On the ground at UN women’s conference in New York City

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from the Catholic Register

Every March thousands of government officials, activists and policy makers descend on the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York City for two weeks of both high-level meetings and side-events at the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).


UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous delivers remarks at the opening of the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, 10 March 2025, UN headquarters. Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown.

The CSW began in 1946 as one of the original sub-commissions of the UN’s Economic and Social Affairs Commission (ECOSOC). Its purpose, according to the UN website, is to promote “gender equality, the rights and the empowerment of girls.” 

Since March 10 when the 69th CSW session began, the streets around UN headquarters on East 45th have been filled with men and women from every corner of the world. African women, wearing traditional dress underneath hastily purchased sweaters as protection against the East River wind, walk alongside young female urbanites carrying tote-bags that proclaim, “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made,” that a quote of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

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Questions related to this article:

Does the UN advance equality for women?

(Article continued from left column.)

In the line-up in front of the UN Pass and ID office, waiting to receive my press pass, I was sandwiched between a woman who was a director of “Gender Equality and Social Inclusion” at a UK-based think tank and a tiny, red-lipsticked New Yorker who works for NGO Girls Not Brides. The two women were quite excited when they heard I was a journalist but went completely silent when I told them I worked for The Catholic Register.

According to the CSW website, the commission is a “one-of-a-kind platform for feminists from around the world to advocate, learn and share experiences.” 

This year is a particularly important one for the CSW as it marks 30 years since the fourth World Conference on Women at which the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was adopted. Signed by 189 countries, the 1995 global policy document outlines 12 focus points which includes women and the economy, human rights and the environment. Since the adoption of the declaration, subsequent commissions have been engaged with member countries monitoring and reporting on progress in those 12 areas.

Sima Bahous, executive director of UN Women, introduced the 69th CSW with the note, “while we have not yet known a world of full equality for all women and girls, the global community collectively imagined it in the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.” [Click here for her speech.]

Every year, much of the work of the commission takes place in the hundreds of side events both on the grounds of the UN headquarters and offsite in nearby hotels. Organized by non-governmental organizations in conjunction with member state delegations, the topics range from the realities of sex-selective practices to the role AI might play in combating human trafficking. 

The Canadian delegation co-hosted several side events in the first week, including one co-hosted with Sierra Leone, Plan International, UNICEF and CHOICE for Youth & Sexuality, entitled, “Stories from the future: Charting a path towards the future girls want.”

This year, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth of Canada Marci Ien leads the Canadian delegation. Ien has stated that the primary focus of Canada’s advocacy at the commission will be “Women’s empowerment and the advancement of 2SLGBTQI+ rights.”

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global, United Nations, WOMEN'S EQUALITY,

CODEPINK at International Working Women’s Day 2025

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from Codepink

This year’s International Working Women’s Day was a welcome respite from the chaotic, maddening, and often heart-wrenching news cycle that is defining 2025. Our local chapters showcased last weekend that we will never let ourselves be defined by, nor distracted by the chaos and cruelty that’s being unleashed on us and our sisters all over the world. Instead, we focused on meeting people where they are at and growing the movement one person at a time.


From Los Angeles to Dallas, from Massachusetts to London, UK, our local chapters centered international working women’s resistance to send a powerful and urgent reminder that if women around the world are standing together – liberation from imperialism and militarism is inevitable! 

CODEPINK’s birth 23 years ago also culminated in powerful action on IWWD 2003, kicking off our alternate, feminist vision for peace against the backdrop of U.S. militarism and violence against women at home and in the Global South. 

Our chapters are doing the hard work of movement building. Many of them showed up to Women’s Day events in their community and brought flyers that educate on war and peace in a way that makes sense to anyone and everyone. This sparked lively conversation with people our movement wouldn’t otherwise reach. Scroll down to read more and see action photos!

CODEPINK Bay Area honored the revolutionary struggles of working women within Turtle Island and the Global South by holding community-led workshops to oppose fascism. Bay Area Organizer Cynthia stated, “The event was a beautiful collaboration of many groups. People were happy to receive our CODEPINK flyers. A highlight was the Palestinian Feminist Collective workshop where we learned about the crucial role of women in Palestinian life and resistance.”

CODEPINK London, UK took to the streets to mark the International Feminist Strike 2025 as part of a global anti-colonial movement.

We asked our CODEPINK London Regional Organizer, Nuvpreet: In the spirit of IWWD, what does true solidarity with international women look like? 

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Questions related to this article:

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

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“As feminists in the imperial core, we must recognize that our governments fund, support, and maintain systems of militarism and colonial domination that harm women across the world. Our role is to oppose and end these systems so that women across the world can live in peace.”

CODEPINK Milwaukee did not let their local IWWD protest forget the women of Palestine! They brought signs, chants and extra PINK to the streets of Milwaukee! The women of Palestine are our sisters!!!

CODEPINK North Carolina showed up at their first event together with the message that militarism and war has no place in our feminism! Or at IWWD!

We asked our National Co-Director, Danaka: How do we care for ourselves and each other all year round? 

“It’s pretty easy to get swept up in the constantly devastating news cycle. But I try and remember that feeling defeated isn’t helping anyone…it’s not helping me, and it’s certainly not doing anything for women in the Global South who my country is bombing, starving, or exploiting. When I practice my feminist values of care, solidarity, and curiosity – how could I ever feel hopeless? There’s billions of people in the world with kind hearts, we just need to organize them.” 

CODEPINK NYC joined partners to host an educational screening of Leila and the Wolves (Leila wa za’ib) followed by a discussion on women leading resistance and liberation movements. 

Kurt from CODEPINK NYC reflected after, “The discussion was just as impactful as the movie itself. It felt good to be in a room where people could share their thoughts openly, even when the topics were tough. I walked away feeling really grateful for the chance to connect in community over such an important film. Thanks to everyone who made the event happen!” 

Our chapters have their work cut out for them as they disrupt the war narrative everywhere. And the work hasn’t stopped at IWWD! Last week, CODEPINK London, UK made news launching  BasesOffCyprus, a brand new coalition-led campaign to end joint US/UK surveillance flights aiding Israel’s genocide, which forced the UK government to publicly respond. Our chapter in Missouri is organizing to stop Israel Chemicals Limited from opening up a new facility in St. Louis. CODEPINK North Dakota is working on kicking Elbit Systems out of their state. The chapter in Chicago is part of a massive coalition to divest from Israeli bonds. They are taking on the war machine locally while educating and activating their friends and neighbors. 

Thank you to all those that brought messages of peace and justice to their International Working Women’s Day actions! We cannot do this work without each of our amazing local leaders, online organizers and global partners. 

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global, North America, WOMEN'S EQUALITY,

English bulletin March 1, 2025

LIGHT IN A TIME OF DARKNESS

It has been difficult to find good news this year.

Last month it was the fate of Gaza and the fate of Humanity.

This month it is the devastation being wrought by Trump and Musk.

But there are signs of a fightback, light in this time of darkness.

Bernie Sanders, the only declared socialist in the American Senate, is attracting big crowds in his “National Tour to Fight Oligarchy.” This comes even as he targets districts where the Republican Party, the party of Trump, is in the majority. “”Today in America we are rapidly moving toward an oligarchic form of society where a handful of multibillionaires not only have extraordinary wealth, but unprecedented economic, media, and political power. Brothers and sisters, that is not the democracy that men and women fought and died to defend.”

“Trumpism will not be defeated by politicians inside the D.C. Beltway,” he says. “It will only be defeated by millions of Americans in Iowa, in Vermont, in Nebraska, in every state in this country, who come together in a strong grassroots movement and say no to oligarchy, no to authoritarianism, no to kleptocracy, no to massive cuts to programs that low-income and working Americans desperately need, no to huge tax breaks for the wealthiest people in this country.”

The political force with the greatest potential to oppose Trumpism is the trade union movement. In recent years the labor movement has witnessed a resurgence in organizing, and 2024 was no different. Tens of thousands of workers fought for pay raises, increased job protections and union representation. Workers across the United States also linked their domestic struggles with Israel’s assault on Palestine, demanding an arms embargo and an end to the genocide in Gaza.

Organized labor is currently preparing to fight back. Just a week into 2025 the SEIU announced that it was rejoining the AFL-CIO to help fight Trump’s anti-worker agenda. The two unions have been unaligned for almost 20 years. A first sign of the fightback came on February 22 when the President of the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal employees union, told workers not to obey Elon Musk’s demand for federal workers to justify their jobs or resign.

Despite Trump’s victory, enthusiasm for unions remains high. A recent Gallup poll found that support for unions is at 70 percent — just one point under their highest rating ever.

The American Peace Movement, although reduced in size, continues its struggle for nuclear disarmament and world peace.

Codepink urges us to sign the Peace Clock Manifesto:  “We must stop giving our blessing and consent to endless steps to “control” arms that lead to ever more danger as illustrated by the aging Doomsday clock. Instead, we must demand their abolition, and the transition to a nuclear free world at peace unthreatened by catastrophic annihilation and the ultimate climate change; a nuclear winter.”

World Beyond War urges us to demand the closure of American military bases: “The thousands of military bases, both foreign and domestic, around the world are a critical piece of the war machine that must be dismantled. Closing bases is a necessary step to shift the global security paradigm towards a demilitarized approach that centers common security — no one is safe until all are safe.”

Michael Klare, a veteran peace activist known for his strategic advice, proposes that we support those policy statements by Trump and his cronies that align with a peace agenda. These statements include calls for agreements to reduce nuclear arms, cutting defense spending and shutting US foreign military bases. He reminds us that the old foreign policy establishment of the United States that has risked World War III by their bellicose policies is gone forever, and a new policy elite is emerging. Their agenda is full of contradictions, but their primary goal is to enrich Trump and his cronies, which may, in some cases, lead them to reverse certain militaristic policies.

In publishing Trump’s statements for nuclear arms reduction in CPNN, we asked if it is possible to take his words seriously, “Or are they just part of a game he is playing with the world, much like Charlie Chaplin’s portrayal of Hitler playing with a toy balloon of the world. Let us hope they can be taken seriously in this case.”

In any case, as argued in this month’s blog for the Transition to a Culture of Peace, we cannot sit still but must act more vigorously than ever for peace and justice.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY


Remarks by Michael Klare on strategy for the peace movement

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT


China’s Renewable Energy Boom: A Record-Breaking Shift or Still Chained to Coal?

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION


Global Day of Action to Close Bases

WOMEN’S EQUALITY


Women, Peace and Security: Mongolia, a Feminist-oriented Foreign Policy
  

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY


Australia: Symbols, messages of peace mark interfaith gathering

EDUCATION FOR PEACE


Wilmington, Delaware: Visionary Peace Youth Art Exhibition

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION


The Labor Movement Won Big Victories in 2024. Now It Must Fend Off Trump

HUMAN RIGHTS


Thousands in Midwestern GOP Districts Attend Sanders’ First Stops on Tour to Fight Oligarchy
Uncategorized

Australia: Symbols, messages of peace mark interfaith gathering

. TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An article by Kirralee Nicolle  from Salvos on line

Representatives from faith groups – including the Hindu, Baháʼí, Jewish, Sikh, Sufi, Alevi, Buddhist and Christian religions – gathered at Glenroy Community Hub in Victoria on 9 February to mark World Interfaith Harmony Week. 

The event was hosted by the Merri-Bek Interfaith Network, which includes Captain Steph Glover from Merri-Bek Salvation Army. Merri-Bek Corps members also led the group in singing ‘Make Me a Channel of Your Peace’ to begin the event, accompanied by the corps’ brass band. 

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Question related to this article:
 
How can different faiths work together for understanding and harmony?

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Steph said the event was quite a moving one, especially for those who have recently had windows to their offices smashed or buildings graffitied in incidents alleged to be religiously motivated. She said many Palestinian and Jewish residents in the area had been taking cover in fear of attacks. She said as a precautionary measure, the event, originally planned for an outdoor location, had been moved to an indoor one. 

She said reciting the Shared Act of Reflection and Commitment – a declaration spoken at the beginning of each meeting – reminded them of the values they all shared. 

“As faith leaders, we wanted to be the ones to go out and set an example and say, ‘Actually, we all might have slightly different beliefs, but what we do all agree on are these things’,” Steph said. 

Representatives from each faith tradition present at the event shared a message of peace through song, dance, prayers and spiritual readings. Attendees exchanged olive branches as a symbol of peace across religions. 

Steph described the Network as a “really, really close-knit community” which met once every couple of months.  

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East Asia, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

China’s Renewable Energy Boom: A Record-Breaking Shift or Still Chained to Coal?

.. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ..

An article from Carbon Credits

China is making record-breaking progress in renewable energy. The country has already achieved its 2030 clean energy goal six years early. With massive investments and policy support, China is set to remain the global leader in renewable energy expansion. But can it sustain this rapid momentum while balancing energy security and economic growth?


Beating the Clock on Clean Energy: Surpassing Renewable Energy Targets

In 2020, China set a goal to install at least 1,200 gigawatts (GW) of solar and wind power by 2030. By the end of 2024, China had already surpassed this target, reaching this milestone 6 years ahead of schedule. This was made possible by aggressive investments, government policies, and a surge in solar and wind installations.

China’s solar capacity grew by an incredible 45.2% in 2024, adding 277 GW.  Wind capacity also saw a strong increase of 18%, with an additional 80 GW installed. Overall, total power generation capacity rose by 14.6% in 2024, driven mainly by renewables.

One major milestone was the completion of the Ruoqiang photovoltaic (PV) project. This massive 4-GW solar farm in the Taklamakan Desert is one of the world’s largest solar power projects. It is part of China’s broader strategy to peak emissions  before 2030 and transition toward cleaner energy sources.

This rapid progress is due to strong government support, record investments, and local manufacturers producing affordable solar and wind components.

Leading the World in Renewable Investments

China is the world’s largest market for low-carbon energy investment. In 2024, the country attracted $818 billion in clean energy investments—more than the combined total of the U.S., the European Union, and the UK. This accounted for ⅔ of the global increase in clean energy investments that year.

The world’s biggest carbon emitter’s commitment to renewables is reshaping its energy mix. In June 2024, wind and solar power combined surpassed coal in installed capacity for the first time. 

China’s 14th Five-Year Plan set a goal for renewables to supply 33% of its electricity by 2025. By 2026, solar capacity alone is projected to overtake coal as China’s leading energy source, with 1.38 terawatts (TW) of solar power expected—150 GW more than coal.

Remi Eriksen, CEO of energy consultancy DNV, once remarked that:
“Intense policy focus and technological innovation are transforming China into a green energy powerhouse.”

And one of these innovations is in the field of nuclear power.

Nuclear Power and SMRs: A Game-Changer for China’s Energy Future?

China is also investing heavily in nuclear power, with 29 reactors under construction, totaling 33 GW of capacity. This makes up nearly half of all new nuclear projects worldwide. By 2030, China will surpass the U.S. as the largest nuclear power producer, with a projected capacity reaching up to 320 GW by 2050.

Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are a key part of China’s nuclear strategy. The country’s first SMR, a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTR-PM), began operations in 2023. Other SMR designs, including the ACP100 and NHR200, are under development. 

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Question for this article:

Are we making progress in renewable energy?

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These compact reactors will support industrial heating, electricity supply, and district heating. By 2050, China’s SMR capacity is expected to reach 35 GW, making it the leading global market for this next-generation nuclear technology.

China is quickly growing its renewable energy and advancing nuclear power. This makes it a leader in clean energy worldwide. Even though it still uses coal, the focus on renewables and nuclear is cutting carbon emissions a lot.

The Road to Net Zero: Can China Meet its 2060 Goal?

China has set ambitious climate goals. The country aims to peak its carbon emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2060. A key driver of this transition is energy independence, as China seeks to reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels.

A recent report from DNV highlights China’s rapid progress. The country had 1.45 TW of renewable energy capacity online by the end of 2024 and is on track to increase its clean energy capacity fivefold by 2050.

By that time, renewables are expected to supply 60% of China’s energy needs, although fossil fuels will still account for around 40% of the mix.

Challenges and the Role of Coal

Despite this rapid progress, coal remains a significant part of China’s energy system. The country still consumes over 50% of the world’s coal and continues to build new coal-fired power plants. In 2022, China approved 6x more new coal capacity than the rest of the world combined.

The heavy reliance on coal is partly due to energy security concerns. Events like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and reduced rainfall affecting hydropower have made alternatives like gas and hydroelectric power more expensive.

Coal remains a backup energy source to support the country’s rising electricity demand, which increased by 6.8% in 2024.

However, China’s long-term goal is to reduce this dependence. The government is implementing policies to phase out fossil fuels gradually while ensuring energy stability. By 2050, China’s emissions are expected to drop by 70% compared to current levels, marking significant progress in its clean energy transition.

Future Outlook: A Renewable Superpower

China’s energy transition is at a critical turning point. The country’s investments and policy shifts indicate a strong commitment to clean energy.
By 2030, China’s total energy consumption is expected to peak and then decline by 20% in 2050 due to increased efficiency and electrification.

China aims for net zero by 2060, which is ten years later than the UN’s 2050 target to keep global warming under 1.5°C. So, while progress is strong, more efforts are needed to speed up the shift from fossil fuels.

Overall, China is leading the world in renewable energy expansion, breaking records in solar and wind installations. The country’s rapid growth in clean energy capacity is reshaping its power mix and reducing its reliance on coal. 

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East Asia, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Women, Peace and Security: Mongolia, a Feminist-oriented Foreign Policy

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from the United Nations University

On 3 March 2025, UNU, in partnership with the Embassy of Mongolia in Japan, will co-host the symposium “Women, Peace and Security: Mongolia, a Feminist-oriented Foreign Policy”. This event will be held from 09:30–12:00 in the 2F Reception Hall at UNU Headquarters (Tokyo).

Under Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh, Mongolia has increasingly championed women’s issues in its diplomacy and foreign relations. In June 2022, Mongolia hosted the international conference on “Strengthening the Role of Women in Peacekeeping,” welcoming female peacekeepers from over 30 countries.


Photo: Provided by Embassy of Mongolia in Japan. Battsetseg Batmunkh is 4th from left.

In June 2023, Mongolia hosted a historic Meeting of Female Foreign Ministers in Ulaanbaatar. The first of its kind in Asia, the meeting gathered female ministers from France, Germany, Indonesia, Liechtenstein, Mongolia, and South Africa to discuss feminist foreign policy. The meeting produced the “Ulaanbaatar Declaration” to enhance women’s leadership and participation in addressing global challenges.

The Declaration included: “We note with deep concern the adverse impact of war, its humanitarian consequences for women and children, and for global food security, and urge all UN member states to cooperate in the spirit of solidarity and to support the UN Secretary-General in his efforts to address these impacts”. The Declaration reflects the strong focus of feminist-oriented foreign policy on cooperation and the need for creating an ecosystem for coordinated actions between nations rather than individual state actors pursuing narrow self-interest.

In 2024, Mongolia hosted the first World Women’s Forum, “Towards a Green Future”, which further built on the Ulaanbaatar Declaration.

This symposium at UNU will include a keynote speech by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia Battsetseg Batmunkh (to be confirmed), followed by a panel discussion on the integration of feminist principles into foreign policy, an audience question and answer session, and informal discussions and networking opportunities. The symposium will explore questions such as: What are the key principles of Mongolia’s feminist foreign policy? What are the roles of international actors, including the United Nations, in prioritizing women, peace and security issues? Can feminist foreign policy create an effective framework for achieving sustainable development?

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Questions related to this article:

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

(Article continued from left column)

This event will be held in English. Advance registration (by 28 February at 15:00) is required. Please click on the REGISTER button to access the online registration page.

UNU@50

This event is part of the UNU 50th anniversary celebration. To learn more, visit: https://unu.edu/unuat50  

Agenda

Opening remarks

09:30 — Tshilidzi Marwala, UNU Rector and Under-Secretary-General of the UN

09:40 — Representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of Japan

09:50 — Representative of Female Ambassador Group, Tokyo Diplomatic Corps

Keynote address

10:00 — Battsetseg Batmunkh, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia (to be confirmed)

Panel discussion

10:30 — Integrating Feminist Principles in Foreign Policy

Moderator: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia

Panelists: Ambassadors from the Tokyo diplomatic corps, Tokyo-based researchers and UNU experts

Interactive session

11:10 — Q&A with audience

Closing remarks

11:35 — Summary of key points

11:45 — Closing address — Representative of UNU

Networking session

12:00 — Informal discussions and networking opportunities
 

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East Asia, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Sign the Peace Clock Manifesto

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from Code Pink

Join us to pivot from Doom to Peace and disarm the world from nuclear weapons. Sign the Manifesto!

Over the years, the hands of the clock have been reset, forward and backward, as scientists and policy makers estimated how immediate the nuclear danger loomed, based on the perils faced by other countries obtaining nuclear weapons as well as new arms control measures, weapons limitations, and agreements, particularly between the US and Russia for disarmament measures. At its most optimistic, the Doomsday hands were moved to 17 minutes to midnight in 1991 when the US and USSR announced the complete cessation of nuclear testing.

Shockingly, despite years of nuclear arms control measures, resulting in arsenals down from a high of 70,000 bombs at the peak of the world’s nuclear insanity, to about 12,000 today, 11,000 of which are in the US and Russia with nearly 4,000 poised and ready to go, with another 1000 held by the six other nuclear weapons states—UK, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea– the clock has never been set closer to Doomsday than it is today—At 90 seconds to midnight! (1)

It’s time to transform the clock and change the conversation! Dire warnings about Doomsday have done little to increase our world’s safety these 77 years. It’s time to pivot our focus from doom to the many small necessary steps we each need to engage in to create peace. The fear of doom encourages compromise with those who are only interested in building Empire and the war economy. This never brings us to our goal of peace. We must stop giving our blessing and consent to endless steps to “control” arms that lead to ever more danger as illustrated by the aging Doomsday clock.

Instead, we must demand their abolition, as we move to a nuclear free world at peace unthreatened by catastrophic annihilation and the ultimate climate change; a nuclear winter.

Let us deemphasize procedural steps that keep up stuck, which scholars have already named: ‘anti-preneurism’ steps towards illusory progress. (2)

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

(Continued from left column)

We are at a turning point in history. It is time to change the conversation with bold new proposals. Proposals that are guaranteed to bring us a respite from the growing terror. Proposals that will bring a shift in planetary consciousness allowing us to respond cooperatively to the impending cataclysmic climate disaster down the road! Proposals that will usher in a rising dawn and change our focus from Doom to Peace. Mother Earth grows impatient with the folly of humankind.

We will take steps that lead to peace on earth and mobilize, expose and render powerless the MICIMATT (Military, Industrial, Congressional, Intelligence, Media, Academic Think Tank complex) in our work for peace. Bringing about:

° US acceptance of Russian and Chinese proposals for treaties to ban weapons in space and cyberwar

° The reinstatement of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with Russia and removal of US missiles from Romania and Poland

° Removal of US nuclear weapons from five NATO states in a deal for Russia removing its recently placed nuclear weapons in Belarus

° All nuclear weapons off high alert and separate the warheads from their delivery systems as China does – following the wisdom of the East

° The dissolution of NATO and respect of a reformed United Nations empowering global democracy, where all countries have decision-making power, not just imperial powers.

° US, China, Russia, India, Pakistan, UK, France, North Korea, and Israel completely disarm.

Russia and China have offered to be willing partners in these initiatives. They have been proposing them to the United States and voting on them in the UN for more than ten years. Let us together make this real for the people and the planet.

1 Status Of World Nuclear Forces

2 Resistance to the emergent norm to advance progress towards the complete elimination of nuclear weapons

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DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global

Wilmington, Delaware: Visionary Peace Youth Art Exhibition

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An article from Pacem in Terris

This year’s Visionary Peace Youth Art Exhibition was a smashing success! More than 550 young artists, teachers, and their friends and families filled the Wilmington Public Library Commons with exuberance and positive energy for peace. 

On exhibit were 546 examples of peace art from 32 different schools and community organizations. Now we look forward to continuing the momentum at our Traveling Peace Kick-off event in April.

Pacem in Terris is grateful for all who participated in the exhibition, for our volunteers, and for ongoing financial support from the Delaware Division of the Arts, the Laffey-McHugh Foundation, and Incyte.

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Question for this article:

Do the arts create a basis for a culture of peace?

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For those of you who missed it, here’s a little glimpse of the magic!


Pacem in Terris is a grassroots organization committed to building relationships that transform minds to foster healing and peace.

Our programs provide opportunities to develop a collective understanding of both our different experiences and our shared humanity.

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EDUCATION FOR PEACE, North America

Remarks by Michael Klare on strategy for the peace movement

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

Excerpts from YouTube videoconference, Trump’s Second Term: NATO, War, and the Economy

At this point we are in a new reality and we need to understand it and figure out how to be relevant and effective. . . .

The establishment that determined American foreign policy for 75 years since World War II has been replaced with a new foreign policy establishment with which we have to contend. . .

The old establishment was composed of foreign service officers and the top leadership of the military as well as the elites in the top think tanks in Washington DC and the academic elitse, the top law firms, the top bankers, old wealth Ivy League, Atlanticists to the core. The love French wine and speak French. Their priority was
to preserve US dominance as the number one power,
to promote capitalism,
to maintain global order so that capitalism can function in an orderly fashion,
to promote US values abroad,
to promote Western solidarity.

Well, now we have an entirely new foreign policy elite that’s going to be making the decisions and it’s in the process of formation and we need to understand it better.

I would say it consists of
° number one, the Trump organization itself which has international corporate interests,
° then the Trump family, the capitalists who have attached themselves like Elon Musk to the Trump Empire and seek to profit from a new foreign policy
° you have the right-wing think tanks that have emerged, the Heritage Foundation being the most reasonable of the group
° then there’s the America First Institute and others that we barely knew a year or two ago
° you have the new media moguls set up to escape Facebook
° the new wealth from technology and medical supplies and the like.

We have to learn more about them. What are their priorities? So far as I could tell:
° to promote crony capitalism around the world
° to enrich Trump and his cronies
° to promote white supremacy internationally and domestically. We see this in the outreach to the alternative for Germany, by Musk and Vance and Rubio support for the white Africaners in South Africa and their claim that they have been discriminated against, and there are other
° their priority is to plunder the world’s resources, especially those that bear on the the emerging industries like artificial intelligence, including rare earch minerals and lithium
° to stop the flow of migrants
° and promote the preservation of oil and gas as the dominant energy supply indefinitely into the future . . .

We shouldn’t think that the old elite is still there and we could talk with them and accomplish anything that way. We can’t. They’re gone and we have to figure out how to be effective and accomplish anything with this new power elite that governs Washington under Trump. That means totally new strategies so I’m going to suggest briefly what some of those strategies might be. People may think I’m off course here, but i don’t see any other choice.

So here are the kind of strategies that we should be pursuing.

First of all to encourage Trump, encourage them when their priorities align with ours.

Now Donald Trump has said that he wants to reduce the risk of nuclear war and to negotiate with Russia and China for nuclear arms reductions and controls to try to reduce nuclear risks. [See CPNN article.] I say yes! Go for it! Let’s support him in that and help them accomplish those goals.

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Questions related to this article:
 
The peace movement in the United States, What are its strengths and weaknesses?

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He’s also talked about cutting defence spending. I’ve advocated that with my colleagues and friends for 50 years without any success whatsoever to overcome the military industrial complex. These people say they’re going to do it, and maybe they can. So go for it! Let them go at the military-industrial complex!

They say they want to return US troops from around the world and shut US bases around the world. We’ve been talking about that for decades without any success. If they could do that maybe, we should cheer them on and say go for it!

They say they want to avoid US entanglement in foreign wars, and, well, I share that objective!

They talk about economic competition with China but not military confrontation. We should encourage them. Yes, we could compete with China economically but let’s avoid war. Let’s have negotiations.

So thats our first pathway: encourage them when they’re pursuing goals that align with ours.

Our second pathway, I think, is to persuade these Trumpist elites that it is in their best interests to embrace our priorities.

I think making Ukraine safe from Russia is a priority for us and it’s in their best interests if they want to exploit Ukraine’s resources. I know you find that objectionable and for all kinds of reasons, but if exploiting Ukraine’s resources will impel them to provide security assurances to Ukraine, to protect Ukraine in whatever ways military at least from invasion by Russia in the future, yes, we should persuade them it’s in their best interest to keep Ukraine safe.

I’ll quickly summarize the other pathways.

A path to Palestinian statehood may sound like the last thing they’re going to agree to, but it’s in their best interests if they want to do business all over the Middle East. The Trump organization and their cronites they want ties with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Well, the only way to get there is at least to accept the notion of Palestinian statehood. So, yes, promote ties with the Saudi oil monarchs if that entails acknowledging their demand for Palestinian statehood.

The third pathway, quickly, is our other task to expose the contradictions and the vulnerabilities and the dangers in their priorities, to expose their own weaknesses.

For example, high tariffs. Trump thinks this is great, but it’s going to damage the interests of his crony capitalists and the people who voted for him like farmers. So let’s expose how what Trump is doing is going to harm his own constituencies. Nail him on it!

Another example is dividing Europe and having an economic fight with Europe. However good that sounds to him, it’s good for China and China is their number one bet. I don’t like making that point about China and its global interests, but the fact is that what Trump is doing in Europe is a win for China and in Africa, too.

So, that’s our job. I think we have to come up with a strategy to be effective in this new world and do so in a way where we could find some leverage or some way to have more effectiveness in this new world. What we did before won’t work. So, I encourage you to think anew and come up with new strategies. . . .

. . . (In the peace movement) We’ve lost that common sense of purpose around opposition to nuclear weapons and nuclear war that was universal . . . so in a multipolar world what we have to do is to recreate that kind of mass movement against nuclear weapons and nuclear war. Because there are people in China and Russia who are just as afraid of it as we are.

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DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, North America

The Labor Movement Won Big Victories in 2024. Now It Must Fend Off Trump

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article by Michael Arria in Truthout

(Editor’s note: On February 22, the President of the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal employees union, told workers not to obey Elon Musk’s demand for federal workers to justify their jobs or resign.)

In recent years the labor movement has witnessed a resurgence in organizing, and 2024 was no different. Tens of thousands of workers fought for pay raises, increased job protections and union representation. Workers across the United States also linked their domestic struggles with Israel’s assault on Palestine, demanding an arms embargo and an end to the genocide in Gaza. While the labor movement undeniably gained ground in 2024, union organizers now face the looming return of Donald Trump’s pro-business agenda. However, unions are preparing to fight back.


A Starbucks employee pickets outside of a closed Starbucks store during a strike on December 23, 2024, in New York City. ADAM GRAY / GETTY IMAGES

Wage Gains

Thousands of workers achieved wage gains through organizing, whether that be through state-level ballot campaigns or strikes and union negotiations. Ballot initiatives in Alaska and Missouri led to voters boosting the states’ minimum wages in November. The ballot question approach also established paid sick leave in Missouri, Alaska and Nebraska.

“If you can put it on the ballot, people love to vote for a raise,” Fairness Project Executive Director Kelly Hall told Truthout shortly before the election. “This strategy has resulted in raising the wage every time it has gone on the ballot. It’s been a very effective tool for helping to separate common-sense issues like raising the wage from the partisan politics that keep these highly popular issues locked up in state houses.”

After a three-year campaign, American Airlines employees negotiated a five-year deal in September that includes back pay from their 2019 contract expiration and an immediate 20 percent pay hike. The new contract also makes them the first flight attendants to have pay during boarding time guaranteed in a union contract. (Delta, which has fended off several unionization campaigns from flight attendants, was the first to pay flight attendants during boarding.)

“The coolest thing is I had people from so many different unions across the country texting me congratulations,” a Chicago attendant told Labor Notes. “You know, a win for one is a win for all.”

The Transport Workers Union (TWU) secured a new four-year contract for Southwest flight attendants, giving them a 22.3 percent raise by May 2025, and Delta Air Lines raised its starting wages to $19 in response to a union-organizing campaign.

A seven-week strike earned Boeing machinists a 38 percent wage increase over the next four years, 401(k) contribution increases and new signing bonuses.

A three-day strike initiated by the International Longshoremen’s Association resulted in a 62 percent pay increase over six years for thousands of dockworkers.

Union Campaigns

From October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) received 3,286 union election petitions, which was up 27 percent from the 2023 fiscal year.

Overall, union petitions doubled during the Biden years, thanks in no small part to the pro-labor bent of the administration’s NLRB. Through a number of decisions, such as Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, which established a new framework for bargaining, the board made the process easier for workers and undid many of the restraints that were instituted during Trump’s first term. Union petitions haven’t just increased; the win rate for union elections has risen over the last few years.

Seventy-three percent of the employees at a Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, voted to join the United Auto Workers (UAW). The massive victory came after unionization efforts narrowly failed at the plant in 2014 and 2019.

Nearly 10,000 nurses at Corewell Health of Southern Michigan voted to join the Teamsters in one of the biggest NLRB elections in decades, despite a robust union-busting campaign from their employer.

“Health care workers like Corewell Teamsters were praised as heroes during the COVID-19 pandemic, but their employer has had little to no appreciation for them since,” said Director of the Teamsters Public Services Division Peter Finn in a press release after the victory. “Nurses are tired of being disrespected, paid poverty wages, and denied access to the same high-quality care that they provide.”

Thousands of public school employees voted to unionize in Virginia’s Fairfax County, in a victory that affects over 27,000 workers. The win came just four years after the state’s assembly passed legislation overturning a law prohibiting public employees from unionizing.

The unionized editorial staff at Forbes went on a strike in December to protest the business magazine’s slow-walking contract negotiations. It was the first work stoppage in the history of the 107-year-old magazine.

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Question related to this article:
 
What is the contribution of trade unions to the culture of peace?

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“We formed this union to protect the standards of a professional newsroom and create a more inclusive and transparent workplace, as well as for job security, equity in pay and opportunity, and accountability,” said Forbes Statistics Editor Andrea Murphy in a statement. “Management’s only interest is to delay, stall and obstruct, as well as try to block our members from protected union action. We are taking this unprecedented step to show that we will not allow such disrespectful behavior towards our negotiations to continue.”

They walked out again in December, purposely timing it to coincide with the release of the magazine’s popular 30 Under 30 lists.

The ongoing, high-profile labor battles at Amazon and Starbucks continued. Thousands of Amazon workers went on strike for days at the height of the holiday season. “Make no mistake the Teamsters will never let up and workers will never stop fighting for their rights at Amazon,” said a union representative after the work stoppage ended. “Stay tuned.”

December also saw a five-day strike from Starbucks workers across multiple cities after contract talks broke down. The organizing effort got a boost from the NLRB in 2024, as it determined that the company had broken the law by informing workers at its flagship Seattle store that they would lose benefits if they unionized.

Gaza Solidarity

The domestic struggles of 2024 occurred amid Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza, which has been fully supported and funded by the Biden administration. Many workers understandably view the struggles as interlinked.

“The agricultural worker in Idaho may not realize it, but the chickpeas he harvests may be sold to Sabra — jointly owned by PepsiCo and the Strauss Group, Israel’s largest food and beverage manufacturer,” wrote Illinois union plumber Paul Stauffer for In These Times. “Penn Hospital is partly funded by donors to the University of Pennsylvania, some of whom have threatened to pull their donations because they think school officials haven’t done enough to quiet pro-Palestinian voices on campus. The bulldozers that crushed displaced Palestinians as they hid in their tents in Gaza were Caterpillar D9Rs, manufactured in East Peoria.”

Massive labor unions like The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the UAW publicly called for a ceasefire, but rank-and-file members of those organizations are pushing for more action.

Purple Up 4 Palestine, a collective of SEIU workers organizing against imperialism, criticized their union for endorsing Biden amid the carnage. The group is calling on SEIU leadership to call for an end to the genocide, an end to the siege on Gaza, an end to U.S. military support for Israel, and support for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement.

Within the UAW, a group of rank-and-file members are pushing the union to divest from Israel bonds.

Trump’s Return

Donald Trump’s return to power signals more tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations. It also means the restoration of a pro-business labor board. Any hope of the NLRB maintaining a Democratic majority during a portion of Trump’s second term was extinguished after the Senate blocked President Biden’s renomination of board chair Lauren McFerran. Trump will be able to immediately nominate two pro-business Republicans to the vacant seats and is expected to quickly dump the board’s current general counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo.

Many pundits have suggested that Trump’s victory represents a realignment of the working class, but it’s safe to assume that Trump won’t exhibit any of the public nods to organized labor like those from the White House over the past four years. Biden became the first U.S. president to walk a strike picket line, when he joined UAW workers in Michigan in 2023. During the aforementioned dockworkers strike, Biden refused to intervene despite mounting pressure from Republicans and business groups, despite using his authority to block a strike from rail workers back in 2022.

Additionally, many immigrant workers face a potential threat during a Trump administration, as he has vowed to launch a massive deportation program.

Organized labor is currently preparing to fight back. Just a week into 2025 the SEIU announced that it was rejoining the AFL-CIO to help fight Trump’s anti-worker agenda. The two unions have been unaligned for almost 20 years.

In remarks made at a roundtable discussion shortly after the decision, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler stressed the need for solidarity among workers.

“We just finished an election cycle where one party spent the entire time telling working class people across this country, ‘Look how different you are from each other,’” said Shuler. “‘He’s an immigrant. She’s transgender or they worship differently than you do’ and it worked to some degree, right? We watched it. The scariest thing in the world to the CEOs, to the billionaires in this country and the folks like Donald Trump who do their bidding, is the idea that we might one day see through that. That there is a barista and an airport services worker and a fast food worker and a home care worker and a teacher and a warehouse worker and a cook and an electrical worker, all of them together saying, ‘Your fight is my fight.’ It terrifies them.”

Despite Trump’s victory, enthusiasm for unions remains high. A recent Gallup poll found that disapproval for unions is at 23 percent, the lowest level in almost 60 years. Support for them is at 70 percent — just one point under their highest rating ever.

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DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, HUMAN RIGHTS, North America