Category Archives: global

Women must no longer be ‘squeezed into a small corner’, landmark Forum declares 

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article from the United Nations News Service

In a bid to put gender equality at the heart of COVID recovery, UN Women kicked off a three-day “landmark effort” in Paris on Wednesday, aiming to lay out ambitious investments and policies to bridge the chasm between where women stand in the world today, and where they should be, by 2030.
 
“Gender equality is essentially about power, and power in a world that is still largely male dominated, with a culture that is still largely patriarchal”, Secretary-General António Guterres said at the Generation Equality Forum, launching a “five-year action journey”, based on the UN Global Acceleration Plan for Gender Equality. 


UN Women/Johis Alarcón People protest in a demonstration for women’s rights in Ecuador.

Noting that “power is very rarely given. You have to take it”, he stressed as one of his five priorities, the importance of parity to redistribute power and create the necessary conditions for true equality.  

Setting priorities 

The UN chief said that to achieve equal rights, discriminatory laws around the world must be repealed and transformed into ‘de facto’ equality.  

He said women in the informal economy, were “paying a heavy price for the pandemic”, also highlighting economic equality in pay, employment, and social protections. 

Noting a surge in violence against women and girls during COVID, Mr. Guterres said that putting an end to it must be “a central element of all policies and all of our objectives”.
  
Finally, he highlighted the importance of intergenerational dialogue as “another fundamental instrument for gender equality” to allow young people to be a part of decision-making in today’s digital society. 
 
Women worth more than a quarter 

In her statement, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, said that “women everywhere in the world are squeezed into a small corner”.  

She highlighted how they make up a quarter of all managers, parliamentarians, climate change negotiators and “less than one quarter of those who negotiate peace agreements”.  

“One quarter is not enough. One quarter is not equality. Equality is one half, where both men and women are together”, she spelled out. 

Moving forward 

Generation Equality is about change, the UN Women chief said, it’s about “moving from making promises” to saying what has been done to advance women worldwide. 

She detailed that Member States, the private sector and others, have made nearly 1,000 commitments to change the lives of women, including to change policies.  
However, Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka continued, “the fight still has to continue…We need to be pushing upwards all the time, so that there is a race to the top” 

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(Click here for the article in French or here for Spanish.)

Questions for this article

Does the UN advance equality for women?

Prospects for progress in women’s equality, what are the short and long term prospects?

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Stepping up funds 

The UN Women chief concluded by detailing that countries of the Global South, regional organizations, young people and civil society groups, have all “put their foot forward” raising $40 billion, saying “and we are still counting”. 

Meanwhile, Chancellor Angela Merkel declared that Germany “is actively involved in the Action Coalition on Economic Justice and Rights” and would invest an “additional €140 million, making a total of around €240 million in the International Action Coalition”. 

And the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced that it would spend $2.1 billion to advance global gender equality. 

Achieving ‘tangible progress’ 

At the same time, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) launched a set of commitments  to achieve “tangible progress” towards gender equality over the next five years. 

The UN agency will support girls’ education  with quality gender-transformative teaching for 28 million learners in over 80 countries; work to close the digital gender divide, empower women scientists, and promote ethical Artificial Intelligence; and in Africa, empower  women economically in creative industries.  

UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay had called upon women worldwide to “take control and full leadership in every aspect of life and domain of society to build back a better future for all”. 

Co-host comments 

Co-hosting the event, French President Emmanuel Macron said that the struggle for gender equality is “far from won”. 
 
“It’s a battle today, but tomorrow it must be a matter of fact”, he underscored.
  
His counterpart, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, President of Mexico, said: “We must continue to fight against sexism. We must not forget economic and social equality, which is fundamental to achieve a better society”.  

Call to action from Clinton, Harris 

United States Vice President Kamala Harris, warned that “democracy is in peril” around the world. 

“I believe, resolutely, that if we want to strengthen democracy, we must fight for gender equality…Democracy is strongest when everyone participates – and it is weaker when people are left out…without doubt, gender equality strengthens democracy”, she said. 

Back in1995, at the World Conference on Women  in Beijing, then-First Lady Hillary Clinton proclaimed: “Human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights once and for all” . 

At today’s meeting she sent a message that “it’s no longer enough to talk about women’s rights…[as] they are nothing without the power to claim them. And we know that when women have the power to raise our voices, assert our rights, and rebuild economies, everyone will be better off”. 

Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, drew attention to the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women, or the Istanbul Convention. 

“Last year, we saw a surge in domestic violence during COVID lockdowns. The Convention provides three advantages that no country alone can: it raises national standards; provides a monitoring mechanism; and ensures co-operation between governments in the prosecution of these crimes”, she said.

(Thank you to Phyllis Kotite, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

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WWF report: The custodians of nature crucial to any and every effort to protect our planet

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article by Lilian Gikandi from World Wide Fund For Nature (reprinted according to Creative Commons Attribution- Share Alike 3.0 License)

2021 is the super year for our planet. Global leaders will convene in a series of meetings to determine solutions to the planet’s climate, nature and sustainable development challenges and it is critical they support nature’s original custodians – the world’s Indigenous peoples and local communities. Any global conservation efforts including calls to protect and conserve at least 30% of the world’s land, freshwater and oceans by 2030 hinge on strong IPLC participation and leadership and will be unattainable without them.

A new, first of its kind collaborative study compiled by conservation organizations and experts, with guidance from and peer reviewed by Indigenous Peoples experts and organizations highlights the importance of recognizing and respecting the rights, governance, and conservation efforts of Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLC) as custodians of their lands. 


Photo © Luis Barreto / WWF-UK

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Question for this article

Indigenous peoples, Are they the true guardians of nature?

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The study finds that Indigenous peoples and local communities’ lands and territories cover at least 32% of the planet’s terrestrial surface and the majority (91%) are considered to be in good or fair ecological condition today. This is mostly because IPLCs have lived sustainably for generations in their ‘territories of life’ and safeguard many of the world’s remaining natural landscapes. Many of these areas support unique cultural and spiritual values and practices, and are critical in combating nature loss and climate breakdown. 

IPLC knowledge and practices have helped preserve their lands for generations. And yet, more than a quarter of IPLC lands could face high development pressures in the future, underlining the need to secure the rights, governance and practices of those who are best-placed to safeguard many of the natural systems on which we all depend.

As countries meet to negotiate a new Global Biodiversity Framework  later this year, we hope the findings of this report catalyze  support for Indigenous peoples and local communities so that they can defend and restore their lands and territories as part of global conservation efforts.   

Only with IPLCs leading, will conservation that benefits both people and the biodiversity on which we all depend, be fruitful.

Read the The State of the Indigenous Peoples’ and Local Communities’ lands and territories report here.

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United Nations Committee on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women Holds General Discussion on Rights of Indigenous Women

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article from United Nations Geneva

The Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women today held a discussion on the rights of Indigenous women and girls.

The first part of the general discussion focused on equality and non-discrimination with a focus on Indigenous women and girls and intersecting forms of discrimination.

In her opening remarks, Gladys Acosta Vargas, Committee Chairperson, said today’s discussion was the first step in the process of elaborating a general recommendation for the rights of Indigenous women and girls, and provided an opportunity for the Committee to receive input in that context. Underlining that rights had individual and collective dimensions, the Chairperson said self-identification determined who was an Indigenous woman or girl.

Paulo David, Chief of the Indigenous Peoples and Minorities Section of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the Committee’s consolidation of its past work and findings in the form of a general recommendation would clarify and reinforce the normative legal framework at a point in time when the rights of Indigenous women and girls remained fragile in several countries. Commending the Committee for its pioneering work on embedding an intersectional approach in the understanding of States’ obligations, he stressed that not all women and girls experienced discrimination in the same way.

Francisco Calí Tzay, Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous People, recommended that the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against All Women be interpreted in light of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Executive Director of Tebtebba Foundation, said that a false dichotomy between individual and collective rights had been promoted both in the Indigenous peoples’ movement and the women’s movement; the active participation of Indigenous women in that debate allowed it to be better handled now.

Laila Vars, Chair of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, stressed that it would be important for the Committee to highlight the interplay between collective and individual rights in its upcoming general recommendation.

Speaking were: Sweden, Ukraine, Argentina, Denmark, Armenia, Ecuador, and Brazil, UN Women and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Also taking the floor were the following national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations: The National Human Rights Commission of India, The Union of BC Indian Chiefs, Indigenous Girls and Women Collective, Colectiva Ixpop, Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network, MADRE – Rosa Luxembourg Stiftung, Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, Organizaci ón Nacional de Mujeres Indígenas Andinas y Amazónicas del Perú, Right Livelihood Award Foundation and Centro por la Justicia y Derechos Humanos de la Costa Atlántica de Nicaragua , and the Centre for Reproductive Rights.

The Committee then turned to the second part of the general discussion, which concerned the effective participation, consultation and consent of Indigenous women and girls in political and public life.

Anne Nuorgam, President of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, said Indigenous women were survivors who had an important role to play in peacebuilding and conflict resolution. Patriarchy, racism and discrimination were central factors in Indigenous women’s limited access to political participation.

Tarcila Rivera Zea, President of the Executive Council of the Centro de Culturas Indígenas del Perú, remarked that that since existing instruments did not fully reflect the realities of Indigenous women, it was cause for hope that the Committee was moving toward the adoption of a general recommendation which might do so.

Speaking were Peru, Brazil, Norway, Guatemala, the United Kingdom, and Spain.

Also taking the floor were the following national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations: State Committee for Family, Women, and Children Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Consejo Nacional para la Igualdad de Género de Ecuador, Philippines National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, The National Human Rights Commission of India, African Indigenous Women’s Organization, International Indigenous Women’s Forum, Article 19, Colectiva IXPOP, National Indigenous Disabled Women Association Nepal, Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action, MADRE—Rosa Luxembourg Stiftung, Tebtebba (Indigenous People’s International Centre for Policy Research and Education), Human Rights Council of Greenland, ESCR-Net International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights Association, Grupo Santo Domingo Soriano, and another non-governmental organization.

All the documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s webpage.

The webcast of the Committee’s public meetings will be available via the following link: http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/.

The Committee will reconvene on Thursday 1 July to close the seventy-ninth session.

General discussion part 1: “ Equality and non-discrimination with a focus on Indigenous women and girls and intersecting forms of discrimination”

Opening remarks

GLADYS ACOSTA VARGAS, Committee Chairperson, said that the Committee was very pleased with the positive response to its invitation to stakeholders to participate in this day of general discussion. Thanking those who had provided written submissions, she said she had received more than 70. All written and pre-recorded video statements received would be posted on the website of the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Today’s discussion was the first step in the process of elaborating a general recommendation for the rights of Indigenous women and girls, and provided an opportunity for the Committee to receive input in that context. Underlining that rights had individual and collective dimensions, the Chairperson said self-identification determined who was an Indigenous woman or girl. Different forms of discrimination were always mixed, intersecting, and mutually reinforcing, she added.

PAULO DAVID, Chief of the Indigenous Peoples and Minorities Section of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said giving close and systematic attention to Indigenous women and girls’ rights had made a difference in many States Parties. The Committee’s consolidation of its past work and findings in the form of a general recommendation would clarify and reinforce the normative legal framework at a point in time when the rights of Indigenous women and girls remained fragile in several countries. It was crucial to link the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to the Committee’s forthcoming general recommendation. The Declaration had been a considerable step forward, and was the result of 30 years of constructive consultation with Member States and Indigenous representatives, he recalled. The Declaration recognized rights that would no doubt feature in the general recommendation.

Commending the Committee for its pioneering work on embedding an intersectional approach in the understanding of States’ obligations, he stressed that not all women and girls experienced discrimination in the same way. This held true for Indigenous women and girls who were not an homogenous group: they spoke different languages, faced different challenges and multiple and overlapping forms of discrimination. Such forms of discrimination could be based on factors such as gender, age, ethnicity, disability, status, poverty or colonialism. Their right to self-determination was linked to their deep connection to ancestral lands and territories, as well as to natural resources. The COVID-19 pandemic had exacerbated racism against Indigenous peoples across all continents, with Indigenous women facing additional risks related to gender-based violence, he added.

Keynote presentations

FRANCISCO CALÍ TZAY, Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous People, recommended that the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against All Women be interpreted in light of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He invited the Committee to follow the example of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination by inviting Indigenous women and girls to consultations as it drafted a general recommandation on Indigenous rights.

VICTORIA TAULI-CORPUZ, Executive Director of Tebtebba Foundation, said that, when examining the rights of Indigenous women and girls, it was vital to consider the unique historical and current experiences of Indigenous communities. A false dichotomy between individual and collective rights had been promoted both in the Indigenous peoples’ movement and the women’s movement; the active participation of Indigenous women in that debate allowed it to be better handled now.

LAILA VARS, Chair of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, noted that the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples placed collective rights at the centre of the international human rights framework. She added that it would be important for the Committee to highlight the interplay between collective and individual rights in its upcoming general recommendation. She further urged the Committee to consider including recommendations on the need for investment in leadership of women and girls in Indigenous communities and decision-making structures.

Statements by States

Sweden said Indigenous women who were human rights defenders experienced complex, multidimensional and mutually reinforcing human rights violations and abuses, especially if they challenged traditional gender roles. That had to stop. States had a responsibility to uphold human rights, and ensure a safe and enabling environment for human rights defenders. Sweden would continue to implement its feminist foreign policy.

Ukraine said a draft national law on Indigenous peoples aimed to promote the rights of Indigenous peoples as prescribed by the United Nations Declaration, despite a disinformation campaign aiming to discredit the effort. As many Crimean Tatar men were detained, women had to be breadwinners and “champions for justice” in the face of Islamophobia, sexism and intimidation.

Argentina said that its National Institute of Indigenous Women had a rights-based focus. Nationally, dialogues on gender-based violence against Indigenous women were underway. As for access to sexual and reproductive rights, while there were challenges in empowering women, the State was trying to use different strategies to achieve progress.

Denmark, also speaking on behalf of Greenland, welcomed the Committee’s effort to elaborate a general recommendation on the rights of Indigenous women and girls. Indigenous women faced significant barriers to their sexual and reproductive health and rights, such as a lack of information and services. Support for Indigenous women’s organizations was vital.

Armenia welcomed the Committee’s decision to focus on addressing specific and multifaceted barriers faced by Indigenous women and girls. Against the backdrop of climate change and environmental degradation, the strong connection of Indigenous peoples to natural resources should be nurtured and appreciated. The economic rights and empowerment of Indigenous women were particularly significant in that regard.

Ecuador said its National Council for the Equality of Peoples and Nationalities sought to ensure respect for the right to equality and non-discrimination. Ecuador aimed to have a “culture of peace” that developed human capacity, focusing on equality and non-discrimination. Its equality agenda encompassed fields such as education and health.

Brazil said Indigenous women faced many challenges on a daily basis, such as economic challenges, and challenges in accessing health services. Illiteracy was a barrier to participation in political processes. A lack of economic and social participation of Indigenous women contributed to inequality; however Indigenous women should not be considered as simple victims. More Indigenous women in leadership roles would contribute to addressing structural problems.

Statements by United Nations bodies

UN Women said its regional office for Latin America and the Caribbean was working closely with Indigenous women and girls. The proposed general recommendation should recognize the link between Indigenous women and Mother Earth, water, and the land. Indigenous women’s presence in public life should be strengthened, and the multiple forms of violence suffered by Indigenous women and girls should be eliminated.

The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities said Indigenous women with disabilities were not identified in statistics, and this prevented their inclusion in public policies. Women and girls with disabilities, including Indigenous peoples living in remote areas, must be empowered; they needed means of communication such as sign language.

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Questions for this article

Does the UN advance equality for women?

Prospects for progress in women’s equality, what are the short and long term prospects?

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Statements by civil society organizations and national human rights institutions

The National Human Rights Commission of India said the Indian Government did not recognize Indigenous groups, instead recognizing ethnic groups as “scheduled tribes”. There were currently 705 so-called “scheduled tribes”. Seats had been reserved for those groups on some representative assemblies. Their access to education and other rights was still far behind that of other groups.

The Union of BC Indian Chiefs said that, in 1876, the Indian Act imposed a patriarchal system under which First Nations were robbed of their Indian status upon marriage to non-Indian men, and prevented them from transmitting their status to their children. Within their territories, Indigenous women and girls were on the front lines of the protection of the environment from climate change and the effects of destructive resource extraction.

Indigenous Girls and Women Collective called for the Committee to provide programmes and awareness-raising campaigns on sexual health directed at Indigenous boys, girls, and young people. It was important that the Committee entered into direct dialogue with Indigenous groups.

Colectiva Ixpop said that, in Guatemala, inequality, racism and discrimination were social problems that remained latent. They were experienced by Indigenous women in particular. Racism and patriarchy had established ideas and practices that had been normalized and presented as a natural part of social, political and labour relationships.

Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network said Canada was known internationally for its severity towards, and criminalization of, people living with HIV/Aids. People were afraid to disclose their status due to punitive measures while fear and stigma drove HIV transmission. Indigenous women involved in sex work could not reach out to police without risking charges themselves. Culturally appropriate programmes and services developed by people with lived experiences must be developed and supported.

The speaker from MADRE – Rosa Luxembourg Stiftung, stating that she was an Indigenous woman with disabilities from a rural region of Nepal, said Indigenous women were a very diverse group, experiencing multiple forms of discrimination, including some based on racism. They wanted to be treated equally, on par with other women, and wanted their collective rights and intersecting identities to be protected and promoted.

Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact said Indigenous women and girls consisted of some of the most diverse yet marginalized groups in Asia. Multiple and overlapping forms of discrimination were perpetuated by the lack of legal recognition. She called on the Committee to emphasize legal recognition of Indigenous peoples as paramount. Gender-based violence against Indigenous women and girls was part of a continuum of structural violence.

Organización Nacional de Mujeres Indígenas Andinas y Amazónicas del Perú welcomed the initiative for a general recommendation. In Peru, the government had passed laws and adopted standards that promoted extraction activities that exacerbated climate change and undermined Indigenous land rights. This had detrimental effects on access to clean water and food.

Right Livelihood Award Foundation and Centro por la Justicia y Derechos Humanos de la Costa Atlántica de Nicaragua said permanent insecurity, harassment, and armed attacks had caused the forced displacement of entire communities, and disproportionately affected Indigenous women, teenagers and girls. There was no guarantee of access to justice for Indigenous women who had been victims of gender-based violence and discrimination.

The speaker for the Centre for Reproductive Rights, stating she was an Indigenous woman, said she and her family had been defending the territory of their ancestors, when, as punishment for her role as a leader, she had been raped. Given the lack of access to sexual and reproductive health care in Honduras, she had been forced to accept motherhood – something she did not want. She asked the Committee to urge States Parties to take measures against violence against Indigenous rural women, and guarantee access to emergency contraceptive pills and safe abortion.

Closing remarks

FRANCISCO CALÍ TZAY, Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous People, said it was very valuable for the Committee to take into account the issues raised by the speakers. It was important to recall what the United Nations Declaration on Indigenous Peoples said about the participation of, and respect for, Indigenous peoples

GLADYS ACOSTA VARGAS, Committee Chairperson, thanked the keynote speakers as well as all participants in the discussion for participating despite difficulties related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The second segment of the discussion would focus on the effective participation, consultation and consent of Indigenous women and girls in political and public life.

General discussion part 2: “ Effective participation, consultation and consent of Indigenous women and girls in political and public life”

Opening Remarks

GLADYS ACOSTA VARGAS, Committee Chairperson, said the discussion would focus on the effective participation, consultation and consent of Indigenous women and girls in political and public life. The Committee would study all the contributions it had received, which would also be published on its website.

Keynote Speakers

ANNE NUORGAM, President of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, said Indigenous women often faced exclusion from social and political life. And yet, they were survivors who had much to contribute to societies and to national and international debates. Stressing that they had an important role to play in peacebuilding and conflict resolution, Ms. Nuorgam said patriarchy, racism and discrimination were central factors in Indigenous women’s limited access to political participation.

TARCILA RIVERA ZEA, President of the Executive Council of the Centro de Culturas Indígenas del Perú, said that since existing instruments did not fully reflect the realities of Indigenous women, it was cause for hope that the Committee was moving toward the adoption of a general recommendation which might do so. Indigenous women were diverse, and their full, representative and effective participation in political, economic, social and cultural life was the gateway to other rights. It was also a fundamental factor in ensuring accountability of States with regards to their obligations.

Statements by States

Peru said it had reached important milestones in the participation of women in its political sphere. Following elections held in April, 37 per cent of Peru’s Parliament was composed of women. There were factors limiting Indigenous women’s participation in public life that
could not solely be explained by the actions of the State.
Brazil said Indigenous women were natural leaders in their communities throughout the Americas. Women, girls and the elderly remained outside of processes pertaining to free, prior and informed consent. It was important that communities and all their members have the opportunity to participate in the entire process of free, prior and informed consent, including mediation with national authorities.
Norway said the right to participate in the development of one’s society as a whole, in one’s own language and community was essential. Indigenous women had the right to full, equal and meaningful participation in public life, and must be consulted before decisions that affected them were taken. The education gap between Indigenous children and the mainstream population remained critical.

Guatemala said that, in the country, there were specialized agencies for education, health, security, justice, and development in Indigenous communities. Through the Ombudsman for Indigenous Women, Guatemala had been providing comprehensive attention to victims of human rights violations. Indigenous women and girls were a group targeted by the national plan for development, as well as Guatemala’s strategic planning on the Sustainable Development Goals.

The United Kingdom recognized that climate change could undermine the enjoyment of human rights, but it should not detract from States’ obligations to uphold the rights of everyone, including Indigenous women and girls. The United Kingdom continued to work with international institutions to improve the situation of Indigenous women and girls. In the panellists’ opinion, what more could States do to uphold sustained and meaningful engagement with Indigenous women throughout policymaking?

Spain said Indigenous populations were overrepresented among people affected by poor living conditions and a lack of access to basic services. High levels of poverty and barriers to participation in the job market were among causes of this phenomenon. Spain upheld a strong commitment to the rights of Indigenous peoples, and in particular those of Indigenous women, by taking an active role in international fora.

Other statements

State Committee for Family, Women, and Children Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan said there were many cultural centers and public associations dealing with the issue of Indigenous peoples in Azerbaijan. Over 15 newspapers and magazines were published in the languages of ethnic communities of Azerbaijan. Women of other nationalities were active in the women’s branches of political parties, and their participation was ensured at all levels.

Consejo Nacional para la Igualdad de Género de Ecuador said the process undertaken by the Committee was cause for optimism, because equality for women and girls, particularly those who were Indigenous, was a pending debt. The Indigenous population still suffered from discrimination. It was important to recommend concrete actions that could properly fulfil the needs of those whose rights had been violated because of colonial and patriarchal patterns.

Philippines National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, explaining that it was a State mechanism mandated to respect, recognize, protect and promote Indigenous peoples’ rights, said that the equal enjoyment of opportunities by Indigenous women and men in matters which might affect their rights, lives and destinies, was important.

The National Human Rights Commission of India said the Government of India had taken a stand on the concept of Indigenous peoples, stating that it was not relevant to India. The State instead recognized ethnic groups under the category of “scheduled tribes,” who accounted for 8.6 per cent of the population of India. In tribal communities, the role of women was substantial and crucial.

Statements by civil society organizations

African Indigenous Women’s Organization said that an important issue for Indigenous girls was climate change, as it had led to droughts and increased levels of harmful cultural practices. Indigenous girls lacked awareness of their rights, because educating girls was not seen as a priority in many households. The lack of access to reproductive health care was also a problem. Member States needed to ensure that existing laws were implemented.

International Indigenous Women’s Forum said Indigenous women and girls had traditionally been at the forefront of the struggle for rights. The Committee should center its general recommendation on the Convention, which Member States should ratify and implement. Social and economic rights were the priorities.

Article 19 said Indigenous women and girls around the world were confronting some of the greatest threats to their human rights. Article 19 had worked for the promotion of the right of Indigenous women to access information, and had documented that the violation of that right had implications for other human rights. Political violence continued against Indigenous women when they were in decision-making positions, Article 19 added.

Colectiva IXPOP said Indigenous women and female youth were breaking stereotypes when they claimed their rights. The Committee should request that national and transnational extractive companies withdraw from Indigenous lands, as extractive industries were the principal cause of climate change.

National Indigenous Disabled Women Association Nepal said the number of Indigenous women with disabilities was estimated to reach 28 million across the globe. They faced historical invisibility both within the Indigenous community and in society as large. Indigenous women with disabilities were statistically more likely to have been victims of violence. The Committee should ensure the meaningful participation of Indigenous women with disabilities.

Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action said that, since 1876, in Canada, the Indian Act had functioned as a tool of assimilation, treating women differently from men and forcing thousands into the non-Indigenous population. The general recommendation should ensure that women’s right to equal enjoyment of their Indigenous culture was understood to encompass equal participation in the institutions and governance of their nations.

MADRE—Rosa Luxembourg Stiftung said the political participation of Indigenous women should be seen from the perspective of Indigenous movements and their involvement in community, local, national, regional, and international life. The Committee should increase the visibility of the experiences, processes, and trajectories of Indigenous women, and help them access information.

Tebtebba (Indigenous People’s International Centre for Policy Research and Education) said there were thousands of undocumented Indigenous people, most of them Indigenous women and girls, who faced discrimination by the mainstream population. That was a hurdle to the collection of data on Indigenous women and girls. The general recommendation should seek to strengthen the institutionalization by States of data disaggregation based on ethnicity.

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Pope urges inclusive and sustainable food systems

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article by Robin Gomes from Vatican News

As the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) kicks off its 4-day Conference on Monday, Pope Francis has pledged the support of the Holy See and the Catholic Church for their “dedication to a more just world, at the service of our defenseless and needy brothers and sisters”.  He urged special attention for the poor rural food producers, who are more likely to suffer from malnutrition and hunger. 


A vegetable and food vendor in a market in Jakarta, Indonesia  (ANSA)

The Pope made the remarks on Monday in a message to Michal Kurtyka, the Polish Minister of Climate and Environment, who is chairing FAO’s 42nd Conference at it headquarters in Rome, June 14-18.  While reviewing the state of food and agriculture in the world, the virtual session has as its overall theme, “Agriculture Food Systems Transformation: From Strategy to Action”.

Creating inclusive and sustainable food systems

FAO coordinates international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. The Pope said that this task assumes a special prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic, as “many of our brothers and sisters still do not have access to the food they need, either in quantity or quality”.  Last year, he noted, the number of these people was the highest in the last five years. With conflicts, extreme weather events, economic crises, together with the current health crisis, the future could be worse. Hence, policies capable of tackling the structural causes of these growing vulnerabilities need to be adopted.

In this regard, a circular economy, which guarantees resources for all, including future generations, and promotes the use of renewable energies, will help create resilient, inclusive and sustainable food systems that will provide healthy and affordable diets for everyone. However, the fundamental factor in recovering from the crisis that is ravaging us is an economy tailored to mankind, not subject only to profit, but anchored in the common good, friendly to ethics and respectful of the environment.

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Question for this article:

What is the relation between movements for food sovereignty and the global movement for a culture of peace?

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Farming and rural communities

The reconstruction of post-pandemic economies should take into account the valuable role of family farming and rural communities. The Pope lamented that those who produce food are the ones who suffer from the lack or scarcity of food. “Three-quarters of the world’s poor”, he said, “live in rural areas and depend primarily on agriculture for their livelihoods”.

However, due to lack of access to markets, land ownership, financial resources, infrastructure and technologies, they are most vulnerable to food insecurity.

Pope Francis expressed appreciation for the international community’s effort to enable individual countries achieve food autonomy while preserving local ecosystems and biodiversity. He urged innovative ways to support and help small producers improve their capacities and resilience.

Fraternity vs virus of indifference

As the world prepares to re-launch after the pandemic, Pope Francis said it is fundamental to promote a culture of care against the individualistic and aggressive tendency to discard, which is very present in our societies.

“While a few sow tensions, confrontations and falsehoods”, he said, “we, on the other hand, are invited to patiently and decisively build a culture of peace, which is directed towards initiatives that embrace all aspects of human life and help us to reject the virus of indifference”.

Pope Francis said mere outlining of programs is not enough. Tangible gestures are needed that have as their point of reference the common belonging to the human family and the fostering of fraternity. Gestures that facilitate the creation of a society that promotes education, dialogue and equity.

He urged that all welcome the current trial as an opportunity to prepare for a future for all without discarding anyone, warning, “without an all-embracing vision, there will be no future for anyone”.

The Conference is FAO’s supreme governing body whose main functions are to determine the policies of the Organization, approve the budget, and make recommendations to members and international organizations. 

global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, United Nations,

US-Russia Summit advances key points in international Open Letter

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An email received from Unfold Zero

At their Summit Meeting in Geneva yesterday, President’s Biden and Putin adopted a U.S.-Russia Presidential Joint Statement on Strategic Stability in which they reaffirmed ‘the principle that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought’ and announced that they will embark together on an integrated bilateral Strategic Stability Dialogue in the near future. ‘Through this Dialogue, we seek to lay the groundwork for future arms control and risk reduction measures.’

This agreement advances key points in the Open Letter to Presidents Biden and Putin in Advance of their June 16, 2021 Summit, which was sent to the two leaders last week. The Open letter was endorsed by over 1200 political, military and religious leaders, as well as legislators, academics and scientists and other representatives of civil society.


(Continued in right column)

Question related to this article:
 
Can we abolish all nuclear weapons?

(Continued from left column)

Endorsers included UN Messengers for Peace Michael Douglas and Jane Goodall; public visionary Deepak Chopra; two former UN Under-Secretary Generals for Disarmament Sergio Duarte and Nobuyasu Abe; Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire; former US Secretary of Defense William Perry, former Swedish Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson; and a number of former foreign and defense ministers, generals, UN ambassadors and other officials of nuclear armed, allied and non-nuclear countries.

From Joint Presidential Statement to concrete policy

In addition to affirming that “A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought”, the Open Letter calls on the USA and Russia to make a ‘joint commitment that their nations will not use nuclear weapons first under any circumstances, and to make this a key step toward fulfilling the United Nations goal to totally eliminate nuclear weapons from the planet.’ The adoption of such No First Use (NFU) policies should be one of the objectives of the Strategic Stability Dialogue that the two leaders are embarking upon.

There is growing traction globally for the adoption of NFU policies by the nuclear armed (and allied) states, as evidenced by legislative action, public appeals and NFU campaigns including the global campaign NoFirstUse Global.

The adoption of such policies would not only reduce the risk of nuclear attacks, but aso pave the way to the adoption of more comprehensive nuclear disarmament measures toward the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world. See Why No-First-Use.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global

Building peace, from the bottom up: A Q&A with Séverine Autesserre

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

This interview, conducted by Jessica Alexander, was originally published by The New Humanitarian, a news agency specialised in reporting humanitarian crises. It is reprinted here by permission.]

As the number of displaced people around the world reached 80 million people due to conflict and persecution last year, Filippo Grandi, the UN’s high commissioner for refugees, acknowledged: “The international community is failing to safeguard peace.” 

Séverine Autesserre addresses these failures and offers a different, more hopeful outlook on ending conflict in her new book, The Frontlines of Peace, released today [May 13]. 

Severine Autesserre with UN peacekeepers

Drawing from research in 12 conflict zones around the world – from the Democratic Republic of Congo, to Afghanistan, to Colombia – Autesserre details what’s wrong with what she refers to as “Peace, Inc.” This traditional approach to ending wars, she explains, relies on foreign-led peacebuilders who lack an in-depth understanding of the societies and cultures in which they work and the causes of violence. 

Lasting peace, she explains, isn’t imported by externals, or driven from elites sitting in capitals. Instead, it relies on the activism of ordinary citizens. It’s time, Autesserre says, for those inside Peace, Inc. to change their relationships with local insiders, shed their unhelpful assumptions, and recognise the potential and power of grassroots initiatives to end conflict. 

Autesserre sat down with The New Humanitarian to talk about her new book and the ways in which international peacebuilders can do better. She describes places like Idjwi, an island in Lake Kivu in Congo that has become a peaceful sanctuary amidst a decades-long conflict. She talks about the way a mother knows that peace has come because her child starts speaking in the future tense.

And she explains why some peacebuilding efforts fail, yet others flourish. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

The New Humanitarian: Your new book is full of examples of successful local level peace initiatives. Why did you feel the need to write this book? And why are its messages especially relevant today? 

Séverine Autesserre: I didn’t set out to write a book about local peace initiatives; I wanted to write a book about how to end violence. One and a half billion people live under the threat of violence in more than 50 countries around the globe. Even countries like France and the United States are facing an increasing number of hate crimes, gang fighting, terror attacks. It’s critical that we do something.

When I started working on The Frontlines of Peace, I had already written two books and dozens of articles on why and how we fail to stop war and end violence. So I wanted to look at success – at what actually works to build peace during and after mass violence.

And it’s because I looked more at the success of peacebuilding that I ended up writing about grassroots efforts, because what works is usually innovative grassroots initiatives that are sometimes supported by foreigners, and they also often use methods that are shunned by the international elite.

TNH: Which kinds of methods are shunned? Can you give an example? 

Autesserre: Take Idjwi, an island in the middle of Lake Kivu near the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. The DRC is home to one of the deadliest conflicts since World War II, but the island of Idjwi itself is a haven of peace. When you look at how Idjwi has maintained peace for the past 20 years, it’s not the usual suspects – the state or the police – who have managed to control tensions; it’s not foreign peacebuilders or peacekeeping missions or international organisations; it’s members of the community themselves.

When I talk with international peacebuilders and peacekeepers, they tell me that ordinary citizens do not have the skills to build peace; they cannot help their situation. And I show that they do.

Residents of Idjwi have what they call a culture of peace – they resolve conflicts through grassroots structures, community meetings, and many other local initiatives that international peacebuilders often dismiss as being completely irrelevant. 

People in Idjwi draw on a very strong belief that helps deter violence by both insiders and outsiders. For instance, you have blood pacts – traditional promises between two parties who agree never to hurt each other. You also have beliefs around witchcraft:

There is a myth that Idjwi is the home of the most powerful sorcerers – that makes Idjwi this kind of place where Congolese in surrounding provinces are afraid to attack because they worry that the sourcerers will attack them back. 

There are many different methods, beliefs. They vary depending on the context, but they are all very specific, local, and rooted in society and cultures. 

TNH: If these local initiatives may have a better chance, and foreign intervention may mess things up or make the situation worse, how do you distinguish which efforts are worthy? 

Autesserre: I don’t say that local initiatives have a better chance, or that foreign intervention messes things up. What I say is that certain local initiatives have a better chance, and certain foreign intervention efforts mess things up; just like there are certain local initiatives that are doomed to fail, and certain foreign intervention efforts that actually make a positive difference – both at the highest level and on the ground. 

In the book, I detail foreign peacebuilders who come from all over the world – working for different organisations in very different countries. They are what I call model interveners, who do actually make a difference at the highest level and on the ground. 

There are a few characteristics which they have in common. They don’t believe that they, as outsiders, know better, or that they have the right theories, skills, and expertise, or that they bring the ideal solutions to people’s problems. Instead, they respect local residents; they listen to them. They are open minded; they understand that other people have a different understanding of peace, democracy, and development.  

They know the local context well; they speak at least some of the local languages; and they have extensive local networks. They are in it for the long run; they stay on-site for years, sometimes decades. They don’t put themselves at the forefront of peace efforts. They don’t put their logos everywhere. Instead, they maintain a low profile and they turn the spotlight on the achievements of their local partners: elites, local staff, ordinary people. 

They are flexible. They keep adapting their strategies based on the results and feedback that they get and the way the situation evolves. They understand that sometimes there are hard choices, because all these things may not fit together so we may have to choose between worthy goals. The best interveners understand that they should not be the ones to make these choices: The people who have to live with the consequences of the decision should be the ones making it.  

TNH: So, it’s not a dichotomy of only local; it’s about having a mix?

Autesserre: Yes, we need top-down and bottom-up. We need both insiders and outsiders. We don’t want to replace top-down with bottom-up or international with local grassroots peacebuilding – we need both. But the reason why I insist on more grassroots bottom-up efforts is because currently most of the international resources and attention is on top-down efforts working at the national and international levels. We need international involvement, but as I show in the book, we also need to change the way we work at the highest level. We need to follow the characteristics of the model peacebuilders which I’ve outlined. 

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Question for this article:

What are the most important books about the culture of peace?

(Continued from left column)

TNH: How do you define success in peace efforts? 

Autesserre: When I was doing the research for the book, I didn’t come in with my own definition of success. I asked people: ‘Do you have peace in your neighborhood, your village, your district or country, and do you think this or that initiative has been successful and, if so, why?’ 

“It’s things like a mother in Congo telling me that my child is now speaking in the future tense; a woman in Colombia saying I know that there is peace in my village because I can sleep in my pajamas.”

Peace and success which I document in the book are based on what peace practitioners and people on the ground feel and experience. It can take a lot of different forms, some of which I would never have thought about. It’s not love and harmony between world leaders or country leaders. It’s things like a mother in Congo telling me that my child is now speaking in the future tense; a woman in Colombia saying I know that there is peace in my village because I can sleep in my pajamas. Before, she always thought there would be fighting during the night and she would have to get dressed and run out, so it was better to go to sleep fully dressed. To her, peace was sleeping in her pajamas. In Colombia, many people mention how they sleep as an indication of peacefulness – with the windows open, the doors unlocked. There are so many other examples: You can use the toilet in your garden when you don’t have toilets in your house at night; you don’t have to use a chamber pot. These are definitions of peace and ways that people perceive peace and success that I would have never thought about.  

TNH: We are hearing similar calls today within the humanitarian sector to take a look in the mirror, to decolonise the humanitarian system and make aid more localised. 

Autesserre: We are all due for a good look in the mirror – peacebuilding, development, humanitarians. I got a message from a friend, a leader of a big humanitarian organisation who said she’s given the book to her board and to her operations director, because we still use too much of “Aid, Inc.” I receive a lot of messages like that, by leaders or people lower down in the chain saying that they are using the book to help advocate for the ideals that they believe in and that I believe in. 

The book is hopefully helping not by showing what we do wrong, but that we can approach peacebuilding and aid differently, and it’s actually effective and possible within all kinds of organisations, countries, and cultures.

TNH: TNH has a new coverage series exploring peacebuilding  – often at the community level – and some of the reports show the power of locally driven approaches. But they also seem vulnerable to political dynamics beyond the community’s control, at the regional and national levels. How do you propose we address that?

Autesserre: A really big issue with our standard approach to peace is that many conflicts revolve around political, social, economic issues that are distinctively local – at the level of individuals, families, and the community. So our common approach [to peacebuilding], which is focused on governments and elites in capital cities, isn’t enough.

I realised this in one of my first visits to Congo in 2003. I met a woman my age, her name was Isabelle. Local militia had attacked her village. They had killed many men, raped many women, looted everything, and tried to kidnap her. Her husband defended Isabelle and said, ‘no, take me’. He went with the militia and Isabelle never saw him again. 

Isabelle told me that the rebels attacked her village not because of the national and international tensions that everyone is talking about, meaning the war between Congo and Rwanda. It was because the rebels wanted to take the land that the villagers needed to survive. I remember her story all these years because it’s about the awful consequences of local conflicts that foreign peacebuilders and peacekeepers and international organisations so often ignore. 

“What I’ve seen when investigating conflicts around the world, is that ordinary citizens and grassroots leaders have a lot more power, skills, and ways to resolve their own problems than we usually believe.”

Locally driven peace approaches are also about building on insiders: people who lead the conflict. Of course, local leaders, ordinary citizens, are not by definition better, more peaceful, or less corrupt than national and international elites. But to me, they are better placed to address the local context, the grassroots issues, because only they know the ins and outs of their specific situation.

What I’ve seen when investigating conflicts around the world, is that ordinary citizens and grassroots leaders have a lot more power, skills, and ways to resolve their own problems than we usually believe. In every single conflict that I’ve researched, in every country, I’ve found examples of ordinary citizens and grassroots activists who use their personal connections to convince the leaders of surrounding armed groups to come and negotiate. What is fascinating is how personal peacebuilding actually is. It is fathers, mothers, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters reaching out to family members who are fighting. Teachers, who go to meet their former students, or village leaders within their own community, telling them they had to stop fighting. 

Take Somalia, which is extremely violent, has terror attacks, and violence every week, versus Somaliland, an autonomous region in the north of Somalia that has experienced very little violence for the past 20 years, very little terrorism, has a well functioning state, decent public services, and even some kind of functioning democracy. The key difference to me is that Somaliland benefited from sustained grassroots peacebuilding initiatives that were led by insiders, by Somali leaders themselves. If you look at the rest of Somalia, you see the usual top-down, outsider-led Peace, Inc. approach used. To me, Somaliland is important to keep in mind because it shows that, yes, there are places where the local peace can be jeopardised by an armed group or the government, but Somaliland shows you there are ways to make bottom-up peace very robust and sustainable. 

TNH: When you look at today’s violence in Tigray: a cross-border conflict and a civil war – surely a place where you would need foreign involvement  – what advice would you have for leaders at this stage in finding peace? 

Autesserre: You should ask people in Tigray, not me. We need to ask and not just jump in no matter what. Listen and respect the wishes of the people you’ve been talking to before jumping in. 

TNH: Local power dynamics can exclude the voices of some – like women in a place like Afghanistan. How can that be addressed? 

Autesserre: You have the same problem with national and international dynamics. The fact that local power dynamics exclude the voices of women is not specific to local dynamics. It’s something that happens with all kinds of peace agreements and peace processes. When you look at the representation of women in the current Afghan peace talks – and virtually all other international and national peace talks for that matter – it’s highly problematic.

Representation of women is very low. And it’s not only women – there are also a lot of minority communities that are excluded from these processes. 

“When you ask me, how do we address power dynamics which cut out the voice of some, you have to ask people who are excluded –  what do they want?”

One of the characteristics of the model peacebuilders that I talk about is that sometimes there are hard choices. Sometimes we have to choose between worthy goals – for instance, between peace and democracy or peace and justice. If you take peace and democracy, there has been a lot of research showing that elections organised right after the end of the conflict often fuel violence rather than promote peace. So you have tension between peace and democracy. 

It’s the people who have to live with the consequences of the decision who should be the ones making it. When you ask me, how do we address power dynamics which cut out the voice of some, you have to ask people who are excluded –  what do they want? Ask women in Afghanistan what they want us to prioritise. 

TNH: Syria talks on a possible new constitution seem stalled before they got started. Is there a point at which the UN should throw its hands up and recognise when talks aren’t going anywhere? 

Autesserre: If you’re asking me when should we stop trying to build peace, my answer is never. When should we stop using what I call the Peace, Inc. approach and consider an alternative way to build peace? Well, my answer is right now. 


Source of this article

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, 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/

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