Category Archives: Latin America

First Indigenous woman is elected Federal Deputy in Brazil

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

Special for CPNN by Myrian Castello, on the basis of information from CIMI, El Pais and BBC

Joênia Wapichana has been elected as a federal deputy in Brazil, the first indigenous woman to occupy the position in 194 years of history of Parliament. She is a a lawyer, 43 years old, and was elected with more than 8,000 votes. “Everyone has a mission in life. Mine is to defend indigenous collective rights,” she says in her Instagram account. This is the second time that an indigenous is elected to the Chamber of Deputies. The first was Mário Juruna.


Photo: Valdir Wasmann

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(Click here for the Portuguese version of this article.)

Question for this article

Indigenous peoples, Are they the true guardians of nature?

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Among the cases that she can defend as an elected Federal Representative are indigenous collective rights, the struggle for indigenous women, sustainable development, respect for the environment, transparency, ethics and the fight against corruption.

In an interview with the Indigenous Missionary Council Joenia reiterates the need to demarcate indigenous lands by FUNAI [National Indian Foundaion] based on the criteria of the Constitution. As a strategy, she intends to begin her mandate as a member of the federal government, to devote her work to combat anti-indigenous proposals and to listen to all proposals considered as priorities by organizations and entities that defend indigenous rights.

 Through dialogue with indigenous peoples and organizations, Joênia intends to propose a system of indigenous school education of its own, to have laws that recognize indigenous professionals in other areas, and also in the long term to develop specific public policies for youth and women, in addition to working on sustainability and partnerships.

Latin America, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Colombia: Today the Truth Commission begins its mandate

… . HUMAN RIGHTS … .

An article from El Espectador (translation by CPNN)

The Truth Commission, which was born out of the peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC guerrillas, begins its mandate this Thursday [November 29] to clarify what happened during half a century of armed conflict.

With a symbolic ceremony, held in Corferias de Bogotá, this Thursday will begin on the day zero of this extrajudicial entity, which, for three years, will be challenged to hear, understand and interpret the voices of the actors of the armed conflict.

Its mission: to build a final report that establishes patterns of violence and facts of victimization. In the words of Father Francisco de Roux, president of the Truth Commission, from this day we are on a path that seeks reconciliation and that we will not repeat what happened.

“We hope we can contribute to Colombia seeking the truth in a sincere, transparent way, which is a public good and is the responsibility of all of us in Colombia. We hope to contribute in depth with our communication and pedagogy and with the Casas de la Verdad that we are starting to open in different regions in the form of a mobile team with the communities,” he said in an interview with the Justice for Peace chapter of Colombia2020 .

They will be eleven commissioners of the truth – accompanied by an interdisciplinary team – who will go to nine regions of the country and through mobile groups will collect testimonies from all sectors that will voluntarily provide information on the most serious facts of the conflict.

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

 

Question related to this article:

Truth Commissions, Do they improve human rights?

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

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“This division of the country, and the location of the 26 houses of truth, are the product of the six months of work carried out by the Commission. During this time they also defined patterns of victimization that they intend to study, for example, torture, forced displacement, sexual violence, etc.,” said Truth Commissioner Saul Franco.

In addition to victim organizations, other organizations have approached the Commission, including members of the Military Forces, members of the former FARC and paramilitaries. However, as De Roux acknowledged, the political sector has not approached them. Former President Ernesto Samper – he revealed – has been one of the few who has expressed his intention to give his testimony before the Truth Commission.

It should be remembered that the truth commission is an extrajudicial entity that will not make judgments or assign individual responsibilities. “We must be aware that testifying to the Commission has an advantage: we are not judges, we are not going to punish anyone. We will protect the testimonies we receive. We have to use them to interpret what happened, unless the person who brings it says: ‘I want to give this testimony in public, because I want to contribute in a public impact to the transformation of the country.’ “, said Roux.

For Juan Carlos Ospina, coordinator of Advocacy of the Colombian Commission of Jurists, the challenges of the commission can be summarized in three points: first, organize its work to address the knowledge of the armed conflict, which is very extensive and complex, in just three years ; second, to allow the widest participation of victims and citizens, and to manage expectations adequately (with publicity and transparency) about their work. Third, build trust from the beginning. Listen to all the actors in the conflict and generate conditions for the construction of a culture of peace (respect, coexistence, reconciliation, co-responsibility and non-repetition) based on their work. Fourth, carry out its work (keeping in mind its complexity) not to judge wherever possible in view of the adverse scenario for peace created by the change of government and congress.

Finally, another of the Commission’s challenges is to face the resistances of the sectors that question their positions and their suitability. The wide variety of voices and the inclusiveness of the story, as the commissioners affirm, will be decisive for their legitimacy.

HUMAN RIGHTS, Latin America

Colombia’s rural radio stations are a key to peace

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article from Vision of Humanity

Community radio stations are a hopeful medium for improving the free flow of information in Colombia, especially in the poorest and most remote regions. 

I want you to imagine a dilapidated but colourful radio station studio, nestled in verdant Colombian jungle and protected overhead by a dense canopy. Inside, a man speaks into a microphone. He strategically omits his name from his broadcast for fear of an armed group active in a village nearby.


Colombia has been at war for 60 years. It is one of the longest wars in modern history and is perpetuated by poverty, political underrepresentation and a lack of access to healthcare, education or land rights for rural people. In the mid-1960s, armed militias emerged from both ends of the political spectrum in these rural areas, many joining the FARC – the Armed Forces of the Republic of Colombia, the largest leftist rebel army in the country and some joining hard-right paramilitaries with corrupt ties to state security forces. In this context, the history of community radio runs deep in Colombia. In October 2016, former-President Juan Manuel Santos signed an historic peace agreement with FARC.

The agreement stipulated a commitment to media reform and community radio projects “in their production and dissemination of content to foster a culture of peace”.Today, some 450 internationally recognised community radio stations operate throughout rural and regional Colombia, actively opposing the armed conflict. Radio is a cheap and relatively accessible medium for most rural-dwelling Colombians in areas with poor infrastructure, no internet or electricity access. Inexpensive, battery-powered radios become a key source of information.

Community radio stations in Colombia date back to the early 1940s. Grassroots movements for peace used radio to protest against the treatment of rural farmers and poor families and to whistle blow the activity of illegal armed groups in their communities. In her book Citizens’ Media Against Armed Conflict, Clemencia Rodríguez highlights the significant role local media projects have played in networking grassroots organisations for peace in Colombia and in disrupting armed groups’ recruitment of young men. However, some stations are highjacked by armed groups and religious authorities with their own motives. Radio is a powerful medium.

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Question related to this article:

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

Journalism in Latin America: Is it turning towards a culture of peace?

How can peace be promoted by radio?

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Community radio stations and grassroots activists often become targets of armed groups, who see media projects as attempts to dissuade local people against their violent ideologies. In the post-peace agreement phase, it is critical that the international community, the Colombian Government and non-government organisations work together, to afford security measures to local radio stations and grassroots media workers.

According to a 2018 investigation by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Colombia is still one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. The World Press Freedom Index situates Colombia at a dismal 130 out of 180 countries. At most risk are those journalists situated in rural zones, where clashes between armed groups and drug cartels are frequent.The peace agreement in October 2016 saw a ceasefire and demobilisation of record numbers of FARC troops. However, other armed groups with similar ideologies to FARC remain active, such as the People’s Liberation Army, as well as right-wing paramilitaries and drug cartels. According to Human Rights Watch, right-wing paramilitaries in Colombia are responsible for a disproportionate number of extrajudicial killings, intimidation of journalists and censorship of violent events.

In Colombia, international and national policymakers, NGOs and citizens recognise local radio stations’ contributions to peace. The earliest examples of community radio networks supported by USAID, the EU and UNESCO, include Popular Cultural Action (ACPO). ACPO plays a role in educating rural communities and enabling them to have a voice on the aforementioned root causes of conflict in Colombia. Understanding how best to address these issues in the future remains a critical challenge for transitional justice policy. To build Positive Peace in the nation, local voices must be heard.

Organisations such as the Colombian Federation of Journalists and the Communication System for Peace (SIPAZ) today help to network local media projects and to ensure funding is directed to them. Funding is particularly critical given Colombia’s highly monopolised media context. According to RSF, small scale media projects have to compete for audience interest against more lucrative, pervasive media conglomerates and their ties to political and economic elites.

In August 2018, President Iván Duque, leader of the far-right Democratic Centre Party succeeded Santos. Duque opposed the peace agreement and its approach to transitional justice, vowing to renegotiate the agreement and prioritise justice for victims if elected. Ironically, it is victim’s voices that have been silenced in the process – the majority of peace agreement ‘yes’ voters are located in areas where the conflict has caused the most devastation. Duque’s campaign attracted voters from urban areas, but many rural voters lacked access to information on Duque’s political objectives or a medium through which to voice their concerns.

The link between access to information and peace is clear. Educational and talkback programmes on community radio stations have, and continue to be, significant platforms. Rural consumers can access information, have an opinion on political and justice processes and hold Duque’s government to account in the post-peace agreement phase.Evidently, these rural radio stations are key to peace because they are located where the majority of violence takes place, where international and even urban Colombian journalists rarely travel and where local people truly know and understand the causes and impact of conflict on their communities. This does not need to be a complex process. Rural communities have already laid the groundwork. They need recognition and support. Recognition that what they do makes a difference and support in one of the most hostile contexts in the world.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America

Peace Boat brings anti-war message to Cuba

. .DISARMAMENT & SECURITY. .

An article from Granma

The danger posed to the world by the existence of nuclear weapons marked the focus of the debate in the Forum for Peace and Revolution, organized by the Japanese Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), Peace Boat, which this November docked at the port of Havana for the nineteenth time, and the second this year.

A message, signed by several civil society organizations, including the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, the Cuban Movement for Peace, and the Cuban Association of the United Nations, reiterated Cuba’s firm commitment to strengthening and consolidating international treaties on disarmament.


Departure of the Peace Boat, November 4, 2018, with 1,200 passengers from 22 countries on board. The Boat headed to Jamaica after its stay in Havana. Photo: Orlando Perea

“Seventy-three years have passed since the criminal atomic bombings of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and humanity continues to be threatened by the existence of more than 14,400 nuclear weapons, of which 3,750 are deployed and almost 2,000 are on operational alert,” read the text released in the presence of two survivors of the 1945 attacks on Japan.

In addition, young people were called on to join this struggle, raise awareness regarding the threat of a nuclear disaster, and defend humanity’s right to a future of peace. “Together with the nations that long for an end to all wars, and with the power of civil society at the international level, we will continue to demand that nuclear weapons prohibition agreements be complied with until their total elimination, and we will contribute to the construction of a culture of peace around the world,” highlighted the Cuban message.

The heartbreaking and eloquent testimony of those who experienced the horrors of the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, known as hibakushas, moved those present in the forum, as they described horrific images of walking among a multitude of corpses and burned people, whose faces no longer resembled those of human beings, screaming desperately for water.

Michiko Tsukamoto and Tamiko Sora were just girls at the time of the explosion, but it remains present in their memory. They suffered the loss of their loved ones, and today are among the few remaining survivors. They continue to talk about the tragedy because they recognize that the magnitude of the atomic attack has not yet been fully understood by all.

The Forum was also attended by Mako Ando, a Japanese youth representative committed to a world free of nuclear weapons, who works to raise awareness of the dangers posed if humanity fails to denuclearize. Referring to the hibakushas, she noted: “They suffer when they tell their stories, but they do so again and again because they do not want anyone else to experience such barbarism.”

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(Click here for the Spanish version of this article)

Question related to this article:

Peace Boat: Building a Culture of Peace around the World

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Speaking on the panel, D.Sc Leyde Rodríguez Hernández condemned the atrocities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: “We live in a time of enormous threats to international peace and security. The United States, the same power that has imposed an unjust and illegal economic, commercial, and financial blockade on the Cuban people, causing enormous human and material damages, has taken the initiative to destroy multilateralism in international relations and, with its devastating policy, dismantle the system of international treaties and agreements that served as a foundation for peace and security after WWII.”

He explained that nuclear weapons and missile defense systems today represent a serious threat to humanity, and the fight for their prohibition and total elimination should be of the highest priority, as a duty and a right of the peoples.

“The maintenance and modernization of nuclear weapons consumes much of the resources that could and should be destined for economic development, job creation, the reduction of poverty and hunger, health, education, and to prevent and combat natural disasters caused by global climate change. These resources should be redirected toward the development and fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals included in the 2030 Agenda,” the vice-rector of the Higher Institute of International Relations added.

The Forum for Peace and Revolution was dedicated to commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Cuban revolutionary triumph, the 73rd anniversary of the criminal U.S. bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and to the memory of Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro, who received members of the boat twice (in 2010 and 2012).

Natsue Onda, director of this Peace Boat trip, condemned the interventionist policy of the U.S. blockade against Cuba, and said she was pleased to hold the event aboard the ship, in the presence of so many Cubans. She highlighted the friendship between Cuba and the organization, who share the same commitments in this field.

The Peace Boat has been visiting Cuba since 1989, and this is its 99th voyage around the world, carrying a message of peace and friendship. On this occasion, the ship was carrying 1,200 passengers of 22 nationalities (most of them Japanese), who toured different historic and tourist sites of Havana, and exchanged with community organizations related to senior citizens, culture, and with students.

In a press conference, travel coordinator Adrián Godínez stressed that passengers were very interested in visiting the island, thanks to the stories of previous participants, who highlighted the warm welcome received. Other motivations to visit include the popularization of Cuban culture on the Asian continent, especially salsa music, and interest in the history of the Cuban Revolution and its leaders.

The Peace Boat promotes its voyages online, on posters in public spaces, and through the 11 friendship with Cuba organizations that operate in Japan. The NGO Peace Boat received the Order of Solidarity awarded by the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba in 2009.

As a result of the first meeting with passengers of the ship in 2010, the historic leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro, wrote a reflection titled “We will never forget,” in which he noted: “Now, as for your slogan – which, in my view has very special value, ‘Learn from past wars to build a future of peace,’ will undoubtedly always have meaning – at this moment it is more relevant than ever. I would dare say, without fear of being mistaken, that never in the history of humanity was there such a dangerous moment as this…”


DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America

Mexico: Artist’s Portraits Show Migrant Caravan’s Hope, Joy: ‘These Are Regular People’

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

An article copied from 12 News Online and still available at the Huffington Post

A third-generation Mexican-American artist hopes to show fellow Americans a more personal view of individuals in the migrant caravan making their way to the United States from Central America.
“These are regular people,” said Scarlett Baily, a Mexico City visual artist who talked to some of the 5,000 or so people in the caravan while they rested in Mexico recently. As she considered how to help, she said she “decided to go draw portraits.”


(Click on the photo to enlarge)

“It was hilarious, delightful, and the joy and courage of this crew is truly contagious,” Baily told HuffPost. 

President Donald Trump has been claiming the caravan is an invasion, filled with terrorists, gang members and drug dealers. But Baily’s drawings show the worn but hopeful faces of people in the midst of an epic trek from poverty and violence in their home countries to the U.S., where many aim to apply for asylum. 

Trump, whose campaigning ahead of last week’s elections relied on fear of the migrants, ordered more than 7,000 active-duty troops to the border to deter asylum-seekers. He has been silent on the topic on social media  since the election. 

Their story “felt too mythical to be real,” Baily said via email, and she “had to meet these people.” 

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Question for this article

The refugee crisis, Who is responsible?

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“I think the bravest people on this journey are the mothers and children,” Baily said. News coverage, she added, “paints a very different picture of what I saw in my time spent at the camp.”

“Images of desperation, exhaustion, and suffering dominate a lot of the reports, when the reality is, there is actually a lot of joy,” she said. “This journey they are on is indeed hard-core. But imagine the conditions that someone leaves behind. I think there is a certain sense of freedom that comes with this decision.”

Mexico City officials turned a stadium into a camp where the migrants could pause on their journey, and “offered them every type of city service,” according to The New York Times. Doctors and dentists provided free checkups.

The caravan departed on Saturday morning to continue the walk north.

Baily said 25-year-old Jean Carlos told her he’s from Choloma, Honduras, worked in a bodega, goes to church every Sunday, loves to drive, and one day hopes to own a Mazda. He’s heading to Canada with cans of tuna in his pocket. 

Two young girls, Lincy and Nataly, are traveling with their mother, father, and 1-month old brother, who was born in Honduras just before they left. Lincy told Baily that she hates brushing her hair. Nataly loves to draw.

The family told Baily that traveling has been hard, but “so many families on the caravan together have created a great support system.”

Baily also spoke with a barber named Osman, whose friends call him the “Talento Catracho,” or the local Honduran talent. He told her he’s walking “because he wants to be able to support himself with his craft, without fearing the mafia system taking over Honduras.”

“Sitting with someone to do their portrait is a very personal exchange,” Baily said. The mood of most of those she talked to, she added, is dominated by hope. 

“My hope is that the caricatures provide a nice memory for people who left everything behind, a moment to feel celebrated, rooted for, and an alternative to what we see in mass media,” Baily said. “Perhaps these portraits may swap fear of migrants for a collective empathy.”  

[Click here to see more of Baily’s drawings of people in the caravan.]

Latin America, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

7th Fair of Nonviolent Initiatives in Quito, Ecuador

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

An article and photo album by Walker Vizcarra in Pressenza (reproduced according to a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license) (translation by CPNN)

Questions for this article:

Can festivals help create peace at the community level?

More than 15 organizations that develop activities, projects and initiatives for active nonviolence, building a culture of peace, non-discrimination and respect for diversity have come together on the boulevard the United Nations in the city of Quito, last Saturday October 27th for the 7th Fair of Nonviolent Initiatives , which is one of the iconic activities carried out during “Nonviolent October.”

NonViolent October brought together collectives and organizations from 14 cities that launched more than 100 initiatives between the last week of September and the entire month October which ended a few days ago.

Click here for the photo album.

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

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Latin America

Mexico: Culture of Peace Congress – Necessity of the XXI Century

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article from Cuarto Poder (translation by CPNN)

The city of San Cristobal de Las Casas will host the First International Congress of the Culture of Peace, Necessity of the XXI Century, organized by the Faculty of Law of the Autonomous University of Chiapas (UNACH).

The director of the institution, Jacobo Mérida Cañaveral, informed the press that the activities will take place on the 25th and 26th of October in the school facilities.

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(click here for the Spanish original)

Question for this article:

Mediation as a tool for nonviolence and culture of peace

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Opening ceremony

The activities will begin at 09:00 hours, with the registration of participants and at 10:00 hours the opening ceremony with the participation of Óscar Ortiz Salcedo from the Research and Studies Institute for Peace.

Among the speakers, will be Isacc Monge Orossi, of the Judicial Power of Costa Rica; Emilio Carretero Morales, from the Carlos III University of Madrid, and Jacobo Mérida Cañaveral, director of the Faculty of Law of Unach.

The meeting is organized by the UNACH, through the Faculty of Law, Campus III, and the Institute of Research and Studies for Peace.

This activity will be divided into five thematic groups: Criminal mediation; Civil, family and labor mediation; Culture of peace from the perspective of law students; The institutionalization of the culture of peace and the teaching of the culture of peace.

Among the activities we can highlight are the lectures given by professors and the Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain, the Judicial Power of Costa Rica, the Research and Studies Institute for Peace, UNACH, among others.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

Sepur Zarco case: The Guatemalan women who rose for justice in a war-torn nation

…. HUMAN RIGHTS ….

An article from UN Women (abridged)

During the 36-year-long Guatemalan civil war, indigenous women were systematically raped and enslaved by the military in a small community near the Sepur Zarco outpost. What happened to them then was not unique, but what happened next, changed history. From 2011 – 2016, 15 women survivors fought for justice at the highest court of Guatemala. The groundbreaking case resulted in the conviction of two former military officers of crimes against humanity and granted 18 reparation measures to the women survivors and their community.


Maria Ba Call with members of her family. Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown

The abuelas of Sepur Zarco, as the women are respectfully referred to, are now waiting to experience justice. Justice, for them, includes education for the children of their community, access to land, a health care clinic and such measures that will end the abject poverty their community has endured across generations. Justice must be lived.

The day the military came to take her husband and son is etched into Maria Ba Caal’s memory, but some of the details are fading. “When my husband and my 15-year old son were taken away, they were working men. The army came in the afternoon and took them away… I don’t remember the date, but that was the last time I saw my husband and son,” she said.

It’s been 36 years since that day. Maria Ba Caal is now 77 years old.

Like many other Maya Q’eqchi’ women of Sepur Zarco, a small rural community in the Polochic Valley of north-eastern Guatemala, Ba Caal is still looking for the remains of her husband and son who were forcibly disappeared and most likely killed by the Guatemalan army in the early 1980s.

The Guatemalan conflict

The Guatemalan internal armed conflict[1] dates back to 1954 when a military coup ousted the democratically elected President, Jacobo Arbenz. The subsequent military rulers reversed the land reforms that benefited the poor (mostly indigenous) farmers, triggering 36 years of armed conflict between the military and left-wing guerilla groups and cost more than 200,000 lives. Majority of those killed—83 per cent—were indigenous Maya people.[2] . . . .

In 1982[3], the military set up a rest outpost in Sepur Zarco. The Q’eqchi leaders of the area were seeking legal rights to their land at the time. The military retaliated with forced disappearance, torture and killing of indigenous men, and rape and slavery of the women.

“They burnt our house. We didn’t go to the Sepur military base (rest outpost) by choice…they forced us. They accused us of feeding the guerillas. But we didn’t know the guerillas. I had to leave my children under a tree to go and cook for the military… and…” Maria Ba Caal leaves that sentence unfinished. It hangs in the air as we sit in front of her mud shack. Her great grandchildren are playing nearby. She cries quietly.

Rape and sexual slavery are not words that translate easily into Q’eqchi. “We were forced to take turns,” she continues. “If we didn’t do what they told us to do, they said they would kill us.”

For years afterwards, Maria Ba Caal and other women who were enslaved by the military were shunned by their own communities and called prostitutes. Guatemala’s civil war was not only one of the deadliest in the region, it also left behind a legacy of violence against women.

The community of Sepur Zarco has about 226 families today. From the nearest town of Panzós, it’s a 42 Km drive down a dusty road that hasn’t been fully paved.

A few miles before Sepur Zarco stands the skeleton frameworks of a farm house in Tinajas Farm, surrounded by corn fields. In May 2012, the Fundación de Antropología Forense de Guatemala [the anthropological and forensic foundation of Guatemala] exhumed 51 bodies of indigenous peoples from this site, killed and buried in mass graves by the Guatemalan military. The evidence from Tinajas was one of the turning points in the Sepur Zarco case.

Paula Barrios, who heads Mujeres Transformando el Mundo (Women Transforming the World) explained that the indigenous communities living around the area believed that more than 200 men were brought here and never seen again.

“This was the truth of the Q’eqchi’ people, but we had to prove that the stories were true. The exhumation continued for 22 days and cost Q.100,000 (USD 13,500). Some families heard and came to the site, hoping to find their lost ones. Women from the Sepur Zarco community came and cooked for the crew. For four days they dug and dug but didn’t find any bodies. The anthropologists said that the next day would be the last day.”

“They found the first body the next day.”

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In 2011, 15[4] women survivors of Sepur Zarco—now respectfully called the abuelas (grandmothers)—took their case to the highest court of Guatemala, with the support of local women’s rights organizations, UN Women and other UN partners.

After 22 hearings, on 2 March 2016, the court convicted two former military officers of crimes against humanity on counts of rape, murder and slavery, and granted 18 reparation measures to the women survivors and their communities. This was the first time in history that a national court prosecuted sexual slavery during conflict using national legislation and international criminal law.

The abuelas fought for justice and reparations not only for themselves, but for change that would benefit the entire community. The court sentence promised to reopen the files on land claims, set up a health centre, improve the infrastructure for the primary school and open a new secondary school, as well as offer scholarships for women and children—measures that can lift them out of the abject poverty they continue to endure.

“When we took our case to court, we believed we would win, because we told the truth,” said Maria Ba Caal. “To me it’s very important that our voice and our history is known to our country so that what we lived through never happens to anyone else.”

As part of the reparation measures, civil society organizations worked with the Guatemalan Ministry of Education to develop a comic book for children, which narrates the history of Sepur Zarco. The book will be distributed in secondary schools across Guatemala City, as well as in the municipalities of Alta Verapaz area.

Only one of the 11 surviving abuelas who fought for the groundbreaking case has a home in Sepur Zarco. Most of the others live in the surrounding communities of San Marcos, La Esperanza and Pombaac in make-shift homes. There’s a small plot of land behind the women’s centre that’s now under construction, which has been promised to the abuelas for building their homes.

Maria Ba Caal and Felisa Cuc gave us a tour of the area. Felisa Cuc is 81 years old, and is waiting for her home. She wants a house of brick and tin.

“When I heard the sentence, I was very happy. I thought my life will improve. But at this moment, I don’t know if I will live long enough to see the results.”

Doña Felisa has had a hard life. The soldiers took her husband away in 1982 and tortured him. He was never seen again. “I was raped, along with my two daughters who were young married women then. Their husbands had left… We tried to escape, we sought shelter in abandoned houses, but the soldiers found us. My daughters were raped in front of me.”

The Sepur Zarco military rest outpost closed by 1988 and the conflict formally ended in 1996 with the signing of the peace agreement. But the abuelas continued to scramble for a bit of dignity, a bit of land, and food.

Doña Felisa took us to her home in Pombaac, walking through dirt roads across corn fields. The last house in Pombaac is hers.

“There are so many needs,” she said. “At this moment, I need something to eat. No one knows how much longer I will live. I need land for my children. Perhaps if they have land to cultivate they can help me, feed me.”

Out of all the reparation measures, land restitution is perhaps one of the most critical ones, but difficult to implement since much of the land being claimed is held privately. The President has to appoint an institution and the Ministry of Finance has to provide a budget to the institution to buy the privately held land and then redistribute it.

One reparation measure that has had some traction is the free mobile health clinic, which serves 70 – 80 people every day. “We had to walk long to get to a clinic, but now it’s closer. Each community takes turn to take care of the clinic. Many women from my community have received medicines, but there are sicknesses that cannot be treated here…we dream of a hospital that can treat all our illnesses,” explained Rosario Xo, one of the abuelas.

Demesia Yat, an outspoken figure among the abuelas, recognizes how far they have come and also what’s at stake: “Our effort, first as women, and second as grandmothers, is very important. It’s true that we got justice. We are now asking for education for our children and grandchildren so that the youth in the community have opportunities and aren’t like their elders who could not study. Our claims are with the government. We waited for many years for justice, now we have to wait for reparations.”

The Sepur Zarco case is about justice, as shaped by women who endured untold horror and loss, and today they are demanding to experience that justice in their everyday lives.

Notes

[1] The conflict in Guatemala is officially referred as the “internal armed conflict”.

[2] The timeline has been corroborated with facts from the following sources: Memory of Silence: The Guatemalan Truth Commission Report; Case Study Series: Women in Peace and Transition Processes and Timeline: Guatemala’s Brutal Civil War by PBS News Hour

[3] For more facts and figures, see https://www.ghrc-usa.org/our-work/important-cases/sepur-zarco/

[4] The lawsuit was based on the violation of 15 women from Sepur Zarco, but the court could only verify the evidence of 11 of them as three of the victims died.

HUMAN RIGHTS, Latin America

Mexico: International Congress of Education for Peace Organized in Edomex

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article from SDP Noticias

The Secretariat of Education of the State of Mexico held the First International Congress of Education for Peace and Exchange of Successful Experiences of School Coexistence, in order to give teachers of all levels competence in conflict mediation.


The event, held within the framework of the International Day of Nonviolence, was held in the city of Toluca and consisted of six lectures, a discussion forum with specialists, 19 workshops, four round tables and a video conference. 750 educators received training in gender equality, human rights, conflict mediation, culture of peace and care for the environment, taught by experts from Argentina, Colombia, Spain and Mexico.

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(Click here for the original article in Spanish)

Questions for this article:

Where is peace education taking place?

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The Undersecretary of Basic and Normal Education, Rogelio Tinoco García, said in the framework of the event that the school has been the ideal space to instill values ​​that promote peace and coexistence, including tolerance, equality, respect , conciliation, dialogue and cooperation.

For her part, Elizabeth Ozuna Rivero, Director General of CONVIVE, said that this body works with monitoring public policies and actions aimed at generating peace environments. It provides multiple tools and peaceful social skills to teachers..

Participants included Claudia Alonso Pesado, Coordinator of Operation of the National System for the Integral Protection of Children and Adolescents and Olga Pérez Sanabria, Executive Secretary of the System for the Integral Protection of Children and Adolescents.

Also present were the Director of the National School Coexistence Program, the Delegate of the Secretariat of Public Education in the state, the General Director of the College of Bachelors of the State of Mexico, the State Coordinator of the Professional Teaching Service and the Executive Commissioner of Attention to Victims in the State of Mexico.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

Latin Ameria and the Caribbean: International Day of Peace

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

A survey by CPNN

The following 95 events in 24 Latin American countries include those listed in Google during the week of September 21-28 under the key words “International day of peace”, “Dia Internacional da Paz” and “Día Internacional de la Paz” The events also includes some listed on the event map for the International Day of Peace and on the facebook pages for the global feast and the International Cities of Peace as well as partiipants in One Day One Choir and Montessori schools singing for peace.



In Feira de Santana, Brazil the event featured white balloons
and many people dressed in white.

Here are excerpts from the articles.

SAN CAYETANO, ARGENTINA: For the International Day of Peace “Culture goes to the square” was developed in Plaza América, with the participation of the workshops of the Directorate of Education and Culture. In the space of the painting workshop they were able to make a production using the silk-screen technique; in loom they contributed to make the longest flag of the district; the Papelnonos built paper bulbs and cranes that were hung in one of the diagonals of the plaza, as well as they interpreted the Anthem of the Peace; whereas Danzas Latinas, Old Active and Fun, and Coro made everyone sing and dance. The Laboratory of theater, tango and folklore showed how much they learn in classes; while the rock and guitar workshops presented their newly formed bands. Everything was recorded through the Photography workshop.

SAN JAVIER, ARGENTINA: In San Javier, schools 853 and 1121 carried out activities for the International Day of Peace. In the case of the public elementary school N ° 853 Fray Ermete Costanzi, there was a peace march from the educational institution to the municipal campsite. “We want to instill this value with the children, we have worked during the week in the classrooms on the subject of peace,” said the deputy director of the morning, Claudia Blanc. San José School 1121, carried out various activities related to peace, first in the classrooms and then held a celebration at the Palo de la Paz, located in San Martín Square and then went to the municipal campsite, to develop recreational activities.

SALTA, ARGENTINA: The celebration in the Paseo de la Democracia of the Plaza de la Legislatura included the raising of the flag, “bandera de la paz,” an artistic show, a peace walk and a photographic exposition.

SAN SALVADOR DE JUJUY, ARGENTINA: The municipality of the capital, through the Secretariat of Human Development, organized the ceremony in Plaza Belgrano, an opportunity to strengthen the ideals of peace and to release the anthem of a Jujuy author. The Secretary of Human Development, José Luis Sánchez, praised the importance of the ideals of peace of all the nations and peoples of the world, Other participants included the Secretary of Indigenous Peoples, Natalia Sarapura; Rebeca Chambi, Director of Cultural Rights; councilors Patricia Moya, María Galán, Estela Flores and Marcelo García; Ambassadors of Peace and neighbors.

CORRIENTES, ARGENTINA: On Friday, September 21, the Ministry of Education of Corrientes, on behalf of Lic. Mirta Clarisa Godoy Director of Intercultural Bilingual Education participated in the commemorative act for the “International Day of Peace” in the Plazoleta located at intersection of streets May 25 and Costanera Av. of our city. The event was led by the Mayor of the city, Dr. Eduardo Tassano, who spoke to those present highlighting the importance of living in a society that uses peace as a basis for coexistence, inaugurating a peace pole “May peace prevail over the land” written in different languages ​​representative of our diverse culture.

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA: Organized by the Secretariat for Equal Opportunities and Treatment of the UPCN (Unión del Personal Civil de la Nación), the commemoration of the International Day of Peace, was held in the gardens of the Ministry of Economy. From 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., the gardens were decorated with hundreds of origami cranes made by children in schools, elderly people in different centers and interested people who came to the offices of the Secretariat to learn the technique and make the cranes which are symbols of peace made by the Japanese paper folding technique.

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA: A Global Feast for Peace was held this year in Buenos Aires.

ORANJESTAD, ARUBA: UNESCO Aruba partners up with JCI Yala for a 3k fun walk to celebrate World Peace Day.

TUBARÃO, BRAZIL:Representatives of 12 School participated in the 9th Meeting with Catholic Professionals of Education, on September 29, morning, at St. Joseph’s College in Tubarão. Archbishop João Francisco, in his message to the educators, stressed that peace is ” woven day after day with patience and mercy and demands a look from the heart”. Counselor, Psychologist and Educator Joyce Lima Floriano, with competence, addressed the theme: “The culture of peace in the world of the School “. 

PIRATININGA, NITERÓI, BRAZIL:The social action “Walk of Peace”, in celebration of the International Day of Peace, was held yesterday afternoon, at the Colégio de Aplicação Dom Hélder Câmara, in Piratininga, Niterói. The students gathered in the Plaza do Rotatória do Cafubá, and sang the song “La paz” by Gilberto Gil, leaving the people who watched with excitement. “This walk is very important, because the world today is really very violent, with shots to all sides and the walk is to make everyone aware that peace can reign at any moment,” said Ricardo Caliço, 5th year.

JÚLIO DE CASTILHOS, RIO GRANDE DO SUL, BRAZIL: With the purpose of disseminating a culture of non-violence in schools and society through work carried out in schools and outside of it, EMEI Dona Doralice promotes a walk next Wednesday (19), at 14:00, which happens on the street Cel. Luiz Azevedo in the neighborhood Centro Baixo in front of the school is located in Júlio de Castilhos, within the “Peace Project is People Who Do”. The direction, CPM and students of the school, invite state schools and entities such as Santo Antonio Beneficent Association and community members to participate in the ‘Walk for Peace’ where everyone can wear white clothes.

PIRENOPOLIS, BRAZIL: You are invited to the event “I am peace” on the International Day of Peace, September 21, 2018 from 5 p.m. to 1 p.m. Dance, Music, Poetry, Performance and Walk for Peace on Rua Matutina, Centro – Pirenopolis. Prem Rawat Foundation’s Education for Peace videos every Thursday at 7:00 p.m. on Matutina Street, No. 8 with Sandra Cristina and Luis Gustavo Armond Free entrance

ARAPIRACE, BRAZIL: Students from Lindalva Elementary School Eulália de Farias marched on the streets of the Bom Sucesso neighborhood on Friday (21), International Day of Peace, to ask for “enough” in the violence and to shout for justice. During the week several activities with this same theme were carried out inside the school, including with the presence of the parents, as poster contest and parodies.

CAMPINAS, BRAZIL: This Friday, September 21, starting at 4:00 p.m., in Praça da Bandeira in Campina Grande, the United Religions Initiative – Uri Borborema Cooperation Circle, will celebrate the International Day of Peace, with the presence of several leaders and representatives of religious institutions and groups in the city, with messages and prayers for world peace. The event will feature musical performances MaracaGrande and Viviane Stayner, distribution of about 200 mini-ykebanas and 200 kitcharis – vegan snacks, and will still be made a ThetaHealing healing wheel for unconditional love giving.

CHAPECÓ, BRAZIL: The Chapecó / SC Choral Association marked the International Day of Peace at the Regional Police Station of the Civil Police and the Chapecó District Forum, with brief concerets in order to carry the message that marks the date. The end of this day is for the person to do something for peace. Among other ideas, you can put a white flag in your house, forgive a friend, make a donation, join the world events, share the official page of this day or Imagine John Lennon’s music on social networks or sign petitions that circulate through the internet for peace.

CHAPECÓ, BRAZIL: Some activities were made by the Institution Chapecó Criança to celebrate the Peace Day which is celebrated on 21 September. The activities are focused on the Project called “Hands given for Peace.” After this action the children went to the field to fly white kites made by the the institution’s teachers. The kites represent the symbol of the culture of peace, so that good winds bring actions of good to the whole world. And to finish the children received three seeds of sunflower, symbolizing seeds of love, to cultivate actions of: Embrace, Solidarity, Kindness, Expressing Love.

FRANCISCO BELTRÃO, BRAZIL:Today, September 21, International Peace Day, students and staff gathered in the courtyard for a moment of reflection. Using ribbons, the colors of the continents were represented and a cry for Peace in the world was raised.

CURITIBA, BRAZIL: The International Day of Peace, celebrated this Friday (21), will gather more than 400 people on a walk in Curitiba. Promoted by the Secretariat of Sport, Leisure and Youth, the Walk of Peace will begin at 10 am in Barigui Park.

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL: Unipaz São Paulo (International Peace University), School of Transformative Education, designed for the next week a special program called “Dialogues for a Culture of Peace”, in celebration of the International Day of Peace, September 21, in order to reflect about the importance of the theme in everyday life. The special program begins at 6:00 pm on Monday, September 17, with the free practice of Meditation entitled Connection to World Peace. On May 18, at 7:30 p.m., Unipaz Vice President Nelma da Silva Sá, Unipaz Facilitator Andrea Duque and guests will hold a live on Culture of Peace entitled “Living in Peace is Possible?”. The event will be broadcast live on the Unipaz Facebook page .

SAO PAULO: To celebrate the International Day of Peace, representatives of different religions – Catholicism, Spiritism, Buddhism, Umbanda, Protestantism, Hinduism, Candomblé, Islam – participate in the interreligious act Unity for Peace on Friday, (21) at the São Paulo Commercial Association (ACSP) headquarters, in the center of the city of São Paulo. At the event, 30 young people appointed by the ACSP districts, present in all regions of the city, will receive the Peace Mark Trophy, which is a replica of the landmark Peace Monument, a monument created by the special adviser to the ACSP presidency, Gaetano Brancati Luigi. “Young people are our future. We need to encourage them to pursue the culture of peace and love, because only then do we feel the true flavor of life.”

FEIRA DE SANTANA, BRAZIL:  In Feira de Santana, the International Day of Peace was celebrated in the Marcus Morais Space. An action of the Fair Campaign calls for Peace, the act brought together the community, municipal and state schools, as well as authorities and civil society entities. The municipal secretary of violence prevention, Pablo Roberto, explained that the campaign has a vast program and all actions are based on the discussion about the need for a culture of peace in the city. The event featured white balloons and many people dressed in white.

SANTA MARTA, BRAZIL This year’s International Peace Day event in the community is bringing the discussion of how important peace in the favelas is. The president of the NGO Atitude Social, Pierre Avila, told the Voice of Communities: “I expect more love, less arms, to end discrimination and prejudice. We are all children of the same Creator.” The resident and artist Juanita Costa, will exhibit her works of art. Although she currently lives in Los Angeles, she always visits Brazil to develop artistic activities with the children of the NGO. In addition to Juanita’s presence, the event will feature a music school and an integrated arts workshop.

ITAJAÍ, BRAZIL: On Friday (21), when the International Day of Peace is celebrated, the students of the Basic School Professor Judith Duarte de Oliveira will perform an action from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Hercílio Luz street, opposite to the Historical Museum. They participate in the Project “Sowers of Peace: United to Make a Difference”, which is developed in the school. One of the programmed activities is the Pinwheels for Peace project. Will they be planted? weather vane in various regions of the city, with messages on peace, anti-bullying, non-violence, among others. “They will be placed in the municipal gardens as a public statement of the search for a Culture of Peace ?, explains Professor Patrícia Regina, adding that the wind will spread thoughts and feelings about peace for the whole country and the world.

 VITÓRIA, BRAZIL: Students at the Centro Educacional Leonardo da Vinci produced a mural for respect for differences among peoples, through generosity and a careful look at the other. Each group worked with a continent, painting butterflies with the colors of the flags of each country, but these butterflies are not restricted to their borders, joining on the same planet, showing that although we have different colors and flags, we are similar and have a same heart.

SOUSA PARAIBO, BRAZIL Ação Colegio e Curso held a “Peace Walk” around the school. The children also presented texts and related poems. In the words of the 5th year B student, Anthonia Maria “peace means love, harmony, knowing how to listen to others, to be calm and patient.”

CRICIÚMA, SANTA CATARINA, BRAZIL:A big collective hug was held on the afternoon of last Friday (September 9) in Criciúma to celebrate the International Day of Peace. The action was part of the III Meeting of the Hands-for-Peace Project promoted by the CPMA of the Criciúma region in partnership with the State Government, the State Department of Justice and Citizenship, the Santa Public Prosecutor’s Office Catarina and the Judiciary of Santa Catarina. The project seeks to promote reflection on the construction of a less violent society based on initiatives that promote a culture of peace. In the opportunity also was inaugurated a billboard in the side street to the Forum, highlighting the campaign with the message “For the victims of all forms of violence, our fight for peace”. The event was attended by CPMA partner institutions such as the City Hall of Criciúma, 9th Battalion of the Military Police, Civil Police, 28th GAC, Red Cross, Fire Department, General Institute of Skills, Civil Defense, neighborhood associations, churches and schools in the region, among others.

MANDAQUI, SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL For the International Day of Peace at Cermac College the students of Fundamental II , made a mural together, in the art classes, idealizing what they understand as peace. Already high school , took advantage of text production classes to write their perceptions in the form of a poem.  Meanwhile, Elementary I students treated the topic on the “good morning” and “good afternoon”. At Cermac Junior , the children set up a beautiful mural with the theme “What is peace for you”. The students of Infantil I and II knew the legend of Tsuru and made their own, embellishing the whole unit with the origami. The juniors made drawings on the story of Todd Parr, “The Book of Peace.”

ITAJAÍ, BRAZIL: An event in celebration of the International day of Peace, included artistic presentations on the theme, recitation of poetry, distribution of white balloons, face painting, tree seedlings distribution and 1500 Pinwheels with messages of peace in the gardens of our city. There was also distribution of the “Peace Sowers Newsletter”. With a monthly circulation of 3000 thousand copies with 12 pages, and also in the digital format, the “Peace Sowers Newsletter ” addresses several topics in the sections on Quality of Life, Health, Family Space, Ecology, Sustainability, Interviews with Inspiring People, Traveling in History with Peacemakers, UN News, and a wide range of knowledge and information to add to these, and that contribute to the individual and collective good, benefiting as many people as possible and promoting the Culture of Peace. The event was in front of the Historical Museum of Itajaí, in the center of the city.

TIBÚ, COLOMBIA: The celebration of the International Day of Peace took place on Saturday, September 29 at the school in the village of Caño Indio with a Eucharist, bazaar, sale of meals, lightning football championship, presentation of musical groups and cultural activities.

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA: Bogotá celebrates the International Day of Peace with symbolic exhibitions, talks with the public, concerts, gastronomic events and fairs with products produced by victims of the armed conflict. One of the most outstanding exhibitions will be at the Center for Memory, Peace and Reconciliation where the monolith that serves as a welcome to the Center is clothed since yesterday afternoon by 1,200 meters of fabrics with stories of peace , reconciliation and memory. These have been woven by victims of the armed conflict and citizen organizations. Virgelina Chará, representative of the Union of Costurers, coordinator of the Asomujer Foundation and in charge of the construction of the loom, explained that “Covering the monolith of the Memory Center is a way of claiming rights. Today we are talking about peace, but what we are doing is for it to be spoken from another language: from the embroidered memory, written, cooked, sung and traditional medicine “.

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Question for this article

What has happened this year (2018) for the International Day of Peace?

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SANTA MARTA, MAGDALENA, COLOMBIA: “Act for Peace !: Peacemakers – Words + Actions” is an event in the framework of the Celebration of the International Day of Peace, where the community of Magdalena University is invited to be agents of change of our territory.

LA PAZ, CESAR, COLOMBIA: In the framework of the International Day of Peace the United Nations Organization , with the support of the Government of Cesar, planned for today a gastronomic day called “Master Chef Por La Paz”, inspired by the famous reality Master Chef. During the activity to be developed today in the Territorial Space of Training and Reincorporation of the ex-combatants, it is expected to have the presence of recognized figures of folklore and national entertainment such as the Mono Zabaleta, Omar Murillo and his wife Koral Costa, as well as the cooks of important restaurants and hotels in Valledupar. Competing teams are made up of ex-guerrillas , the community, the public force and the institutions, according to the Peace Adviser of the Department of Cesar, Jesualdo Hernández Mieles.

DABEIBA, ANTIOQUIA, COLOMBIA: Some 150 ex-combatants of the FARC guerrillas commemorated yesterday in the municipality of Dabeiba (Antioquia) the International Day of Peace with the purpose of “living without hatred” and continuing to build the “roads of peace”. In the Llano Grande farmhouse, where there is a Territorial Training and Reintegration Space (ETCR), ex-guerrillas, Public Force and civil society participated in an event led by the UN that reaffirmed the commitment to work on reconciliation. “This is a historic moment, some 15 years ago it was impossible to think of such a moment, and today we all come together for peace,” said Isaias Trujillo, who served 47 years in the Farc. The singing of the children of the school Laura Montoya, who interpreted the song Paz, Paz, Paz of the singer-songwriter Juanes, painted of optimism and hope an activity that also included the presentation of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Medellín and that was the stage of the presentation of the Alliance of Foundations for Reconciliation. This initiative developed by 10 business and social foundations seeks to strengthen specific programs in the area, to work on reconciliation with training and the planting of gardens, among other actions. During the celebration, in addition to recognizing that the implementation process “requires time and patience -according to Trujillo- to reach a successful conclusion”, the advances made in the reintegration were highlighted. For the mayor in charge of Dabeiba, Lina Valle, in that territory they not only talk about peace, but “we are building and living”.

BOSA, COLOMBIA: The celebration of the International Day of Peace takes place September 21 and 9:00 in the Plaza Fundacional.

MEDELLIN, ANTIOQUIA, COLOMBIA: Organized by the Fundación El Sol, the International Day of Peace was celebrated with different rhythms and dances in the Parque de las luces.

SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA: To commemorate the International Day of Peace, a group of foundations allied with the Municipality of San José and the Ministry of Justice organized a walk starting at 8 in the morning from the Parque de las Garantías Sociales  to the Plazoleta de la Soledad. The organizers urged those who participate in the activity to wear white garments, as a symbol of peace.

CIEGO DE AVILA, CUBA: A meeting was attended by social communicators from various sectors of the territory of Avilanian and representatives of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples who repudiated the military bases of the United States. “To contribute to generating a broad international movement that makes peace and the survival of humanity its central objective, constitutes a moral imperative and a political commitment of Cuban communicators that we will not give up in any circumstance,” said Sierralta González, President of the Cuban Association of Social Communicators.

HAVANA, CUBA: The second international seminar on realities and challenges of Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace took place September 19-21 at the “Raúl Roa García” Higher Institute of International Relations. Sponsors included the World Peace Council and the Cuban Movement for Peace and the Sovereignty of the Peoples, with co-sponsorship of the Higher Institute of International Relations and the Martin Luther King Jr. Center. Panels were on the following themes: – Current U.S. Policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean: Consequences for Peace – Social Inequalities, Gender and Ethnic Minority Issues: Challenges for Peace – The Environment, Natural Resources and Challenges for Peace – Imperialist Information and Communications Technologies and their Provocations to Peace – Importance of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.

SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: The Ministry of the Interior and Police (MIP), through the Vice Ministry of Social Management and Citizen Education, encouraged the participation of 75 young people in the seminar “Construyo Paz RD”, on the occasion of the celebration of the International Day de la Paz, on September 21. The presence of this group of young people, belonging to the sectors involved in the Vivir Tranquilo program, was supported by the Minister of the Interior and Police, José Ramón Fadul, and was organized by the “Cultura de Paz Network of the Dominican Republic”, a space that integrates different public, business and civil society organizations with the purpose of sowing in the youth knowledge and values ​​that impel them to develop a culture of peace. This seminar was born as an initiative coordinated by the Center for the Study, Prevention and Resolution of Conflicts (CEPREC), with the objective of empowering youth leaders who can promote in their sectors the construction of peace, through respect for Human Rights, tolerance and good behavior, for the prevention of violence and conflicts, and in that way guarantee an atmosphere of peace and security in communities throughout the country.

ITCHIMBIA, QUITO, ECUADOR: We are here in Itchimbia Park this Saturday September 22 to cultivate a family and collective space and commemorate the International Day of Peace that is celebrated on the 21st. We decree to the world and to us same that we are here for Peace. That in Ecuador, Latin America and the whole world, we are many and more and more people that actively take steps with confidence and say, We want Peace! in the present and for the future. For our life and the next generations. For our relationships, our Mother Earth and our hearts.

GUAYAS, ECUADOR: With an open house to inform citizens of the benefits of the Justice of the Peace, the Provincial Directorate of the Council of the Judiciary of Guayas celebrated the International Day of Peace as “a call to hope that one day of peace may lead to another. The president, Gabriel Manzur, said that since 2014, the Judiciary has participated in the community designation of 13 Judges and Peace Judges in 16 parishes, promoting in this way justice services to citizens living in rural areas of the country. Víctor Carranza, Justice of the Peace of the Cone parish in San Jacinto de Yaguachi, indicated that significant progress has been made in his community in the interests of better coexistence among the neighbors, because the conflicts have been overcome through dialogue. There have been seven educational centers of the Fe y Alegría network in the province of Guayas, which have participated in the “Seedlings of Coexistence” program, with workshops held both for students and parents, in which the problems were analyzed of their community and alternative solutions with practical tools so that dialogue becomes the fundamental mechanism to resolve conflicts.

GUANAJUATO, MÉXICO: International Day of Peace Celebration with Workshops and Music for Children in collaboration with 58 International Children´s Festival from Sibenik Croatia, World Art Games Organization, Art México, Art Spirit Community and Museo de Arte e Historia de Guanajuato.

IRAPUATO, MEXICO: Peace groups from Jalisco, Chihuahua and Michoacán, as well as different clubs and civic associations such as the Union of Clubs and Associations of Irapuato (UCADI), the Lions Club and the Board of Kings Cavalcade joined in a walk for peace. They held cardboard signs and blankets with various messages of peace such as; “High crime, more attention to the disabled … enough deaths” and “we are tired of so much corruption” was how the peace walk began, leaving the park Irekua .The walk traversed Guerrero Avenue and more people joined the contingent as it progressed its way bound for the Plazuela Miguel Hidalgo.

NAVOJOA, SONORA, MEXICO: All students at the primary and secondary levels were invited to submit posters for the International Day of Peace. Activities on that day included a march of students wearing white clothing from the Plaza 5 de Mayo to Plaza Santa Fé Springs, where the Museo Regional del Mayo is located . Organizers included the Municipal Government through the Directorate of Education and Culture , in coordination with Amigo de los Museos , Cultural Association, Nabojowa Mission Intercultural Civil Association and Yolem Tekia Cultural Center.

METEPEC, MEXICO: The International Day of Peace was celebrated by the Ignacio Zaragoza” primary school for the benefit of 567 students, the José Palacios Rojas High School and the Bertha del Avellano de Cárdenas Children’s Garden.

NUEVO LEÓN, MEXICO: The State Government will hold on Sunday, September 30, the Walk for Peace and Nonviolence to celebrate the International Day of Peace. The purpose of this event is to raise awareness among the population of returning to values ​​and regenerating the social fabric, said Ervey Cuéllar Adame, Undersecretary of Prevention and Citizen Participation. The Walk starts at 9:00 from the Alameda and goes to the Government Palace. Participants are asked to wear white clothing, symbolizing peace. In the end, through songs and dances, gang members will send messages of peace and nonviolence.

MONTERREY, MEXICO: On the occasion of the International Day of Peace (September 21) and the International Celebration of Nonviolence (October 2), the Undersecretary of Prevention and Citizen Participation ,Ervey Cuellar, called for a walk wih the objective of promoting peace and aborting the violence. He affirmed that the event will be carried out to exhort the population to recover the values ​​of dialogue, tolerance, respect and healthy family coexistence. “We want to strengthen the social fabric, to collaborate in all this problem that we are living and to promote peace and tranquility,” said Cuellar. 

ZACATECAS STATE, MEXICO: The International Day of Peace was celebrated with the ringing of bells in all the Catholic churches of El Mineral. The churches that joined the celebration when the bells rang for three minutes were Our Lady of Purification, Saint Anne, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Saint Joseph Worker, Our Lady of Refuge, Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Saint John and Divine Providence. In addition to Fresnillo, other communities also participated, including Plateros -with its seven churches located in ranches and within the community-, Ábrego, Colonia Mariana, Rancho Grande, San José Station, San José de Lourdes, La Salada, Vallecitos Plan, El Aterradero, La Enchanted and Trujillo. The priest Jesus Arteaga, known as Father Chuzo, reported that the churches of the Cañitas de Felipe Pescador municipality also participated. Meanwhile the audiovisual media of El Mineral transmitted the Hymn to Joy , as part of the commemoration of the International Day of Peace, under the slogan the Right to Peace.

SALTILLO, COAHUILA, MEXICO: In coordination with the group of children Commissars and Environmental Inspectors, of the Pueblo Insurgentes Community Center, the DIF (Sistema Nacional para el Desarrollo Integral de la Familia) commemorated the International Day of Peace on Friday, September 21, with the presentation of the work “La Ruta del Escarabajo” (The Route of the Beetle) by Mayte Olvera, with the support of the Municipal Institute of Culture. At the event, the participants expressed the desire and importance of living in a peaceful society, where equality and justice are available to all girls and boys. The activities culminated on Friday afternoon with the Hymn to Joy, which generated an emotional and fraternal atmosphere that all families enjoyed.

GUADALAJARA, MEXICO: Every year on the Sunday closest to September 21 in the Chapultepec walkway of Guadalajara, the organizations that make up the C-Paz collective exhibit some of the activities they carry out in favor of building Peace. On this occasion the organizations participating in this event were: Meditapalpa, Gises, Oblate Educational Center, Creapaz, Spokespeople for Peace, Amnesty International, Schools of Forgiveness and Reconciliation, Conscience and Action Mexico, FM4, Community Grows, Voices ITESO, CISV Mexico, DHAVYNA, Four Winds, etc. The activities of these organizations range from peace education for girls and boys to discussion forums for adults and from art for peace to the creation of micro-enterprises for young people and for women heads of family.

MANAGUA, NICARAGUA: Boys and girls want Peace, the members of the Rubén Darío Student Choir of the II district of Managua, sang in an angelic voice during the celebration of the International Day of Peace, at the San Sebastián Public School. “Peace, represents the love and tolerance that we must have to live in a better world, ” said Ángel Gabriel Ruíz , sixth grade student.

LIMA PERU:The Friends of the UN Club of La Libertad celebrated the International Day of Peace 2018 “The Right to Peace and the 70tth anniverary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” EI No. 80076 “Millennial Chan Chan” held learning sessions in each of the grades, called “La Paz Nace del Corazón”, and the pupils then expressed themselves by forming a great heart of children who yearn for peace and the love of all.

MAYAGÜEZ, PUERTO RICO: In honor of the International Day of Peace PeaceCast.tv will broadcast PeaceCast Global, with videos that promote peace. This year, for the first time, it will be broadcast simultaneously in English and Spanish. The Spanish version will be launched from the Mayagüez University Campus of the University of Puerto Rico. “For us at the College of Mayagüez, it is a great privilege to be part of this historic event that aims to raise the figure of peace as a center for our daily life. We are convinced that education is an integral part of the knowledge, in full, of the benefits, both of peace at the individual and social level and of the people. That is why we are honored to collaborate with this emblematic transmission that will be seen around the world, “said the interim President of the UPRM, Wilma L. Santiago Gabrielini.

LAS MERCEDES, VENEZUELA: Saturday, September 22nd, the Venezuelan American Center of Zulia (Cevaz) will hold a concert in commemoration of the International Day of Peace at the headquarters of this institute in Las Mercedes with the presentations of the Extra Various musical groups, Bento and Mr. President . This will be an event dedicated to fostering the ideals of fraternity, tolerance and understanding in all nations and peoples. In this context, music will serve as a perfect link to move closer and cross borders.

ALTAMIRA, CARACAS: On the occasion of the celebration of the International Day of Peace , this Sunday in Pdvsa La Estancia , in Altamira, Caracas, a concert was held for Human Rights and Peace in Singing and Poetry with the poetic group Una Sola Brasa and the group Piakoa. The ombudsman Alfredo Ruiz Angulo, pointed out that together with PDVSA La Estancia, the Ombudsman’s Office celebrates this day with the builders of peace. Ruiz added that participants included representatives of various communities in Caracas, such as the foundation of the deaf, representatives of peasants, women, fighters and fighters for peace, among others.

CARACAS, VENEZUELA Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro highlighted the fact that the people of Venezuela are overcoming their difficulties peacefully in connection with the commemoration of the International Day of Peace, established by the UN since 1981. Through his account on the social network Twitter, the head of state ratified the path of peace as a way to achieve emancipation. ‘The heroic people of Venezuela have managed to overcome their difficulties peacefully. On this International Day, we confirm that it is the only way to achieve true freedom. With Peace everything is possible, “the president wrote.

In addition to the above events, One Day One Choir lists participating choirs for the International Day of Peace in :
Argentina (BUENOS AIRES, MONTESANO, MAR DEL PLATA, PILAR )
Bahamas
Brazil (SAO PAULO, BELO HORIZONTE)
Chile (SANTIAGO)
Costa Rica (CIUDAD QUESADA, NOSARA)
Cuba (HAVANA)
Ecuador (QUITO)
Grand Cayman (SEVEN MILE BEACH)
Mexico (VERACRUZ, MEXICO CITY, SAN LUIS POTOSI)
Nicaragua (MANAGUA)
Panama (PANAMA CITY)

And the map of Montessori schools singing for peace on the International Day of Peace includes schools in:
Argentina (BUENOS AIRES*)
Aruba (NOOR)
Brazil (FLORIANOPOLIS, SÃO BERNARDO DO CAMPO, SAO PAULO*, RIO DE JANEIRO, IPIAU BAHIA, BELEM)
British Virgin Islands (TORTOLA)
Chile (VINA DEL MAR QUNTA)
Colombia (QUINDIO)
Costa Rica (NOSARA*, SAN JOSE)
Dominican Republic (CABARETE)
El Salvador (SAN SALVADOR)
Grenada
Mexico (MORELES, CUAUTITLAN IZCALLI, SAN LUIS POTOSI*, MEXICO CITY*, MONTERREY
Panama (PANAMA CITY*)
Peru (CUZCO, LIMA)
Puerto Rico (MANATI)
Trinidad and Tobago (MARAVAL)
US Virgin Islands (ST THOMAS)

* these may be duplications

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