Category Archives: Latin America

Colombia: The Labor Minister will provide full guarantees, facilitate and promote the Second National Assembly for Peace

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An article from the Ministerio de Trabajo de Colombia (translation by CPNN)

The Minister, of Labor, Luis Eduardo Garzon, says that the Government will provide full guarantees, facilitate and promote the Second National Assembly for Peace, which seeks to contribute from the energy and mining sector a plural and participatory peace that is comprehensive, stable and durable.

ministerio
“I see here three organizations that differ in many ways, but are united in the quest for peace,” Lucho Garzón

Garzon referred to the participation of Ecopetrol and the Workers’ Trade Union of the Petroleum Industry (USO). He also highlighted the contributions made from the Academy of the National University of Colombia to the Second Assembly, which is conceived as a space for deliberative and purposeful construction at local, regional and national levels.

“I think it is extremely important for the country and the Ministry and the government itself are committed to help stimulate initiatives like this,” said the head of the Labor Ministry.

“I see here three organizations that differ in many ways, but are united in the quest for peace,” he said.

For the National President of USO, Edwin Castaño Monsalve, the issue of oil has an important role in keeping peace. “This union is betting on scenarios to build peace and we are fully committed to the peace process.”

In turn, the rector of the National University of Colombia, Ignacio Prada Mantilla added that “The university is fully committed to the peace proces, that is, we want contribute to it from all areas of knowledge.”

The National Assembly for Peace will include four conversations and 10 regional assemblies. they will take place in Antioquia, Barrancabermeja, Cartagena, Choco, Villavicencio, Neiva, Puerto Asis, Tibu, Arauca and Popayan. They will focus on three themes: 1) mining and energy policy; 2) regional development and peacebuilding and 3), culture of peace and followup to the peace accords.

(Click here for the orignal Spanish of this aricle.)

Question(s) related to this article:

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

This discussion question applies to the following articles:

Colombian villagers practice non-violent resistance
Legacy of a Nonviolent Political Leader: Governor Guillermo Gaviria of Colombia
Working for a Culture of Peace in the Valley of the Cauca, Colombia
Remise des Prix de la Fondation Chirac pour la prévention des conflits
Chirac Foundation Prize for Conflict Prevention
The University and the Peace Process in Colombia
La paz supera coyunturas y fronteras (Colombia y Venezuela)
Peace is not stopped by borders (Colombia and Venezuela)
Campesinos colombianos celebran primer acuerdo agrario de paz
Colombian Govt and FARC Reach Agreement on First Stage of Peace Talks
Colombia Campaña de la ONU “La Paz es mía”
UN Campaign in Colombia:
Presidente colombiano reactivará la Comisión Nacional de Paz
Colombian President to Reactivate National Peace Commission
FARC-EP y Gobierno colombiano avanzan en acuerdos para la paz
FARC-EP and Colombia Government advance in their peace accords
Colombia debe ser también la Nación más educada en derechos humanos: Presidente Santos
Colombia should also be the most educated nation in human rights : President Santos
Gabriel García Márquez and the peace process in Colombia
Colombia amanece con un presidente reelecto, esperanzada en la paz
Colombia awakens to hopes for peace with the re-election of their president
Mujer, ruralidad y memoria, entre los temas del congreso de paz (Bogotá, Colombia)
Women, rurality and historical memory among the themes of the Peace Congress (Bogotá, Colombia)
Sonia Ines Goéz Orrego on a speaking tour in the U.S. to share her experience building peace in Colombia
Pax Christi International Peace Award 2015: Women Collective for Reflection and Action (Colombia)
FARC-EP y Gobierno colombiano crearán Comisión de la Verdad
Planning for a Peace Assembly in the Colombian Caribbean
Inician construcción de Asamblea por la Paz en el caribe colombiano
Colombia: Ministerio del Trabajo acompañará, garantizará y facilitará Segunda Asamblea Nacional por la Paz
Colombia: The Labor Minister will provide full guarantees, facilitate and promote the Second National Assembly for Peace

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America

Bolivia: Mediators are formed in culture of peace

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An article by Henry A. Aira Gutiérrez, Correo del Sur (translation by CPNN)

Culture of peace and conflict resolution are new phrases that Bolivians can use to avoid going to court. With the implementation of the new moral codes as of August 6, it is also the expression of the mediators, whose job is to reduce the caseload in the courts for civil and commercial matters. After selection by the Judicial Council, the mediators train for a period of 20 days.

Bolivia
Courses in which mediators learn how to solve conflicts.

In four classrooms at Casa Tréveris, over 150 mediators receive theoretical training and practice in the functions that will serve beginning next month.

“The intensive course is organized into four modules: the first related to justice and human rights, the second dedicated to the culture of peace, conflict theory as a basis for negotiation and conciliation; the third communication and conciliation; and the fourth refers to the process of reconciliation taking into account the principles, models and phases of the facilitative model,” according to Antonio Aramayo, executive director of the UNIR Foundation, the institution in charge of the mediation training.

The new officers are trained in the instruments that will need to apply when they are to reconcile conflicts when the new Codes Morales take effect in August.

The Judiciary Act indicates that the mediation is “the means of conflict resolution and immediate direct access to justice as well as the first procedural action”. In other words, the judicial mediation aims not only to expand access to justice but to introduce the culture of peace and peaceful methods of settling conflicts to shared solutions.

“The culture of peace is a breakthrough in the country and now we are implementing the new codes in practice for the resolution of disputes through conciliation. This is good, creating a culture of peace and a country not of confrontation, but of rapid resolution of conflicts,” said Patricia Yufra, from the mediation district of Quillacollo (Cochabamba).

“We are learning how to reconcile, to look beyond the law, to analyze problems so that they (people in conflict) can resolve their conflicts and disputes peacefully and maintain their human relationships,” said Erick Suarez, Santa Cruz conciliator.

These two professional lawyers are, like many others, being trained and expected to return to their districts on August 7 to start their work.

(click here for the French version) of this article or here for the Spanish version

Question for this article:
EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

Colombia: Teaching peace

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

Un blog de Ernesto Amézquita en Cronica del Quindio (translated by CPNN)

According to law 1732, adopted in 2014, the national government has issued the decree “by which the teaching of Peace is regulated in all educational institutions of the country”.

colombia
Click on photo to enlarge

It is foreseen in article number 2 that “to meet the constitutional mandate enshrined in the articles 22 and 41 of the Constitution, the teaching of Peace is compulsory.” It is so decreed that “the teaching will aim to create and consolidate a space for learning, reflection and dialogue on culture of peace and sustainable development which should contribute to the general welfare and improve the quality of life of the population.”

Historically it has been shown that it is much more productive, civilized and proactive to invest in peace instead of the criminal business of arms dealers, mercenaries and beneficiaries of war.

For Colombia, more than 60 years of violence, about 300,000 dead, millions displaced, thousands missing, wounded and false positives, massacres, millions of orphans; should be more than enough to say enough to the ignorance of death, the peace of the grave and yes to life, to peaceful coexistence, the rule of justice, concord and respect for difference.

As such, these new standards are a good contribution to teaching in the school, family, college; accompanied by administrative bodies, judicial, ecclesiastical, military, police, social, business, etc., to begin to fully implement the rejection of the warmongering, bullying, and all violent, aggressive or armed way of solving problems. Today we have alternative means, justice, both formal and informal, as specific mechanisms for he solution of conflicts.

The central of this law are the culture of peace and sustainable development to be implemented in the academic syllabus that must be incorporated before December 31, 2015, in the areas of social sciences, history, geography, politics and democracy constitution, life sciences, environmental education, ethics, human values ​​and principles.

It is clear that the teachers responsible for this initiative must be qualified, skilled and experienced in those academic areas, because otherwise the effort would be counterproductive. We don’t ask Satan to teach the Bible.

So, we must ask: When will the schools of Quindio and the rest of the country, both public and private, begin to incorporate into their academic programs, this officially mandated teaching? When will we Colombians begin to disarm our own spirits, and when will the communication media become truly objective, truthful and impartial?

With this in mind, let us welcome the teaching of peace, principles and values ​​that we have missed in these 60 years of war and fratricidal violence between brother and brother.

(click here for the original Spanish version of this article)

Questions for this article:

‘

Peace Studies in School Curricula, What would it take to make it happen around the world?

What is happening in Colombia? Is peace possible?

This discussion question applies to the following articles:

Children as Peacemakers
Peace Education Center in Ghana
Asian Educators Symposium and Exchange Program: Creating a Culture of Peace through Education
Life-Link Program Promotes a Culture of Peace
Education for Peace: Le projet intégré prend tout son sens
‘Education for peace’ wins the Youth Excellence Award 2011 in Mauritius.
Convivencia y Protección Escolar: Bogotá, Colombia
Coexistence and School Protection: Student Project in Bogota Colombia
Convivencia y Protección Escolar: Red de Educadores en Bogotá
Coexistence and School Protection: Teachers Network in Bogota Colombia
Premios a la Promoción de la Cultura de Paz y la Convivencia Escolar.
Prizes for the Promotion of Culture of Peace and School Coexistence
Hawaii Teachers Impact NEA National Assembly – 3 Million Members to Support Peace Day
Gambia: Teachers Trained On Peace Building
Málaga destaca por fomentar la convivencia y la cultura de paz, según la Junta de Andalucía (Espagne)
The Junta of Andalucia (Spain): Malaga promotes coexistence and culture of peace
Cultura de Paz nas escolas do Norte de Minas, Brasil
Culture of Peace in the schools of Norte de Minas, Brasil
Formation des enseignants à la résolution non-violente des conflits (France)
Teacher training in nonviolent conflict resolution (France)
Álvarez Rodríguez firmará un acuerdo para aplicar “Cultura de Paz, Gestión de Paz” en las escuelas
Álvarez Rodríguez to sign agreement for “Culture of Peace, Managing Peace” in schools
Gambia: PS Bouy Launches WANEP Peace Education Implementation Guide
Culture de paix et de non-violence dans les écoles : Le réseau ouest-africain pour l’édification de la paix lance son guide
The West African Network for Peacebuilding publishes its guide for culture of peace and non-violence in the schools
Prefeitura de São Luís e Unesco firmam parceria pela cultura de paz nas escolas (Brasil)
City of São Luís and UNESCO sign partnership for the culture of peace in schools (Brazil)
México: Urgente incorporar la cultura de paz a la educación formal
Mexico: Urgent to incorporate culture of peace in formal education
France: 12e Forum « La non-violence à l’école »
France: 12th Forum “Non-Violence in Schools”
Ghana: WANEP trains 150 peace Ambassadors in Tamale Schools

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

Argentina: Massive march against gender violence in front of the Congress

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from Diario La Prensa (translated by CPNN)

The petition circulated within the #NiUnaMenos march against femicide called for “comprehensive” implementation of the law against Gender Violence, enacted in 2009 and regulated a year later. Thousands of people marched today [03.06.2015] in the main cities of the country against the femicide that has taken the life of 277 women and girls in 2014. The main march took place in front of the National Congress where protesters demanded the implementation of the law against gender violence.

BuenosAires
click on photo to enlarge

The march in the city of Buenos Aires, led by women’s organizations and a group of actresses, journalists and activists who had made the call on social networking sites with the slogan #NiUnaMenos was also replicated in Uruguay, Chile and Miami.

At he ceremony in the Plaza de los Dos Congresos the noted cartoonist Maitena Burundarena and the actors Juan Minujín and Erica Rivas read a document to be signed by legislators and politicians as a compromise in the implementation of actions to prevent violence gender and femicide. The text highlighted what is missing in the missing in the Law 26.485 against Gender Violence, enacted in 2009, including the establishment of a National Action Plan for the Prevention, Assistance and Eradication of violence against women.

“As it stands the law is insufficient to prevent an increase in gender violence,” said Minujín as part of the reading of the document. He demanded implement of the initiative “with all necessary resources and monitoring”.

Furthermore, they demanded that the victims’ access to justice be guaranteed, that prosecutors and police have staff “trained and qualified to receive complaints”, unification of the civil and criminal jurisdictions, and access by victims to free legal support throughout their process.

Another demand referred to the development of a single official record of victims of violence against women and femicide with official and updated information on statistics, because “only by measuring what happens can allow the design of effective public policies.”

They also requested the guarantee and improvement of comprehensive sex education at all educational levels, “to teach equality and freedom from discrimination and gender violence and to sensitize and train teachers and principals”.

“Ensuring the protection of victims of violence and implementation of electronic monitoring of offenders to ensure they do not violate restrictions, are other demands put forward.

In this context, the text emphasized that “the judiciary is not sufficiently helping victims” who should receive “the contribution of witnesses and evidence” and that the judiciary “does not sufficiently guarantee effective measures” to prevent gender violence.

(click here for the original article in Spanish)

(article continued in right column)

Question related to this article:

Protecting women and girls against violence, Is progress being made?

(article continued from left column)

“This is institutional violence,” said Minujín, and received applause from the protesters, just as when he said that “many victims have already made allegations”.

The text also referred to women victims of trafficking in persons “whose fate remains unknown. For them also we ask for justice”. There was also reference to the treatment of victims of gender violence in the media.

The event began with a video on gender violence and it included participation by survivors and relatives of victims, who had previously begun to focus on the area and tell their experiences to the media.

Among the posters were “No to violence against women”, “Stop femicide”, “Right to Life” and “For you, Iris, Marcela, killed by femicide”.

One participant said that “for us it is a great triumph of the women’s movement. The state leaves us completely alone” and urged that we unite “together to prevent violence and defend our rights.”

Among the participants were politicians, actors, actresses, activists, journalists, the Madres del Dolor and relatives of the Argentine teenager, Lola Chomnalez, who was murdered in Uruguay.

The mobilization surged on May 12 after the femocides of the pregnant adolescent, Chiara Paez, in the town of Santa Fe Rufino, whose body was found buried in the house of her boyfriend two days before the convening of the march, and the lawyer Gabriela Parra, who was murdered by her former partner in a candy store in the neighborhood of Caballito, on 3 March.

(Thank you to the Good News Agency for alerting us to this event.)

Latin America, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Film: Costa Rica Abolished its Military, Never Regretted it

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An article by David Swanson (abridged)

The forthcoming film, A Bold Peace: Costa Rica’s Path of Demilitarization, should be given every possible means of support and promotion. . . In 1948 Costa Rica abolished its military, something widely deemed impossible in the United States. This film documents how that was done and what the results have been. I don’t want to give away the ending but let me just say this: there has not been a hostile Muslim takeover of Costa Rica, the Costa Rican economy has not collapsed, and Costa Rican women still seem to find a certain attraction in Costa Rican men.

costarica

How is this possible? Wait, it gets stranger.

Costa Rica provides free, high-quality education, including free college, as well as free healthcare, and social security. Costa Ricans are better educated than Americans, live longer, are reported as happier (in fact, happiest in the world in various studies), and lead the world in the use of renewable energy (100% renewable energy lately in Costa Rica). Costa Rica even has a stable, functioning democracy . . .

Costa Rica has developed a culture of peace, including an educational system that teaches children nonviolent conflict resolution. . . How did this come to be? The film provides more context than I was previously aware of. Rafael Calderón Guardia, president from 1940 to 1944, began the welfare state in a major way through a unique pre-Cold War coalition of support that included the Catholic church and the communist party. In 1948 Calderón ran for president again, lost, and refused to recognize the results. A remarkable man named José Figueres Ferrer, also known as “Don Pepe,” who had educated himself at Boston Public Library and returned to Costa Rica to start a collective farm, led a violent revolution and won.

Figueres made a pact with the communists to protect the welfare state, and they disbanded their army. And after his own troops threatened a rightwing coup, he disbanded his own army, that of the nation of Costa Rica, saying:

“Los hombres que ensangrentamos recientemente a un país de paz, comprendemos la gravedad que pueden asumir estas heridas en la América Latina, y la urgencia de que dejen de sangrar. No esgrimimos el puñal del asesino sino el bisturí del cirujano. Como cirujanos nos interesa ahora, mas que la operación practicada, la futura salud de la Nación, que exige que esa herida cierre pronto, y que sobre ella se forme cicatriz más sana y más fuerte que el tejido original.

“Somos sostenedores definidos del ideal de un nuevo mundo en América. A esa patria de Washington, Lincoln, Bolívar y Martí, queremos hoy decirle: ¡Oh, América! Otros pueblos, hijos tuyos también, te ofrendan sus grandezas. La pequeña Costa Rica desea ofrecerte siempre, como ahora, junto con su corazón, su amor a la civilidad, a la democracia” . . .

(Article continued in right column)

Question(s) related to this article:

Does Costa Rica have a culture of peace?

(Article continued from left column)

Figueres used a citizens militia and then disbanded it. He expanded the welfare state, extended the right to vote to women and Afro-Caribbeans, and nationalized banks and electricity. Then he retired peacefully, later to be elected president twice more, in 1953 and 1970. He lived until 1990, the victorious general who did what Eisenhower never dared: abolished the military industrial complex.

The U.S. government, under President Reagan, tried to force Costa Rica into military conflict, but Costa Rica proclaimed neutrality. It did not maintain this neutrality as absolutely as one might like, but it never became home to a big U.S. military base as did Honduras.

In 1985, Oscar Arias was elected president on a peace platform, defeating Calderón’s son campaigning on a platform of militarization. Although the U.S. was threatening sanctions, and although 80% of the Costa Rican people opposed the Sandinista government in Nicaragua, over 80% in Costa Rica opposed any militarization. Reagan scared Americans of communists in Nicaragua, but seems not to have scared the Ticos at all. On the contrary, Arias met repeatedly with Reagan, turned him down on at least all the main points, and gathered nations together to negotiate peace in Central America — for which he was given a Nobel Peace Prize that may have actually served an appropriate purpose.

What withstood Reagan’s pressure was not an individual or a political party, but Costa Rica’s culture of peace. A new threat came in 2003, when Costa Rica joined the Coalition of the Willing (to attack Iraq). Costa Rica provided only its name, no actual participation. But a law student named Luis Roberto Zamora Bolanos successfully sued his own government in Costa Rican courts and forced Costa Rica out of the coalition.

While the film doesn’t go into it much, the same lawyer sued Arias and others repeatedly to keep weapons companies and U.S. ships out of Costa Rican territory. In 2010 the U.S. helped overthrow the president of Honduras and flew him to Costa Rica. The U.S. uses its drug war as an excuse to put military ships in Costa Rican waters.

In 2010 Nicaragua took over a Costa Rican island, at least in the view of Costa Rica. Had Costa Rica possessed a military, a war would likely have begun. While Costa Rica did send its “police” to the area, not one bullet was fired. Rather the dispute was resolved in international courts, as all such disputes should be. . .

The film presents a fair portrait, flaws included. I watched it with my 9-year-old son who now wants to move there. The film includes video of past and current presidents, activists, professors, and journalists. It even includes extensive commentary from Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera as a long-shot presidential candidate seeking to uphold Costa Rica’s pacifist traditions in a manner that Japan’s president is of course not attempting. Then we see Solís surge ahead and win. He is now president.

Costa Rica is an inspiration to those of us seeking to abolish war.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America

Planning for a Peace Assembly in the Colombian Caribbean

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An article from Colombia Informa (translated by CPNN)

The first regional meeting of delegates from various sectors and struggles in the Caribbean to construct a Regional Peace Assembly was held on Saturday [May 30] in the city of Cartagena,. The meeting was supported by the workers’ labor union -USO- and the company Ecopetrol. It was attended by delegates from Atlantico, Bolivar, Sucre, Córdoba, Cesar and Guajira.

cartegana

The main objective was the planning and coordination of facilitator teams in each department to develop departmental assemblies prior to a Regional Assembly for Peace. The organizers of the meeting consider that the meeting met with full success.

The Assembly takes place in the framework of the dialogue between the government and insurgent groups, which takes place in Havana between the Revolutionary Armed Forces -FARC- of Colombia which is of great importance for the country. The convening organizations expect the second Regional Assembly to have a wide participation “in which converge all social sectors present in the territories in order to collect the path of actions towards peace with social justice, peace with changes the country is yearning for. ” They added that in every department of the Caribbean region will have a coordinating team that can approach organizations that wish to participate in the initiative.

Themes considered in the Assembly included mining and energy policies, regional development and assistance to education. Finally, the culture of peace and followup of the agreements.

The USO has historically worked on building peace through regional initiatives, especially in the city of Barrancabermeja. It has also promoted national proposals and the Assembly for Peace, held in conjunction with Ecopetrol in 1996. The union has led in the development of multiple initiatives such as the Assembly of Workers for Peace as an autonomous space in which proposals were collected from different sectors for the country in relation to the transformations necessary for peace.

In 2012, the USO and Ecopetrol signed an agreement for the implementation of the Second National Assembly for Peace, which for various reasons, could not take place until this year. The USO-Ecopetrol team, responsible for conducting the Assembly will feature an expert panel for permanent consultation including professors Alejo Vargas, Victor Currea, Francisco de Roux and Hernando Salazar.

The grand conclusion of the meeting was that “peace is a journey, a process of dialogue in which a just order is reconstructed, living conditions are improved and there is solidarity. The challenge for a new country requires efforts at various levels: personal, family, community, local, regional and national. ”

(Click here for the orignal Spanish of this aricle.)

Question(s) related to this article:

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

This discussion question applies to the following articles:

Colombian villagers practice non-violent resistance
Legacy of a Nonviolent Political Leader: Governor Guillermo Gaviria of Colombia
Working for a Culture of Peace in the Valley of the Cauca, Colombia
Remise des Prix de la Fondation Chirac pour la prévention des conflits
Chirac Foundation Prize for Conflict Prevention
The University and the Peace Process in Colombia
La paz supera coyunturas y fronteras (Colombia y Venezuela)
Peace is not stopped by borders (Colombia and Venezuela)
Campesinos colombianos celebran primer acuerdo agrario de paz
Colombian Govt and FARC Reach Agreement on First Stage of Peace Talks
Colombia Campaña de la ONU “La Paz es mía”
UN Campaign in Colombia:
Presidente colombiano reactivará la Comisión Nacional de Paz
Colombian President to Reactivate National Peace Commission
FARC-EP y Gobierno colombiano avanzan en acuerdos para la paz
FARC-EP and Colombia Government advance in their peace accords
Colombia debe ser también la Nación más educada en derechos humanos: Presidente Santos
Colombia should also be the most educated nation in human rights : President Santos
Gabriel García Márquez and the peace process in Colombia
Colombia amanece con un presidente reelecto, esperanzada en la paz
Colombia awakens to hopes for peace with the re-election of their president
Mujer, ruralidad y memoria, entre los temas del congreso de paz (Bogotá, Colombia)
Women, rurality and historical memory among the themes of the Peace Congress (Bogotá, Colombia)
Sonia Ines Goéz Orrego on a speaking tour in the U.S. to share her experience building peace in Colombia
Pax Christi International Peace Award 2015: Women Collective for Reflection and Action (Colombia)
FARC-EP y Gobierno colombiano crearán Comisión de la Verdad
Planning for a Peace Assembly in the Colombian Caribbean
Inician construcción de Asamblea por la Paz en el caribe colombiano

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America

Colombia: FARC and the Government Will Create a Truth Commission

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An article from Ahora Cuba

The FARC-EP and the Colombian government closed the 37th cycle of peace talks with the decision to establish a Commission for Clarification of Truth, Coexistence and Non-Repetition.

trc-colombia

Such a Commission will be set up after the Final Peace Agreement, and will have three main objectives, Rodolfo Benitez, Cuba guarantor at the negotiation table established in this capital since 2012, said yesterday in a news conference.

Representatives of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP) and the government of President Juan Manuel Santos are attending this roundtable discussion.

The first of those objectives is to contribute to the clarification of what happened (…) and provide a full explanation of the complexity of the conflict, said Benitez, accompanied by the government and insurgent peace delegations.

The Commission should contribute to the recognition of the victims as citizens who saw their rights violated and the voluntary recognition of individual and collective responsibilities.

It should also promote coexistence in the territories, by means of an atmosphere of dialogue and the creation of spaces in which the victims are dignified, he said.

According to Benitez, the Commission will be an independent, impartial and extrajudicial mechanism, a part of the comprehensive system of truth, justice, reparation and non-repetition that has to agree to satisfy the rights of victims, end the conflict, and achieve peace.

On the other hand, Ivan Marquez, head of the guerrilla delegation, praised the establishment of the truth Commission as a mechanism of justice and reparation, and requested the opening of the State’s files on the conflict for the clarification of what happened regarding this long confrontation.

(Click here for an article in Spanish on this subject.)

Question(s) related to this article:

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

This discussion question applies to the following articles:

Colombian villagers practice non-violent resistance
Legacy of a Nonviolent Political Leader: Governor Guillermo Gaviria of Colombia
Working for a Culture of Peace in the Valley of the Cauca, Colombia
Remise des Prix de la Fondation Chirac pour la prévention des conflits
Chirac Foundation Prize for Conflict Prevention
The University and the Peace Process in Colombia
La paz supera coyunturas y fronteras (Colombia y Venezuela)
Peace is not stopped by borders (Colombia and Venezuela)
Campesinos colombianos celebran primer acuerdo agrario de paz
Colombian Govt and FARC Reach Agreement on First Stage of Peace Talks
Colombia Campaña de la ONU “La Paz es mía”
UN Campaign in Colombia:
Presidente colombiano reactivará la Comisión Nacional de Paz
Colombian President to Reactivate National Peace Commission
FARC-EP y Gobierno colombiano avanzan en acuerdos para la paz
FARC-EP and Colombia Government advance in their peace accords
Colombia debe ser también la Nación más educada en derechos humanos: Presidente Santos
Colombia should also be the most educated nation in human rights : President Santos
Gabriel García Márquez and the peace process in Colombia
Colombia amanece con un presidente reelecto, esperanzada en la paz
Colombia awakens to hopes for peace with the re-election of their president
Mujer, ruralidad y memoria, entre los temas del congreso de paz (Bogotá, Colombia)
Women, rurality and historical memory among the themes of the Peace Congress (Bogotá, Colombia)
Sonia Ines Goéz Orrego on a speaking tour in the U.S. to share her experience building peace in Colombia
Pax Christi International – Peace Award 2015: Women, Peace and Security Collective for Reflection and Action (Colombia)

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America

Inter-institutional link to promote a culture of peace between Ecuador and Peru

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

An article from the Technical University of Loja (translated by CPNN)

Through the UNESCO Chair of Culture and Education for Peace, the Technical University (UTPL) and the Binational Development Plan for the Border Region have established an inter-institutional link for research, education, communication and culture to strengthen the culture of peace as a principle of the Ecuador-Peru binational relationship.

ecuador

Marking the agreement, the chair has organized a roundtable discussion: “The Ecuador-Peru border area integration and peace” on Thursday, May 7, at 10:00, at the Technical University of Loja, auditorium 5, Building 7. It will be attended by Vicente Rojas, executive director of the Binational Plan, Chapter Peru; Paola Inga, executive director of the Binational Plan, Chapter Ecuador; and professor Carlos Garcia of the UTPL.

The discussion group is to analyze and show the development opportunities in the area of ​​Ecuadorian-Peruvian border integration, based on a culture of peace and harmonious coexistence between man and the environment.

UTPL is responsible for the UNESCO Chair of Culture and Education for Peace. According to the agreement, activities will be established throughout the year for training processes for peaceful conflict resolution, international and bi-national encounters, academic events, and strengthening of binational organizational networks promoting social cohesion among Ecuadorians and Peruvians and meetings to ensure peaceful coexistence and good neighborliness.

The culture of peace is one of the three principles of the bilateral relationship between Ecuador and Peru and it is the main line of integration. The other two principles are humans as beginning and end, and Latin American integration.

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

Question for article
Latin America, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Guatemalan campesinos embrace ancestral farming practices to prevent migration

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article by Jeff Abbott, Waging Nonviolence (abridged)

There is a crisis facing campesinos in rural Guatemala, as tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors have traveled to the United States over the last year in search of work. Yet the same forces that have driven many onto the migrant trail have led to the emergence of a movement of young campesinos organizing to stay on their land, and not be forced to migrate to the cities or the United States. In the process, they hope to recuperate the ancestral Mayan forms of agriculture, and combat hunger and poverty in their communities. . .

Guatemala
Thousands of Q’eqchi’ Maya farmers from the communities around Chisec gather in the central square of Chisec to celebrate the campesino. (WNV/Jeff Abbott)

On a national level, the young campesinos have found support from a number of grassroots organizations, including the Coordinator of NGOs and Cooperatives, the United Campesino Committee and the Campesino Committee of the Plateau. Since 2009, these organizations have campaigned for laws that will allow farmers to stay on their land. One of these laws is Law 40-84, or the Rural Integral Development law.

“This law would oblige the state of Guatemala to assist the people living in rural areas,” Mauritius said. “It would ensure that the local market is supported.”

Since the law was first proposed in 2009, there have been regular protests demanding that the law be passed. Yet with each attempt, and each protest, the law is blocked by a coalition of right-wing parties.

Organizers have hoped to overcome the blockage through an awareness campaign entitled “I support 40-84,” which targets urban populations, trying to bring awareness of the importance of farmers to those who live in the city. The campaign has utilized videos and other materials to build support among civil society.

The campesinos have continued to keep the pressure on the government to provide a solution by holding regular protests, blocking highways, and occupying space in Guatemala City, demanding that the government pass the law.

In September and November 2014, farmers shut down major highways throughout Guatemala. And on April 17, over 400 families from the states of Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz and Izabal, traveled from their homes to occupy different parts of Guatemala City to demand a solution to the hundreds of conflicts over land in their states and that the Congress pass 40-84.

“We are going to be here until the government of Guatemala meets our demands,” said Jose Chic of the Campesino Committee of the Plateau. “We’ve set up medical services, kitchens and even schools for the children. The reality is that the social services here are better than the services that these families have in their communities.”

But despite the campaigns and protests, progress has been slow.

The small farmers have received help from other organizations, such as Utz Che, or “Good Tree” in the Mayan language Kaqchikel, which have worked alongside the campesinos to assist them in renegotiation of debts. For the community of La Benediction, this has led to the lowering of the debt that is owed from the purchase of the land to 342,000 Quetzales.

“Utz Che has been assisting the community,” said Barrios. “The situation still remains critical, but we are organized.”

Question for this article:
Latin America, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Uruguay: Declaration of the National Meeting and Festival of Family Farming and Producers of Creole Seeds

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article by Red de Ecología Social (translated by CPNN)

On April 25 and 26, at the Baths of Almiron, near the city of Guichón, was held the 7th National Meeting of Producers of Creole Seeds and the 6th National Festival of the Creole Seed and family farming, under the slogan “Native seeds and the land as the heritage of peoples in the service of humanity”, drawing over 900 people. Once again, native seeds, household production, biodiversity, women, rural schools and agroecology had their festival.

uruguay

The festival is a biennial space of meetings, exchange and coordination, organized by the National Network of Native and Creole Seeds. It integrates about 300 farming families from across the country articulated in 27 local groups. This time, the organization was in charge of the Guichón Collective in Defense of Natural Goods, the Paysandu Organic Garden Group, REDES – Friends of the Earth, the Program for Sustainable Uruguay, the Melchora Cuenca Schools (Paysandu) and Agrarian Guichón, and Tecnicatura of Family Farming.

The Seed Network is a joint initiative of local family producers, the Network for Social Ecology (NETS) – Friends of the Earth Uruguay and the Faculty of Agronomy of the University of the Republic through the Southern Regional Center.

As part of the festival there was an exhibition of Biodiversity with an exchange of native and creole seeds, accompanied by the presentation of collective experiences of urban and school gardens and the flour milling cooperative GRANECO. There were two roundtables: one on the National Plan of Agro-ecology and the impacts of genetically-modified crops and pesticides in rural populations, territories and watersheds ; and the other a space for analysis and in-depth debate on key issues central to the present and future of our country and our food sovereignty. The workshops discussed the implications of the extraction of fossil fuels by hydraulic fracturing, the concept of privatization-financialization of nature and the production and conservation of seeds.

(The article is continued on the right side of this page)

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

Question for this article:

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

(This article is continued from the left side of the page)

Declaration by the participants of the National Meeting and Festival of Family Farming and Producers of Creole Seeds:

We reaffirm our commitment to the defense of our common goods and our rights, identity and culture. Among others, the right to preserve, reproduce and exchange our seeds and the right of access to seeds that are stored in genebanks

We vindicate the knowledge of those who live on the land, and we are committed to share it with society, especially with young people.

We pledge to participate in the construction of a National Plan of Agroecology, to be based on the needs of producers with a strong regional emphasis. This plan must integrate various programs – Creole and Native Seeds; Soil conservation; Water and sustainable management of watersheds; Local procurement markets and priority of ecological production; Access to land, especially for young people; Support for collective entrepreneurship; Training and participatory research in agro-ecological production systems, especially for young people; Research and development that meets the needs of producers and is adapted to local conditions. The program must also recognize the role of women and youth and promote the exchange of experiences and knowledge between the towns and regions, promoting and supporting meetings, workshops and collective regional and national conferences.

We also denounce and demand appropriate responses by the State to confront the problem of genetically modified contamination of our seeds. This contamination has already been proven as well as the impossibility of coexistence because of the massive use of pesticides in our territories that threaten our health, water resources and biodiversity, including bees whose disappearance threatens the pollination of our plants and the livelihoods of the beekeepers.

We also call attention to the danger posed by the possible approval of new transgenic traits resistant to 2,4-D and Dicamba which are herbicides even more toxic than glyphosate whose toxicity, about which we have warned long ago, was now confirmed by WHO.

Finally, the Network for Native and Creole Seeds, as a nationwide organization based on the land, promises to be vigilant and denounce all attacks on the health of the population and the environment (water, soil, biodiversity) caused the predominant agricultural development model and we will require the State to fulfill its role as guarantor of the rights of the population.

Latin America, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT