Boston – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Copley Square. Info: https://twitter.com/DeccaniBhai/status/1395528834208964610
Buffalo: Defend Palestine – Support Palestinians Resisting in Sheikh Jarrah – Saturday, 22 May 4 pm Buffalo City Hall 65 Niagara Square Buffalo, NY More info: https://twitter.com/freepal27575746
Charlotte, NC – Saturday, 22 May, 5 pm, First Ward Park, 301 E 7th St, Charlotte. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPB_HAwgA8K/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Chicago Hyde Park Vigil – Saturday, 22 May, 11 am, Nichols Park. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/937002380435047/
Coldwater, MI – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Four Corners, Coldwater, Michigan. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/308516420873710/
Denver, CO – Saturday, 22 May, 4 pm, Colorado State Capitol (West Steps), Denver. Info: https://twitter.com/sarahpaira/status/1395432461073403907/photo/1
Fargo, ND – Saturday, 22 May, 4 pm, Island Park, Fargo, North Dakota. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/5518948114844479/
Fayetteville, NC – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Cross Creek Linear Park Fountain, Fayetteville, NC. facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1195980977527552/
Flagstaff, AZ – Saturday, 22 May, 4 pm, Heritage Square, Flagstaff, Arizona. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/291128139324625/
Flint, MI – Saturday, 22 May, 6:30 pm, 303 E Kearsley Street, Flint, Michigan. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/930422421024044/
Fort Myers, FL – Saturday, 22 May, 5 pm, meet outside Fort Myers Public Library and march from there. Info: https://fb.me/e/QRXMsDni
Grand Rapids, MI – Saturday, 22 May, 1 pm, 101 Fulton St East, Grand Rapids. Michigan.
Green Bay: Rally for Palestine – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Leicht Memorial Park, Dousman St, Green Bay, WI. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/3909690445781451/
Harrisonburg, VA – Saturday, 22 May, 12 pm, Court Square, Harrisonburg, Virginia. Info: https://twitter.com/AdbudMan/status/1395522379560914944/photo/1
Honolulu: Saturday, 22 May, 4 pm, Atkinson and Ala Moana, Honolulu, Hawaii. Details: https://www.facebook.com/events/782277002426898/
Houston, TX – Saturday, 22 May, 12 – 3 pm, Galleria/Post Oak and Westheimer, Houston, Texas. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPESoTBAv6G/
Irvine, CA: Rally for Palestine – Saturday, 22 May, 1 pm, 1 Civic Center, Irvine CA. Contact tazeenk@hotmail.com for details.
Kansas City, MO – Saturday, 22 May, 5 pm, JC Nichols Memorial Fountain, 50 W 47th St, Kansas City, Missouri. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/469619377447707/
Kirkland, Washington – Saturday, 22 May, 3 pm, Central Way, Kirkland, WA, USA
Lancaster, PA – Solidarity with Palestine – Saturday, 22 May, 5:30 pm, Penn Square, Lancaster, PA. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/464408991284134/
Las Vegas – Saturday, 22 May, 5 pm, 3355 S Las Vegas Blvd, Venetian, Las Vegas, Nevada. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPFLJK7NEHW/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Little Rock, AR – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Clinton Presidential Center, Little Rock, Arkansas. Info: https://twitter.com/m7mdkurd/status/1395490595095945219l
Los Angeles – Black and Brown Solidarity with Palestine – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, MacArthur Park, Los Angeles, CA. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1163196180772409/
Minneapolis, MN – Saturday, 22 May, 3 pm, Bryant Square Park, Minneapolis. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/177130494323092/
Missoula, MT – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, Missoula County Courthouse, Missoula, Montana. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1438497219829087/
Modesto, CA – March for Palestine! Saturday, 22 May, 10 am, Vintage Faire Mall, Modesto. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/308984160721348/
Modesto, CA – Free Palestine Peaceful Protest – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, 2020 W Briggsmore Ave, Modesto, CA.
Morgantown, WV – Saturday, 22 May, 11 am, Monongalia County Courthouse, Morgantown, West Virginia. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/227910319098761/
New Brunswick, NJ – Saturday, 22 May, 4:30 pm, 126 College Ave, New Brunswick, NJ. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/126194992828736
New Haven, CT: Solidarity with Palestine and Colombia – Saturday, 22 May, 12 pm, New Haven Green, New Haven, CT, USA. More info: https://twitter.com/f_maviglia/status/1392838612811665410
NYC/Queens: Sunnyside Rally to Defend Palestine – Saturday, 22 May, 1 pm, Queens Blvd and 46th St, Queens, New York. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/319268132914968
Norfolk, VA – Saturday, 22 May, 3 pm, St Pauls Blvd and City Hall Ave, Norfolk, VA. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/905707356642615/
Northfield, MN – Saturday, 22 May, 11 am, Bridge Square Fountain, Northfield, Minnesota. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/291947609248043/
Oakland, CA – Saturday 22 May, 4 pm, Madison Park, Oakland. Info: https://twitter.com/whadayamin/status/1395491391531208704/photo/1
Oklahoma City, OK – Saturday, 22 May, 12 pm, 401 E California Ave, Oklahoma City. Info: https://twitter.com/HoudaElyazgi/status/1395519445158834178/photo/1
Orlando, FL – Saturday, 22 May, 4 pm, City Commons, 400 S Orange Ave, Orlando, Florida. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1145526945962584/
Pensacola, FL – Saturday, 22 May, 4 pm, Plaza Ferdinand VII, Pensacola, FL. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/2520866384886415/
Philadelphia, PA – Saturday, 22 May, 12 pm, Rittenhouse Square Park (18th and Walnut, Philadelphia. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1239961729757163/
Pittsburgh, PA: Palestine Rally – Saturday, 22 May, 12 pm, Flagstaff Hill, Schenley Park, Pittsburgh. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/181568417177736/
Portland, ME – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, City Hall, Portland, Maine. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/346675933543990/
Portland, OR – Saturday, 22 May, 3 pm, City Hall, 1200 SW 5th Ave, Portland. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPBWU1FBXhS/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Raleigh, NC – Saturday, 22 May, 2 pm, NC State Capitol, Raleigh, NC. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/2896942667212781/
Rochester, MN – Saturday, 22 May, 4:30 pm, Car Caravan, 1738 E Center St, Rochester, MN. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/378220080195132/
Salt Lake City: Solidarity with Palestine and Colombia, Saturday, 22 May, 12:30 pm, Wallace Bennett Federal Building, Salt Lake City, UT. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/301980271504392/
San Antonio, TX – Saturday, 22 May, 6 pm 300 Alamo Plaza, San Antonio, TX. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1643108575889138/
San Francisco, CA – Saturday, 22 May, 11 am Gather at 16th & Mission, 1 pm rally at Civic Center, San Francisco. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPC22V0AZWg/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Santa Clarita, CA – Saturday, 22 May, 1 pm, Valencia and McBean, Santa Clarita. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/878494799398084/
Santa Rosa, CA – Saturday, 22 May, 12 pm, Santa Rosa Courthouse. Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/554431025552123/
Silverdale, WA – Saturday, 22 May, 12 pm, Old Mill Park, Silverdale, WA. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/298705821746883/
Spokane: Free Palestine – Saturday, 22 May, 1 pm, BA Clark Park, 50 W Garland Ave, Spokane. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/486774365894687
Tallahassee, FL – Saturtday, 22 May, 6 pm, Old Capital Bldg Steps, Tallahassee, FL. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPEJZJXAKOu/
Tampa, FL – Saturday, 22 May, 5 pm, Curtis Hixon Park, 600 N Ashley Drive, Tampa. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPFHadEAeWv/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Tucson, AZ – Saturday, 22 May, 5:30 pm, Armory Park. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPJKTzcHj5U/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Tulsa, OK – Saturday, 22 May, 4 pm, 71st and Memorial, Tulsa. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/500574884322583/
Walnut Creek, CA – Saturday, 22 May, 12:30 pm, Civic Park, Walnut Creek.

Sunday, 23 May

Australia
Canberra – Sunday, 23 May, 3:30 pm, Parliament House
Darwin – Sunday, 23 May, 9:30 am, Nightcliffe Markets
Perth: Stand with Palestine – Stop Bombing Gaza! Save Sheikh Jarrah! Sunday, 23 May, 11 am, Forrest Place, Perth, WA, Australia. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/2954733614806101

Belgium
Antwerp – Sunday 23 May, 4 pm, Park Soor Noord
Asse – Sunday, 23 May, 5 pm, Zellik, Asse, Belgium. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/3871338399656215/
Halle – Sunday, 23 May, 2 pm, Koning Albert 1 Park, Halle, Belgium. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/934058387416866/
Lommel – Sunday, 23 May, 4 pm, Huis van de Stad, Lommel. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/4084714274952401/
Sint-Truiden – Sunday, 23 May, 11 am, Grote Mart, Sint-Truiden, Belgium. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/4043735885720334/

Canada
Calgary – Sunday, 23 May, 3 pm, Olympic Plaza, Calgary, Alberta. Info: https://twitter.com/llwatann/status/1395490931529318401/photo/1
Edmonton – Sunday, 23 May, 6 pm, Hawrelak Park, 9330 Groat Road, NW, Edmonton, Alberta. Info: https://twitter.com/Rabougouche/status/1395520094822813700/photo/1
Kelowna, BC – Sunday, 23 May, 2 pm, Stuart Park, Kelowna. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/767998364086858/
Ottawa – Sundaay, 23 May, 1 pm, Parliament Hill, Ottawa. Info: https://twitter.com/Mimi_088/status/1395492213992349697

France
Marseille – Sunday, 23 May, 2 pm, Vieux Port
Ivry – Sunday, 23 May, 1:45 pm, Mairie d’Ivry
Paris – Sunday, 23 May, 3 pm,Place de la Republique, Paris. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/547747926234908/

Guatemala
Guatemala City – Sunday, 23 May, 11 am, Obelisco Zona 10, Guatemala City. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/332470798237245/

Italy
Bergamo – Sunday, 23 May, 5:30 pm, Piazza Matteotti
Biella – Sunday, 23 May, 3 pm, Piazza Martiri
Ferrara – Sunday, 23 May, 4 pm, Piazza Castello

Morocco
Rabat – Sunday, 23 May, 10 am

Netherlands
Breda – Sunday, 23 May, 2 pm, Chasseveld
Den Haag – Sunday, 23 May, 2:30 pm, The Hague, the Netherlands. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/181109563894185/
Maastricht – Sunday, 23 May, 5 pm, Vrijthof, Maastricht, the Netherlands. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/348750176675433/
Terneuzen – Sunday, 23 May, 1:30 pm, Vliegende Vaart
Utrecht – Sunday, 23 May, 2 pm, Jaarbeursplein, Netherlands. Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/515780226268825/

Pakistan
Karachi – Sunday, 23 May, 4 pm, Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi, Pakistan. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/317193920027697/
Multan – Sunday, 23 May, 4:30 pm, Northern Bypass Chowk

Portugal
Beja – Sunday, 23 May, 5 pm, Praca de Republica, Beja, Portugal. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/459500111812306/

South Africa
Cape Town – Sunday, 23 May, 7:15 am, Ladies Cycling Squad Ride for Palestine, Green Point Lighthouse, Cape Town. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/881774359082961/
Cape Town – Sunday, 23 May, 2 pm, Three Anchor Bay, Beach Road. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPGLrFADGKK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Durban – Sunday, 23 May, 10 am, Durban Beachfront. Info: https://twitter.com/CheMangera/status/1395491450956169217/photo/2
East London – Saturday, 23 May, 11 am, Buffalo City College, 8 Lukin Rd, Selborne, East London, Eastern Cape. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPIYzR6jB31/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Johannesburg – Sunday, 23 May, 10 am, SA Zionist Federation, 2 Elray St, Raedene Estate, Johannesburg. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPAttsHDoJl/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Spanish State/Spain
Almeria – Sunday, 23 May, 12 pm, El Ejido (Salida en Cruce Boulevard con C/Manolo Esccobar), Almeria
Barcelona – Sunday, 23 May, 6 pm, Pl. Catal, Barcelona, Catalonia. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPF6k4Erv7I/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

United Kingdom
Aberdeen – Sunday, 23 May, 4 pm, Nelson St/Marischal Square, Aberdeen, Scotland.  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/266089264892559/
Edinburgh – Sunday, 23 May, 2 pm, Foot of the Mound, Edinburgh, Scotland. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/479122976535232/
Falmouth – Sunday, 23 May, 3 pm, The Moor, Falmouth, Cornwall, England. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/862014761017049
Hitchin  – Sunday, 23 May, 11 am, Windmill Hill, Hitchin. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/144983220882950/
Lichfield – Sunday 23 May, 11 am, Speakers’ Corner, Lichfield
Scunthorpe – Sunday, 23 May, 12 pm, Britannia Corner, Scunthorpe. Info: https://twitter.com/hasina47092933/status/1395495061106876421/photo/1

United States
Austin TX – Sunday, 23 May, 12 pm, Texas State Capitol, Austin, Texas. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPDtdd4g9fc/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Boston, MA – Sunday, 23 May, 12:30 pm, Puma Store, Sylvester Baxter Riverfront Park, Assembly Sq, Somerville. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPJNf_iAbkd/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Bronx/NYC, New York – Sunday, 23 May, 2 pm, Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx, NY. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/515836059771438/
Dallas, TX: Action for Palestine – Sunday, 23 May, 2 pm, Belo Garden, 1014 Main St, Dallas TX. FB: https://www.facebook.com/events/297856978552708/
Detroit, MI – Sunday, 23 May, 1 pm, Granite City Detroit. 100 Renaissance Center. Info: https://twitter.com/miriamh____/status/1395491438549422090/photo/1
Fremont, CA – Sunday, 23 May, 4 pm, Paseo Padre Parkway and Stevenson Blvd, Fremont. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/162120572521262/
Janesville, WI – Sunday, 23 May, 2 pm, Milton Ave Post Office, Janesville, Wisconsin. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1662800514107679/
Los Angeles, CA – Sunday, 23 May, 6:45 pm, 3rd St and Alexandria, Los Angeles. Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/220304329600619/
Louisville, KY – Sunday, 23 May, 4 pm, Waterfront Park – Flock of Finns, March Starts 4:30 pm, Louisville, Kentucky. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/929545214446537/
Manchester, NH – Sunday, 23 May, 1 pm, Veterans Park, 725 Elm St, Manchester, New Hampshire – march down Elm Street
New Orleans, LA – Sunday, 23 May, 5 pm, NOLA Public Library, 219 Loyola Ave, New Orleans, Louisiana. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/471351934149177/
Norfolk, VA – Sunday, 23 May, 3 pm, St Pauls Blvd and City Hall Ave, Norfolk, Virginia. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/370827111026779/
Petaluma, CA – Sunday, 23 May, 12 pm, Penry Park, Petaluma, CA. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/203503041616497/
Peoria, IL – Sunday, 23 May, 2 pm, Main and University, Peoria. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/803485960283264/
Richland, WA: Day of Action for Palestine – Sunday, 23 May, 11 am, , John Dam Plaza, 815 George Washington Way, Richland, WA. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/481108349863740/
San Diego – Sunday, 23 May, 3 pm, County Admin, 1600 Pacific Hwy, San Diego. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPJN_vxA5rf/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Tysons Corner, VA – Sunday, 23 May, 4 pm, Bloomingdales, Tysons Corner VA. Info: https://twitter.com/piscesdeee/status/1395490913091268610/photo/1
Urbana-Champaign, IL – Sunday, 23 May, 2 pm, Independent Media Center, march to Main Quad/Foellinger Auditorium. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPEplEwgAAh/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Vienna, VA – Sunday, 23 May, 4 pm, 8300 Boone Blvd, Vienna, VA. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPKA6iXgnFX/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Westlake Village (Los Angeles) – Sunday, 23 May, 12 pm, Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Westlake Boulevard. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPG02bkg8lg/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Worcester, MA: Sunday, 23 May, 12 pm, Worcester City Hall, 455 Main Street, Worcester, CA. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/499459607843221/

global, Mideast, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY,

People Around the World Stand Up in Solidarity With Palestine

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

A photo report from Left Voice

All over the world, people are standing up in solidarity with Palestine and against Zionist displacement and murder of Palestinians.


Image by Reuters, Protest in London

New York City
@left voice New York City’s solidarity rally with Palestine. Free Palsestine. Not one cent to Israel.

@KeiPritsker Several thousands marching for Palestine in New York City
click for video

Photo by Luigi Morris

Washington DC

@aletweetsnews Protest supporting Palestine near the White House this evening, featuring a gigantic Palestinian flag and a wooden peace tank adorned with flowers paraded from the State Department, where hundreds started marching a couple of hours ago.
click for video

London

@stopthewall Solidarity protest with #Palestine in #London. Whereever you are, endorse the #BDS call, share stories about what’s happening in #Palestine, and take to the streets changing: #FreePalestine, to end #Israeli brutality and hold it to account. #SaveSheikhJarrah #GazaUnderAttack

@PSCupdates Wow. No Words. #SaveSheikhJarrah
click for video

@ftwsope 8,000 people attended this protest in London for Palestine!! #FreePalestine
click for video

(Photos continued in the right column)

Question for this article

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

How can a culture of peace be established in the Middle East?

(Article continued from the left column)

South Africa

Turkey

Image by Reuters

Image by Reuters

Morocco

Beirut

(MEE/Kareem Chehayeb)

Pakistan

(Rizwan Tabassum/AFP)

global, Mideast, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY,

Nobel Prize Laureates and Other Experts Issue Urgent Call for Action After ‘Our Planet, Our Future’ Summit

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

A press release from the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine

This statement was inspired by the discussions at the 2021 Nobel Prize Summit, issued by the Steering Committee on April 29 and co-signed by Nobel Laureates and experts.

Preamble

The Nobel Prizes were created to honor advances of “the greatest benefit to humankind.” They celebrate successes that have helped build a safe, prosperous, and peaceful world, the foundation of which is scientific reason.

“Science is at the base of all the progress that lightens the burden of life and lessens its suffering.” Marie Curie (Nobel Laureate 1903 and 1911)

Science is a global common good on a quest for truth, knowledge, and innovation toward a better life. Now, humankind faces new challenges at unprecedented scale. The first Nobel Prize Summit comes amid a global pandemic, amid a crisis of inequality, amid an ecological crisis, amid a climate crisis, and amid an information crisis. These supranational crises are interlinked and threaten the enormous gains we have made in human progress. It is particularly concerning that the parts of the world projected to experience many of the compounding negative effects from global changes are also home to many of the world’s poorest communities, and to indigenous peoples. The summit also comes amid unprecedented urbanization rates and on the cusp of technological disruption from digitalization, artificial intelligence, ubiquitous sensing and biotechnology and nanotechnology that may transform all aspects of our lives in coming decades.

“We have never had to deal with problems of the scale facing today’s globally interconnected society. No one knows for sure what will work, so it is important to build a system that can evolve and adapt rapidly.” Elinor Ostrom (Nobel Laureate 2009)

The summit has been convened to promote a transformation to global sustainability for human prosperity and equity. Time is the natural resource in shortest supply. The next decade is crucial: Global greenhouse gas emissions need to be cut by half and destruction of nature halted and reversed. An essential foundation for this transformation is to address destabilizing inequalities in the world. Without transformational action this decade, humanity is taking colossal risks with our common future. Societies risk large-scale, irreversible changes to Earth’s biosphere and our lives as part of it.

“A new type of thinking is essential if mankind is to survive and move toward higher levels.” Albert Einstein (Nobel Laureate 1921)

We need to reinvent our relationship with planet Earth. The future of all life on this planet, humans and our societies included, requires us to become effective stewards of the global commons — the climate, ice, land, ocean, freshwater, forests, soils, and rich diversity of life that regulate the state of the planet, and combine to create a unique and harmonious life-support system. There is now an existential need to build economies and societies that support Earth system harmony rather than disrupt it.

OUR PLANET

“It seems appropriate to assign the term ‘Anthropocene’ to the present.” Paul Crutzen (Nobel Laureate 1995)

Geologists call the last 12,000 years the Holocene epoch. A remarkable feature of this period has been relative Earth-system stability. But the stability of the Holocene is behind us now. Human societies are now the prime driver of change in Earth’s living sphere — the biosphere. The fate of the biosphere and human societies embedded within it is now deeply intertwined and evolving together. Earth has entered a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene. Evidence points to the 1950s as the onset of the Anthropocene — a single human lifetime ago. The Anthropocene epoch is more likely to be characterized by speed, scale, and shock at global levels.

Planetary health

The health of nature, our planet, and people is tightly connected. Pandemic risk is one of many global health risks in the Anthropocene. The risks of pandemics are now greater due to destruction of natural habitats, highly networked societies, and misinformation.

The COVID-19 pandemic is the greatest global shock since the Second World War. It has caused immense suffering and hardship. The scientific response in the face of catastrophe, from detection to vaccine development, has been robust and effective. There is much to applaud. However, there have been clear failings. The poorest and most marginalized in societies remain the most vulnerable. The scale of this catastrophe could have been greatly reduced through preventive measures, greater openness, early detection systems, and faster emergency responses.

Reducing risk of zoonotic disease like COVID-19 requires a multi-pronged approach recognizing “one health” — the intimate connections between human health and the health of other animals and the environment. Rapid urbanization, agricultural intensification, overexploitation, and habitat loss of large wildlife all promote the abundance of small mammals, such as rodents. Additionally, these land-use changes lead animals to shift their activities from natural ecosystems to farmlands, urban parks, and other human-dominated areas, greatly increasing contact with people and the risk of disease transmission.

The global commons

Global heating and habitat loss amount to nothing less than a vast and uncontrolled experiment on Earth’s life-support system. Multiple lines of evidence now show that, for the first time in our existence, our actions are destabilizing critical parts of the Earth system that determine the state of the planet.

For 3 million years, global mean temperature increases have not exceeded 2°C of global warming, yet that is what is in prospect within this century. We are on a path that has taken us to 1.2°C warming so far — the warmest temperature on Earth since we left the last ice age some 20,000 years ago, and which will take us to >3°C warming in 80 years.

At the same time, we are losing Earth resilience, having transformed half of Earth’s land outside of the ice sheets, largely through farming expansion. Of an estimated 8 million species on Earth, about 1 million are under threat. Since the 1970s, there has been an estimated 68% decline in the populations of vertebrate species.

Inequality

“The only sustainable prosperity is shared prosperity.” Joseph Stiglitz (Nobel Laureate 2001)

While all in societies contribute to economic growth, the wealthy in most societies disproportionately take the largest share of this growing wealth. This trend has become more pronounced in recent decades. In highly unequal societies, with wide disparities in areas such as health care and education, the poorest are more likely to remain trapped in poverty across several generations.

More equal societies tend to score highly on metrics of well-being and happiness. Reducing inequality raises social capital. There is a greater sense of community and more trust in government. These factors make it easier to make collective, long-term decisions. Humanity’s future depends on the ability to make long-term, collective decisions to navigate the Anthropocene.

The COVID-19 pandemic, the largest economic calamity since the Great Depression, is expected to worsen inequality at a moment when inequality is having a clear destabilizing political impact in many countries. Climate change is expected to further exacerbate inequality. Already, the poorest, often living in vulnerable communities, are hit hardest by the impacts of climate, and live with the damaging health impacts of energy systems, for example air pollution. Furthermore, although urbanization has brought many societal benefits, it is also exacerbating existing, and creating new, inequities.

It is an inescapable conclusion that inequality and global sustainability challenges are deeply linked. Reducing inequality will positively impact collective decision-making.

(continued in right column)

Questions related to this article:

Where in the world can we find good leadership today?

(continued from left column)

Technology

The accelerating technological revolution — including information technology, artificial intelligence, and synthetic biology — will impact inequality, jobs, and entire economies, with disruptive consequences. On aggregate, technological advancements so far have accelerated us down the path toward destabilizing the planet. Without guidance, technological evolution is unlikely to lead to transformations toward sustainability. It will be critical to guide the technological revolution deliberately and strategically in the coming decades to support societal goals.

Acknowledging urgency and embracing complexity

The future habitability of Earth for human societies depends on the collective actions humanity takes now. There is rising evidence that this is a decisive decade (2020-2030). Loss of nature must be stopped and deep inequality counteracted. Global emissions of greenhouse gases need to be cut by half in the decade of 2021-2030. This alone requires collective governance of the global commons — all the living and non-living systems on Earth that societies use but that also regulate the state of the planet — for the sake of all people in the future.

On top of the urgency, we must embrace complexity. Humanity faces rising network risks and cascading risks as human and technological networks grow. The 2020/2021 pandemic was a health shock that quickly cascaded into economic shocks. We must recognize that surprise is the new normal and manage for complexity and emergent behavior.

OUR FUTURE

A decade of action

Time is running out to prevent irreversible changes. Ice sheets are approaching tipping points — parts of the Antarctic ice sheet may have already crossed irreversible tipping points. The circulation of heat in the North Atlantic is unequivocally slowing down due to accelerated ice melt. This may further affect monsoons and the stability of major parts of Antarctica. Rainforests, permafrost, and coral reefs are also approaching tipping points. The remaining carbon budget for a 67% probability of not exceeding 1.5°C global warming will be exhausted before 2030. At the same time, every week until 2050, the urban population will increase by about 1.3 million, requiring new buildings and roads, water and sanitation facilities, and energy and transport systems. The construction and operation of these infrastructure projects will be energy and emissions intensive unless major changes are made in how they are designed and implemented.

In 2021, major summits will generate political and societal momentum for action on climate, biodiversity, food systems, desertification, and the ocean. In 2022, the Stockholm+50 event marks the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Summit. This is an important opportunity to reflect on progress to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), due to be completed by 2030. Yet a disconnect exists between the urgency indicated by the empirical evidence and the response from electoral politics: The world is turning too slowly.

Planetary stewardship

“We must break down the walls that have previously kept science and the public apart and that have encouraged distrust and ignorance to spread unchecked. If anything prevents human beings from rising to the current challenge, it will be these barriers.” Jennifer Doudna (Nobel Laureate 2020)

Effective planetary stewardship requires updating our Holocene mindset. We must act on the urgency, the scale, and the interconnectivity between us and our home, planet Earth. More than anything, planetary stewardship will be facilitated by enhancing social capital — building trust within societies and between societies.

Is a new worldview possible? 193 nations have adopted the SDGs. The global pandemic has contributed to a broader recognition of global interconnectivity, fragility, and risk. Where they possess the economic power to do so, more people are increasingly making more sustainable choices regarding transportation, consumption, and energy. They are often ahead of their governments. And increasingly, the sustainable options, for example solar and wind power, are similar in price to fossil fuel alternatives or cheaper — and getting cheaper.

The question at a global systems level today is not whether humanity will transition away from fossil fuels. The question is: Will we do it fast enough? Solutions, from electric mobility to zero-carbon energy carriers and sustainable food systems, are today often following exponential curves of advancement and adoption. How do we lock this in? The following seven proposals provide a foundation for effective planetary stewardship.

* POLICY: Complement GDP as a metric of economic success with measures of true well-being of people and nature. Recognize that increasing disparities between rich and poor feed resentment and distrust, undermining the social contract necessary for difficult, long-term collective decision-making. Recognize that the deteriorating resilience of ecosystems undermines the future of humanity on Earth.

* MISSION-DRIVEN INNOVATION: Economic dynamism is needed for rapid transformation. Governments have been at the forefront of funding transformational innovation in the last 100 years. The scale of today’s challenges will require large-scale collaboration between researchers, government, and business — with a focus on global sustainability.

* EDUCATION: Education at all ages should include a strong emphasis on the nature of evidence, the scientific method, and scientific consensus to ensure future populations have the grounding necessary to drive political and economic change. Universities should embed concepts of planetary stewardship in all curricula as a matter of urgency. In a transformative, turbulent century, we should invest in life-long learning, and fact-based worldviews.

* INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: Special interest groups and highly partisan media can amplify misinformation and accelerate its spread through social media and other digital means of communication. In this way, these technologies can be deployed to frustrate a common purpose and erode public trust. Societies must urgently act to counter the industrialization of misinformation and find ways to enhance global communication systems in the service of sustainable futures

* FINANCE AND BUSINESS: Investors and companies must adopt principles of recirculation and regeneration of materials and apply science-based targets for all global commons and essential ecosystem services. Economic, environmental, and social externalities should be fairly priced

* SCIENTIFIC COLLABORATION: Greater investment is needed in international networks of scientific institutions to allow sustained collaboration on interdisciplinary science for global sustainability as well as transdisciplinary science that integrates diverse knowledge systems, including local, indigenous, and traditional knowledge

* KNOWLEDGE: The pandemic has demonstrated the value of basic research to policymakers and the public. Commitment to sustained investment in basic research is essential. In addition, we must develop new business models for the free sharing of all scientific knowledge.

CONCLUSION

Global sustainability offers the only viable path to human safety, equity, health, and progress. Humanity is waking up late to the challenges and opportunities of active planetary stewardship. But we are waking up. Long-term, scientifically based decision-making is always at a disadvantage in the contest with the needs of the present. Politicians and scientists must work together to bridge the divide between expert evidence, short-term politics, and the survival of all life on this planet in the Anthropocene epoch. The long-term potential of humanity depends upon our ability today to value our common future. Ultimately, this means valuing the resilience of societies and the resilience of Earth’s biosphere.

SIGNATURES

Signatures are listed at the end of the press release.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global

We the Peoples : Call for Inclusive Global Governance

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

A call from We the Peoples

The biggest challenges facing humanity such as pandemics, the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, violent conflict, forced displacement, discrimination and inequality are global and cross-cutting in nature. With each passing day, they become more pressing. International collaboration and global governance need to improve significantly and become more accountable to those affected most: the world’s citizens.

On the occasion of the UN’s 75th anniversary, heads of state and government committed to making global governance more inclusive. The UN Secretary-General promised to promote a new model based on full, inclusive and equal participation in global institutions. We agree. It is time to give people a stronger voice in global affairs and at the UN.

We call on the UN and member states to implement three specific institutional changes to strengthen the inclusive and democratic character of the UN:


(Click on image to enlarge)

A World Citizens’ Initiative

The creation of the instrument of a World Citizens’ Initiative which enables people to put forward proposals on key issues of global concern for discussion and further action at the highest political level. Any proposal that reaches a certain threshold of popular support should be put onto the agenda of the UN General Assembly or Security Council.

#WorldCitizensInitiative
Study on implementation: PDF here
More details: worldcitizensinitiative.org

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Question related to this article:

How can we develop the institutional framework for a culture of peace?

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A UN Parliamentary Assembly

The creation of a UN Parliamentary Assembly which allows for the inclusion of elected representatives in the agenda-setting and decision-making of the UN. The assembly will act as a representative body and watchdog connecting the people with the UN and reflecting a broad diversity of global viewpoints.

#UNParliamentaryAssembly
Study on implementation: PDF here
More details: unpacampaign.org

A UN Civil Society Envoy

Setting up the office of a UN Civil Society Envoy to enable greater participation, spur inclusive convenings and drive the UN’s outreach to the public and civil society organisations. This envoy should champion the implementation of a broader strategy for opening up the UN to people’s participation and civil society voices.

#UNCivilSocietyEnvoy
Background paper: PDF here
More details: together1st.org

These new tools will help the UN and member states to tackle global challenges more effectively. They will enhance the legitimacy of global governance and facilitate its transformational potential.

Tangible changes in the UN’s functioning are urgently needed to realize the promise of the Preamble of the UN Charter which begins with the words, “We the Peoples of the United Nations”.

Endorse here

A joint initiative of Democracy without Borders, Civicus and Democracy International

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, global, United Nations,

Biden’s Climate Summit Falls Short : Lofty Words But Where is the Plan?

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

A press release from 350.org

350 teams from across the globe share their reactions to Bidens Leaders Summit. 

40 world leaders gathered to participate in the Biden Administration’s first step onto the international climate stage. The Leaders Summit on Climate took place on April 22nd/ 23rd. The summit saw global leaders making big promises on carbon emission reduction, but the biggest red flag from climate activists is the overall lack of explicit commitments to stop financing fossil fuel projects, one of the key areas that can speed up the transition away from fossil fuel energy. 


”

Agnes Hall, Global Campaigns Director at 350.org said 

“There can be no meaningful climate action if world leaders don’t make a decisive move to keep all fossil fuels in the ground. It’s one thing to make climate goals, but governments simply can’t afford to keep on funding the flames by pouring money into subsidizing coal, oil and gas. The Biden Summit is a critical meeting of world leaders ahead of COP26 this November. Talk of “net-zero” emissions won’t cut it: we demand more from our world leaders than the false promises, false solutions and empty negotiations we heard at Biden’s Climate Summit. The task now is to hold politicians to their lofty words,  and to do that the global climate movement needs to keep up the pressure on our governments at home as well as on the international stage to take urgent action now to reduce carbon emissions and ensure a Just Recovery from the global COVID-19, economic and climate crises by creating a sustainable, fossil-free world ”. 

Pacific  350.org Pacific Managing Director Joseph Sikulu issued the following statement:

“In a world recovering from COVID-19 and the climate crisis, governments need to quickly divest from the fossil fuel industry and begin investing in a just recovery for all. Countries with high emissions, such as the United States and Australia, must stop subsidizing oil, gas and coal and direct their investments toward clean and just renewable energy so that we can limit Earth’s warming to 1.5 degrees.

To date, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has not announced a concrete plan to reduce emissions. Instead, he thinks that fossil fuel companies can solve the climate crisis, which is a massive irony. The Summit is an excellent opportunity for him and other leaders to look on the leadership of the Marshall Islands – the only Pacific island nation present. Australia must recognize that they have few options: either catch up by COP26 or remain a climate laggard who contributes to climate disaster.”

Japan – 350.org Japan Finance Campaigner Eri Watanabe issued the following statement:

“This goal is highly insufficient if we want to achieve the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting the warming of the Earth to 1.5 degrees. I strongly urge the Japanese government to set a more ambitious target with a minimum of a 62% reduction from 2013’s emissions. This is based on research published by Climate Action Tracker.

This target may be higher than previously at a 26% reduction, but if we look closely – this is a numbers game1. Compared to the United Kingdom’s and European Union’s targets, which are 78% in 2035 and 55% in 2030 respectively compared to emission levels in 1990, Japan’s target is much lower.

When the Paris Agreement was signed, we agreed that there were “common but differentiated responsibilities” across the world. As the world’s fifth-highest emitting country with a large amount of historic emissions, Japan owes the world a carbon debt. This makes it necessary for our country to reduce as much carbon emissions as possible — or more than half of 2010’s emissions in order to be a solution to the climate crisis. We must start urgently setting bold and ambitious targets, and strengthening the measures necessary to achieve them. 

One of the policies urgently needed is a rapid phase out of coal infrastructure. Another to direct Japanese banks to rule out fossil finance. Japan is the biggest lender to the global coal industry, and they must cut the flow of money to reduce their emissions.

Only if Japan government walks the talk, can they show climate leadership.”

Bangladesh  350.org Organizer Shibayan said:

“We are heartened by the Chair’s response and his ambitious goals of targeting a 100% renewable transition by 2050. For Bangladesh to have a just recovery from the twin crises of COVID-19 and climate change, this transition away from coal must exclude gas, and bring about a Green New Deal focusing on clean and just energy such as solar and wind. At the upcoming Leaders Summit for Climate, we hope to see countries that have built their wealth based on fossil fuels such as the US working hand in hand with most affected countries such as Bangladesh. World leaders must start cooperating and sharing resources to combat the climate crisis. They need to act now, while there is still time.”

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Question for this article:
 
Despite the vested interests of companies and governments, Can we make progress toward sustainable development?

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Africa  Landry Ninteretse, the Africa Director of 350.org said:

“During the virtual summit, the world’s major economies will share their efforts to reduce emissions during this critical decade to keep a limit to warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach.

1.5 degrees is our global beacon for climate action. The safety and wellbeing of millions of Africans depends on keeping below it. But it is slipping from our grasp and we need to urgently halve global emissions by 2030, which means that we need to limit fossil fuel consumption and stop new developments such as the EACOP and Mozambique LNG projects that threaten this climate ambition.

Fixing the climate crisis requires more than simply cutting carbon; we need bold action that prioritizes alternative sources of energy that meet the needs of the people and accelerate investments in real climate solutions with the aim of driving a fast and sustainable transition away from fossil fuels.”

 Canada Amara Possian, Canada Campaigns Director with 350.org

The problem with Justin Trudeau’s new climate pledge can be summed up in two words – fossil fuels. Neither Trudeau’s new climate plan, nor his budget, nor this new climate promise include a plan to tackle soaring emissions from tar sands, fracking and other fossil fuel expansion that makes Canada the only G7 country whose emissions have gone up since signing the Paris Agreement. Canada needs to cut our emissions at least 60% by 2030 and pass legislation like a Just Transition Act to make sure we meet our Paris commitment and leave no one behind.  

Since Justin Trudeau won’t act at the pace and scale of the climate emergency, we need the NDP and the Greens to form a Climate Emergency Alliance ahead of the next election to push Canada to set ambitious targets and follow through with the policies to meet them. It’s not too late for Canada to do what’s necessary, but we can’t afford four more years of Trudeau’s status quo”. 

US Natalie Mebane, Policy Director of 350.org.

“On Day 1 in office, Biden canceled Keystone XL. Now he must follow through on his promises and do the same with Line 3, the Dakota Access pipeline, and all new fossil fuel projects. A 50% emissions reduction falls short of the United States’ fair share, and should be seen as the floor, not the ceiling. Ambitious climate action requires keeping all fossil fuels in the ground. Biden must show the world that the U.S. is serious about tackling the climate crisis at scale, centering communities most impacted, and creating millions of good, green jobs in the process.”

Brazil: Ilan Zugman, Latin America Managing Director of 350.org, based in Curitiba, 

“Bolsonaro lied when he said that Brazil is at the forefront of the climate efforts. It may have been true someday, but not in his government, which has been consistently attacking the policies and state agencies necessary to stop deforestation and lead the energy transition. He talked much about the past achievements of Brazil and too little about the future, not to mention that in the present, his environmental record is a disaster.”

“In the days before the Climate Summit, there was an impressive flow of open letters and social media campaigns in Brazil asking President Biden not to close any agreement with President Bolsonaro without hearing the Brazilian civil society first, and it seems to have worked. There is a very justified concern, based on the current attitude of the Brazilian government towards the environment, that no matter what the Bolsonaro government promises, it will be just empty words, and that an agreement with the US would end up endorsing the destruction of the Amazon and other biomes.”

“Brazil has the potential to be a global leader in the efforts to solve the climate crisis, and in fact it has been a very important voice in this conversation for many years, since the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. However, the Bolsonaro government shrank Brazil’s ability to take climate action, by dismantling major policies against deforestation in the Amazon and threatening conservation in Indigenous Lands and Protected Areas. The key to take Brazil back to its leading role in the climate efforts is to empower and support the civil society, especially Indigenous leaders, and strengthen community-based solutions as opposed to ignoring or even encouraging the irresponsible expansion of mining and agribusiness, as President Bolsonaro has been doing”, said Ilan Zugman, Latin America Managing Director of 350.org. 

Argentina Ignacio Zavaleta, 350.org Campaigner 

“What stood out in President Fernández’s speech was the fact that he did not mention any change in the government’s policies of investment in the expansion of oil and gas extraction in the Vaca Muerta area. Taxpayers’ money has been subsidizing a highly ineffective and environmentally harmful operation, which benefits a few foreign companies and brings no development to the country or even the region where it is based. These billion dollars wasted every year in fossil fuels should be redirected to policies of the energy transition, that are able to create more jobs in a moment when Argentinians desperately need it”, said Ignacio Zavaleta, 350.org Campaigner in Argentina.
 

global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

International Cities Of Peace : Vision 1000 — Strategic Plan

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

Excerpts from the ICP Strategic Plan

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Since its founding in 2009, International Cities of Peace has achieved much success in both growth and impact. Last year, the Association of peace cities exceeded membership of 300 Cities of Peace in over 60 countries and the growth has accelerated.

Yet as organizational icon Marshall Goldsmith said, “What got you here, will not get you there.” Getting “there” is a huge challenge: to put in motion a tipping force for world peace by helping establish Cities of Peace across the globe.

History shows us that the dream of world peace is illusive. Violence and injustice continue, seemingly, unabated. The global Cities of Peace movement has potential to change that dynamic yet we must be highly innovative, committed, and organized for sustainable growth.

This Strategic Plan is intended to do the following:
• Clarify and communicate the essential nature of International Cities of Peace • Ensure the organization is sustainable over time
• Limit the liability that plagues large organizations
• Organize to achieve our Growth Goal by Year 2025

The intended audiences of this Strategic Plan are those involved in the Cities of Peace movement, including board members, volunteers, community liaisons and team members, advisors and alliances, donors, friends, and the general public.

If you have questions, comments, ideas, or especially the desire to volunteer for this monumental and historic goal, please know that we need you. Send an email describing your thoughts on peacebuilding to: info@internationalcitiesofpeace.org

STRATEGIC GROWTH GOAL

International Cities of Peace will grow to 1000 Cities of Peace by Year 2025 to put in motion a tipping force for global peace.

Based on a standard physics term, a “tipping force” is the energy necessary to overcome the status quo when the momentum of change becomes too strong to resist. It is akin to Gandhi’s “Truth Force” for nonviolent change. The strong energy of peace, so long anticipated, is being created by Cities of Peace across the globe. . . .

THE CITIES OF PEACE MOVEMENT

Understanding that the world has thousands of peace initiatives, International Cities of Peace has organized as an association rather than a hierarchical, top down enterprise. Rather than the usual NGO approach of “telling people how” to find peace, the ICP Association gathers together “in situ” (or in the situation) peacemakers and respects their understanding of community needs and solutions.

As a strategy, International Cities of Peace operates with a small, all-volunteer staff to maintain a humble and efficient organization for expanding and empowering a large network of Cities of Peace around the globe. As a not-for-profit association, International Cities of Peace forms alliances with global peace leaders, promotes free skills development, encourages City-to-City collaborations, and provides official Certificates and Recommendations for member communities. . . .

THOUSANDS OF YEARS IN THE MAKING

The Cities of Peace ideal envisions small and large communities at peace, where all citizens enjoy the three freedoms — the freedom to be safe, to prosper from hard work, and to find a quality of life that enables people to achieve their purpose.

The Association is, indeed, only a part of humanity’s evolutionary drive toward a global culture of peace. . . .

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

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VISION, MISSION, AND GOALS: WHY, WHAT, AND HOW

Foundational Vision (WHY International Cities of Peace?)


To ensure everyone’s right to safety, prosperity, and quality of life, the consensus values of global peace.

• The purpose of International Cities of Peace (ICP) is to advance the cause of global peace.

• Cities, as the living center closest to people, are necessarily held accountable by their citizens to work toward peaceful communities and the public good.

• Peace is defined as a practical endeavor by ICP — the consensus values of safety, prosperity and quality of life for ALL in the community.

Essential Mission (WHAT do we do?)


To build a scalable network of “in situ” teams committed to peace-building in Cities of Peace around the world.

• International Cities of Peace provides a platform to facilitate community Action Plans to achieve personal and community transformation toward a practical, substantive culture of peace.

• To establish a City of Peace entails a unity proposition to engage diversity and all members of a community. • ICP Central works with “in situ” leaders who form working teams to develop a vision, mission and goals to facilitate practical community transformation.

Each City of Peace has a legacy of peace that is documented and valued.


• Nonviolent solutions are the only mode of operation for peacebuilding in a City. • The UNESCO Culture of Peace resolution provides guidance (see Letter of Intent) • The Golden Rule provides a way to engage all spiritual paths.

Essential Goal (HOW do we organize to achieve our vision?)
To certify and recommend thousands of self-organized municipalities as Cities of Peace in order to put in motion a tipping force for global peace.

• International Cities of Peace does not tell communities how to organize for peace, but rather relies on “in situ” leaders to know what needs to be done.

• Cities of Peace, Inc. is at every level an all-volunteer organization; volunteers do not receive monetary compensation or use ICP for personal salary or business interests.

• Official City of Peace Liaisons are not employees but independent voluntary contacts for two-way communication between their City and the Association.

• Financial goals are limited to necessary operations and efficient programming. In rare instances, ICP facilitates financial or in-kind support between Cities.

• The Valued Provider Program is a non-binding alliance between the Association and mentors who provide free services.

• The City-to-City Collaboration Program enables independent, non-binding City- to-City working alliances for a specific purpose as defined and authorized by all parties in the collaboration. . . .

THE PROCESS TO ESTABLISH A CITY OF PEACE
. . . .

1. Print and send the Letter of Intent with Peace Team signatures and contact information for quarterly newsletter. Information is secure and not distributed.

2. Develop a vision, mission, and goals statement as detailed as possible.


3. Email photos and captions of your peace team, local events, locations, or historical events. (Send with photos an email accepting liability for and releasing ICP of liability for copyrighted photos sent without permission.)


4. Send non-copyrighted photo and background information for the Liaison and/or dignitary as the single point of contact for the community.

5. Write a statement about the peace legacy of your community (advances and challenges in peace, health, education, history, etc.).

Upon completing the five-step process, as outlined above, the City receives a Certificate as a member of the Association of International Cities of Peace. In becoming a City of Peace, community working teams develop and implement Action Plans for practical peace initiatives. After one year of successful work for peace, the Liaison can submit to the Association’s Executive Facilitator the City’s Action Plan and receive a Recommendation, which can be used to approach granting organizations for special projects. Each City can renew their Recommendation by submitting their Action Plan results every three years.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, global

Annual Report of Amnesty International : COVID-19 hits those shackled by oppression hardest thanks to decades of inequalities, neglect and abuse

… . HUMAN RIGHTS … .

Annual report of Amnesty International

The global pandemic has exposed the terrible legacy of deliberately divisive and destructive policies that have perpetuated inequality, discrimination and oppression and paved the way for the devastation wrought by COVID-19, Amnesty International said in its annual report published today.

Amnesty International Report 2020/21: The State of the World’s Human Rights covers 149 countries and delivers a comprehensive analysis of human rights trends globally in 2020. In it, the organization describes those already most marginalized, including women and refugees, as bearing the devastating brunt of the pandemic, as a result of decades of discriminatory policy decisions by world leaders. Read the full report here.

Health workers, migrant workers, and those in the informal sector – many at the frontlines of the pandemic – have also been betrayed by neglected health systems and patchy economic and social support. The response to the global pandemic has been further undermined by leaders who have ruthlessly exploited the crisis and weaponized COVID-19 to launch fresh attacks on human rights, the organization says.

“COVID-19 has brutally exposed and deepened inequality both within and between countries, and highlighted the staggering disregard our leaders have for our shared humanity.  Decades of divisive policies, misguided austerity measures, and choices by leaders not to invest in crumbling public infrastructure, have left too many easy prey to this virus,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s new Secretary General.

“We face a world in disarray. At this point in the pandemic, even the most deluded leaders would struggle to deny that our social, economic and political systems are broken.” 

Pandemic has amplified decades of inequalities and erosion of public services

Amnesty’s report shows how existing inequalities as a result of decades of toxic leadership have left ethnic minorities, refugees, older persons, and women disproportionately negatively affected by the pandemic.

COVID-19 worsened the already precarious situation of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in many countries, trapping some in squalid camps, cutting off vital supplies, or precipitating border controls that left many stranded. For example, Uganda, the largest refugee-hosting country in Africa with 1.4 million refugees, immediately closed its borders at the start of the pandemic and did not make an exception for refugees and asylum seekers trying to enter the country. As a result, over 10,000 people were stranded along its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The report highlights a marked increase in gender-based and domestic violence with many women and LGBTI persons facing increased barriers to protection and support due to restrictions on freedom of movement; lack of confidential mechanisms for victims to report violence while isolated with their abusers, and reduced capacity or suspension of services.

Those on the frontlines of the pandemic – health workers, and those in the informal sector – suffered as a result of wilfully neglected health systems and pitiful social protection measures. In Bangladesh, many working in the informal sector have been left without an income or social protections due to lockdowns and curfews. In Nicaragua, over the course of two weeks in early June, at least 16 health workers were dismissed after expressing concerns about lack of PPE and the state response to the pandemic. 

“We are reaping the results of years of calculated neglect at the hands of our leaders. In 2020, under the unique strain of a pandemic, health systems have been put to the ultimate test and people have been left in financial freefall. The heroes of 2020 were the health workers on the frontlines saving lives and those bunched together at the very bottom of the income scale, who worked to feed families, and keep our essential services going.  Cruelly, those who gave the most, were protected the least,” said Agnès Callamard.

Virulent strain of leaders weaponize the pandemic to further assault human rights

The report also paints a dismal picture of the failures of global leaders whose handling of the pandemic has been marked by opportunism and total contempt for human rights.

“We’ve seen a spectrum of responses from our leaders; from the mediocre to mendacious, selfish to the fraudulent. Some have tried to normalise the overbearing emergency measures they’ve ushered in to combat COVID-19, whilst a particularly virulent strain of leader has gone a step further.  They have seen this as an opportunity to entrench their own power. Instead of supporting and protecting people, they have simply weaponized the pandemic to wreak havoc on people’s rights. said Agnès Callamard.

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

Question(s) related to this article:

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

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Authorities passing legislation criminalizing commentary related to the pandemic has been a presiding pattern. In Hungary for example, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government amended the country’s Criminal Code, introducing prison sentences of up to five years for “spreading false information” about COVID-19 for example.

Across the Gulf states in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates authorities used the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext to continue suppressing the right to freedom of expression, including by prosecuting individuals, who posted comments on social media about government responses to the pandemic, for spreading “false news”.

Other leaders have used excessive force. In the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte said he had ordered police to shoot “dead” people who protest or may cause “trouble” during quarantine measures. In Nigeria, brutal policing has resulted in security forces killing people for protesting in the streets, demanding their rights and calling for accountability. Under President Bolsonaro, police violence in Brazil escalated during the COVID-19 pandemic. At least 3,181 people were killed by the police across the country between January and June – an average of 17 deaths per day.

Some leaders have gone a step further, using the distraction of the pandemic to clamp down on criticism – and critics – unrelated to the virus, and perpetrate other human rights violations while the gaze of the world’s media was elsewhere. For example, in India, Narendra Modi, further cracked down on civil society activists, including through counter-terrorism raids on their homes and premises.

Meanwhile under President Xi Jinping, the Chinese government continued its persecution of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang unabated and a sweeping national security law was ushered through in Hong Kong to legitimize politically motivated repression.

“International institutions such as the International Criminal Court and UN human rights mechanisms are there to hold states and individual perpetrators to account. Sadly, 2020 shows that they have been wrestled into political deadlock by leaders seeking to exploit and undermine collective responses to human rights violations,” said Agnès Callamard.

National self-interest has trumped international cooperation in COVID response

World leaders have also wreaked havoc on the international stage, hampering collective recovery efforts by blocking or undermining international cooperation.

These include:

Leaders of rich countries, such as former President Trump, circumventing global cooperation efforts by buying up most of the world’s supply of vaccines, leaving little to none for other countries. These rich countries also have failed to push pharmaceutical companies to share their knowledge and technology to expand the supply of global COVID-19 vaccines.

Xi Jinping’s government censoring and persecuting health workers and journalists in China who attempted to raise the alarm about the virus early on, supressing crucial information.

The G2O offering to suspend debt payments from the poorest countries, but demanding that the money be repaid with interest later.

“The pandemic has cast a harsh light on the world’s inability to cooperate effectively in times of dire global need,” said Agnès Callamard. 

“The only way out of this mess is through international cooperation.  States must ensure vaccines are quickly available to everyone, everywhere, and free at the point of use. Pharmaceutical companies must share their knowledge and technology so no one is left behind.  G20 members and international financial institutions must provide debt relief for the poorest 77 countries to respond and recover from pandemic.”

Failed by their governments, protest movements the world over have stood up

Regressive policies have inspired many people to join long-standing struggles as seen by the Black Lives Matter protests in the United States, the #End SARS protests in Nigeria, and new and creative forms of protest such as virtual climate strikes.

The report details many important victories that human rights activists helped to secure in 2020, particularly across gender-based violence.

These include new legislation to counter violence against women and girls in Kuwait, South Korea, and Sudan, and the decriminalization of abortion in Argentina, Northern Ireland, and South Korea.

“Leadership in 2020 came not from power, privilege, or profiteers. It came from the countless people marching to demand change. We saw an outpouring of support for #End SARS, Black Lives Matter, as well as public protests against repression and inequality in places across the world including in Poland, Hong Kong, Iraq and Chile. Often risking their own safety, it was the leadership of ordinary people and human rights defenders the world over that urged us on. These are the people at the frontier of the struggle for a better, safer and more equal world,” said Agnès Callamard. 

“We are at a crossroads. We must release the shackles that degrade human dignity. We must reset and reboot to build a world grounded in equality, human rights, and humanity. We must learn from the pandemic, and come together to work boldly and creatively so everyone is on an equal footing.”

global, HUMAN RIGHTS