Tag Archives: global

United Nations: Experts call for efforts to save indigenous languages

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

An article from Xinhua News

Endangered indigenous languages are being brought back from the brink of extinction but there is still much work to be done, a group of indigenous language experts told reporters here Thursday [United Nations, January 21].


indigenous
Edward John (FLICKR)

“There are examples of us not just holding onto our languages, but using them to educate new generations, using them in our homes again,” said Amy Kalili, an expert in the Hawaiian language, who participated in a panel of indigenous language experts here this week.

The panel provided examples of indigenous languages being revitalized around the world, from Maori in New Zealand to Hawaiian in Kalili’s native Hawaii.

It is now possible to study in the Hawaiian language from infancy through to doctoral level, said Kalili, mostly due to community efforts to save the language from extinction.

Kalili said that saving indigenous languages would also benefit the global community through preserving vital indigenous knowledge.

“The wealth of knowledge that we have to offer the global community is codified in our native languages,” she said.

However, Grand Chief Edward John from the Tl’azt’en Nation in British Columbia, Canada said that sadly one Indigenous language dies every week or two weeks.

“If there’s an animal or plant or fish going extinct, people are up in arms over that, but when a language is going extinct, no one says anything,” he said.

And while technology may offer some assistance, it is not the answer in and of itself, said John.

“We now need to get the elders into these gadgets so that they can use this technology to teach the young people,” he said. “Technology in and of itself won’t be the answer, but it’s a tool.”

Tatjana Degai from Kamchatka in the far East of Russia said that despite a multicultural approach and government support for indigenous languages in Russia, some languages are still on the brink of extinction.

“Our language is surviving, in Russia which is a multicultural country (with) over 200 different languages”, she said.

“Some languages are spoken by a million people, some languages are spoken by thousands, and mostly it is indigenous languages of the people of North Siberia and the far-East which are at the brink of extinction,” she said.

There are between 6,000 and 7,000 languages globally, said John. One of the panel’s recommendations is for countries to help map out the indigenous languages within their own borders, he added.

Question for discussion
global, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY, United Nations,

UN Secretary-General’s Remarks at General Assembly Presentation of the Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

Taken from the UN website, 15 January 2016

I would like to thank your Excellency, Mr. President for organizing this very important occasion for me to brief the General Assembly about my Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism, and to call for a new global partnership to confront this menace.

ban ki-moon

You have had a chance to review the plan, which is the product of many months of consultations. Let me thank you for your engagement and good ideas.

I would like to make a few brief comments, but I would also like to hear from you.

Violent extremism is a direct assault on the United Nations Charter and a grave threat to international peace and security.

We are all appalled by the barbaric crimes that terrorist groups such as Daesh, Boko Haram and others are committing against humanity.

They have brazenly kidnapped young girls, systematically denied women’s rights, destroyed cultural institutions, warped the peaceful values of religions, and brutally murdered thousands of innocents around the world.

These groups have become a magnet for foreign terrorist fighters, who are easy prey to simplistic appeals and siren songs.

The threat of violent extremism is not limited to any one religion, nationality or ethnic group.
Let us also recognize that today, the vast majority of victims worldwide are Muslims.
Addressing this challenge goes to the heart of the United Nations. And it compels us to act in a way that solves – rather than multiplies — the problem.

Many years of experience have proven that short-sighted policies, failed leadership, heavy-handed approaches, a single-minded focus only on security measures and an utter disregard for human rights have often made things worse.

Let us never forget: Terrorist groups are not just seeking to unleash violent action, but to provoke a harsh reaction.

We all lose by responding to ruthless terror with mindless policy – policies that turn people against each another, alienate already marginalized groups, and play into the hands of the enemy.

We need cool heads and common sense. We must never be ruled by fear – or provoked by those who strive to exploit it.

Countering violent extremism should not be counter-productive.

My Plan of Action takes a practical and comprehensive approach to address the drivers of violent extremism. It focuses on violent extremism which can be conducive to terrorism.

It puts forward more than 70 recommendations for concerted action at the global, regional and national levels, based on five inter-related points:

Number one, we must put prevention first.

The international community has every right to defend against this threat using lawful means, but we must pay particular attention to addressing the causes of violent extremism if this problem is to be resolved in the long run.

There is no single pathway to violent extremism. But we know that extremism flourishes when human rights are violated, political space is shrunk, aspirations for inclusion are ignored, and too many people – especially young people – lack prospects and meaning in their lives.

As we see in Syria and Libya and elsewhere, violent extremists make unresolved and prolonged conflicts even more intractable.

We also know the critical elements for success: Good governance. The rule of law. Political participation. Quality education and decent jobs. Full respect for human rights.

The recent report of the High-level Panel on Peace Operations, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the reviews of the Peacebuilding Architecture and the Women, Peace and Security agenda – as well as Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security — have all stressed that we need to make prevention work.

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Question for this article

Islamic extremism, how should it be opposed?

Readers’ comments are invited on this question and article. See below for comments box.

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We need to make a special effort to reach out to young people and recognize their potential as peacebuilders.

Through a global partnership, we need to build on the positive vision of the future that many young people are themselves constructing. The protection and empowerment of women must also be central to our response.

Second, principled leadership and effective institutions.

Poisonous ideologies do not emerge from thin air. Oppression, corruption and injustice are greenhouses for resentment. Extremists are adept at cultivating alienation.

That is why I have been urging leaders to work harder to build inclusive institutions that are truly accountable to people. I will continue to call on leaders to listen carefully to the grievances of their people and then act to address them.

Third, preventing extremism and promoting human rights go hand-in-hand.

All too often, national counter-terrorism strategies have lacked basic elements of due process and respect for the rule of law.

Sweeping definitions of terrorism or violent extremism are often used to criminalize the legitimate actions of opposition groups, civil society organizations and human rights defenders. Governments should not use these types of sweeping definitions as a pretext to attack or silence one’s critics.

Once again, violent extremists deliberately seek to incite such over-reactions. We must not fall into the trap.

Fourth, an all-out approach.

The Plan proposes an “all of Government” approach.

We must break down the silos between the peace and security, sustainable development, human rights and humanitarian actors at the national, regional and global levels—including at the United Nations.

The Plan also recognizes that there are no “one size fits all” solutions.

That is why the Plan calls for national ownership, recommending that each Member State adopt a National Plan of Action that sets priorities, such as promoting access to justice, strengthening institutions, and investing in education programmes that foster pluralism.

We must also engage all of society – religious leaders, women leaders, youth groups leaders in the arts, music and sports, as well as the media and private sector

Fifth, UN engagement.

I intend to strengthen a UN system-wide approach to supporting Member States’ efforts to address the drivers of violent extremism.

Acting within their mandates, UN missions and country teams will support Member States when developing National Plans of Action and will review their own activities.

I am also creating a UN system-wide High-Level PVE Action Group, to spearhead the implementation of this Plan at both the Headquarters and field levels.

The Plan before you builds on your own efforts and initiatives, including General Assembly resolutions on the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and a “World against Violence and Violent Extremism”, as well as Security Council measures, including resolutions 2178 on foreign terrorist fighters and 2253 on Daesh.

Some Member States have already pledged to help transform the Plan from ideas to reality. I look forward to the International Conference on the Plan of Action that the Swiss Government has offered to co-organize with the United Nations in Geneva in April.

Above all, the Plan is an urgent call to unity and action. The General Assembly is the only forum with the legitimacy and universality to address this problem in all its complexity.

Together, let us pledge to forge a new global partnership to prevent violent extremism.

Thank you.

global, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY, United Nations,

Native Cultures Push For Sustainable Food Solutions

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article by Carla Capalbo for Zester Daily

Six hundred representatives of native communities around the world recently gathered in Shillong, northeastern India, for Indigenous Terra Madre (ITM), an event that helps forge a global network of indigenous peoples, activists and their supporters.

indigenous terra madre
Members of Meghalaya tribes dance during the Indigenous Terra Madre gathering. Credit: Copyright 2015 Carla Capalbo

The event, under the auspices of Slow Food, takes place every four years. This ITM was held in cooperation with the Indigenous Partnership for Agrobiodiversity and Food Sovereignty (supported by the Christensen Fund) and was hosted by the Indian region of Meghalaya and the North East Slow Food Agrobiodiversity Society. Their individual stories vary but are closely linked.

Focus on food sovereignty

Chi Suwichan is a member of the Karen tribe of northern Thailand. His people have lived there for centuries, yet the current Thai government does not recognize them as citizens. Maria Bautista Leon, from the Tzeltal indigenous people of Chiapas, Mexico, and a descendant of the Mayans, is protesting the increase of monoculture and the threat of genetically modified corn in her country. Winona LaDuke, a Native American activist of the Ojibwe tribe, has led battles to save her people’s local wild rice as she fights for tribal land claims.

The focus at ITM is on environmental, biodiversity, food sovereignty and other sustainability issues linked to these communities’ way of life, many of which are increasingly under threat. Members of 140 tribes from 58 countries on five continents attended the 5-day event. Open meetings were arranged by themes, including: learning about food systems from matriarchal societies; building bridges between the private sector and indigenous communities; oral history; pastoralists and their challenges; and the future of food.

Prince Charles, who has long been a champion of these kinds of issues, sent a video message for the inauguration. “In our modern world, we are totally disconnected from indigenous knowledge,” he said. “The essential unity of things as reflected in nature has become dangerously fragmented. The modern world has shifted away from the holistic indigenous cosmology of seeing ourselves within nature to us standing apart from it. We must look after the earth and help it maintain its health and balance.” He suggests we listen to indigenous wisdom for the guidance we need to live in harmony with our planet.

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Questions for this article:

What is the relation between peasant movements for food sovereignty and the global movement for a culture of peace?

Indigenous peoples, Are they the true guardians of nature?

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Uniting voices for change

Carlo Petrini, who founded Slow Food 30 years ago in Italy and later created Terra Madre to bring together food-making communities from all corners of the globe, also spoke at the meeting. “Our planet is suffering from the greed of those who want to steal its resources,” he began. “We hope the Climate Change conference in Paris will make constructive decisions about this disaster. Our food has lost its value. It has been turned into a commodity to be paid as little as possible for. The truth is that 500 million small household food communities feed 70 percent of the world, yet they are treated the worst of all. The large multinationals claim ownership of their seeds and promote intensive, genetically modified farming and monocultures that are destroying the lives of these indigenous food-producing communities. There can be no sustainability if we don’t change this model.”

With most delegates attending in their native dress, the get-together was colorful, musical and emotional. At large communal meals hosted by local chefs (the most memorable was an invitation to dinner for everyone at the Shillong Sikh’s Gurdwara temple), there was plenty of time for people to share stories, problems and solutions.

“My people’s history was written in song, in folk tales and by calling the mountains and rivers names in our language,” said Suwichan, one of 500,000 Karen in northern Thailand. “We used traditional natural farming, with a seven-year rotation for our rice and other crops. But since the government has declared our area a national park we are no longer allowed to practice this kind of farming, which has forced us to use chemical fertilizers. We lived in symbiosis with the forest and relied on it for wild plants and foods as we protected it. Now our forest has been designated a wildlife reserve and we are no longer allowed to take anything out of it. But they never consulted us about this, they never consulted our ancestors or our community leaders. My parents say we are now like orphan chickens, that we each have a small voice, but together with the others at ITM it may become louder.”

‘A universal language’

“As Carlo Petrini says, we need to defend our native plants and animal breeds, our flavors and methods, for they are a universal language,” LaDuke said. “We have fought to reject the patents industrial agriculture has tried to put on our indigenous varieties. Our food is pre-colonial, pre-GMO and pre-petroleum. We are part of a movement to stop the theft of our seeds and land, and the theft of our economies. We fight against the politics of those who try to oppress us, and the closer the links between all of our tribes can get, the stronger our resistance will be.”

global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Nonviolent Peaceforce Strategy: 2015-2020

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

Excerpts from the strategy document of the Nonviolent Peaceforce

Nonviolent Peaceforce is a global civil society organisation. We protect civilians in violent conflicts through unarmed strategies. We build peace side by side with local communities. We advocate for the wider adoption of these approaches to safeguard human lives and dignity. [See CPNN articles about their work in South Sudan, Philippines, Ukraine, Syria, and Myanmar].

NVP

Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP) is a proven way to reduce violence before, during, and after armed conflict; the effectiveness stems from providing direct physical protection, while empowering local peace processes and infrastructures. Unlike traditional military peacekeeping or armed private security firms, there is no reliance on weapons; this paradigm uses relationships rather than threat.

To increase our impact, we have two mutually reinforcing strategic aims for the next five years:

• Enhance protection for civilians in armed conflicts and strengthen local peace processes. We will expand our programme implementation by increasing field activities, enhancing civilian participation in peace processes, and building local protection capacities.

• Mainstream UCP policy and practices as an effective response to violent conflicts. We will step up our advocacy to advance unarmed civilian protection by influencing decision makers, advancing the methodology, and promoting greater adoption of unarmed civilian protection by others across the world stage.

Nonviolent Peaceforce is endorsed by many world leaders, from Nobel Peace Laureates to heads of state, such as Justin Trudeau, Rigoberta Menchú, Desmond Tutu, Jose Ramos Horta, Oscar Arias Sánchez, Lech Wałęsa and the Dalai Lama. They believe that our approach offers an innovative and effective solution to civilian protection and conflict transformation. In June 2015, the High-level Independent Panel on United Nations Peace Operations, commissioned by the United Nations Secretary General, concluded that “Unarmed strategies must be at the forefront of UN efforts to protect civilians.”(United Nations, 2015, p. 23)

Vision

We envision a worldwide culture of peace in which conflicts within and between communities and countries are managed through nonviolent means.

Mission

We protect civilians in violent conflicts through unarmed strategies. We build peace side by side with local communities. We advocate for the wider adoption of these approaches to safeguard human lives and dignity.

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Question for this article:

Can peace be guaranteed through nonviolent means?

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Guiding Principles

* Nonviolence: We believe nonviolence is the strongest and most effective force for achieving the peaceful settlement of conflicts. We will not engage in nor support actions which may result in harm or loss of life. NP’s adherence to nonviolence is unconditional, because it asserts that conflict transformation cannot be achieved by violent means.

* Non-partisanship: We do not take sides nor advocate for partisan positions in any conflict. Instead, we are guided by international laws and norms, including International Humanitarian Law, Refugee Law, Human Rights Law, and relevant UN Resolutions. We are committed to the dignity, human security, and well-being of all and are independent from any interest group, political party, ideology or religion.

* Primacy of local actors: We facilitate and create safer spaces for local actors to work out their own solutions to their problems.

* Civilian-to-civilian action: We employ civilians to protect civilians in communities affected by violent conflicts.

Approach

Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP) is a strategic mix of key principles, sources of guidance, and a set of methods with specific skills. Applied together, they constitute the core of UCP (see figure below). UCP is the practice of deploying professionally-trained unarmed civilians before, during, and after violent conflict to prevent or reduce violence, provide direct physical protection to non-combatants, and strengthen local peace infrastructures. Unlike traditional military peacekeeping or armed private security firms, with UCP there is no reliance on weapons; this paradigm uses relationships rather than threat.

Over the past 12 years, Nonviolent Peaceforce has developed and field-tested unarmed civilian protection techniques, which are based on four main methods: proactive engagement, monitoring, relationship building, and capacity development. Each of these methods has a number of applications as detailed in the graphic [see original article]. Frequently, UCP methods and applications are used in a dynamic interaction, reinforcing and complementing each other. Actual implementation activities are based on specific context, conflict analysis, and risk assessment.

By creating networks of relationships, strengthening self-protection strategies, developing local peace infrastructures, and creating safe spaces for civilians to address urgent issues, UCP broadens the options for civilians to choose their own security priorities.

NP’s civilian teams are diverse and comprised of staff from the violence-affected communities as well as from outside. All NP personnel are rigorously trained in the tools and strategies of unarmed civilian protection. They are committed to a code of conduct focused on mutual respect, equity, and non-discrimination. NP works in partnership with local communities, organisations, and complementary international organisations to create locally owned, sustainable solutions that protect and support civilians struggling to survive in conflict zones.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, global

Historic Letter to Commence Selection of Next UN Secretary-General

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

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

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

unsecgen

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Question(s) related to this article:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global

Mayors for Peace – action priorities

. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION .

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

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

mayorsforpeace
Photo from Sinotables

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

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

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

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

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

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

i) Citizen outreach by member cities

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

– Strengthen efforts to promote petition drives

(Communiqué continued in the right column)

Questions for this article:

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

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ii) Actions targeting national governments and policymakers

– Call on policymakers to visit the A-bombed cities

– Actions utilizing signatures and request letters

iii) Cooperative action with the United Nations

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

i) Expand membership

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, global

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

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

A press release by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

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

sipri

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

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

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

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

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

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

Question for this article:

Does military spending lead to economic decline and collapse?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global

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

….. HUMAN RIGHTS …..

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. JUSTICE FOR THE OGON

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

2. WAMPIS AUTONOMY

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

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

3. PROTECTED LANDS

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

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

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

4. INDIGENOUS PASSPORTS

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

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

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

5. “NOT GUILTY”

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

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

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

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

6. WHAT’S IN A NAME?

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

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

7. BIOCULTURAL RIGHTS

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

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Question for this article

Indigenous peoples, Are they the true guardians of nature?

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

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

8. TWO CENTURIES IN THE MAKING

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

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

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

9. BYE BYE HERAKLES

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

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

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

10. THE LAND IS OURS

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

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

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

11. NUCLEAR WASTE FREE

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

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

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

12. MAUNA KEA

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

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

13. PULLING ANCHOR

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

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

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

14. MONSANTO LOSES AGAIN

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

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

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

15. BARAM DAM SHELVED

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

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

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

global, HUMAN RIGHTS, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

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

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

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

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

Hanson
James Hanson. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod for the Guardian

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Question for this article:
global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

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

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

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

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

unscr-voting-big
Voting of the UN Security Council of the 2250 Resolution on Youth, Peace and Security

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Question for this article

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

global, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY, United Nations,