Tag Archives: Europe

Cypriot teachers work for peace and reconciliation through educational programmes

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

The need to have an educational system which promotes peace and reconciliation rather than perpertuating violence ans war is the focus of a programme entitled “Education for a Culture of Peace”.

In a joint interview with the CNA, Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot participants to the programme Loizos Loukaides and Süleyman Gelener point out that, at a time when efforts to reach a solution of the Cyprus problem are intensified, the need for change in the educational system in order to cultivate a culture of peace and anti-racism is imperative.

Loukaides works as assistant in the programme, is a teacher and a consultant on peace education matters. Gelener is also an elementary school teacher and member of the board of the Association for Historical Dialogue and Research (AHDR).

A total of 180 teachers have been trained from both communities as part of the programme and a number of workshops on education for peace and democratic structured dialogue have also taken place.

In the first semester of 2016 joint activities for 160 students from both communities are planned to take place.

The two educators express their conviction that the programme can be described as a success.

Loukaides said that the programme is funded by the EU and was created by a group of people who either take part in AHDR or at the Research Institute POST, either in their personal capacity as scientists, researchers or active citizens.

“The programme was created because of the need to have an educational system which will not perpetuate violence and war but instead it will promote peace and reconciliation, not only as regards relations between the two communities but on a more comprehensive framework which includes other themes of what we call `Peace Culture`”, he says.

The idea for such a programme is not something new, Gelener says on his part. In previous years, he adds, “we had to face some problems as regards its implementation and to the way teachers would come in contact with the programme.”

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Question for this article:

Can Cyprus be reunited in peace?

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“Later on, when EU grants for Turkish Cypriots were announced we thought this programme could fall within their remit and after jointly applying for the grant, we got it,” he adds.

According to Loukaides a library has been created at the premises of the Research Institute POST which includes approximately 600 books related to education for peace. It ranges from children`s literature to research books and text books with exercises for education and peace.

With the help of the Ministry of Education and Culture and Turkish Cypriot teachers` trade unions the programme has had access to teachers and has organised workshops across the divide in the capital Nicosia, as well as in Paphos and Larnaca, he points out.

The next workshops took shape out of the views expressed in the first series of workshops, he explains. An introductory workshop took place before the summer and this year, two weeks ago, all teachers from both communities of Cyprus came together in a bicommunal workshop.

For the time being seminars with teachers will continue. Another two meetings will take place with teachers from both communities while during the first six months of the year activities with 160 students from across the island will start.

A theatre summer camp under the title “Crossroads” will also take place in cooperation with the theatrical organisation TheatrEtc experienced in hosting such camps for teenagers.

Next year an international conference on education for a culture of peace is planned, in which teachers and experts from abroad will take part.

The programme will conclude with a topic on the work achieved during its three years of operation which will also include ideas for new actions for both Cyprus and abroad, because, as Loukaides says, “we believe our work is innovative not only for Cyprus but also for other countries which suffer from conflict.”

Referring to the programme`s goals Süleyman Gelener highlights the fact that it does not just focus on Cyprus or on the process between the two communities but also on a wide variety of issues such as human rights, animal rights, environmental protection, organic nutrition and generally issues that matter.

“I feel that if we manage to create a society which is aware on these issues and grows up in such a culture, then the Cyprus problem will be resolved more easily,” he says.

February 1, 2016EDUCATION FOR PEACE, EuropeEuropeCPNN Coordinator

António Costa: “In 2016 Portugal will begin to end austerity”

.. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article from Entorno Intelligente (translation by CPNN)

The Prime Minister of Portugal said that the first measures of his government this year will begin to end the country impoverishment and social decline due to the policy of austerity. In a letter published in the Portuguese newspaper Diário de Notícias (DN), Costa cited the almost total elimination of the special tax for workers, the gradual return of the cuts applied to government officials and an increase of 5% in the minimum wage. “With these measures, approved in the first 20 days of government, we seek to disrupt the impoverishment and social regression that have been imposed by the austerity policies.”

António Costa

Between 2011 and 2015, Portugal was ruled by the center-right party under Pedro Passos Coelho which implemented tough cuts demanded by banks for the ” financial rescue” of Portugal (2011-2014).

We want to “claim a new vision for the country, a vision based on a strong and sustainable economy,” Costa continued. He is the head of government and leader of the moderate Socialist Party (PS).

The PS came to power against all odds after negotiating a post-election alliance in parliament with the Marxist left and the Communists. Their alliance ousted the center-right, which had won the elections on October 4, but without an absolute majority.

Costa mentioned other laws of a social nature adopted during the first month of his mandate: as the possibility of homosexual couples to adopt children or revocation of fees charged to women who seek an abortion.

In his letter, however, he did not allude to the most difficult aspect of his first month in power: the rescue of the bank Banif worth 2.225 million, which was opposed by their leftist partners, but was eventually approved with the abstention by the center-right.

According to the Government. this controversial injection of public funds does not affect the deficit target of 3% of GDP, and it will not be included in the accounts made by the European Commission due to the extraordinary nature of the operation.

(click here for the original version in Spanish.)

Question for this article:

Movements against governmental fiscal austerity, are they part of the global movement for a culture of peace?

Readers’ comments are invited on this question.

January 26, 2016Europe, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTEuropeCPNN Coordinator

International Peace Forum Proposed by the Mayors of Madrid and Paris

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

by CPNN, based on dispatch from the Spanish wire service EFE

Once again it is the mayors of the world who are taking the lead for a culture of peace. Manuela Carmena, the mayor of Madrid, elected last year at the head of a socialist coalition, and Anne Hidalgo, the socialist mayor of Paris, are planning to hold an international forum against violence and for peace education in Madrid in the near future. Their announcement was made at a forum of mayors in Paris prior to the COP21 climate conference. The forum will invite leaders from local governments and civil society as well as peace specialists.

Mayors Hidalgo and Carmena. Photo from the twitter page of Mayor Hidalgo

Mayor Carmena recalled that the terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13, in which 130 people were killed, were similar to those in Madrid on March 11, 2004. Hence, their cities have a special reason and responsibility to work for peace. “How is it possible that young people who grew up in our cities have resorted to violence?” We must help them find another way forward.

We must draw lessons from the tragedies in our cities and find ways to resolve conflicts without violence.

Questions for this article:

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

January 25, 2016DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, EuropeEuropeCPNN Coordinator

Hundreds join refugee solidarity rally in Madrid, slamming NATO invasions

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

An article from Russia Today

Around 800 protesters marched Friday night [December 18] in Madrid to show support for refugees on the Global Day of Action against Racism. The protesters chanted anti-war slogans, and demanded that the EU open its borders and close refugee detention centers.

Video of Madrid rally

Around 800 protesters marched Friday night in Madrid to show support for refugees on the Global Day of Action against Racism. The protesters chanted anti-war slogans, and demanded that the EU open its borders and close refugee detention centers.

The march started at Madrid’s Atocha railway station, and ended up near the Spanish Foreign Ministry, under the slogan: “We are all migrants and refugees, we all have rights.”

Protesters’ main demands were to push the Spanish government and the EU to open its borders for incoming refugees, disband the EU’s border control authority Frontex, close immigration detention centers and to stop making bilateral agreements with neighboring Morocco and Turkey who were “not respecting human rights.”

The demonstrators also chanted anti-war slogans slamming NATO and military interventions.

“No to NATO! It is a means that has proven to be handled by interests that do not correspond with the majority of citizens,” an activist told RT’s Ruptly video agency. “It is a tool to create a world based on the power of the 1 percent that, blinded by their interests, continues to implement a warmonger system.”

Palestinian flags and slogans reading “Shame wall” (apparently referring to border fences that prevent refugees from crossing into the EU) and “No human is illegal” were also seen in the crowd.

Similar rallies were taking place across Europe on Friday, marking the Global Day of Action against Racism.

In Greece, thousands of refugees and left activists took to the streets, shouting: “Open the borders!” demanding the refugees be granted permission to continue their journey to wealthier northern European countries. The march ended on Syntagma Square and the EU Commission Offices in Athens, being guarded by riot police.

Refugee solidarity events also took place in Italy, Austria and France, with participants also voicing demands to lift restrictions on crossing borders and speaking out against stricter rules for granting asylum.

Europe is now experiencing the largest influx of refugees from Middle East and North Africa since WWII. Hundreds of thousands were forced to leave their countries in pursuit of a safer life after the wave of Western-organized coups and bloody civil wars all across the region.

Question for discussion

The refugee crisis, Who is responsible?

Are we making progress against racism?

January 16, 2016Europe, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITYEuropeCPNN Coordinator

Spain: World Summit on Sustainable Tourism

.. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ..

An article from Biosphere Tourism

The World Summit on Sustainable Tourism held in Vitoria on 26 and 27 November 2015 was the scene of the unanimous adoption and proclamation by His Excellency Don Iñigo Urkullu, President of the Basque Government, of the World Charter for Sustainable Tourism +20. This document, which is the reformulation of the First World Charter for Sustainable Tourism, incorporates the 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted at the United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development held in September 2015, and represents a great opportunity to firmly steer tourism towards an inclusive and sustainable way.

The Charter also claims the preservation of the actual quality of the destinations and the tourism industry and the ability to meet the tourist as priorities, as well as the need to promote alternative forms of tourism. Finally, it urges the authorities and related associations to this activity, to promote activities that contribute to the implementation of the principles and recommendations outlined in the World Charter for Sustainable Tourism and convene where appropriate a new meeting in order to assess achievements and establish renewed alliances.

The resolution will be presented to the UNESCO Director General, the Secretary General of the UNWTO and the Executive Director of UNEP, in order to receive support for its wide circulation among the major players of world tourism in order to guide the action of tourism in the framework of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted at the United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development.

DOWNLOAD THE WORLD CHARTER FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PDF

Question related to this article:

How can tourism promote a culture of peace?

Comment by Liliana Mota, October 23, 2013

Why tourism?

Can tourism be seen as an instrument to achieve complicity between people’s minds?

“There is nothing better that connects two people’s mind than a good conversation” The above quote could be used to describe the effect which tourism has on people. Like a great conversation, tourism could be said to play a vital role amongst people all over the world. It fosters communication in all its senses, intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding.

In today’s world it is evident that there is a shortage of moral or ethical values amongst people across the different nations in this world, resulting in a globalised world lacking these morals and ethical values. Ignorance, the failure to consider the needs of others, and selfishness are a few of the ways which hinder us from embracing diversity and a common human perspective, which would result informal empathy, internal moral compassion, tolerance of differences, historical consciousness and interpretation. The above mentioned features are intrinsic, inherent and can be found in the practice of tourism.

Tourism has been emphasized as one of the most effective instruments which continue to tackle to tackle social and economical poverty, as well as encourage the culture of peace practice amongst people. In looking at the UN architecture, one is able to see the growing implications which the tourism sector has on the world and world policies. The touristic phenomenon has achieved a world record of 5% of world’s GDP contribution and is responsible for 235 millions jobs, according to the UNWTO’s data. Often the tourism sector counts more than 20% of the countries’ GDP.

On the negative side of this, it is evident that tourism focuses on economical matters, depriving any focus on the global implications of the constant interaction tourism encourages.

In the literal sense, tourism is nothing more or less than people meeting with the willingness to understand each other’s differences and point of view and simultaneously creating the opportunity for dialogue, mutual understanding and peace to take place.

Apart from tourism, various factors could be seen to play a role in encouraging integration and diversity amongst societies across the world. For example, the cultural segment has played an essential source of people’s integration and inclusiveness in developing countries.

Education has also played a significant role in encouraging integration, and incorporation amongst people all over the world. Education has been reconsidered and proposed to being the catalyst for exchange between countries, cultures and sectors, and most importantly for enhancing the lives of people by granting them the opportunity to leave their poverty stricken lives and societies in exchange a for better future which includes job and exchange opportunities.

In the tourism world, differences play the most essential role, differences among people represents the added-value. Being different is always a positive factor that usually motivates and encourages people to get to move and engage with each other and embrace the differences with the use of spiritual, religious and cultural meanings.

This notion of tourism needs to be addressed in multilateral governance discussions, where all the main actors, the international community, the ministerial and experts, private sector, local institutions and civil society engages are all present, and are all willing to work together in combined efforts and initiatives (from poverty alleviation to the promotion of awareness of sustainable development addressing special needs like regional development, urban planning and protection of natural and cultural landscapes). This combined approach of working at the local level within communities and at the national and international level, in order to reach and engage the poor, has been considered as potentially being the “one possible and effective answer” and effective approach towards the world’s poorest areas where it can make a difference.

January 3, 2016Europe, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTEuropeCPNN Coordinator

Spain: The Spanish Commission for Refugee Aid

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

Information from La Comisión Española de Ayuda al Refugiado (translated by CPNN)

CEAR, with over 30 years experience, is an organization of voluntary, humanitarian, independent and pluralistic action; inspired by a deep respect for the values of justice, solidarity, freedom, equality, independence, ethical commitment, plurality, transparency, participation and coherence. The defense of these principles, since our founding in 1979, constitutes its main heritage and is the essential motivation for their work.

CEAR’s mission is to defend and promote human rights and the integral development of refugees, stateless persons and migrants in need of international protection and / or at risk of social exclusion.

Currently CEAR has the commitment of 454 volunteers and 154 workers. But also it has the commitment of organizations and institutions in solidarity with refugees that form part of its Assembly: political parties, trade unions, religious groups and NGOs and prominent personalities in the field of defense and the human rights of asylum seekers.

Political parties: Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), Popular Party (PP) and Izquierda Unida (IU).

Trade unions: Workers Commissions (CCOO), General Union of Workers (UGT) and the Workers’ Trade Union (USO).

Religious denominations: Caritas, Spanish Evangelical Church and the Muslim Association of Spain.

Social Organizations: IEPALA, Association Proderechos Humanos of Spain (APDHE) and the Club of Friends of Unesco.

The composition of the Assembly of CEAR is a true reflection of the plurality of political organizations and civil society that have come together to work for our country to become a land of welcome and protection of refugees. Synonymous with the political and social consensus to defend the right to asylum and the will to join forces, one of its main strengths of CEAR is its diversity.

CEAR is a non-profit organization according to Title II of Law 49/2002 of 23 December on the taxation of non-profit entities and tax incentives for patronage.

( Click here for the original version in Spanish.)

Question for discussion

The refugee crisis, Who is responsible?

November 29, 2015Europe, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITYEuropeCPNN Coordinator

France: How to help the refugees?

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

An article from The Routard (translated by CPNN)

Facing the humanitarian emergency, it is high time to act. Donations of money, volunteering, housing, support to NGOs and local citizen initiatives … Here at Routard.com we provide an update on the various ways to help the refugees in Europe, as well as their families back home.

Click on the photo to enlarge

This is one of the worst humanitarian disaster since World War II. Since the beginning of the year, Europe is facing a record influx of refugees, the majority of them Syrian nationals. More than 320,000 people, according to the UN, crossed the Mediterranean, from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Sudan and other countries at war.

For thousands of them, this trip will have been the last. The Mediterranean is becoming a cemetery, the gates of a fortress Europe, refusing to see the magnitude of the tragedy.

The numbers are chilling. Just in Syria, according to Amnesty International, nearly 220 000 people have been killed since the conflict began and 12.8 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. More than 4 million refugees from Syria (95%) are found in just five countries: Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt

Behind these cold statistics, there are as many human tragedies. These men, women and children have no choice but to leave their country to save their lives. They deserve primarily our solidarity and support, not rejection, barbed wire and repression.

We must help the refugees!

How?

Monday, September 7, Francois Hollande announced that 24,000 refugees will be hosted on French soil during the next two years, which is a drop in the bucket in view of the humanitarian emergency.

Without waiting, you can bring your help to refugees who need you. Initiatives are increasing in France being undertaken by private citizens and NGOs.

There are many ways to help:

– Donations of money, food or clothing;

– welcoming persons in difficulty;

– Volunteering; administrative assistance, citizen engagement with local associations …

To be effective, it is essential to organize and make contact with the volunteers to know the real needs.

(Click here for the original French version.)

(article continued on the right side of the page)

Question for this article

The refugee crisis, Who is responsible?

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Who should you contact?

Here are some addresses and links of the main NGOs that are helping refugees. These organizations provide assistance to foreign refugees in the country and in France, by implementing various initiatives: medical and food aid on site, improvement of living conditions of refugees in transit camps, assistance throughout the course, rescue in the Mediterranean, support for local associations, particularly in Calais.

They state on their website their help and intervention program and explain how you can help.

FNARS, a federation of 870 charitable associations throughout France.

United Nations Agency for Refugees

The International Rescue Comittee

Médecins du Monde

Médecins sans Frontières

French Red Cross

France Terre d’Asile

Care France

Première Urgence Internationale

Solidarités International

Calais Migrant Solidarity

In addition to these, hundreds of citizens’ and local initiatives have emerged in France.

To locate the initiative nearest you, the aiderlesrefugies.fr website lists all the relief operations, support and hospitality in France and worldwide in géolocalisant them on a map.

If you want to host a person or family in need, the SINGAPORE refugee aid organization created the CALM platform (like home) that connects individuals and refugees and lists thousands of proposals for accommodation.

You are free to choose the initiatives that suit you best, exercising discernment especially for donations of money because if NGOs have a legal duty of transparency, this is not necessarily the case for private initiatives.

Anyway, every action counts. Thanks for your help.

November 26, 2015Europe, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITYEuropeCPNN Coordinator

France: Comment venir en aide aux réfugiés ?

. . TOLÉRANCE & SOLIDARITÉ . .

Un article du Routard

Face à l’urgence humanitaire, il est grand temps d’agir. Dons d’argent, volontariat, hébergement, soutien aux ONG et aux initiatives citoyennes locales… Routard.com fait le point sur les différents moyens d’aider les réfugiés en Europe, mais aussi leurs familles restées au pays.

Cliquez sur le photo pour l’élargir

C’est l’une des pires catastrophes humanitaires depuis la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Depuis le début de l’année, l’Europe fait face à un afflux record de réfugiés, dont une majorité de ressortissants syriens. Plus de 320 000 personnes, selon l’ONU, ont traversé la Méditerranée, venant de Syrie, d’Irak, d’Afghanistan, de Lybie, du Soudan et d’autres pays en guerre.

Pour des milliers d’entre eux, ce voyage aura été le dernier. La Méditerranée est devenue un cimetière, aux portes d’une Europe forteresse refusant de voir l’ampleur du drame.

Les chiffres font froid dans le dos. Rien que pour la Syrie, selon Amnesty International, près de 220 000 personnes ont été tuées depuis le début du conflit et 12,8 millions de personnes ont besoin d’urgence d’une aide humanitaire. Plus de 4 millions de réfugiés venant de Syrie (95 %) se trouvent dans seulement cinq pays, à savoir la Turquie, le Liban, la Jordanie, l’Irak et l’Égypte

Derrière ces froides statistiques, il y a autant de drames humains. Ces hommes, femmes et enfants n’ont d’autre choix que de quitter leur pays pour sauver leur vie. Ils méritent en premier lieu notre solidarité et notre aide, et non le rejet à coup de barbelés et de répression.

Il faut aider les réfugiés !

:: Comment s’y prendre ?

Lundi 7 septembre, François Hollande a annoncé que 24 000 réfugiés seraient accueillis sur le sol français en l’espace de deux ans, ce qui est dérisoire au regard de l’urgence humanitaire.

Sans attendre, vous pouvez apporter votre aide aux réfugiés qui ont besoin de vous. Les initiatives se multiplient en France qu’elles soient le fait de simples citoyens ou d’ONG.

Il y plusieurs façons d’aider :

– dons d’argent, de nourriture ou de vêtements ;

– accueil de personnes en difficulté ;

– bénévolat ; aide administrative, engagement citoyen auprès d’associations locales…

Pour être efficace, il est essentiel de s’organiser et prendre contact avec les bénévoles pour connaître les besoins réels.

:: À qui s’adresser ?

Routard.com vous donne les adresses et les liens utiles pour venir en aide aux réfugiés.

Les principales ONG pour venir en aide aux réfugiés

(Cliquez ici pour une traduction anglaise.)

(L’article se continue à droite.)

Question for discussion

The refugee crisis, Who is responsible?

(L’article se continue de la gauche.)

Les associations suivantes viennent en aide aux réfugiés à l’étranger, dans les pays d’origine et en France, en mettant en oeuvre différentes initiatives : aide médicale et alimentaire sur place, amélioration des conditions de vie des réfugiés dans les camps de transit, assistance tout au long du parcours, sauvetage en Méditerranée, soutien des associations locales, notamment à Calais.

Elles indiquent sur leur site leur programme d’aide et d’intervention et expliquent comment vous pouvez les aider.

La FNARS, une fédération qui regroupe 870 associations de solidarité à travers la France.

Agence des Nations Unies pour les réfugiés

International Rescue Comittee

Médecins du Monde

Médecins sans Frontières

La Croix Rouge Française

France Terre d’Asile

Care France

Première Urgence Internationale

Solidarités International

Calais Migrant Solidarity

Les initiatives citoyennes et locales

Des centaines d’initiatives citoyennes ont vu le jour en France.

Afin de repérer la plus proche de chez vous, le site internet aiderlesrefugies.fr répertorie l’ensemble des opérations d’aide, de soutien et d’accueil en France et dans le monde en les géolocalisant sur une carte.

Si vous souhaitez héberger une personne ou une famille dans le besoin, l’association d’aide aux réfugiés SINGA a créé la plateforme CALM (Comme à la maison) qui met en relation les particuliers et les réfugiés et recense des milliers de propositions d’hébergements.

Libre à vous de choisir les initiatives qui vous correspondent le mieux, en faisant preuve de discernement notamment pour les dons d’argent car si les ONG ont un devoir légal de transparence, ce n’est pas forcément le cas des initiatives privées.

Quoi qu’il en soit, chaque geste compte. Merci pour votre aide.

November 26, 2015EuropeEuropeCPNN Coordinator

International dialogue on gender equality in the media to be held in Geneva

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article from UNESCO

From 7 to 10 December, UNESCO and the Global Alliance on Media and Gender (GAMAG) will hold the first International Development Cooperation Meeting on Gender and Media and the first General Assembly of the Global Alliance on Media and Gender (GAMAG), in Geneva, Switzerland.

Pupils participating in a physical education class at Tutis Primary School in Oromia State of Ethiopia, November 2013. © UNICEF Ethiopia

The events are co-hosted by the Republic of Lebanon and the Hellenic Republic (Greece) and supported by close to 20 UN organizations. Both events will coincide with the International Human Rights Day, December 10.

Women’s participation, their leadership and fair representation in media and technology are way below that of their male counterparts. After four decades of research and development actions, little change can be celebrated.

The world famous actor* Geena Davis observed that at the present rate, it will take another 70 years to achieve gender equality in the media. This is more than four times the number of years agreed upon by the international development community to achieve the new sustainable development goals, by 2030. A dialogue of a different order is needed.

Gender inequalities in the media and technology are rooted in cultures, traditions, stereotypes, beliefs and a lack of awareness of the negative gains of these inequalities on economic and sustainable development. Such social practices are no longer separated by remote geographical boundaries. Dialogue then becomes crucial to bring about a deeper understanding and agreement on a common path to change.

Therefore, the main aim of the high-level events is to initiate a dialogue about global development cooperation framework to achieve gender equality in and through media. The meeting will include various development actors such as UN agencies, funds and programmes, national and regional development organizations, governments, private sector and other international development organizations. Ministers, ambassadors, media, civil society, private sector, and development executives as well as leading experts are invited to attend.

(Article continued in right column)

Question for this article

Does the UN advance equality for women?

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Topics will include ingredients for global development cooperation framework on gender and media, the emerging online media and youth, gender and media as a business and development model, and strategic link between policy and research on gender and media.

To register for these events please click here.

GAMAG is a UNESCO-initiated groundbreaking partnership among over 800 media, civil society, academic, private and governmental organizations. Its purpose is to be the global mechanism through which Section J, gender and media, of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BDPA) can be systematically implemented and monitored. It is governed by 20 member organizations that form the international steering committee.

Before GAMAG there was no defined global framework for follow up on Section J of the BDPA. The twin events from 7-10 December 2015 will build on the global partnerships started through GAMAG. Yes We Must! Reaching Gender Equality by 2030.

For more information please visit our website.

November 8, 2015Europe, WOMEN'S EQUALITYEuropeCPNN Coordinator

Spain: An appeal against NATO military exercises galvanizes demonstrations and civil disobedience actions

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from Tercera Information (reprinted in accordance with the rules of Creative Commons and translated by CPNN)

More than 70 groups and organizations throughout Spain and the rest of Europe have so far made public their support for the “ Call to Action” against the military exercise “Trident Juncture 2015”, the largest exercise by NATO since the end of the Cold War, which from today will mobilize 36,000 soldiers, 4,000 vehicles, warplanes and hundreds of tanks in Italy, Portugal and especially in Spain, where 20,000 troops are deployed (8,000 of them provided by the Spanish armed forces themselves).

Following this call, groups from different places have engaged in nonviolent actions. In Bilbao and Valencia, they have blocked the path of the military machine by chaining themselves to the tanks that were preparing participate. In the port of Sagunto they have cut off the flow of arms to the prinicipal area of these “war games” in Zaragoza, And in Zaragoza itself they are preparing a human chain of protest against the visit to that city by secretary general of NATO on 4 November which the military organization has defined as “Distinguished Visitors Day”. Demonstrations and civil disobedience actions that have also taken place in Barbate (Cádiz) with the support of the Network Antimilitarista y Noviolenta de Andalucia and the Network Antimilitarista Europea. “The war starts here, let’s stop it here”: that is the main motto for these actions of protest and civil resistance to barbarism, responding to the Call to Action.

All the signatory groups believe that these “super-manoevers” “increase insecurity in the world and particularly our region which is the main stage of their war operations. If we allow them to bring the war “home”, we become collaborators of the violence of NATO, encouraging terrorism, social division, racism, fear … ”

The NATO exercise Trident Juncture has taken over and militarized ports, airports, railways and natural spaces in Valencia, Bilbao, Zaragoza, Navarre, Albacete and parts of Andalucía in order to undertake training for war and to certify the offensive and interventionist capacity and high readiness of the forces of NATO and to display their destructive power.

In the view of the organizations supporting the call, “the NATO maneuvers are designed to protect only a privileged minority, while increasing global military spending at the expense of vital investment in social and humanitarian needs, such as fighting the dramatic consequences of the capitalist crisis, curbing environmental degradation, promoting fair trade, economic solidarity and cooperation for the overall development of the planet.”

(Article continued in the right column)

( Click here for the original Spanish version. )

Question for this article:

Can NATO be abolished?

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According to these groups, one can see the policies that prioritize the preparation of war in the fact that only in 2014 world military expenditure was 1.8 billion dollars, while in 2016 the State Spanish consume 25 million dollars in the preparation of war and social control. The Conscientious Objection “Alternative Antimilitarista” draws attention to the fact that only one tenth of the Spanish military and repression budget would provide the amount that Action Against Hunger estimates is needed to end child malnutrition worldwide. In fact, the Spanish State is among the 7 major global arms exporters, and the permanent members of the Security Council of the UN are the largest exporters of military equipment. ”

According to Alternative Antimilitarista, “these policies contribute to increasing tension, insecurity and the arms race in the world. The trip over themselves to make new wars that produce new ‘enemies’, which are, in turn, used as an alibi to justify further military and militarism, thus closing the vicious circle: If you want peace, prepare for peace, not war ”

Further according to Alternative Antimilitarista, “The consequences of these militarist policies of NATO, as well as Russia and its allies, are visible to the public in the form of systematic violation of human rights, destruction and persecution of civilians, extreme violence against women, the plundering of resources, and the exodus of millions of people in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Ukraine, among other territories. We need to act consistently on the plight of refugees: a truly humane policy would immediately suspend these military maneuvers and invest their budget (the size of which is kept secret) in aid to shelter the population who are fleeing war.”

In the words of members of the anti-militarist network “We must build a culture of peace based on cooperation, justice and nonviolence, not deterrence and force.” “We must change the paradigm of defense and security defined militarily, that leads us again and again to war and violence. Instead, we need “human security” as defined by the United Nations Development Plans, which place at the center the defense of the rights of people and nature.” In this new paradigm, “armies and military structures are actually a threat to those rights and should be abolished and dismantled.”

The appeal was made public for the first time on 1 September and continues to collect new signatures. It will be updated and disseminated again in a second delivery shortly before the “climax” of the maneuvers, when Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO, Zaragoza comes to visit on 4 November to witness the “demonstration of land force”.

Click here for the list of organizations and groups that support the “Call to Action against the NATO maneuvers Trident Juncture 2015”

October 25, 2015DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, EuropeEuropeCPNN Coordinator