Category Archives: Europe

France: Citizen vote against nuclear power

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article from La Depeche

From March 11 to 18, 2018, the members of the action group France Insoumise have launched several demonstrations against nuclear power.

Following the three themes, defined at the convention led by Jean-Luc Mélanchon in Clermont Ferrand, this group of 22 members have elevated the debate to a national level. “We are a political movement and not a political party. We are the leading opposition force on the Left, “claims Jean Bech, one of the leaders of the action group.

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

Question related to this article:

Is there a future for nuclear energy?

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The arrival of the former Japanese minister, stationed during the Fukushima accident, precipitated the program. “Our goal is to make the French aware of the danger of nuclear power. There are alternative solutions, and we should seek them ahead of the next deadlines of nuclear power plants. We must act now.”

Locally, Jean Bech and its members will be present on the markets of Tuesday and Saturday with urns for a citizen vote. Without being official, it will allow people to express themselves. A ballot box will receive the ballots whose main indication will be “yes or no to exit from nuclear power.”

A stand will also be built during the festival “printemps des Plantes” on March 18. “There will also be a distribution in mailboxes, and people can also express themselves via the website. An ID will be just requested. We want this vote to be as wide as possible, while keeping a genuine aspect. “All this information will be sent back to the national level, there will be a follow-up of the results. Our actions will continue during the year with different themes to be decided, depending on current events. Among the priorities for 2018 will be the fight against poverty in all its forms and the fight against tax evasion. Website: https://nucléaire.vote

Europe, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

France / Refugees. Resumption of Trial of Martine Landry, Member of Amnesty International France and Anafé Unfairly Pursued for “Crime of Solidarity”

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

A press release from Amnesty International France (translated by CPNN)

This Wednesday, February 14, Martine Landry, activist of Amnesty International France (AIF) and Anafé (National Border Assistance Association for Foreigners), will appear in the Nice Criminal Court. She is accused of having “facilitated the entry of two illegal foreign minors”. She faces up to five years in prison and a fine of € 30,000.

AIF and Anafé denounce the persecution of people whose only motivation is to assist migrants and refugees, with no other consideration than to have their rights respected.


Photo of Martine Landry from France3

These people are not traffickers or delinquents; they are worried, intimidated, pursued, defending human rights first and foremost. They act to protect the rights of migrants and refugees against the infringement by the French authorities.

It is urgent and essential that the French government’s policy be reoriented in order to respond to the imperative respect for the rights of migrant and refugee people crossing the Franco-Italian border and the necessary protection of those who help them. .

Amnesty International France and Anafé reiterate their support for Martine Landry and will be present at the trial.

Further information

Martine Landry has been a member of Amnesty International since 2002. She is also the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur regional referee on the issue of refugees and migrants since 2011 and is in charge of an observation mission in a waiting area for AIF. . At the same time, she takes part in the militant missions of counseling to the asylum seekers and accompaniment to give them access to their rights. For these missions she benefited from several formations.

Moreover, apart from her activities for AIF, Martine Landry is involved in various local and national associations for the defense of migrants and refugees including Anafé.

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

Question for this article

The refugee crisis, Who is responsible?

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Working with Anafé for many years as part of her observation mission in the waiting area for AIF, Martine Landry has been a member of Anafé since 2017. She is actively involved in the observation mission of the Anafé at the French-Italian border.

She is accused of having “facilitated the entry of two illegal foreign minors”. She faces up to five years in prison and a fine of € 30,000.

Summary of facts

On 28 July 2017, Italian police sent two unaccompanied foreign minors to France on foot. Martine Landry picked them up at the Menton / Ventimiglia border crossing on the French side to accompany them to the Border Police (PAF), with documents attesting to their request for support by the child welfare service (ASE). The two minors, both 15 years old and of Guinean origin, were subsequently taken over by the ASE.

On July 31, Martine Landry went to the PAF Menton following the arrest and transfer of eleven migrants. On that day, she received a convocation for an audition on August 2nd. The next day, Martine Landry receives a summons from the Nice Criminal Court. She was to be tried on January 8 for “facilitating the entry of two illegal foreign minors […], having taken care of and escorted these two minors from the Italian border crossing to the border crossing on the French side”. His hearing was postponed until February 14, 2018.

Applicable international law

On 29 October 2002, France ratified the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, additional to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. This text defines the smuggling of migrants as “the act of securing, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit, unlawful entry into a State …”. a person who is neither a national nor a permanent resident of that State “.

By making the provision of a financial or other material benefit, the authors of this text clearly intended to exclude the activities of persons providing assistance to migrants on humanitarian grounds or because of close family ties. The intent of the Protocol was not to criminalize the activities of family members or support groups such as religious or non-governmental organizations. This intention is confirmed by the preparatory work for the negotiations for the elaboration of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols thereto (2008), p. 514 – (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Preparatory Work).

Amnesty International’s investigation at the French-Italian border “Border controls of the law”: .

Anafé note on “Restoring Internal Border Controls and State of Emergency – Consequences in Waiting Areas.”

Europe, HUMAN RIGHTS

Spain: Junta of Andalucía highlights commitment of the community to dialogue and solidarity in the ‘School Day of Peace’

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

An article from 20 Minutos (reproduced according to terms of Creative Commons)(translated by CPNN)

The 271 educational centers of the province of Almería integrated into the Network ‘School: Space of Peace’ have celebrated this Tuesday [January 30] the ‘School Day of Peace and Non-Violence’ with a program of recreational and cultural activities to promote the democratic values of equality, respect for diversity and tolerance.


Click on photo to enlarge

More than 100,000 students and 6,000 teachers participate in Almería in these initiatives to promote coexistence among the educational community. The delegate of the Junta, Grace Fernandez, who has highlighted the commitment of the educational community to solidarity and dialogue, has taken part along with the students of Las Norias de Daza and IES Aguadulce in the events they have organized to commemorate this international event.

Some thirty NGOs participated in the ‘VII Volunteering, Participation and Solidarity Day’ at the IES Aguadulce. The meeting, which puts students in direct contact with the work carried out by the associations in different areas, has been inaugurated by the Government delegate of the Junta, Gracia Fernández, who has visited the information tables of the different groups installed in the center accompanied by the delegate of Education, Francisca Fernández, and by the director of the institute, Amparo García.

During her visit, Gracia Fernández pointed out that this day highlights “the joint work of the educational community of the IES Aguadulce in promoting the values ​​of solidarity, social justice and equal opportunities and its promotion among students”.

The day, which celebrates its seventh edition, includes an exhibition area located in one of the covered courtyards of the center where, from 9 in the morning and until 13.30, the associations have shown the work they do through brochures, panels and other information material.

The program is completed with a series of lectures and workshops given by the different participating NGOs, aimed at students of ESO, Baccalaureate and Computer Training Cycles.

The delegate of the Government has explained that this type of meeting “contributes to make visible to society the work of the volunteer and their altruistic and solidary commitment. It reinforces the contents of these topics that are included in the Andalusian educational curriculum”.

Fernandez referred to the role of volunteering “as an instrument of participation of society and as a space from which citizenship is built and democracy is strengthened”. “Solidarity, social responsibility, justice and equal opportunities are values ​​that voluntary action and the public education system of Andalusia share”, explained the delegate.

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(Click here for the article in Spanish)

Questions for this article:

How important is community development for a culture of peace?

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She encouraged young people to participate in the associative movement “to combat exclusion, fight for equality, for education, for the integration of people with disabilities, for culture and for the environment, in short, for a more just society “.

Amnesty International, Proyecto Hombre, Greenpeace, Posidonia, Manos Unidas, Asalsido, Colega, Cáritas, Posidonia and A Toda Vela are some of the thirty associations that participated, together with the Andalusian Institute of Youth (IAJ) in this VII Volunteer Day of the IES Aguadulce, a center with 1,630 students and 75 teachers, which develops, among other programs, the Youth Formation and the Espacio de Paz School.

CAREER FOR SOLIDARITY IN LAS NORIAS

The delegates of the Government and Education, Gracia Fernández and Francisca Fernández, also visited this morning Las Norias de Daza to share with the students of the educational centers of this ejidal neighborhood the activities organized by the Local Board of Education and Community on the occasion of the ‘School Day of Peace’, including a charity race in favor of the NGO ‘Save the Children’.

Gracia Fernández thanked the educational community and the members of the Local Committee “their generous collaboration in the process of permanent improvement of the public education system.”

The Local Board of Education and Community of Las Norias was created in 2012 under the Intercultural Intervention Project promoted by the Social Work of La Caixa and on the initiative of the Association of Cooperation and Development with North Africa (Codenaf) with the support of the Junta and the City Council of El Ejido.

It has the participation of the five educational centers of Las Norias and a mixed group of technicians and professionals from social services, health, sports and education.

Its objective is to be a forum for reflection to collectively manage the cultural diversity of Las Norias and promote social cohesion and coexistence.

The delegate of Education has stressed that “the work of the Local Board of Education has paid off in improving the academic results of all students and in the development of an educational project that is enriched with multiculturalism and diversity.”

SCHOOL DAY OF PEACE

The School Day of Peace and Nonviolence has been celebrated on January 30 since 1964, when it emerged as an initiative of the Spanish teacher Llorenç Vidal for the dissemination of education for tolerance, solidarity, concord and respect for human rights. In 1993 it received the support of UNESCO. The anniversary coincides with the date of the death of Mahatma Gandhi, murdered in 1948.

The delegate of Education, Francisca Fernández, stressed that “the culture of peace is not only a transversal content but is one of the ultimate goals of the public educational system in Andalusia that is specified in the Andalusian Plan for Education for the Culture of Peace and which involved the creation in the 2002-2003 academic year of the School Network: Space of Peace “.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Europe

Report of the 2nd International Conference on “Peace Education for Peacebuilding” (Armenia)

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article from the Global Campaign for Peace Education

The international conference has passed, but the impressions gained during the event [Gyumri, Armenia, December 1-2, 2017] and the fruitful collaboration among the 130 participants from 25 countries remain. It was the second conference on peacebuilding, hosted by “Women for Development” NGO, follow-up of the one in 2007. While the first event intended to present mainly the work of WFD itself, this year’s conference also facilitated the intellectual exchange of others, offering platform, voice and translation and bringing together different field specialists. Among the keynote speakers were Werner Wintersteiner (Austria), Jennifer Batton (USA), Sanam Naraghi-Anderlini (UK), Isabella Sargsyan (Armenia), Gulnara Shahinian (Armenia).


Conference participants

Speakers from Austria to Australia, Ghana to Colombia and Netherlands to Japan, reflected on past experiences and proposed future goals on diverse topics such as domestic violence, violent extremism, global citizenship, Caucasian conflict resolution and many more. The participants and the speakers affirmed that all the challenges and problems faced worldwide in establishing peace and in the area of peacebuilding demand active participation of various representatives of the society.

Through the conference, they expressed the appeal to contribute to the expansion of peace education through formal and non-formal teaching and the creation of a culture of peace among schoolchildren and youth as an essential means to establishing peace and preventing violence and terrorism.

The conference and the following workshop-day enabled practitioners form different continents to introduce their best practices, success stories, to expand their professional network and to exchange opinions on the ongoing challenges, which accompany the implementation of peace education worldwide. Surprisingly, there were plenty of similarities in spite of the specific regional context.

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Question for this article:

Where is peace education taking place?

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The impact and the outreach of the event would not have been possible without the support, sponsorship and collaboration of GPPAC’s Peace Education Working Group taking part actively on the side of the speakers.

Jennifer Batton, keynote speaker and experienced professional, opened the conference and offered priceless input on peace education in the United States. Her GPPAC colleagues: Iryna Brunova-Kalisetska (Ukraine), Carlos José González Hernández (Colombia), Charlotte Divin (Netherlands), Tatjana Popovic (Serbia), Ahmed Bukli (Iraq), Kesia-Onam Bijou Birch (Ghana), Gary Shaw (Australia), Nina Bagdasarova (Kyrgyzstan), Kazuya Asakawa (Japan) and Isabelle Peter (Switzerland) all contributed both to the conference programme and later provided hands-on exercises during the post-conference workshop day in Gyumri Commercial Center on 03.12.

The official host of the conference itself was Gyumri Technology Center, the most modern equipped building in the city, which offered great opportunity for impeccable programme flow, parallel workshops and cozy time between the sessions during the coffee-break and the lunch on the spot.

The conference offered the participants the opportunity to get to know the Armenian culture, including the typical folks dance Khochari, performed together with a local dance group in the Youth Center Hayordac Tun. There they were also shown an exhibition of children’s painting – the result of the art contest “I am a Sower of Peace”, carried out annually by “Women for Development” NGO. Another evening highlight was the visit to Black Fortress – an old abandoned Russian fortress with spectacular architecture.

The closing of the conference was marked by classical live music, a lot of positive energy and mutual gratitude for the productive exchange and, last but not least, by the celebration of WFD NGO 20th anniversary since its foundation in December 1997 in Gyumri.

There was great interest in the work of the international speakers from the side of the local residents in Gyumri. Following the conference, GPPAC Peace Education Working Group members Kesia-Onam Bijou Birch, Carlos José González Hernández and Ahmed Baqir Bukli were welcomed by the rector and the professors of Shirak State University. The guests met with the rector Sahak Minasyan and vice-rector Anahit Farmanyan who asked for a possible collaboration with the GPPAC members via WFD NGO, for sharing the experience and lessons learnt in different countries with the purpose to integrate “Conflict management education” in the University in a non-formal education method.

“Women for Development” NGO as host of the international conference “Peace Education for Peacebuilding” and as an active player on the field for the past 15 years believes that the integration of peace education into the education system worldwide is one of the most important steps in the journey of achieving peace. That is at the same time the reason to dedicate its efforts towards the goal and the motivation for the future projects.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Europe, global,

Programme unites Greek and Turkish Cypriot students

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from the Famagusta Gazette

A special programme bringing together 2500 students from 50 Turkish Cypriot and 50 Greek Cypriot schools from all areas of Cyprus will continue this year.

“Grounded in a holistic understanding of a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence, the programme is being implemented in two stages: in the first stage, experienced trainers visit the schools of participating students and teachers in both communities to facilitate activities that deal with stereotypes, extremism and intolerance and prepare them for bi-communal contact at the H4C,” a UNFICYP press release announced [UNFICYP=United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus].

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Question related to this article:

Can Cyprus be reunited in peace?

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In the second stage, groups of students from the two communities are paired and meet in the buffer zone where they participate in either peace education workshops with the AHDR or sports activities with PeacePlayers International.

The ‘Imagine’ programme is supported by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany and has received special praise by the United Nations Secretary General in his two latest Reports on the United Nations operation in Cyprus, the press release concluded.

The `Imagine` programme runs under the auspices of the Technical Committee on Education and implemented by the Association for Historical Dialogue and Research (AHDR) and the Home for Cooperation (H4C) with the support of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Europe, United Nations,

Norway: ‘Biggest Pile of Money on the Planet’ To Dump Fossil Fuels Holdings

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article by Julia Conley for Common Dreams (reprinted according to terms of Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License)

Environmental advocates on Thursday applauded the latest organization to shift away from continued support of the fossil fuel industry—Norway’s national bank.

In a move 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben called “astonishing,” Norges Bank, which oversees the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, advised the Norwegian government to dump all of its shares in oil and gas companies, leaving those entities out of its $1 trillion fund.


About six percent of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund is invested in oil and gas companies—but the countries central bank advised that all those shares be dumped, amid falling oil prices and expectations of a dim future for fossil fuels. (Photo: Guy Beauchamp/Flickr/cc)

The bank’s decision comes two years after Norway’s parliament approved a measure calling for the fund to begin divesting from coal companies.

Norges Bank made the new recommendation in light of falling oil prices. Oil and gas are seen as increasingly risky investments as more countries turn to cleaner energy sources in order to meet requirements under the Paris climate agreement, which aims to keep global warming under two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

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Question for this article:

Divestment: is it an effective tool to promote sustainable development?

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While Norway has built much of its sovereign wealth through oil and gas development in the past—six percent of the fund is invested in fossil fuels—it’s now home to a fast-growing solar power sector, with solar installations rising by 366 percent from 2015 to 2016.

“It is not surprising that we see the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund managers no longer prepared to take the increasing risk associated with oil and gas assets, which do not have a long-term future,” said Paul Fisher of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, in an interview with the Guardian.

McKibben compared the bank’s recommendation to “the moment when the Rockefellers divested the world’s oldest oil fortune” in 2014, when the heirs to Standard Oil said that if founder John D. Rockefeller were alive in the 21st century, “he would be moving out of fossil fuels and investing in clean, renewable energy.”

“This is the biggest pile of money on the planet, most of it derived from oil—but that hasn’t blinded its owners to the realities of the world we now inhabit,” said McKibben.

Nicolò Wojewoda of 350.org Europe was also hopeful about the implications of Norges Bank’s decision, calling it “yet another nail in the coffin of the coal, oil, and gas industry.”

“To stop climate catastrophe, fossil fuels need to stay in the ground. Investing in them is no longer financially sound, nor morally acceptable, and this proposal is a clear recognition of that,” Wojewoda added.

Europe, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Spanish action to support the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article by Rafael de la Rubia from Pressenza (reprinted according to terms of Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license)

On 7 July 2017, at the initiative of the United Nations, 122 countries concluded negotiations and elaboration of a Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Subsequently, on 20 September 2017, the process of signing the treaty was opened, with the well-founded expectation that more than 50 countries would ratify it as a condition for the treaty to enter into force.

On 15 November, in the Spanish Congress of Deputies, an event will be held to address the global context of the deterioration of global security and the increasing risk of the use of nuclear weapons and to review the main international initiatives that are under way to prevent it.


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In a global context in which, once again, the danger of nuclear war is growing following successive nuclear tests by North Korea and the threat by President Trump to unleash “fire, fury and frankly power, the likes of which this world has never seen before,” it seems necessary for the Spanish Parliament to debate this issue and adhere to the international treaties and actions under way.

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

Question related to this article:

Can we abolish all nuclear weapons?

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Several social organisations such as World without Wars and Violence, the Spanish Peace Research Association, the Peace Culture Foundation and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom – Spain, among others, have taken the initiative to take this debate to the Spanish Parliament, calling on parliamentary groups to take a stand on this matter and to ask the government why Spain is not among those 122 countries that have been working on the elaboration of this Treaty, and calling on all deputies and senators in Spain to attend the event that will take place on Wednesday, the 15th of November, at 4pm in the Clara Campoamor Hall in the Spanish Congress.

In the event the global context with respect to nuclear weapons and the NPT will be discussed, as well as other nuclear disarmament initiatives. In addition, the Network of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (PNND), an international inter-parliamentary forum with the participation of more than 700 parliamentarians from 75 countries working on nuclear disarmament, will also be presented.

To this end, Alyn Ware, the international coordinator of PNND, has been invited to participate. In 2009 he was awarded the Right Livelihood Award, popularly known as the Alternative Nobel Peace Prize, for his “effective and creative work over two decades to promote peace education and rid the world of nuclear weapons”. These awards have been presented annually since the Swede, Jakob von Uexkull, established them in 1980 to “honour and support those who propose concrete and exemplary solutions to the challenges of today’s world”. In 2009, Ware was reported by the press as “a tireless defender of peace and nonviolence”.

Furthermore, the Conference on Nonviolence in preparation for the 2nd World March for Peace and Nonviolence which will take place at Cybele Palace, headquarters of the Madrid City Council, on Friday 17, will review the initiatives for nuclear disarmament and will explicitly support Spain’s accession to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Contact: info@mundosinguerras.es

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Europe

Historic peacebuilding program launches in Bosnia and Herzegovina

. TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An article from the Catholic News Agency

When Pope Francis visited Bosnia and Herzegovina two years ago, he found a country still healing from a devastating conflict two decades earlier. The three-year Bosnian War killed around 100,000 people and displaced a million more. Although ethnic and religious violence tapered off after the peace treaty of 1995-96, deep cultural and religious divides are enduring.

Now, a historic master’s program has been created in Sarajevo that primarily focuses on Interreligious Studies and Peacebuilding, taught by the three major theological seminaries of Catholic, Islamic and Orthodox thought.

“This program represents efforts of the three faculties to work, on a scientific basis, on peace-building and reconciliation in this country,” said Darko Tomasevic, the dean of the Catholic Theological Faculty at the University in Sarajevo.

“Above all, we want to ensure as good a foundation as possible for a better future for Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the capacity that we, as institutions within religious communities and churches, can provide,” Tomasevic said.

The first of its kind in the region, the master’s program was coordinated by Catholic Relief Services, in conjunction with the Faculty of Islamic Sciences, the Catholic Theological Faculty and Orthodox Theological Faculty of St. Basil of Ostrog.

According to Zuhdija Hasanovic, the dean of the Faculty of Islamic Sciences at the University in Sarajevo, the program is an effort to be more intentional about healing the country’s divisions with an attitude of respect.

“Each of the faculties works on developing a sense of respect for ‘others,’ or different ones, but this study program is something special and it will, hopefully, yield results,” he said.

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Question related to this article:
 

How can different faiths work together for understanding and harmony?

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The first class began on Oct. 26, and the program will run over the course of the next year. Professors and teachers from all three seminaries will lead the program, which now includes 23 students. The course is aimed at students who are have backgrounds in theology, social sciences and humanities, and are interested in interreligious studies and peacebuilding.

“Joint-study programs like this one offer a unique opportunity to use religious as a catalyst for peace,” stated Marc D’Silva, the CRS country representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“This program will show how religious institutions can train a new generation of religious and civil society leaders to be advocates for a more just and better society,” D’Silva continued.

The master’s program is currently only being offered to local students, but there are hopes of expanding the course to international students. CRS is also promoting scholarships, internships and job opportunities with local government officials and civil society organizations in the country.

The official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the U.S., Catholic Relief Services has had a presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina since 1993, when it began offering emergency relief services to victims of the war in Sarajevo. Post-war, CRS continued to offer aid by helping displaced families return to their homes. The organization has a continued presence in the country today through education, psychological support, rebuilding homes and promoting livelihoods.

Pope Francis’ pastoral visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2015 was seen as an important step in unity, in a nation where religion is closely tied to ethnicity. Forty percent of the country’s 3.8 million population are Muslim/Bosniak and another 40 percent are Orthodox/Serbian. Fifteen percent are Catholic/Croats.

“There is no other foundation on which the culture of peace can be based, but on interreligious dialogue,” stressed Vladislav Topalovic, dean of the Orthodox Theological Faculty “St. Basil of Ostrog” of the University in East Sarajevo.

“It is our only exit, our only path on which we can base that culture of peace, and trust among all of us in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

Europe, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Malta: Launching The Global Council For Tolerance And Peace (GCTP)

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article from the GCTP News

The Global Council for Tolerance and Peace was launched today at a major official ceremony held at the Mediterranean Conference Center in Malta at the joint invitation of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Government of Malta and GCTP.

Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced his support for the council, calling for fighting poverty, injustice, ignorance and discrimination in order to build lasting peace. He affirmed that he believes in the goals of the GCTP, its mission and its ability to make the required change at the global level and that he will not only support it but will work with it, noting the importance of establishing the International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace, stressing the neutrality of Malta and its commitment to human rights, tolerance and peace.

Ahmed bin Mohammed al-Jarwan,
president of the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace

The ceremony was attended by the Prime Minister of Malta, a number of ministers of foreign affairs, education, youth and culture from several countries, representatives of the United Nations and a host of ambassadors, heads of international organizations, universities and media. It began with a documentary film that included a speech by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, warning that “our world faces many great challenges, conflicts, inequality, deadly intolerance and security threats, including nuclear weapons. We have the tools and the will to overcome these challenges.

Guterres said: How can we help millions of people suffering from large-scale wars and prospects, almost never-ending? There is no winner in these wars, everyone loses especially that the new global terrorist threat affects us all and destabilizes the stability. Let us put peace first, let peace always be our goal and guide.

The master of ceremony Joseph Deeb started the day. In addition to the Maltese Prime Minister’s speech, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kosovo Behgjet Pacolli and Foreign Affairs Minister of Malta, Carmelo Abela, who both stressed the importance of launching the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace at this particular time in the face of terrorism, extremism, hatred, racism etc. and the urgent need for joint global action based on the right education of the youth and the empowerment of women to build a better tomorrow for future generations.

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Question related to this article:

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

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Address by the President of the Council

“The danger of terrorism, fanaticism, hatred, racism, ethnic cleansing, sectarian and racial extremism is increasing and growing like cancer … These phenomena go beyond the limits of reason and the borders of nations and threaten the lives of people, citizens of different countries and civilizations, threaten development and security and jeopardize world peace.” Said Ahmed bin Mohammed al-Jarwan, president of the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace. “Convictions are no longer sufficient. It is no longer possible for armies and police alone to combat these terrible phenomena. No country or institution can rely solely on its own capacities to address the problem of terrorism, racism, extremism, violence, and discrimination.

We are here today for this reason, we are here to launch this global endeavor, the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace.”

“This newly created Council is an international organization based on democratic principles and derives from international law and agreements its own system of work.” Added H.E. al-Jarwan. “The Council signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for cooperation and the building of international partnerships. The Council is composed of eminent international figures who maintain a sound reputation and experience in areas related to peace and tolerance.”

“Among the roadmap in the strategic planning of the Council are the following:

• Establish an international parliament for tolerance and peace, raise tolerance values, promote preventive diplomacy, support regional and global youth initiatives, launch a global prize for those who contribute to the protection of world peace, and develop and implement joint programs, events, and conferences to promote tolerance and peace.”

Al-Jarwan added: “I am honored at the launch of the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace to invite parliaments and think tanks of young people, intellectuals, economists, sociologists and scholars to join this Council in order to spread a culture of tolerance and peace and to be the force of change on the world stage.”

He concluded by saying: “Together, we can build a more tolerant and secure world.

Together we can build a future in which love triumphs over hatred, tolerance over revenge, openness over intolerance, and knowledge over ignorance.”

Dr. Louay Shabaneh, UNFPA Director for the Arab Region, confirmed the commitment of the international community to the initiative of the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace, and the partnership with the Council to achieve the goals of development, tolerance and human rights.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Europe

Prague: International youth conference: Reaching High for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from Abolition 2000

A conference for young academics, professionals and activists to advance initiatives and build cooperation for nuclear disarmament will be held just before the Prague Insecurity Conference, which flows on from the Prague Agenda Conferences held annually since former U.S. President Barack Obama gave his historic speech in Prague putting forward the vision and commitment to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world.


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There is now a different U.S. administration, as well as new political realities and international conflicts to be addressed in order to reduce the risks of nuclear confrontation and make progress toward the elimination of nuclear weapons. There are also new opportunities including the Treaty on the Prohibition on Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) adopted at the United Nations in July 2017, and the UN High-Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament (UNHLC) which will take place in May 2018.

A key focus of the conference will be to explore the political and economic dynamics of nuclear weapons policies, and the ways in which youth can engage with parliamentarians, governments, UN agencies and other civil society networks to influence policy and support the UN processes, especially the 2018 UNHLC.

The conference will include workshop sessions, networking, action planning and a visit to the ATOM Museum, a former nuclear weapons depot approximately one-hour drive from Prague.

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Question related to this article:

Can we abolish all nuclear weapons?

A UN High-Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament: Distraction or progress?

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Workshop sessions, with opening presentations by youth, include:

1 Nuclear risk reduction and incremental disarmament measures;

2 Nuclear weapons and sustainable development – economic aspects including nuclear divestment;

3 The TPNW and other international law prohibiting nuclear weapons;

4 2018 UNHLC on nuclear disarmament;

5 Engaging parliamentarians, UN, mayors and other key constituencies;

6 Planning youth actions and intergenerational cooperation.
Click here for the conference flyer.

To register please contact Marzhan Nurzhan marzhan@pnnd.org

Cosponsors: Abolition 2000, Basel Peace Office , Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament , Střediska Bezpečnostní Politiky, Unfold Zero and Prague Vision

The conference is being organised by the Abolition 2000 Youth Network, a working group of Abolition 2000, the global civil society network to eliminate nuclear weapons. The Abolition 2000 youth network brings together young activists from Abolition 2000 member-organisations and affiliated networks including Amplify, Ban All Nukes generation (BANg), Chain Reaction 2016, CTBTO Youth Group, Global Zero, IALANA, ICAN, IPPNW Student Network, PNND youth, Parliament of the World’s Religions youth, Pugwash Student and Youth, UNFOLD ZERO, Youth Future Project and others.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Europe