UNESCO Korean workshop: Translating Peace into Action

… TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY …

A page from Linked-in of Edvard Grigoryan

From declarations to action — translating peace into something you can actually feel.

This June, I had the honor of being one of 42 youth leaders from 33 countries selected to take part in the 12th Youth Leadership Workshop on GCED in Seoul, Republic of Korea.

The theme couldn’t have spoken more directly to my work in Peace and Conflict Resolution: “Translating Peace into Action: Leveraging Media and the Arts for Youth Advocacy.”

We kept returning to one question that has stayed with me since:
“Do we have the courage to face the realities of our time, and allow ourselves to feel deeply enough that it transforms us and our future?”

Over five intensive days, we moved beyond theory and into practice. A few moments that marked me:

→ A keynote on whether youth can truly promote peace in an era of global crisis

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Question for this article:

Youth initiatives for a culture of peace, How can we ensure they get the attention and funding they deserve?

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→ A powerful session on the Art of Peacebuilding through Theatre of the Oppressed, turning conflict into embodied understanding

→ Hands-on labs on Media and Information Literacy and countering hate speech — essential skills for anyone working in conflict-sensitive spaces

→ Confronting ethics and empathy in the age of AI

→ A deeply moving visit to the War & Women’s Human Rights Museum, a reminder of why this work matters

→ And throughout it all, designing real, community-based action plans we’ll carry home

What made this experience extraordinary was the people — peacemakers, artists, journalists, and changemakers from every corner of the world, all proving that peace is not a policy text. It’s something we build, practice, and live every day.

This workshop was made possible by UNESCO Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU) and the UNESCO MGIEP Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development, in partnership with the GCED Youth Network — a remarkable demonstration of UNESCO’s commitment to equipping young people to lead transformative change.

For someone whose path is rooted in peace and conflict resolution, this was more than a workshop. It was a reminder that the most durable peace begins with empathy — and that media and the arts may be among our most underused tools for advocacy.

Grateful, energized, and ready to translate this into action.

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East Asia, EDUCATION FOR PEACE, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Pacific Islands: New paper proposes turning the Ocean of Peace Declaration into a regional treaty

DISARMAMENT AND SECURITY .

An article from the Pacific Security College

Evolving the Blue Pacific Ocean of Peace Declaration into a regional peace and security treaty could provide predictability in a period of increasing geostrategic competition, a new policy paper published by the Pacific Security College suggests.


Leaders at the Ocean of Peace Commemorative Ceremony at the 54th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting in Honiara, Solomon Islands. Photo: Pacific Security College

The Ocean of Peace: Vision to Treaty  weighs the benefits and risks of turning the Ocean of Peace Declaration, endorsed by Pacific leaders in 2025, into a legally binding agreement. The paper proposes negotiating a new regional peace and security treaty as a Protocol to the Treaty of Rarotonga.

Author Ben Burdon said that, amid growing geopolitical tensions, it was useful to reflect on how the Pacific could maximise its agency and authority in its own interests.

“The Pacific’s strategic vision is made clear in the Blue Pacific Ocean of Peace Declaration,” Mr Burdon said.

[Editor’s note: Click here for a copy of the Blue Pacific Ocean of Peace Declaration. Note that it commits to cultivating a culture of peace grounded in the Pacific Way.]

“Embedding the Ocean of Peace and Pacific values and norms into international law and practice, as has been done with nuclear weapons, fishing and climate change, is a potential next step.

“Negotiating a new treaty as a protocol to Rarotonga would turn a respected nuclear-free zone into a legally binding regional peace and security system – one built and owned by the Pacific.”

The protocol proposed in the paper – dubbed ‘Rarotonga II’ – includes principles such as establishing the Pacific as a Zone of Peace, recognising climate security as a peace obligation, and providing a mechanism for external partners to formally commit to Pacific peace and security law and practice.

“Rarotonga II would introduce prior consultation, transparency and collective discussion. It would reduce surprise and mistrust between Pacific countries and external powers, while strengthening regionalism,” Mr Burdon said.

In 2027, China is expected to acquire the capability to retake Taiwan militarily. While capacity does not equate intent, Mr Burdon’s paper notes that the Pacific’s strategic geography would be critical for military access and denial.

“While a regional peace and security treaty is not without risk, the strategic guardrails set out in such an agreement could help the Pacific manage the difficult geopolitical environment ahead,” Mr Burdon said.

Professor Dave Peebles, Director of the Pacific Security College, said the paper’s publication comes at a time of growing uncertainty across the region.

“The Pacific’s capacity to come together in pursuit of common goals remains one of its greatest strengths – and one that carries particular weight in an increasingly contested strategic environment,” Professor Peebles said.

(Article continued in right column)

Question for this article:

Where in the world are zones of peace?

(Article continued from left column)

“The proposal will undoubtedly generate both support and critique. That’s its value, when the topic is so important and the stakes are so high.

“Policy papers published by the College are designed to prompt careful reflection and constructive debate, and to create space for diverse perspectives on the region’s most pressing issues.”

The Ocean of Peace: Vision to Treaty includes insights from four regional experts with backgrounds spanning international law, diplomacy, politics, academia and governance: Tuiloma Neroni Slade, Dr Sandra Tarte, Dr Anna Naupa and Sione Tekiteki.

Tuiloma, former Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum, observed that Mr Burdon’s account of the sensitivities involved in developing a new protocol to the Treaty of Rarotonga was both realistic and perceptive.

“I broadly agree with his assessment of both the possible benefits and the attendant risks, particularly the danger of destabilising existing security relationships, fragmenting Pacific unity, and inviting geopolitical backlash,” he said.

Tuiloma acknowledged the challenges of making and revising treaties and suggested that rather than reopening the Treaty of Rarotonga, it could be more practical to strengthen implementation of the existing text.

“The Pacific is strongest when it acts collectively. Whatever form the next steps for the Ocean of Peace may take, they will need to be guided by unity and deepened regionalism.”

Dr Tarte, from the University of the South Pacific, recognised the clear pathway set out by the paper for codifying key principles of the Ocean of Peace, while bolstering the key role the Treaty of Rarotonga plays in the Pacific’s security architecture.

“It significantly advances thinking around how to manage inter-state tensions and external engagement, thereby promoting greater transparency in security matters and reaffirming the rules-based order,” Dr Tarte said.

Dr Tarte acknowledged that the Ocean of Peace Declaration has provided a pivotal platform for advocating Pacific priorities on the global stage.

“It is time to take the next step and, as this discussion paper explores, to ‘turn vision into law’,” Dr Tarte said.

Dr Naupa, from the Pacific Security College, welcomed Mr Burdon’s pragmatism in leveraging the 40-year-old Treaty of Rarotonga and his consideration of what Pacific deterrence options look like in today’s world.

She emphasised the importance of inclusive consultation and grassroots-driven processes in any future regional peace and security decisions.

“State-led security strategies must be Pacific peoples-centred and address historical legacies,” Dr Naupa said.

“Designing a regional deterrence model needs to consider how these long-standing elements of Pacific regional policy would be integrated into the preventative diplomacy model proposed by Burdon.”

Mr Tekiteki, from the Auckland University of Technology Law School, said an Ocean of Peace protocol would be an attempt to institutionalise and safeguard Pacific agency.

“The idea of an Ocean of Peace treaty framed as a protocol to the Treaty of Rarotonga is compelling, particularly in its attempt to move the Pacific beyond the largely normative framing of the Blue Pacific Continent towards something more concrete and grounded in legal order,” he said.

“Deeper regional security coordination may strengthen solidarity and collectively position the region against intensifying geopolitical competition.”

The Pacific Security College’s policy paper series  aims to contribute a diversity of views and ideas to regional conversations about the journey to 2050.

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DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, East Asia

The China–Gulf axis is reshaping renewable energy in the Global South

.. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ..

An article by Safa Joudeh in the East Asia Forum (reprinted according to Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International

The United Arab Emirates and China are jointly delivering utility-scale wind and solar projects, with the former providing diplomatic access and financial firepower and the latter delivering the technology and construction.

In late 2025, the UAE-based company Global South Utilities launched 50-megawatt solar projects in the Central African Republic and Madagascar with Chinese firms supplying core technology. In early 2026, UAE state-owned renewable energy giant Masdar signed an agreement to build and operate the 300-megawatt Guzar Solar and Battery Energy Storage Project in Uzbekistan, again using Chinese photovoltaic modules and battery storage systems.


From Argentina to Costa Rica and Chile, Masdar is looking to replicate this model through partnerships with Latin American state-run energy projects, with China serving as the critical enabler anchoring supply chains, co-financing deals and deploying infrastructure at scale.

This pattern of China–UAE cooperation is likely to accelerate as global energy markets remain volatile following the US–Israeli war on Iran. Governments across the Global South are seeking to diversify into renewable energy sources, creating new market opportunities for emerging players. While this pattern first emerged due to energy disruptions in the wake of the pandemic, increased volatility in global energy markets in the wake of the US–Israeli war on Iran promises to further accelerate this trend

The China–UAE renewable energy axis is more than a commercial partnership. It is a convergence of state-capitalist models that is reshaping energy transitions in the Global South. By jointly expanding their global energy engagements, China and the UAE are systematically extending their strategic and commercial footprints in global energy markets, and in doing so ushering in an increasingly multipolar global energy order.

Fossil fuels still supply nearly 60 per cent of global electricity generation, with nuclear accounting for 9 per cent and renewables around one third. But the balance is beginning to shift, as renewables now drive nearly three-quarters of the year-on-year growth in electricity generation — even as fossil-fuel output continues to rise.

The drivers are largely economic. Hybrid solar and wind systems combined with battery storage can now deliver electricity at costs competitive with coal and gas. With financing and infrastructure support, green transitions are not only viable but financially rational.

Geopolitical shocks have strengthened this shift, beginning with the disruption to global oil and gas markets following international sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which supplies 80 per cent of crude oil and 90 per cent of liquefied natural gas bound for Asian markets, has triggered a severe oil supply shock.

(Continued in right column)

Question for this article:

Are we making progress in renewable energy?

(Continued from left column)

Policy responses have been contradictory. Some governments have sought to ensure fossil fuel accessibility by ramping up coal output and reinstating energy subsidies. But the crisis has also accelerated a longer-term reorientation. India is fast-tracking its wind and solar pipelines alongside emergency coal measures, while Indonesia has ordered 100 gigawatts of solar capacity and is targeting full vehicle electrification. The Philippines has also fast-tracked 1.5 gigawatts of renewable projects to secure domestic power delivery.

Against this backdrop, Chinese and Gulf companies, primarily from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, are positioned to supply renewable energy infrastructure. As the world’s largest green technology producer, China already holds a structural advantage. It controls 80–90 per cent of global solar photovoltaic manufacturing capacity while Chinese firms account for 78 per cent of the global wind turbine market. Chinese firms are also dominant in lithium-ion battery production and the processing of rare earth elements and critical minerals.

A decade of state-backed investment has driven solar photovoltaic and battery production costs down by 90 per cent, eroding the market share of Western companies like Vestas and Siemens and making Chinese firms dominant global suppliers of reliable, low-cost energy technologies.

But rising trade barriers in the West and parts of Asia, along with geopolitical tensions, have curtailed Chinese firms’ role as developers. China is responding by pivoting from developer to enabler, partnering with Gulf entities like Masdar, AMEA Power and Saudi Arabia’s Acwa to finance and develop projects that deploy Chinese technology.

The logic of the alliance is straightforward. Gulf sovereign wealth-backed developers collaborate with Chinese suppliers and contractors to construct renewable energy facilities. Gulf companies originate, design and manage projects, using diplomatic relationships to win concessions and secure financing. Chinese entities remain involved as suppliers and engineering, procurement and construction contractors. As structural demand surges in markets where the China–Gulf axis is active, these actors are positioned as the most competitive bidders for tenders across Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Masdar’s state backing gives it an exceptionally low cost of capital, enabling it to bid the lowest electricity tariffs seen in any emerging market and win government tenders across Asia, including in Uzbekistan and Indonesia. It has also set a record low solar tariff in Africa through a joint venture in Cote d’Ivoire.

Masdar relies on Chinese suppliers and contractors to win competitive tenders while bypassing Western manufacturers. The result is deeper entrenchment of Chinese technology and supply chains across Global South energy infrastructure.

The China–Gulf axis is reshaping who builds and finances renewable energy in the Global South. More importantly, it is also influencing where projects are built, on what political terms and within whose geostrategic orbit countries access and govern their energy future.

The International Energy Agency projects global renewable electricity capacity will expand by thousands of gigawatts by 2030, with global state-backed utilities positioned to dominate this landscape. The emerging risk is that the energy transition, conceived as an ecological project, is being consolidated into a new model of capital accumulation and infrastructure dependency, with a new set of state-backed green utility managers at its centre.

Africa, East Asia, Mideast, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, ,

US: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights alarmed at deaths in ICE custody, calls for urgent preventive action

…. HUMAN RIGHTS ….

An press release from the United Nations Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Friday [June 26] urged prompt action to prevent further loss of life in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody and called for independent investigations into all deaths under ICE custody.

Türk said that it is alarming that, according to US Government official data, in the first five months of this year, 18 people had died in ICE detention. A further case of death in ICE custody has been reported this month. In 2025, a total of 33 deaths were registered, compared with 11 in 2024.

The lack of transparency and clarity surrounding the circumstances of these deaths in custody undermines accountability for them, the High Commissioner added.


ICE detention centre in Newark, New Jersey on June 6, 2026 © RYAN MURPHY / AFP

“I call for prompt, independent, impartial and effective investigations into all deaths in ICE custody. Those responsible for violations of the law must be held to account, and the rights of the victims’ families to truth, justice and reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence must be upheld,” said Türk.

These deaths occurred in a context of broad expansion of the US immigration detention system, with ICE currently holding over 60,000 individuals compared to approximately 40,000 in early 2025, according to the latest official data. There are plans to further increase the detention capacity up to 90,000 people by the end of 2026.

Detainees, who include entire families with children, and medically vulnerable people, are frequently reported to face inhuman conditions of detention and treatment, including inadequate healthcare and food, and exposure to disease outbreaks in overcrowded facilities. There have been concerning allegations regarding the use of force. Additionally, five of the officially reported deaths in 2026 were classified as suicides.

A lack of information regarding the whereabouts of detainees during transfers has been reported, causing significant distress among families, while prolonged uncertainty surrounding legal status and processes contributes to psychological distress among detainees.

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Question related to this article:

What is the state of human rights in the world today?

(Article continued from the left column)

Türk also expressed alarm over the reported use of solitary confinement, which should be an exceptional measure, and, particularly when prolonged or indefinite, could amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

“All these factors exacerbate vulnerability and raise serious concerns as to whether some of these deaths in ICE custody could have been prevented,” said the High Commissioner.

He stressed that alternatives to detention should be prioritized. Immigration detention should be an exceptional measure of last resort and should generally be avoided for people with significant medical or mental health conditions, as well as pregnant women. Regardless of their immigration status or that of their parents, children should not be subjected to immigration detention.

US immigration authorities must ensure that their detention facilities comply with international human rights norms and standards. This includes upholding dignity, avoiding overcrowding, providing timely access to healthcare, including mental health services, family notification, consular assistance, legal representation, and necessary interpretation services for all individuals in immigration detention.

The High Commissioner urged the full restoration and strengthening of independent oversight mechanisms for immigration detention, highlighting their importance as a key safeguard against abuse. He also stressed the crucial role of Congressional bodies in overseeing immigration enforcement practices and associated public funding, to ensure better compliance with international human rights law.

Türk strongly denounced the continued dehumanisation and criminalisation of migrants and refugees. He expressed support for all those who continue to advocate for dignity, fairness, and the protection of their human rights, including lawyers, journalists, faith-based organisations, and civil society groups.

He emphasised that no one should be sent back to a place where they could face serious human rights violations or other irreversible harm.

For more information and media requests, please contact:
In Geneva
: Ravina Shamdasani – ravina.shamdasani@un.org
    
Marta Hurtado – marta.hurtadogomez@un.org

In New York
: Laura Gelbert – gelbert@un.org
WhatsApp
X: @UNHumanRights

Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
Instagram: @unitednationshumanrights

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global, HUMAN RIGHTS, North America, United Nations, ,

Report on Strategic Plan by UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

Excerpts from Report by UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous

The following are excerpts from remarks by UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous at the Executive Board Annual Session, at the UN Headquarters, on 23 June 2026:

I am honoured to present at this session my fourth and final report on the implementation of our 2022–2025 Strategic Plan. It lays out results of which we should be proud, reflecting our powerful triple mandate. They are the baseline we strive to exceed under our current Strategic Plan.


UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous addresses the Annual Session of the UN Women Executive Board held in CR3 at UN Headquarters on 23 June 2026. Photo: UN Women/Radhika Chalasani.

Allow me to summarize:

° Over the 2022–2025 Strategic Plan period, UN Women invested nearly USD 2.35 billion across 135 countries in protecting and advancing norms, translating global commitments into programmes on the ground, and leading and supporting the UN system to deliver better for women and girls.

° In 110 countries, home to 3.1 billion women and girls, UN Women helped strengthen legal and policy environments for gender equality, contributing to stronger protections, expanded rights and greater opportunities for women and girls through 394 laws adopted, revised or repealed in line with international standards.

° Across 78 countries, 732 gender-responsive national and local policies, strategies and plans helped advance equal pay, the care economy, efforts to end violence against women, and strengthen resilience to conflict and climate change.

° In 50 countries, reforms supported by UN Women expanded women’s access to decent work, income generation, climate-resilient agriculture and care systems, while 1.6 million women directly accessed services, goods, resources, or information essential to their economic autonomy.

° We also helped make the promise of freedom from violence more real for women and girls. Through support to 180 laws and 213 strategies, policies, and action plans, nearly 1.7 billion women and girls benefited from stronger frameworks to prevent and respond to violence.

° In conflict and crisis, UN Women advanced women’s leadership, participation, and protection across 83 countries.

° Support for the Women, Peace and Security agenda contributed to 59 new National Action Plans, bringing total coverage to 117 countries and territories, while more than 2.5 million women and girls accessed protection services, cash assistance, and livelihood support in humanitarian and refugee response settings.

° Despite significant funding pressures, we lived up to our promise to women’s organizations, with more than USD 285 million channeled to civil society organizations, local women-led organizations and networks, helping sustain women’s leadership and frontline responses in communities and crises.

° Across 128 countries, more than 10,300 organizations strengthened their capacities and leadership, while more than 11,400 mechanisms enabled women’s meaningful and safe participation in decision-making.

Through the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women and the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund, which UN Women hosts on behalf of the UN system, we continued to expand direct support to women’s rights organizations and advance locally led solutions where they are most needed.

Through these funds, despite scarcer resources, you are helping sustain women’s leadership across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus and ensuring that local women’s organizations remain at the forefront of response and recovery efforts.

These results are not just numbers. They show impact, they show lives changed. They do not just create an immediate effect for the women and girls we serve, but also an enabling environment for gender equality, for women’s rights, for normalizing women’s leadership, for changing laws, policies, and norms.

Allow me to share a few examples:

° In Ecuador, women gained stronger protections against violence in politics and greater opportunities to participate equally in public life through electoral reforms.

° In Afghanistan, over 350,000 women and girls accessed life-saving services in one of the world’s most restrictive environments for women’s rights, while 191 women-led organizations strengthened their capacity to support communities and sustain women’s leadership.

(Article continued in right column)

Question related to this article:

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

Does the UN advance equality for women?

(Article continued from left column)

° In Palestine, more than 323,000 people, the majority of whom are women and girls, received protection, cash, and livelihood support amid a devastating humanitarian crisis.

° In the Great Lakes region, women’s leadership in peace processes expanded, with women representing up to 40 per cent of the African Union mediation team for Eastern DRC.

° In Egypt, 330,000 women gained financial and digital literacy support, enhancing their economic opportunities and resilience.

° Across the Pacific Islands, more than 50,000 market vendors benefited from safer, more resilient livelihoods.

° In Ukraine, more inclusive humanitarian strategies advanced women’s rights and expanded the role of civil society in humanitarian response and recovery.

° In Viet Nam, a landmark population law strengthened the recognition of reproductive rights and unpaid care work, helping lay the foundation for stronger, gender-responsive care systems.

Our coordination efforts have shown impressive results. UNCT-SWAP [UN Country Team System Wide Action Plan] reporting increased by 105 per cent, from 61 UN country teams in 2021 to 125 in 2025. This growth is helping embed gender equality more consistently in UN country team planning, coordination, financing, and results.

We also continued to engage system-wide through the Gender Equality Acceleration Plan  (GEAP), which raises the ambition of collective work on gender equality, seeking to deliver transformative change across the three pillars of peace and security, development and human rights, and supporting UNCTs and RCs [UN Resident Coordinators] in their work to prioritize gender equality as the linchpin for all the UN’s work in country.

My report also describes how we have built a stronger entity, better equipped to deliver for women and girls with the resources you entrust to us. Over the Strategic Plan period, we strengthened our internal governance mechanisms, advanced business transformation, and modernized corporate systems.

We also enhanced oversight, accountability, and transparency, including by further strengthening our Transparency Portal, recognized as a good practice in public accountability for results and resources.

We consistently exceeded corporate targets on follow-up to internal and external audit recommendations, and maintained five consecutive years with no long-outstanding audit recommendations from the UN Board of Auditors.

We embedded enterprise risk management into planning, performance, and oversight cycles while institutionalizing the Quarterly Business Review as a forward-looking, evidence-based performance management tool that connects strategic priorities, risks, and resources.

These reforms have made UN Women even more agile, transparent and results focused. They deliver stronger alignment from country to global level and a clearer line of sight between our strategic objectives, the resources we invest, and the results we deliver.

Our strengthened communications and partnership functions have further enhanced our visibility, stakeholder engagement, and resource mobilization effectiveness, helping sustain the trust and support of partners during a period of increasing financial pressure and change across the multilateral system.

Allow me to remind you that we do all this with the most modest of resources. We have weathered the current, uniquely difficult funding environment for the multilateral system better than most, but we are not unaffected.

Like many, we are asked to do more with less. So once more, I ask you to take back to capitals a call to resource this crucial mandate fully, to advocate for our agenda, and for investment in gender equality and women’s empowerment as the greatest multiplier for the SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals]. An investment in UN Women is your vehicle for their achievement.

We will speak more extensively on UN80 this afternoon, but I will reiterate now our full support for the Secretary-General’s UN80 reform efforts, as the United Nations’ youngest entity, born and raised through the reform process.

We continue to ensure that our three priorities permeate all aspects of the process:

1. A stronger gender architecture that delivers for all women and girls.

2. Gender mainstreaming in all work packages.

3. The inclusion of voices of civil society and women-led organizations and movements.

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global, United Nations, WOMEN'S EQUALITY,

UNAM, Mexico: Establishment of Commission to Develop Content on a Culture of Peace

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article from Gaceta UNAM

An Academic Working Commission has been established at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) with the aim of contributing to and supporting high school education through the development of educational courses on a culture of peace for students and faculty,

This commission is comprised of the University Program on a Culture of Peace and the Eradication of Violence (PUCPAZ), the general directorates of the National Preparatory School and the National School of Sciences and Humanities, the High School Academic Council, the General Directorate of Incorporation and Revalidation of Studies (DGIRE), and the Institute of Legal Research.

Leticia Cano Soriano, head of PUCPAZ, led a ceremony held at the Program’s offices in the Engineering Tower. She explained that the design, development, and integration of an elective course and a training course are part of the University’s strategy to disseminate a culture of peace across all levels of education, beginning in secondary school and later being integrated into higher education.

The Master of Social Work commented that it is important to develop this elective course and training program to offer students and faculty tools that allow them to incorporate a culture of peace and violence prevention into academic activities, with an emphasis on human rights, interculturality, and community social fabric. She also emphasized integrating these themes with other subjects in the high school curriculum.

Sergio Abraham Reyes Pantoja, Academic Secretary of PUCPAZ, explained that, based on the University Program’s Founding Agreement, one of the program’s objectives is the development of its own educational content on a culture of peace. In addition to advising institutions on mainstreaming these topics into their curricula, the commission also promotes the development of human resources for teaching. The aim is to establish plans and strategies at the high school level for disseminating a culture of peace and implementing specific actions to eradicate violence in university environments.

(Continued in right column)

(Click here for a Spanish version of this article)

Question related to this article:

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

Is there progress towards a culture of peace in Mexico?

(Continued from left column)

During the meeting, Consuelo Arce Ortiz, secretary of the Academic Council of the UNAM High School, stated that it is essential to begin with an understanding of the regulations, specifically the General Regulations for the Presentation and Approval of Study Plans and Programs. This will provide greater academic validation, and the need to address a culture of peace has already been raised, calling the University to action.

Arce Ortiz added that the commission’s intention is to place the dignity of individuals at the center of education, fostering positive attitudes and positively impacting the lives of the school and teaching community.

Restorative Approach

Mara Hernández Estrada, from the Institute of Legal Research, mentioned that collaborative work is crucial to ensure the classroom becomes a suitable pedagogical environment for fostering a culture of peace, especially in conflict management, and with a restorative approach.

She emphasized the importance of addressing students’ needs to prevent negative impacts in the classroom, aligning with the ethics of care, and raising awareness about violence.

Speaking next, Alejandro Benítez Jiménez, Continuing Education Coordinator at the DGIRE (General Directorate of Educational Research), shared that the affiliated system serves more than 17,000 students in 28 states across Mexico, who follow 263 different curricula, and that they will now be able to incorporate these courses to promote a culture of peace.

In developing new courses, she noted, it is essential to consider the needs of affiliated schools both in Mexico City and throughout the country. She added that the new courses for students and faculty will be an important opportunity to convey not only the message of fostering a culture of peace, but also the teaching strategies to achieve it.

Finally, Jacqueline Leyva Chávez, coordinator of the Institutional Tutoring Program at the General Directorate of the College of Sciences and Humanities, emphasized that the course topics are particularly relevant because students face diverse challenges, and the training must include specific strategies to effectively support and guide them.

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DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America

Dominican Republic: Violence Reduction and Peace Culture Promotion Program in Schools

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article by Erasmo Lara Peña in Acento

Promoting a culture of peace in schools is a strategic priority for the Dominican education system. Within this framework, schools are recognized as a privileged space for the formation of citizens capable of living together respectfully, valuing diversity, and managing conflicts constructively.

After retiring from the United Nations in 2005 and subsequently serving as the Dominican Republic’s ambassador to the United Nations in 2009, I have dedicated myself to projects related to promoting a culture of peace, community mediation, conflict resolution, and international negotiations, primarily within public institutions and civil society organizations in our country.

I have carried out much of this work through the Dominican Center for Peace, a private, public-service institution that I founded in 2006. One of the most significant projects has been the establishment of peace clubs in schools throughout the Dominican Republic through the Violence Reduction and Peace Culture Promotion Program in Schools.

I would like to document the process of creating, developing, consolidating, and institutionalizing the Peace Clubs program in the Dominican Republic, highlighting the main achievements, the partnerships forged, and the impact generated within the educational community during the years of implementation.

The program originally emerged in 2017 as a pilot initiative. Subsequently, during the 2022-2023 school year, it became part of the activities of the Vice Ministry of Preventive Security in Provincial Governments of the Ministry of the Interior and Police, in collaboration with the Directorate of Guidance and Psychology (DOP) of the Ministry of Education.

By the end of the 2025-2026 school year, the main achievements included the implementation of the program in 500 schools, the training of more than 12,000 student peace promoters, the training of 700 counselors and psychologists, as well as 48 regional and district technicians. The program also has a presence in seven regional education offices and forty-one school districts.

It is important to mention that the standardization of teaching practices was also achieved through the production of printed, audiovisual, and digital materials to support the various training activities. Starting in the 2025-2026 school year, the program became an integral part of Presidential Goal 21 on a Culture of Peace, incorporated into the action plan of the Directorate of Guidance and Psychology until 2028. The objective is to incorporate approximately 800 new schools.

Among the main challenges faced during the program’s implementation were inter-institutional coordination, territorial expansion, and the sustainability of the training activities. However, the commitment of the regional and district technical teams, counselors, psychologists, and students allowed for the consolidation of a high-impact experience for school coexistence.

The Peace Clubs operate in schools identified by the Ministry of Education and located in priority areas within the Comprehensive Citizen Security Strategy, “My Safe Country.” Currently, the program operates in all school districts of San Cristóbal, Santo Domingo Este, the National District, Santiago, La Vega, San Francisco de Macorís, Moca, Bonao, and Piedra Blanca.

Promoting a culture of peace in schools is a strategic priority for the Dominican education system. Within this framework, schools are recognized as a privileged space for developing citizens capable of living together respectfully, valuing diversity, and managing conflicts constructively. Presidential Goal 21 on a Culture of Peace reinforces this commitment by promoting safe, participatory, and violence-free school environments.

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(Click here for the Spanish original of this article)

Question for this article:

Where is peace education taking place?

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Peace Clubs are organized spaces within schools, led by and for students, with the support of counselors and school psychologists.

Their main objectives are:

• To contribute to the development of a culture of peace in schools.

• To prevent and reduce violence in schools.

• To empower students to act as peace promoters.

To strengthen students’ civic education.

Through these clubs, students develop key social-emotional skills, such as empathy, assertive communication, conflict resolution, and teamwork.

The program is implemented through three fundamental actions:

1. Training of counselors, psychologists, and students.

2. Organization of the club within the school.

3. Awareness-raising activities aimed at the entire school community.

These actions ensure that a culture of peace is not just content, but a daily practice.

To support the program, a series of printed and audiovisual materials have been designed that frame the facilitation of standardized educational content and practices on topics such as conflict, youth violence, coexistence, communication and active listening, peer mediation, and restorative practices, among others.

The Peace Club is a space run by and for students. In it, young people become agents of positive change, learning and promoting social skills such as empathy, assertive communication, peaceful conflict resolution, and teamwork.

We seek to improve the school climate and develop students committed to social peace, fostering a sense of responsibility toward their environment and contributing to the strengthening of peaceful coexistence and safety in schools.

One of the program’s main focuses has been empowering students with strategies for promoting peace and the constructive resolution of conflicts. Likewise, spaces have been created for them to construct their own knowledge and actively contribute to promoting peaceful coexistence from their own perspectives.

The enthusiastic work of counselors and psychologists involved in the program, along with the commitment and empowerment of the students, has significantly contributed to the acceptance and legitimacy it enjoys today. This 2025-2026 school year has marked a transition for the program, transferring it from the Ministry of the Interior and Police to the Ministry of Education, for implementation by the Directorate of Guidance and Psychology (DOP), which is taking the necessary steps to ensure its consolidation as a national program. These include its integration into Presidential Goal 21 on a Culture of Peace, the appointment of a national specialist to oversee it, its incorporation into the Annual Operating Plan (AOP), and the necessary budget allocation.

I feel that my seven years of work have yielded the expected results, as this effort has become a national program under the responsibility of the Ministry of Education.

I wish to express my gratitude to Engineer Ángela Jáquez, Vice Minister of the Interior and Police; to Dr. Ancell Scheker, Vice Minister of Education; to Mario Frías and Esther Custodio, two extraordinary facilitators of the hundreds of workshops given to counselors, psychologists, and thousands of student members of the club network; and, in a very special way, to Divina García, Director of Guidance and Psychology, on whose shoulders now rests the continuity and strengthening of this initiative.

Beyond the figures and the results achieved, the greatest achievement of the Peace Clubs Program has been to demonstrate that students can become active agents of social transformation when they are given the right tools to promote coexistence, dialogue and the peaceful resolution of conflicts.

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EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

London: International Conference Against War

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from Counterfire

As activists from across Europe and beyond met to oppose war, Jamal Elaheebocus and Lauren Simmonds report on the determination of delegates to build a massive international movement for peace.

Over 3,000 delegates from across Europe gathered in Central Hall, Westminster for the second International Conference Against War on Saturday 20 June. Following the initial conference in Paris last year, this year’s conference organised by the Stop the War Coalition and supported by hundreds of trade unions and campaign groups marks a step forward for the international movement.


Video of Conference (starts at minute 12)

The day before, there was an excited buzz as around 200 delegates from Europe and beyond filed in to the NEU Headquarters at Hamilton House in London, for the pre-conference Action Planning Meeting. There was a short introduction to the meeting from a panel of speakers which included Daniel Kebede, NEU General Secretary, who welcomed us to the venue, and STW’s Lindsey German, who made the important point that the answer to the US imperial project does not lie with European rearmament and that the enemy for us all, is the one at home.

There was plenty of time for the duration of the meeting to hear from a wide range of speakers who had put their slips in for an opportunity to address the meeting. We heard from activists from both Ukraine and Russia, who made the case for solidarity with dissenters in both countries. Students from France and Germany, organising against conscription and Trade Unionists and organisations from multiple counties making the case for welfare not warfare, and mobilising opposition within the labour movement to the reoccurring issues of social cuts in favour of ever increasing military spending.

High on the agenda was of course the condemnation of the ongoing genocide in Palestine and the need for continued solidarity. We also heard from the chair of the Cuba Solidarity Campaign, Kevin Courtney, who highlighted the escalating crisis happening there as a result of the US blockade and the growing threat of US military intervention. The important issue of the situation in Sudan was also raised, and how it relates to Western imperialism.

It was a day of connection, conversation and vital networking, where people could share the important work and organising they were involved in, and where the anti-war message transcended language barriers. With the groundwork laid, the Anti-War Conference on Saturday was shaping up to be a truly historic occasion.

The main event

The Saturday morning session of the conference at Central Hall Westminster began with an assembly of trade unionists and activists from across Europe discussing the increasing militarism across their countries and how they are responding. Workers from Spain, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Bahrain and more spoke and there was a consistent theme throughout the session: their governments were preparing for war and were doing so by decimating the living standards of working-class people.

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Question related to this article:

How can the peace movement become stronger and more effective?

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However, there were also stories of resistance, of huge protests in solidarity with Palestine, school students in Germany striking against conscription and the Global Sumud Flotilla which has sailed numerous times to break the siege of Gaza and attempted to deliver desperately needed humanitarian aid.

Sukana Rhawani, the mother of Filton political prisoner Fatema Zainab Rajwani, who was sentenced as a terrorist by a judge the previous week, spoke movingly about the increasing authoritarianism being unleashed against an effective and powerful Palestine solidarity movement in the UK.

Anti-conscription campaigns

Students and young people met to discuss the launch of a mass campaign against conscription, with German school striker Felix Kreklow Rojas addressing the meeting and relaying his experiences in organising school strikes against conscription in Germany. Students from France, Spain, Britain and the US spoke of their campaigns. There was a consensus that a coordinated international response is needed and that days of action against conscription will be held on 21-22 November.

The first of two main sessions in the impressive main hall discussed the global drive to war. Parliamentarians from across Europe spoke of their governments’ hikes in warfare spending. Numerous British MPs, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, spoke of the need to build opposition to welfare cuts and defence spending regardless of who replaces Keir Starmer as prime minister.
Lower your guns and raise our wages

The rally also heard from trade union leaders, including the BFAWU’s Ian Hodson, UCU’s Jo Grady and Fran Heathcote of PCS. All spoke of the effect of stagnant wages and falling living standards on their members and the need to oppose further declines to fund the ruling class’s wars. Jo Grady, who moved the successful ‘Wages not Weapons’ motion at TUC Congress spoke of the need for trade unions to up their campaigning against hikes in defence spending to reflect the current policy. She also reflected on the fact that this change in policy was a big win for the anti-war movement, considering the previous policy of unconditional support for increases in defence spending.

The highlight of the session was a powerful speech by Mustafa Barghouti, Palestinian physician and leader of the Palestinian National Initiative, which received a rapturous reception.

The second session discussed the drive to war in Europe. Among the speakers was La France Insoumise MP Jérôme Legavre, who had an instrumental role in organising the Paris peace conference, and spoke of the LFI’s opposition to Macron’s hikes in defence spending. French delegates, and others called for Macron to resign, chanting ‘Macron démission’. John Rees, national officer of Stop the War, gave a rousing speech calling on the working class of Europe to unite and fight back against our rulers’ class warfare.

The conference spilled out onto the roads outside Central Hall with an atmosphere of excitement and determination. Most importantly, coordinated action was agreed upon meaning that the powerful words spoken in the hall will become action in the autumn. An international day of Palestine protests will be held on 10 October in addition to a day of action in solidarity with the Genoa dockers in October (date to be confirmed), who refused to load arms bound for Israel, and the days of action – 21-22 November – against conscription.

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DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Europe

World Peace Congress: An International Network Uniting Cultures, Committed to Dialogue

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article by Patricia Ynestroza in Vatican News

“Building Networks Between Cultures, Generations, and Nations” From Latin America to the World. Since 2020, an international movement has been created that promotes peace through education, art, and intercultural dialogue, with the participation of leaders, young people, and international institutions. In a global context marked by social, cultural, and humanitarian challenges, the World Peace Congress is consolidating itself as an international initiative that promotes the active construction of a culture of peace, based on unity in diversity and collective commitment. The sixth edition will take place in August.


Honduras to Host the Next Congress

A delegation participated in the Holy Father’s general audience in St. Peter’s Square on June 17, reaffirming its commitment to promoting universal fraternity and strengthening ties between peoples of different continents.

A movement born in times of pandemic

The World Congress for Peace emerged in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when restrictions forced meetings to move online. What began as a series of Zoom meetings grew into an international platform with a presence in various countries. Following the health emergency, the movement began an in-person phase that has taken place in several Latin American countries: Costa Rica in 2023, Mexico in 2024, Argentina in 2025, and soon Honduras, which will host the sixth edition of the Congress in August 2026.

The initiative brings together educators, academics, scientists, business leaders, writers, artists, social leaders, universities, and institutions committed to building more inclusive and compassionate societies.

Peace as a Response to Poverty, Hunger, and Pain

Vatican News interviewed Elena Vargas, the international president of the World Peace Congress, who explained that the movement’s main objective is to transform human suffering into hope. “Our greatest responsibility is to transform the pain brought on by war, poverty, hunger, and suffering into hope. All of this contributes to the lack of peace. What we bring to each country is a message of peace that begins in the heart of every human being,” she stated.

Vargas highlighted that the Congress has carried out activities in various countries in the Americas and Europe, including Spain and Italy, strengthening an international network of people committed to reconciliation and dialogue. She also expressed the delegation’s emotion at participating in the papal audience.

Meeting with the Pope to discuss their work for peace

During the general audience, the delegation presented the Holy Father with various gifts as an expression of fraternity among peoples.

From Costa Rica, a work by the painter and poet Franklin Mata was presented, inspired by symbols of peace, featuring doves, birds in flight, and female figures representing the search for harmony.

A brochure summarizing the history and main milestones of the World Peace Congress was also distributed.

From Peru, Dr. Manuel Barba, International Ambassador of Peace, offered a traditional vessel used for sharing chicha, an ancestral symbol of friendship and brotherhood. The object also holds deep significance for the Pope, who carried out much of his pastoral work in Peru.

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(Click here for a version of the article in Spanish.)

Question related to this article:

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

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From Honduras, the city of Siguatepeque presented an artwork by the painter Geraldina Aguilar, depicting Honduran women amidst the region’s characteristic natural landscape. The piece incorporates cultural, gastronomic, and heritage elements of the city, such as the Central Park and the San Pablo Parish.

From Specialists to an Intergenerational Movement

The director of Living Peace International, Carlos Palma, recalled that the first meetings were primarily composed of specialists and professionals involved in peace-related issues. However, over the years, the movement recognized the need to involve new generations.

“We felt the imperative for the Congress to become a starting point where the human heart is the root of peace. That is why the presence of young people and children is fundamental today,” he explained.

According to Palma, recent editions have included young people from various countries who share experiences and concrete projects to build peace within their communities. The initiative seeks to ensure that peace is understood not only as the absence of war, but as a daily attitude that begins in the family, the school, and the community.

“We often think that war is far away, but it can be within ourselves, in our families, or in our neighborhoods. First, we must achieve our own peace so that we can then share it with others,” he reflected.

Youth as Agents of Change

The Deputy Director of the World Peace Congress, Eduardo Sánchez, highlighted that one of the main achievements over the years has been precisely cultivating a culture of peace among the new generations. One of the central aspects of the Congress is the active participation of young people organized in networks and collectives, he stated, who develop initiatives related to peaceful coexistence, education, and human rights.

Sánchez emphasized that the work with children, adolescents, and university students is carried out through educational activities, workshops, and projects promoted in conjunction with organizations such as Living Peace.

Honduras to Host the Next World Congress

The sixth edition of the World Peace Congress will be held from August 18 to 23, 2026, in Honduras, under the theme: “Weaving Networks, Building Peace.” The official venues will be: Siguatepeque, Comayagua, and Lake Yojoa.

The event’s co-coordinator, Dania Mayorquín, explained that this edition will focus on strengthening youth participation through workshops, artistic activities, and educational opportunities.

“We want peace to be built from the earliest ages. Not only through conferences, but also through workshops where young people are protagonists and promoters of peace,” she stated. Universities, educational centers, schools, and colleges in the region are already being invited to actively participate in the program.

One of the highlights will be a large-scale event organized by Living Peace in the central plaza of Siguatepeque, featuring prayer, music, art, and community reflection.

A Peace Built Every Day

More than just an annual gathering, the World Peace Congress defines itself as an international movement aimed at creating permanent networks of cooperation among individuals, institutions, and communities. Inspired by a holistic vision of peace—encompassing education, culture, human values, and respect for diversity—the Congress, according to those interviewed, promotes the conviction that social transformation begins with each individual and is strengthened through collective commitment.

With their sights set on Honduras 2026, its organizers are confident that the message of fraternity will continue to spread. “Yes, peace can be built,” those interviewed agreed. A task that, they assert, requires dialogue, education, and the active participation of new generations to keep alive the hope for a more humane, compassionate, and reconciled world.

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DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, global

Catholic Institute for Nonviolence: new developments

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

Email received from Pace é Bene (see authors below)

We are happy to announce that Ken Butigan, a long-time Pace e Bene trainer and organizer, has been selected to be the co-director of the Catholic Institute for Nonviolence. He will continue to serve as Strategy Consultant at Pace e Bene, where he has worked for many years.

With Pope Francis’ blessing, the institute was launched in 2024 with the aim of making nonviolence research, resources, and lived experience more accessible to Catholic Church leaders, communities, and institutions worldwide. It is a project of Pax Christi International’s Catholic Nonviolence Initiative, with which Pace e Bene has been actively involved since CNI was established after a landmark conference ten years ago this spring. [The institute is based in Rome.]


Ken Butigan and Marie Dennis in St. Peter’s Square, October 2024. Photo: Pax Christi International.

The “Nonviolence and Just Peace” conference was held at the Vatican and cosponsored by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and Pax Christi International in April 2016. It brought scores of theologians, scholars, Church leaders and, most significantly, practitioners from war zones and other hot spots around the world together to gather in hope of seeing this 2,000 year-old institution actively re-embrace the nonviolence proclaimed and lived by Jesus.

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Question related to this article:


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

(Article continued from left column)

After a year of planning (which Ken Butigan and John Dear, representing Pace e Bene, were part of with so many others, including Marie Dennis of Pax Christi), the conference was a dazzling, multi-layered conversation that culminated in an assembly-wide, consensus-based document entitled, An Appeal to the Catholic Church to Re-Commit to the Centrality of Gospel Nonviolence.

CNI was formed as a project of Pax Christi not long after the conference, with leadership from around the world, including Pace e Bene. CNI has been at it ever since, building relationships at the Vatican and with partners worldwide, holding two other conferences in Rome, publishing books, papers and articles; sponsoring many webinars and seminars, and organizing countless meetings. All of this has been focused on inviting the Church to come to a richer and deeper understanding of a nonviolence that combines the power of rejecting violence, the power of refusing to harm others, and the power of love in action. We have been heartened by the prophetic call to nonviolence Pope Francis made repeatedly and that Pope Leo has continued.

The spirit of nonviolence is present in the pope’s recent encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, including its call to “disarm AI” and its declaration that “the ‘just war’ theory, which has all too often been used to justify any kind of war, is now outdated. Humanity possesses far more effective and capable tools for promoting human life and resolving conflicts.”

Ken is grateful for all the ways Pace e Bene has supported CNI and the Catholic Institute for Nonviolence. We look forward to deepening and broadening our ongoing partnership in working to advance nonviolence in the Church and the world.

Peace and all good,
Erin, Ken, Rivera, Stacie, Layal, Rosie, Mili, and the Pace e Bene Team

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DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Europe, FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global,