Category Archives: global

Historic Letter to Commence Selection of Next UN Secretary-General

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article by 1 for 7 billion: find the best UN leader

1 for 7 Billion welcomes the ground-breaking joint letter to be sent by the Presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council on the appointment of the next UN Secretary-General in 2016. The letter marks – for the first time in the UN’s history – the start of an official selection process for this crucial role, which until now has been shrouded in secrecy. It takes forward General Assembly Resolution 69/321, adopted by consensus in September, by soliciting candidates for the post and by outlining some selection criteria.

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“This unprecedented joint letter should serve to end the woefully inadequate way in which the Secretary-General has been selected to date: by a handful of powerful countries behind closed doors. By paving the way for more transparency and inclusivity – notably through hearings with candidates – it enhances the chances that an outstanding leader will be found who can successfully confront today’s complex global challenges” said Yvonne Terlingen, speaking on behalf of the 1 for 7 Billion campaign’s steering committee.

To be signed by General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft and Ambassador Samantha Power for the United States, which holds this month’s Council Presidency, the letter:

– Stresses that the selection process will be guided by the principles of transparency and inclusivity

– Echoes the selection criteria set out in Resolution 69/321

– Encourages the presentation of women as candidates, as well as men, in letters to the Presidents of the Council and the Assembly while noting the “regional diversity” in the selection of previous post holders

– Commits to circulating candidates’ names on an on-going basis in line with the General Assembly resolution

– Commits the Presidents of the Council and the Assembly to offering candidates dialogues or meetings with their members throughout the process

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Question(s) related to this article:

What is the United Nations doing for a culture of peace? – See comments below

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– Excludes an end date for submission of candidacies but acknowledges that “early presentation of candidates will help the Council‟s deliberations”

– Provides that the Security Council will start its selection procedure by July 2016 and will make its recommendation to the General Assembly “in a timely manner‟ to give the newly appointed post holder “sufficient time to prepare for the job”.

1 for 7 Billion calls on governments, parliaments and civil society to put forward highly quality candidates so that the best possible woman or man can be appointed. We urge all potential candidates to commit to making the process as open, transparent and principled as possible. 1 for 7 Billion calls on all candidates to: present publicly their vision and objectives; to refrain from reserving key senior positions for certain member states; and to participate actively in hearings with states and civil society.

We also encourage candidates to commit to serve a single, non-renewable term of office. 1 for 7 Billion, together with The Elders and a growing number of governments, supports the appointment of future Secretaries-General for such a non-renewable term, possibly of seven years, as this would strengthen the independence and accountability of the office.

“This decision is a critical step towards real change, illustrating the commitment of both the Security Council and the General Assembly for a more open and merit-based appointment process. We still have much to do to make this decision succeed, but this is one of the best examples in many years of civil society and governments working together to improve and change one of the worst procedures of the UN Security Council,” said William Pace, director of the World Federalist Movement and a member of 1 for 7 Billion’s steering committee.

“At last – some clarity about how the world will go about filling this crucial role,” said Natalie Samarasinghe, Executive Director of the United Nations Association-UK and also a member of 1 for 7 Billion’s steering committee, “Top-quality names, particularly women, from all sectors and regions must now be put forward as soon as possible, to allow ample time for candidates to engage with all UN member states and with their constituency: the world’s seven billion people. We must start a global conversation about what type of person we want in the hot seat, and what we want them to do when they get there.”

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global

Mayors for Peace – action priorities

. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION .

Communiqué de Press from the 9th Executive Conference of Mayors for Peace

In November 2015, 33 years after Mayors for Peace was established, the number of member cities has exceeded 6,900 from 161 countries and regions and continues to grow. Mayors for Peace has now grown into an influential global network that can impact international public opinion calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

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Photo from Sinotables

The 9th Executive Conference of Mayors for Peace was held on November 12 and 13, 2015 in Ypres, Belgium. The participating mayors and representatives from the executive cities shared their respective activities towards nuclear abolition and regarding other challenges that their regions face.

They also discussed how to address such pressing issues as poverty, refugees, and climate change as well as how to contribute to nuclear abolition, and resolved to take concrete action with determination, in accordance to Article 3 of the Mayors for Peace Covenant.

Based on its deliberations, this Executive Conference adopted the following seven action priorities:

The Hiroshima Secretariat will take over the 2020 Vision Campaign to further promote it in cooperation with the executive and lead cities on the foundation built up by the city of Ypres, aiming at nuclear abolition by 2020.

Intensified activities for Mayors for Peace based on the 2020 Vision were identified as follows:

1) Strategic projects to promote the start of negotiations for a nuclear weapons convention

i) Citizen outreach by member cities

– Raise awareness of the humanitarian consequences and risks posed by nuclear weapons

– Strengthen efforts to promote petition drives

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Questions for this article:

How can culture of peace be developed at the municipal level?

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ii) Actions targeting national governments and policymakers

– Call on policymakers to visit the A-bombed cities

– Actions utilizing signatures and request letters

iii) Cooperative action with the United Nations

2) Concentrated activities to strengthen the Mayors for Peace management system

i) Expand membership

– We will strengthen recruitment efforts to reach 10,000 members by 2020.

ii) Conveying the A-bomb experience to future generations through youth exchanges

– We will promote youth exchanges among member cities, share the memories of the atomic bombings with the future generations, and strengthen the network of the executive cities. iii) Invite interns from member cities to the Hiroshima Secretariat

– To cultivate human resources that could help enhance Mayors for Peace activities, we will build up our intern program and strengthen the network of executive cities.

We will continue to facilitate such activities as distributing and cultivating seeds and seedlings of A-bombed trees, sharing the Flame of Peace, holding A-bomb poster exhibitions, screening animated films, providing A-bomb survivor testimonies through Skype, and promoting Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Study Courses.

We will remove the words “by 2015” included in Objective 3 of the 2020 Vision, and continue to call on national governments to work for nuclear abolition.

Along with our activities based on the 2020 Vision to eliminate nuclear weapons, we will address such pressing issues as poverty, refugees, and climate change, in accordance with Article 3 of the Mayors for Peace Covenant.

The next General Conference will be held in Nagasaki in August 2017. To reflect requests and proposals from member cities in the conference content, the Secretariat will conduct a survey of member cities in 2016 and will consider possible content based on the results.

We will send the Resolution adopted by the Executive Conference to the nuclear-weapon states and the United Nations, among others, as a consensus of Mayors for Peace, to urge them to accelerate the momentum for a legal ban of nuclear weapons.

We will send this Final Communiqué and the Resolution to all member cities.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, global

Global arms industry: West still dominant despite decline; sales surge in rest of the world, says SIPRI

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

A press release by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

(Stockholm, 14 December 2015) Sales of arms and military services by the largest arms-producing companies—the SIPRI Top 100—totalled $401 billion in 2014 according to new international arms industry data launched today by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

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For the fourth consecutive year, sales of arms and military services by the SIPRI Top 100—the largest arms-producing companies by arms sales—have decreased. However, with a reduction of 1.5 per cent in real terms between 2013 and 2014, the global decline in SIPRI Top 100 total arms sales remains moderate. Falls in 2014 are due to lower arms sales for companies based in North America and Western Europe, as Top 100 companies located in other regions of the world have collectively increased their arms sales.

Companies based in the United States continue to dominate the Top 100, with a 54.4 per cent share of the total. US companies’ arms sales decreased by 4.1 per cent between 2013 and 2014, which is similar to the rate of decline seen in 2012–13. One company bucking the downward trend is Lockheed Martin, which has occupied the first position in the Top 100 since 2009. Its arms sales grew by 3.9 per cent in 2014 to $37.5 billion. Lockheed Martin’s lead over the second ranked company Boeing, which had total arms sales of $28.3 billion, increased by $4.4 billion in 2014.

‘With the acquisition of helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. in 2015, the gap between Lockheed Martin and other companies ranked in the Top 10 will widen even further next year,’ says Aude Fleurant, Director of SIPRI’s Arms and Military Expenditure Programme.

Western European companies’ arms sales decreased by 7.4 per cent in 2014. Only German (+9.4 per cent) and Swiss (+11.2 per cent) companies show overall growth in their arms sales in real terms. The rise in German arms sales was due to a significant growth in turnover for German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp (+29.5 per cent), while Switzerland’s Pilatus Aircraft benefited from growing demand for its trainer aircraft, boosting Swiss sales. The companies representing the seven remaining Western European countries in the Top 100 all show an overall decline in their sales.

Despite difficult national economic conditions, the Russian arms industry’s sales continued to rise in 2014. The number of Russian companies ranked in the Top 100 went up from 9 to 11, amounting to a share of 10.2 per cent of total Top 100 arms sales in 2014. The two completely new entrants are High Precision Systems (39th) and RTI (91st), while the newly established United Instrument Manufacturing Corporation (UIMC) has entered the list in 24th position, replacing Sozvezdie, which merged with a number of other companies to form UIMC. The Russian company showing the most significant growth in arms sales is Uralvagonzavod, with an increase of 72.5 per cent in its arms sales. Almaz-Antey, with a near 23 per cent increase in arms sales, is now in 11th position.

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

Question for this article:

Does military spending lead to economic decline and collapse?

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‘Russian companies are riding the wave of increasing national military spending and exports. There are now 11 Russian companies in the Top 100 and their combined revenue growth over 2013–14 was 48.4 per cent,’ says SIPRI Senior Researcher Siemon Wezeman.

In contrast, arms sales of Ukrainian companies have substantially declined. UkrOboronProm has fallen from 58th position in 2013 to 90th in 2014, with a drop in sales of 50.2 per cent. Motor Sich, the other Ukrainian company that was ranked in the 2013 Top 100, has left the list altogether. ‘The noticeable decline in sales for Ukrainian companies was largely due to disruption caused by the conflict in eastern Ukraine, the loss of the Russian market, and the fall in the value of the local currency,’ says Siemon Wezeman.

Emerging producers continue to strengthen their presence in the Top 100
In 2013, SIPRI introduced an ‘emerging producers’ category to better track the evolution of companies based in countries that have stated goals of military industrialization. For 2014, this category covers Brazil, India, South Korea and Turkey. The combined arms sales of companies located in these countries represents 3.7 per cent of SIPRI Top 100 total arms sales. Their revenues rose by 5.1 per cent between 2013 and 2014.

There are two Turkish arms-producing companies ranked in the Top 100: ASELSAN, which increased its sales by 5.6 per cent in 2014, but has moved down in the ranking from 66th to 73rd; and Turkish Aerospace Industry (TAI), which has entered the Top 100 at rank 89, with a growth in arms sales of 15.1 per cent. ‘Turkey is seeking more self-sufficiency for its arms supplies and this, coupled with an aggressive export drive, has contributed to the rapid growth in revenue for ASELSAN and TAI,’ says Pieter Wezeman, a Senior Researcher at SIPRI.

South Korean companies have also raised their profile in the Top 100 in 2014. ‘Fifteen companies from Asia (not including China) have made it into the Top 100,’ according to Siemon Wezeman. ‘Many of them showed quite stable levels of sales but South Korean companies increased their total sales in 2014 by 10.5 per cent compared to 2013.’ The latest South Korean entrant to the Top 100 is Hyundai Rotem, a military vehicle manufacturer.

The SIPRI Arms Industry Database was created in 1989. It contains financial and employment data on arms-producing companies worldwide. Since 1990, SIPRI has published data on the arms sales and employment of the 100 largest of these arms-producing companies in the SIPRI Yearbook.

Arms sales are defined by SIPRI as sales of military goods and services to military customers, including sales for domestic procurement and sales for export. Changes are calculated in real terms and country comparisons are only for the same companies over different years.

This is the first of three major data set pre-launches in the lead-up to the publication of the next edition of the SIPRI Yearbook. In the first half of 2016, SIPRI will release its international arms transfers data (details of all international sales, transfers and gifts of major weapons in 2015) as well as its world military expenditure data (comprehensive information on global, regional and national trends in military spending). All data will feature in the SIPRI flagship publication SIPRI Yearbook 2016 to be published in late 2016.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global

15 Indigenous Rights Victories That You Didn’t Hear About in 2015

….. HUMAN RIGHTS …..

An article by John Ahni Schertow, IC Magazine, a publication of the Center for World Indigenous Studies

Good news. Sometimes, it comes in the form of a cancelled hydro dam that spares 20,000 people from the burden of displacement. Other times, it takes the shape of a simple court admission that Indigenous Peoples do actually make the best conservationists.

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Mapuche “Not Guilty” (Photo: Ruben Curricoy Nañko)

In this day in age such stories are incredibly rare. They are even more difficult to find amidst the constant deluge of media that doesn’t matter. That makes them all the more valuable.

Indigenous rights victories give us all pause to celebrate, to reflect and to rejuvenate our own quests for justice.

May we encounter 10,000 more victories just like these in 2016!

1. JUSTICE FOR THE OGON

In a landmark decision last week, the Dutch Court of Appeals ruled that four Ogoni farmers from Nigeria can take their case against Shell to a judge in the Netherlands. Alali Efanga, one of the Ogoni farmers who, along with Friends of the Earth Netherlands, brought the case against Shell, said the ruling “offers hope that Shell will finally begin to restore the soil around my village so that I will once again be able to take up farming and fishing on my own land.”
The ruling by the Court of Appeals overturns a 2013 decision in favor of Shell, who, in another big hit to the multinational oil giant, agreed to clean up two massive oil spills in the Ogoni community of Bodo following a three-year legal battle in London.

2. WAMPIS AUTONOMY

The Wampis nation, who made international headlines in 2009 when they stood up to the government of Peru alongside their brethren the Awajun, took an unprecedented step foward by establishing the first Autonomous Indigenous Government in Peru’s history. Spanning a 1.3 million hectare territory – a region the size of the State of Connecticut – the newly created democratically-elected government brings together 100 Wampis communities representing some 10,613 people.

Speaking of the challenges that the Wampis Nation will now face, the newly elected Pamuk (first President) Wrays Pérez Ramirez, told Intercontinental Cry by phone: “We know that it will be difficult to get the National Government to support us and recognize our territory. It will seem unacceptable to the Government to have to consult us regarding any activity that could affect our territory. We know that it is going to be hard work but we are prepared. We are not going to stay silent not least when we have legal backing from national and international legislation regarding our right to self-determination and free, prior and informed consent. It will be difficult, but not impossible.”

3. PROTECTED LANDS

After five years of legal contests and what felt like a lifetime of uncertainty, Colombia’s Constitutional Court confirmed that Yaigojé Apaporis, an indigenous resguardo (a legally recognized, collectively owned territory), has legitimate status as a national park.

Comprising a million hectares of the Northwestern Colombian Amazon, the pristine forest region of Yaigojé Apaporis is home to numerous endangered species including the giant anteater, jaguar, manatee and pink river dolphin. It is also home to the Makuna, Tanimuka, Letuama, Barasano, Cabiyari, Yahuna and Yujup-Maku Indigenous Peoples, who share a common cosmological system and rich shamanistic traditions. Together these populations act as Yaigojé’s guardians, a role that was strengthened in 1988 when they successfully established the Yaigojé Apaporis resguardo over their traditional territory.

In the late 2000s Canadian mining multinational Cosigo Resources started trying to exploit a legal loophole in Colombia that would let them mine for gold inside the resguardo. The Constitutional Court’s decision brought a welcomed end to that dishonest effort.

4. INDIGENOUS PASSPORTS

On October 12, 2015, the day of Indigenous Resistance, Kichwa lawyer Carlos Pérez Guartambel entered Ecuador with a Kichwa passport, sending out a clear reminder to the international community that indigenous nations are not simply “bands” or informal groups whose rights stem from the good graces of UN member states, but actual nations.

Ecuador’s immigration authorities did not know what to do. After 30 minutes of hesitation, they decided to accept the Kichwa passport as a form of ID, stamped Guartambel’s immigration card (not the passport) and allowed him to enter Ecuador. Within a few hours, however, Ecuadoran state officials reversed themselves and denied the validity of the Kichwa passport. This can be seen in a video released by the Department of Immigration in the Ministry of the Interior. Minister Serrano ridiculed the Kichwa passport as a “fantasy” on Twitter, posting a montage of the Kichwa passport with the portrait of a cartoon character.

Later that afternoon, the Council of Government of ECUARUNARI, an organization founded in 1972 by 18 Indigenous Peoples and representing 14 different nationalities, met in Quito to distribute over 300 passports, including one to Salvador Quishpe, the Governor of the Amazon Province of Morona-Chinchipe. During the passport ceremony, the Kichwa leadership insisted that Indigenous passports were as valid as ancestral medicine, inter-cultural education, and Indigenous justice–all recognized in Ecuador.

5. “NOT GUILTY”

After more than three years of preparation, an Argentinian court vindicated three Mapuche land rights defenders in a first-of-its kind inter-cultural trial.

The case began in the Mapuche community of Winkel Newen on December 28, 2012, when Officer of the Court Veronia Pelayes, representatives of the Apache Oil Company and a contingent of police arrived with an eviction notification. The community defended itself by throwing stones, one of which hit and injured Pelayes and damaged a vehicle. It was this incident that lead to an accusation of “attempted homicide” against Relmu Ñamku and charges of “serious damages” for Mauricio Rain and Martin Velasquez Maliqueo. In the case of Ñamku, the public prosecutor called for a 15-year prison sentence — disproportionate given that eight years is the norm for manslaughter cases.

“The public prosecutor and oil companies in Zapala had a clear political intention with this trial, for it to be an ‘ejemplary punishment’ to intimidate and discipline other indigenous communities who defend their rights against the advance of oil exploitation in their territories,” said writer Maristella Svampa and law professor Roberto Gargarella.

Their attempt failed and instead this historic trial marks an important step in curbing attempts to criminalize indigenous leaders defending their territory.

6. WHAT’S IN A NAME?

The highest mountain in the United States recovered its original indigenous name, Mount Denali, for all official purposes, after a decades-long dispute. The name “Denali” has its origin in the language of the Koyukon people, who inhabit the area north of the summit. In the Koyukon language, “Denali” means “the tall one.” The 6,168-metre high mountain was officially known until now at federal level as Mount McKinley, in honor of an American president assassinated in 1901.

It is hoped that the U.S. government will restore the indigenous names of other monuments, parks and places including Devil’s Tower, the Yosemite National Park, the Grand Canyon, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Rainier to name a few.

7. BIOCULTURAL RIGHTS

Indigenous custodians from Benin, Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia issued a challenge for the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to protect sacred sites, governance systems and custodians in a ‘decisive policy and legislative response’ to the new scramble for Africa and its impact on Indigenous territories.

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Question for this article

Indigenous peoples, Are they the true guardians of nature?

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In their statement, the custodians describe the centrality of sacred sites to their existence, writing that “Sacred natural sites are where we come from, the heart of life. They are our roots and our inspiration. We cannot live without our sacred natural sites, and we are responsible for protecting them.”

“We are deeply concerned about our Earth because she is suffering from increasing destruction despite all the discussions, international meetings, facts and figures and warning signs from Earth… the future of our children and the children of all the species of Earth are threatened. When this last generation of elders dies, we will lose the memory of how to live respectfully on the planet, if we do not learn from them now,” say the custodians.

8. TWO CENTURIES IN THE MAKING

Nearly 300 Poqomchi’ Maya families that make up the Primavera communities in the Guatemalan department of Alta Verapaz won a significant victory after negotiating a settlement with the Guatemalan Minister of the Interior, the Secretary of Agrarian Affairs, and representatives from Maderas Filips Dias/Eco-Tierra, a logging business that was seeking to harvest the land’s forests.

“This is a major victory, especially under these conditions of corruption,” said Rony Morales from the Union of Veracruz Campesino Organizations (UVOC), which worked closely with the communities to obtain this victory. “The fact [that] a community can finally win their land at no cost to the community is very important. For the other indigenous communities in San Cristobal Verapaz and the valley [of] Polochic that are in this same process, they have found hope in this victory.”

The Maya families struggled for over two centuries for the rights to their land, which was privately held for years as the Finca Primavera. They faced intimidation, nearly 25 assassinations, and over 50 arrest orders in response to their claims on the land.

9. BYE BYE HERAKLES

Herakles Farms, a New York based investment firm and the parent company of SG Sustainable Oils Cameroon (SGSOC) formally abandoned its plan to establish oil palm plantations astride the Iconic Korup National Park and Rumpi Hills Forest Reserve in Cameroon.

Supported by an “eco-friendly” non-profit owned by Bruce Wrobel, former Managing Director of Sithe Global and Founder of Herakles Capital Corporation, the oil palm project would have brought disastrous pollution resulting from pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides and sewage disposal; adversely affecting the health of animals in the Korup Park that depend on the water.

The project would have also degraded the livelihoods of the Baka, Bakola, Bedzang and Bagyeli –so-called ‘Pygmy’ peoples–who are are heavily dependent on the region for subsistence.

10. THE LAND IS OURS

After 18 years of continuous struggle, the Enxet Sur Indigenous community of Yexwase Yet finally received legal title to 10,030 hectares of their ancestral land in the Chaco region of Paraguay.

The hard-fought victory was tested just a few weeks after the President of Paraguay handed the title over to the community. A retired Paraguayan football star and his family attempted to move on to part of the 10,030 hectares claiming he had recently purchased it to build a cattle ranch estate.

“We called the police and the State prosecutor immediately and they told the footballer to leave, that he had no right to be there,“ Gabriel Fernandez, one of the leaders of Yexwase Yet, told Intercontinental Cry. “For once it was someone else being evicted. Now the land is really ours.”

11. NUCLEAR WASTE FREE

After a four-year, hard-fought campaign to keep the province of Saskatchewan free of nuclear waste, last Spring, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) announced that Creighton was no longer a contender in the organization’s siting process. It was the last of three Saskatchewan communities in the running to host a deep geological repository for the long term storage of spent fuel bundles from Canada’s nuclear reactors in Ontario, Québec and New Brunswick.

“This announcement is the culmination of four years of research, sacrifice, networking and hard work by a group of dedicated people with one goal: to keep nuclear waste out of Saskatchewan,” said Candyce Paul, a founding member of the Committee for Future Generations.

“The powerful Nuclear Waste Management Organization with all their money and all their experts could not beat back the duty we have to protect our future generations,” said Paul.

12. MAUNA KEA

The Hawaii state Supreme Court invalidated the permit allowing construction of the hugely controversial Thirty Meter Telescope atop the sacred mountain known as Mauna Kea.
The court said the state Board of Land and Natural Resources erred when it issued the permit before a contested case hearing was held for the $1.4 billion project.

The struggle to defend Mauna Kea, however, doesn’t end there. Officials behind the Thirty Metre Telescope (TMT) have said that they are now considering their next steps. Indigenous activists and allies, meanwhile, patiently wait for them to make their move.

13. PULLING ANCHOR

Cermaq, the Norwegian-based salmon farming company (that was recently purchased by the Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi) pulled anchor on a new salmon farm inside Ahousaht territory north of Tofino in British Columbia.

Soon after dropping anchor on the salmon farm a group of five Ahousaht men stepped forward to tell Cermaq to get lost, vowing that they would risk arrest rather than see another salmon farm in their territory.

Ever since salmon farms started appearing on Ahousaht lands in 1999, the Ahousaht have observed an alarming decline in shellfish, salmon and herring populations. Aware of this, the group of activists, who came to be known as the Yaakswiis warriors, stated that the Cermaq salmon farm was not legal because the Ahousaht people had not been consulted, nor did they provide their consent.

14. MONSANTO LOSES AGAIN

Following a monumental win against the controversial ‘Monsanto law’ in Guatemala last year, the notorious biotech firm took another big hit after Mexico’s Supreme Court suspended a permit to grow genetically modified soybeans across 250,000 hectares on the Yucatán peninsula.

The judgement stemmed from a constitutional law in Mexico that requires the consideration of indigenous communities affected by development projects. According to the Supreme Court, Monsanto failed to consult the region’s famous Maya beekeepers who filed the case against Monsanto. The beekeepers warned early on that Monsanto’s plan would require the use of “glyphosate, a herbicide classified as probably carcinogenic.” Given that bees are extremely sensitive to their environment, the beekeepers explained that Monsanto’s project jeopardize their communities, their livelihoods and the environment.

The judge commented in the ruling that co-existence between honey production and GM soybeans is simply not possible.

15. BARAM DAM SHELVED

After maintaining a blockade for two straight years, Indigenous Peoples in Sarawak, Malaysia can finally breathe a sigh of relief. The Sarawak government decided to shelve the controversial Baram hydroelectric dam.

Commenting on the surprising move, Sarawak’s Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem stated that they decided to put the dam on hold out of respect for the views of the affected communities, adding: “If you don’t want the dam, fine. We will respect your decision.”

Had the project gone ahead, it would have flooded 20,000 Indigenous men, women and children from their homes.

global, HUMAN RIGHTS, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

James Hansen, father of climate change awareness, calls Paris talks ‘a fraud’

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article from The Guardian. (abbreviated, Courtesy of Guardian News & Media Ltd)

Mere mention of the Paris climate talks is enough to make James Hansen grumpy. . . “It’s a fraud really, a fake,” he says, rubbing his head. “It’s just bullshit for them to say: ‘We’ll have a 2C warming target and then try to do a little better every five years.’ It’s just worthless words. There is no action, just promises. As long as fossil fuels appear to be the cheapest fuels out there, they will be continued to be burned.” . . .

Hanson
James Hanson. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod for the Guardian

Hansen, 74, has just returned from Paris where he again called for a price to be placed on each tonne of carbon from major emitters (he’s suggested a “fee” – because “taxes scare people off” – of $15 a tonne that would rise $10 a year and bring in $600bn in the US alone). There aren’t many takers, even among “big green” as Hansen labels environment groups.

Hansen has been a nagging yet respected voice on climate change since he shot to prominence in the summer of 1988. The Nasa scientists, who had been analyzing changes in the Earth’s climate since the 1970s, told a congressional committee that something called the “greenhouse effect” where heat-trapped gases are released into the atmosphere was causing global warming with a 99% certainty. . .

From being possibly America’s most celebrated scientist, Hansen is now probably its most prominent climate activist. He’s been arrested several times in protests outside the White House over mining and the controversial Keystone pipeline extension.

He is also an adjunct professor at Columbia University. When he’s in New York, he lives near the campus, surrounded by books piled on groaning shelves. Hansen’s not slowing down – he’s involved in a climate lobbying group and still undertakes the sort of scientific endeavor which helps maintain his gravitas.

One particular paper, released in July, painted a particularly bleak future for just about anyone living near the coast. Hansen and 16 colleagues found that Earth’s huge ice sheets, such as those found in Greenland, are melting faster than expected, meaning that even the 2C warming limit is “highly dangerous”.

The sea level could soon be up to five meters higher than it is today by the latter part of this century, unless greenhouse gases aren’t radically slashed, the paper states. This would inundate many of the world’s cities, including London, New York, Miami and Shanghai.

There is a positive note to end on, however. Global emissions have somewhat stalled and Hansen believes China, the world’s largest emitter, will now step up to provide the leadership lacking from the US. A submerged Fifth Avenue and deadly heatwaves aren’t an inevitability.

“I think we will get there because China is rational,” Hansen says. “Their leaders are mostly trained in engineering and such things, they don’t deny climate change and they have a huge incentive, which is air pollution. It’s so bad in their cities they need to move to clean energies. They realise it’s not a hoax. But they will need co-operation.”

Question for this article:
global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

A reality… UN Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

Special for CPNN by Romeral Ortiz Quintilla, member of Youth Advocacy Team of UNOY

And now it is a reality. I still remember very well how two years ago, I was on my first mission to UN Headquarters in NYC as part of the Youth Advocacy Team of the United Network of Young Peacebuilders- UNOY.

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Voting of the UN Security Council of the 2250 Resolution on Youth, Peace and Security

UNOY had put as strategic objective to advocate for the development of a global framework that would recognize and guarantee the role of youth in peacebuilding and violence prevention.

What we had as an ideal goal at that time was to see the UN Security Council Members to adopt a UN Security Council Resolution on youth, peace and security.

In 2013 this was just a dream and around that time very few were the Members States who were supportive or even sensitized on this matter. But nothing could stop us: for the last two years we have been tireless; the efforts were insatiable, the dedication was strong and the commitment was pure. We made researches, wrote reports and knocked on many doors explaining how youth is contributing to peace and justice all around the world and how young women and men had to be taken into consideration ensuring participative and inclusive mechanisms and tools in building peace.

For two years, several missions were held to the UN Headquarters participating to side-events on countering violent extremism, on young women, peace and security, on the World Programme of Action for Youth-WPAY, to UN peace related documents’ review, etc.

It was crucial to be visible and to build strong partnerships with key stakeholders and supporters of our agenda: from the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth to the Peacebuilding Support Office, Search for Common Ground, World Vision but also UN agencies such as UNDP or UNFPA to name a few.

In parallel, at local, national and regional levels young people were mobilizing to raise awareness on the topic and to initiative some lobby activities in their own communities and with their own local governments.

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Question for this article

Is there a renewed movement of solidarity by the new generation?

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And then, a key player entered in the game: Jordan. We had been told we needed a champion to support our cause. That champion happened to be the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan that took very seriously the theme and brought to the UN Security Council the first ever open debate on youth, peace and security this past April, 2015. It was then followed by the first Global Forum on youth, peace and security where more than 600 participants gathered in Amman – youth representatives, donors, UN agencies, governments, academics…- and discussed on how to increase the participation and role of youth in preventing violence, transforming violence and building peace leading. Statements and commitments were translated into the Amman Youth Declaration, precursor of the UN Security Council this past December.

Indeed, the 9th December 2015 is now a date we will not easily forget, the day when the 15 members of the UN Security Council voted unanimously the UN Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security led by Jordan.

UNSCR Side event2
Participation of Romeral, on behalf of UNOY as panellist in the side event to the Security Council, High-level review on Resolution 1325 on young women, peace and security.

Exactly two years ago I wrote on this page that “everything seems impossible until it is done”. This is so true. Now that it is done, we count on an historic recognition calling for the acknowledgment on the role of youth in building peace and demanding for further efforts in terms of participation, protection, prevention, partnership and reintegration, the five pillars of the resolution. The first time a Security Council Resolution is fully dedicated to youth and calls on their role in peace under a holistic perspective: positive peace as the presence of all resources needed for human being to enjoy sustainable rights, equality, freedom and justice.

Now, that it is done, we will redouble our efforts, making sure that the resolution is well known, implemented and translated into programs and efforts.

Because peace is not just our goal, it is definitively our path.

global, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY, United Nations,

Eight ways 2015 was a momentous year for girls

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article from Girl Effect

What a year it’s been. From the Sustainable Development Goals and global support for girls’ education to commitments to end harmful practices that hold girls back, 2015 has been momentous. Here are eight developments that show girls are getting the attention they deserve.

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1. GIRLS GET GLOBAL RECOGNITION

What started two years ago as the Girl Declaration ended with girls’ needs being put on the global development agenda for the first time ever. The Sustainable Development Goals summit made history by ensuring that girls and women not only got their own dedicated goal, but by also prominently featuring Malala at the opening session they put a teenage girl on equal footing with world leaders. The SDGs will run for 15 years and influence how trillions of dollars of aid money will be spent. It’s a victory for girls and the beginning of a long journey.

2. HARDSHIP LEADS TO LEADERSHIP

The refugee crisis proved impossible to ignore any longer this year, with global headlines showing families fleeing conflict and violence. It shone a light on how refugee girls feel the impact harder than others. Their education gets disrupted, they’re more likely to be forced into early marriage, and there’s an increased risk of trafficking and abuse. The hardship, though, has provided an opportunity for leadership. Step up, Muzoon. She’s the 16-year-old living in a refugee camp in Jordan. When she noticed that girls her age stopped going to school because they were getting married, she set about advocating for refugee girls’ education. The world and Malala took notice and helped fund a girls’ school in Muzoon’s camp. Yep. Girls make great leaders.

3. GIRLS’ EDUCATION BECAME IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE

When an 18-year-old girl opens a session at the United Nations and takes centre stage at the Global Citizen Festival in New York City’s Central Park a day later, you know girls have got the world’s attention. While Malala has tirelessly campaigned for girls’ education, this year saw other big names picking up the mantle. The United States launched a global girls’ education initiative, Let Girls Learn, with Michelle Obama leading the charge. The UN’s refugee agency dedicated an award to Aqeela Asifi, who made it her mission to convince a community to send their girls to school. And around the world, girls claimed their right to education in their communities. The benefits of educating girls are indisputable, and now that it’s in the spotlight we expect big things.

4. MORE COMMITMENTS TO END CHILD MARRIAGE

Every minute, 28 girls get married. But efforts to end child marriage have gained momentum. The African Union held its first Girls’ Summit to End Child Marriage, and world leaders committed to stamping out this harmful practice at the SDGs summit. Girls proved, though, that they are best placed to speak out about child marriage, from the Afghan rapper Sonita to Dieynaba, the graffiti artist in Senegal. If this keeps up, the rate of child marriage will fall, especially if we keep the pressure on heads of state to live up to their promises.

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Question for this article

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

Gender equality in education, Is it advancing?

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5. GIRLS BREAK TABOOS AROUND THEIR BODIES

In 2015, periods stopped being a dirty word. We saw the rise on social media of Menstrual Hygiene Day which was marked around the world. In India, girls demanded freedom from the taboos surrounding their bodies by protesting on the streets and online. The Indian media followed suit, representing girls and women in ways that were never seen before in advertising and film. Meanwhile, young women designers came up with an innovative solution that answered girls’ needs for sanitary products in the developing world. And a British woman, Amy Peake, made it her mission to ensure that girls and women in refugee camps get the sanitary pads they need to maintain their dignity. The natural function of girls’ bodies doesn’t have to be shameful any longer.

6. CUTTING OUT FGM

This year saw a record number of people using the #EndFGM hashtag, less than a year after it was first coined. Egypt saw its first conviction and jailing of a doctor over the FGM-related death of a 13-year-old girl. Nigeria and The Gambia banned the practice, and many more countries have developed action plans to tackle FGM or to ensure robust data is collected on the practice. Girls haven’t kept silent themselves. More and more they are demanding a life free from this traditional act of violence. Girls like Naserian, who took part in an alternative rite of passage rather than undergo the cut. And women like Jaha Dukureh, who survived FGM and took her awareness-raising campaigns to a national level. Let’s make sure heads of state don’t forget the pledges they made to enforce bans on FGM.

7. MORE ROBUST DATA ON GIRLS COLLECTED

With the SDGs in place, the next step is to ensure that the right kind of data gets collected. This year, the Clinton Foundation launched the No Ceilings report. This ground-breaking piece of research presents hard evidence of how girls and women are still being held back. Another promising development was the launch of the Data2X, a global partnership to make sure girls and women get counted. The next step in the data revolution will be when the UN decides in March how it will measure its progress against the SDGs. We’ll be watching, and so should you.

8. CONNECTING GIRLS

The fact that there are more mobile phones than toilets is well known. But, despite the widespread use of mobile technology to do everything from socialising to banking to actually speaking on the phone, there’s shockingly little known about how girls and women use it. When it comes to connectivity, women in developing world cities are 50 per cent less likely to access the internet than men. Education and income are determining factors. This doesn’t look good for girls, who are held back on both counts. Some positive steps have been taken, such as the launch of Facebook’s internet.org, of which Girl Effect is a partner. And we’re seeing more apps targeting issues such as gender-based violence including ones in Cambodia and Turkey. With the push for girls’ education firmly on the global agenda, we expect to see more girls becoming connected, learning to code and filling the gender gap in the tech industry. Once this happens, girls can code for girls. We can’t wait.

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

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Kumi Naidoo: let the youth be our climate leaders!

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An interview with Kumi Naidoo, Director of Greenpeace, by Pavlos Georgiadis of the Ecologist (abridged)

With COP21 out of the way there is absolutely no time to lose, Greenpeace director Kumi Naidoo told Pavlos Georgiadis: ‘Because by tomorrow, there might be no tomorrow.’ We need substantial, structural, systemic change – and this change can only be led by the youth, who are not infected by the political pollution of the past. And whose future is it anyway? . . .

kumi Naidoo
Video with Kumi Naidoo

“The good thing about COP21 is that for the first time we have a great multilateral agreement to address climate change. This is the first time such a large number of countries agree on something, since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948, again in Paris.

“The sad thing about it, is that for 21 years, we knew about the need to address climate change. But our political leaders have been in denial about how serious the problem is.”

For Kumi, governments dragged their feet in these talks. “The Paris Agreement is only one step on a long road, and there are parts of it that frustrate and disappoint me, but it is progress. This deal alone won’t dig us out the hole we’re in, but it makes the sides less steep.”

In his view, the most crucial work begins now, and is important to see what types of action will emerge in the next weeks and months after Paris.

Despite delays and conflicting opinions, at the end governments came up with the $100 billion support towards climate action. “They fudged the language here and there, but they had no other choice. If developed countries did not deliver on that, poor countries would not sign on to anything unless they got a guarantee that they are going to have predictable and transparent sources of funding.

But if you divide these $100 billion by the number of beneficiary countries, then you realise that is not any close to what is needed. When we are talking about climate finance poor countries are not really asking from rich countries to give them a donation or charity. They are telling them that since they have built their economies on the basis of carbon, they should now recognise their climate debt.”

“We now face the challenge of not allowing our governments to let us down, and that civil society – especially in developing countries- is part of the process that ensures this money is spent properly.”

It took 20 years for the world to reach this agreement, because of a reality that Kumi calls a “climate apartheid”, that showed its teeth in the Paris negotiations too:

“Most of the people in the countries that emitted the most carbon are white. Most of the people in the countries who are paying the first and highest price are people of colour. So, there is no question in my mind, that there is this subliminal racism at play in this discourse. And that is putting it kindly.”

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Question for this article:

Despite the vested interests of companies and governments, Can we make progress toward sustainable development?

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The challenge of financing climate action after Paris is immense. Naidoo believes that the aid system is a very messed up broken system, to start with:

“For every one dollar that is given to Africa, eight dollars are going out in capital flight. Therefore, it is important that the Green Climate Fund is set up in a way that takes that injustice into consideration. We cannot allow the current messed up banking system consume the world’s most vulnerable countries, that need funds to protect themselves from catastrophic climate change.

“A country like Kiribati, for example, that has contributed almost nothing in terms of carbon emissions, has very high possibilities that parts of it will disappear in the coming decades. Lending institutions will say that if Kiribati wants to borrow money in the international markets, it must pay higher interest rates, because the country’s ‘vulnerability’ is a threat to the credit system.”

“This exact case, highlights the big injustice existing in climate finance right now, where loans could leave all these countries back in a deep, unplayable debt situation. “But, why go to Kiribati, when there is Greece, a country you could get from Paris on a bicycle, to see it for yourself.

“We have to be very careful whether the mechanisms agreed in Paris will put poor countries in a kind of a terrible debt situation. Otherwise, they could be enslaved to financial institutions for many decades to come.”

Kumi Naidoo believes that the COP21 is just the beginning of a long road. “It sometimes seems that the countries of the United Nations can unite on nothing, but nearly two hundred countries have come together and agreed a deal. The human race has just joined in a common cause, but it’s what happens from now on that really matters.”

“Our political and business leaders must realise that nature does not negotiate. They have to realise that the agreement that was just signed is about their children and their children’s children’s futures. And for that reason, we cannot but recognise that in the moment of history that we live in, this is an one-way all of us. Especially young people need to stand up and say ‘this is about our future!'”

“The world is now on its feet and more determined than ever, continuing the fight and pushing the transition from an economy that is driven by dirty fossil fuels, to an economy that is driven by clean energy. As humans, we cannot afford this transition to be slow and wait until tomorrow. Because by tomorrow, there might be no tomorrow.”

In his words, climate change presents us with a very powerful opportunity. “For far too long, we lived in a world divided between rich and poor, north and south, east and west, developed and developing.

“What we need right now is not just baby steps in the right direction, given how much time we have already lost. We need substantial, structural, systemic change. And this change can only be led by the youth, who are not infected by the political pollution of the past.

“Either we secure a future for all our children and grandchildren, or we can get it wrong. Poor countries, that have contributed least to the problem, will pay the first and most brutal price. But, ultimately, everybody will get impacted.”

global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Naomi Klein: We are going backwards, COP21 is the opposite of progress

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An interview with Naomi Klein in New Internationalist Magazine (abbreviated)

Naomi Klein speaks with Frank Barat about the limits of the Paris climate talks and how climate change is an accelerator that makes pre-existing problems worse. This interview was originally published in the French publication Ballast.

Naomi Klein
People’s climate march in Prague, 29 November 2015. Friends of the Earth International under a Creative Commons Licence

. . . [what] is unfolding in Paris during the climate summit is really exposing the subjectivity of what gets declared a crisis and what does not. We are here to discuss an existential crisis for humanity and it has never received crisis treatment from elites. They give loads of wonderful speeches but they do not change laws. It is exposing the double standards in a very naked way. In the name of security, they would do almost anything, but in the name of human security, of protecting life on earth, there are loads of talk but no serious regulations of polluters and even the deal themselves they want not to be legally binding. So we are actually moving backwards. The Kyoto protocol was legally binding and now we are moving towards more volunteer, meaningless, non-regulations.

Question: Why would a climate deal be our best hope for peace?

N.K: The first part of it is simply that climate change is already driving conflict. So is the quest for fossil fuels. In terms of the Middle East, our thirst from fossil fuels is a major driver for illegal wars. Do we think Iraq would have been invaded if their major export had been asparagus [as journalist Robert Fisk once asked]? Probably not. We wanted that prize in the west, Iraq’s oil. We wanted this on the world’s market. It was certainly Dick Cheney’s agenda. This destabilized the whole region, which was not particularly stable to begin with because of earlier oil wars and coups and support for dictatorships. This is also a region that is one of the most vulnerable to climate change. Large parts of the Middle East would become unliveable on the emission trajectory that we are on. Syria has experienced the worst drought of its history in the run up to the outbreak of civil war. It is one of the factors that destabilized the country. There is no possibility for peace without very strong actions on climate. What drew me to this issue was understanding that if we are going to take climate change seriously it is going to require a redistribution of wealth, of opportunities and technologies. In this book I begin quoting Angelica Navarro who is a Bolivian trade and climate negotiator, talking about how climate change called for a Marshall Plan for planet earth. For countries that have their resources systematically plundered, like Bolivia and are on the front lines of dealing with the impact of climate change, it requires kind of a writing past wrongs, the transfer of wealth and turning the world right side up that I think are pre-conditions for a more peaceful world.

Question: How do you put to the masses of people that to change course, we have to deconstruct capitalism? I think that for most people it is too difficult a change to imagine?

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

Question for this article:

Sustainable Development Summits of States, What are the results?

Despite the vested interests of companies and governments, Can we make progress toward sustainable development?

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N.K: In Canada we did this exercise of trying to use climate change and the fact that it puts us on a deadline. Not only do we have to change but we have to change now and if we do not make the most of this remaining decade, it will indeed be too late. What does this mean for healthcare, education, indigenous rights, inequality, what would it look like for refugee rights to take climate change seriously? Our team hosted a meeting of 60 movement leaders and we drafted a document called The Leap. We are really hoping that it would help break through this problem. We found in Canada that the only way to break through is to do it. To get together and act. Everybody is working on such urgent issues. If you are an anti poverty activist or a refugee rights activist, you do not have any spare time. It is only when climate change does not distract from your issue and in fact brings another layer of urgency and a really powerful tool and argument and brings you new allies as well, then people have that space to go, ‘oh yeah, ok, this is actually hopeful, this is not a distraction.’

There are a couple of things we did in Canada. One, we organized a march under the banner ‘jobs, justice, climate’. It was not a theoretical exercise but really an organizing one. How do we talk to people in trade unions about climate in a way that really resonates, how do you talk to people who are just fighting for basic services, for housing, and transit, what would it mean for the Black Lives Matter movement, what are the messages that are different? It really helped. Then we drafted and launched the LEAP manifesto. Not that it is perfect, but it is a start. To me it is shocking the extent to which the anti-austerity movement and the climate movement in Europe do not seem to talk to one another. You could have [Greek Prime Minister Alexander] Tsipras suddenly talking about climate change this week, for the first time from what I can tell since he took office.

Climate change is the best argument against austerity that you are ever going to have. If you are negotiating with Germany, a government that claims to take climate change very seriously and that has some of the most ambitious energy policies in the world, why wouldn’t you talk about climate change in every meetings and say that we cannot have austerity because we have an existential crisis, we have to act. And yet Syriza, Podemos, you almost never hear them talking about climate change. I spoke at a blockcupy rally in Frankfurt a few months ago and climate change was not mentioned. When I talked about the connections, people understood instantly, it is not abstract. If you are dealing with the endless of budget crisis and this false sense of public scarcity, of course governments are going to cut their support for renewables, of course they are going to increase fares for public transit, of course they are going to privatize the rail system as they are doing in Belgium, of course they are going to say that we have to drill for oil and gas to get ourselves out of debt.

These issues are the same stories, so why is it that it seems far off, right? I do not think it is a hard argument to make. I think that people are creatures of habit. There is a lot of fear around talking about climate change. It has been so bureaucratized. A little bit like trade used to be. When we first started talking about free trade deals there was all of this talk about having a degree in international law to understand it as it was so bureaucratic. It was designed to repel public participation. But somehow people started to educate themselves and found ways to talk about it and really understood how it impacted their lives and the things that they understood. They realised they had a right to participate in this conversation. I think that why climate change people are afraid of making mistakes about the science. You have got three levels of bureaucratic language. The scientific, the policy and the UN language. It is very difficult to understand. The UN one is a nightmare. Look at the schedule for the Cop21! It is not in any language anybody could recognize. All of that is part of the reason why even though it is obvious to connect climate to austerity somehow it is not done. . . .

Governments are fighting for those paltry targets to not be legally binding. It is the opposite of progress – we are going backward. Kyoto was legally binding. This is headed towards not being binding. The target in Copenhagen was 2 degrees, which was already too high, and here we are headed towards 3. This is basic laws of physics. It is not forward.

global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, United Nations,

UN Security Council adopts resolution on Youth, Peace and Security

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

A blog by UNOY, United Network of Young Peacebuilders

On 9 December 2015 the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace & Security. The historical document is the first of its kind to recognize the positive role young people play in building sustainable peace and to lay out the need for governments and other stakeholders to support young people in this role. It represents a landmark for the participation of young people involved in transforming conflict, peacebuilding and countering violence.

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With a larger global youth population than ever before, there is a demographic and democratic imperative to meaningfully involved youth in matters of peace and security, especially considering how conflicts impact on young people’s lives and futures.

At UNOY Peacebuilders we have been working intensively since 2012 to lay a path leading to this resolution. We have fostered dialogue between young peacebuilders and policy makers at the international level, bringing young peacebuilders to discuss with representatives at the UN in New York. At the same time, we have been working for the recognition of young people as actors of positive change with civil society partners including Search for Common Ground and World Vision, as well as key institutional partners through the Inter-Agency Working Group on Young People’s Participation in Peacebuilding.

The dominant policy discourse around youth has traditionally viewed young people as threats to global peace and security, or occasionally as vulnerable groups to be protected. In short, either as victims or perpetrators of violence. This is a harmful reduction of the role youth play in conflict and post-conflict settings and that’s why we have been calling for a third point of view – a point of view which sees youth as peacebuilders who deserved to have their efforts recognized and supported. It is this third point of view which is now being recognised by the UN Security Council.

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Question for this article

Is there a renewed movement of solidarity by the new generation?

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The new UN Security Council resolution outlines the duties of parties to armed conflicts to protect young people during conflict and in post-conflict contexts. Importantly, the resolution goes further and also calls on governments to promote youth participation in processes of peacebuilding and peacekeeping at all levels, including peace processes and dispute resolution mechanisms.  

The resolution calls on Member States to facilitate an enabling environment for youth to prevent violence, and to create policies which support youth socio-economic development and education for peace equipping youth with the ability to engage in political processes. It urges member states to support youth peace efforts in conflict and post-conflict settings, including through the the work of UN bodies involved in peacebuilding and development. The resolution also encourages all those involved in disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration to ensure that programs are designed to consider the special needs of youth in these processes.

Finally, the resolution requests the UN General-Secretary to carry out a study on the impact of conflict on young people, as well as their contributions to peace, and to report to the Security Council on the implementation of the resolution in one year’s time.

UN Security Council Resolution 2250 is a huge step forward in the right direction, recognising and supporting young people’s contributions to building peace. However, a UN Security Council resolution is not the end of the road. Young peacebuilders around the world, youth-led and youth-focused organizations must now focus their efforts on ensuring that the resolution gets translated into real policies at regional, national and local levels.

UNOY Peacebuilders welcomes the adoption of the declaration as a tool for young people’s empowerment and calls on every young peacebuilder to join us in the next steps.

Read the full text of UN SCR 2250 here and take part in the conversation through #Youth4Peace and #scr2250 on Twitter or following us on Facebook.

For more information, contact Matilda Flemming (matilda.flemming@unoy.org) or Sölvi Karlsson (solvi.karlsson@unoy.org).

global, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY, United Nations,