Tag Archives: english bulletin

English bulletin September 1, 2025

THE PEOPLE RETURN TO THE STREETS

The Israeli genocide continues, and people around the world return to the streets to protest and to try to end it.

In Australia on August 3, hundreds of thousands of people came out in the rain and shut down the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Since October 7, 2023, there have been weekly rallies in Sydney and across Australia. Yet August 3 saw broadener sections of the population mobilize in support of Palestine. Historic numbers of community groups, trade unions and political organizations endorsed the action while a number of NSW politicians – including from the Minns government – backed the historic “March for Humanity”.

Again, on August 24, pro-Palestinian rallies took place across Australia with large turnouts in state capitals Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. The Palestine Action Group said around 350,000 attended the rallies nationwide, including around 50,000 in Brisbane.

In London on August 9, an estimated 300,000 people marched through the center of the city for the 28th national demonstration for Palestine since October 2023. Along with the usual array of placards taking aim at Prime Minister Starmer and calling for action, there were noticeably more signs relating to the clampdown on democratic rights and civil liberties. The huge number of banners of local groups from across the country showed the truly national character of the march.

The London march took place despite efforts of the government to stop it, forbidding support for Palestine Action. Over 800 people gathered in Parliament Square to defy the proscription of Palestine Action, and the Met Police arrested 466 people – including a blind man in a wheelchair and a 90-year-old woman.

Thanks to the public pressure, the Australian government has announced it will recognize a Palestinian state. Many other governments are doing the same, including the UK despite its opposition to the pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

In Israel on August 17, The largest Israeli protest to date took place. About 500,000 people marched in Tel Aviv to demand an end to the war in Gaza and organizers say 1 million took part in demonstrations across the entire country. Most of the Israelis who were out on the streets “blame Netanyahu” for prioritizing his political survival over an end to the war. As one demonstrator told Democracy Now, “Last week, we decided to call to everyone in Israel, to all the citizens, to stop, take a day and stop all the country, in one saying: Please release the hostages, bring them home, and stop the war.”

Again on August 26, Tens of thousands of people took part in demonstrations across Israel, blocking highways on a “day of disruption” that aimed to push Benjamin Netanyahu into agreeing a deal to end the war and calling off plans to attack Gaza City. Relatives of hostages led the biggest march and rally in Tel Aviv, while in Jerusalem hundreds of people gathered outside the prime minister’s office as the security cabinet met to discuss the war. There were dozens of other protests around the country, including on the main highway to the northern city of Haifa and inside Ben Gurion airport.

One country is refusing to recognize a Palestinian state. The Israeli genocide cannot continue without the support of Donald Trump and the US government. For that reason, it is important that the Trump policies are coming under increasing opposition in the United States.

Hundreds of organizations are joining forces this fall to confront Trump & billionaire allies nationwide in the US, marking an historic collaboration of movements. Make Billionaires Pay is being convened by Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM), Women’s March, Climate Defenders, and 350.org, with over 100 endorsing organizations. It is part of a global week of action for climate justice, called “Draw the Line” (convened by 350.org, Demand Climate Justice, Climate Action Network and War on Want).

Also, unions and progressive organizations are planning nearly 1,000 “Workers Over Billionaires” demonstrations across the United States this Labor Day to protest President Donald Trump’s assault on workers’ rights. The day of national action has been organized by the May Day Strong coalition, which includes labor organizations like the AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers, and National Union of Healthcare Workers, as well as advocacy groups like Americans for Tax Fairness, Indivisible, Our Revolution, and Public Citizen.

At CPNN we believe that we must do all we can to express our solidarity with the people of Gaza and to stop and prevent the war crimes and genocide.

HUMAN RIGHTS

In Largest Israeli Protest to Date, 1 Million Israelis Demand Gaza Ceasefire to Free Hostages

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Zhijiang, China To Host 6th International Peace Culture Festival: Here’s What You Need To Know

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION

Mexico: Cuernavaca City Council Holds the First University Conference on a Culture of Peace in the State of Morelos

WOMEN’S EQUALITY

Niger: Maradi’s Traditional Leaders Equipped to Promote Women’s and Children’s Rights

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Australia: Pro-Palestine demonstration shuts down Sydney Harbour Bridge

EDUCATION FOR PEACE

Mexico: UATx Seeks to Consolidate a Culture of Peace Within Its Community

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY

Hiroshima Peace Declaration on 80th anniversary of atomic bombing

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Changing the Narrative: Why West African Media Is Embracing Peace Journalism

September 1, 2025d-human rightsenglish bulletinCPNN Coordinator

English bulletin August 1, 2025

THE GLOBAL SOUTH AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE CULTURE OF WAR

Last month, it was the people of Europe, North America and the Middle East who took to the streets in protest against the wars and militarism of their countries.

This month, it is the countries of the Global South who provide an alternative to the culture of war of the North.

President Lula da Silva of Brazil opened the summit of the BRICS countries by urging countries to shift spending away from military efforts and toward the implementation of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda—not toward war.

He criticized explicitly the decision of NATO to increase military spending.

“We are before an unprecedented number of conflicts since World War II. NATO’s recent decision feeds the arms race. It is easier to designate 5% of the GDP to military spending than to allocate the 0.7% that has been promised for Official Development Assistance. This demonstrates that the resources for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda do exist; however, they are not available due to a lack of political priority. It is always easier to invest in war than in peace.

Lula called for a deep transformation of the UN Security Council: “To overcome the trust crisis we are immersed in, we must promote deep transformations in the Security Council. Increase its legitimacy, representativeness, effectiveness, and democratic character. Include new permanent members from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

The final declaration of the BRICS summit reflected the same approach: “The leaders express concern over the current trend of sharply rising global military expenditures at the expense of adequate financing for the development of emerging countries. . . . The document also calls for the increased participation of developing countries, particularly those in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, in global decision-making processes and structures.”

Another important summit meeting took place in Bogota, Colombia, on July 15, bringing together ministerial delegates from more than 30 nations to end Israel’s U.S.-backed genocide in Gaza. The final declaration, calling for the prevention of the transfer of arms to Israel, was signed by 12 countries from the Global South, including Colombia, Indonesia, and South Africa.

Leadership of the Global South was also evident last month in the new coalition to tax the super-rich launched by Brazil and South Africa, along with Spain. The announcement was welcomed by Oxfam, who said “Taxation of the super-rich is a vital tool to secure sustainable development and fight inequalities. The wealth of the richest 1% has surged $33.9 trillion since 2015, enough to end annual poverty 22 times, yet billionaires only pay around 0.3% in real taxes.”

Brazil, Colombia and South Africa come from regions that have declared themselves to be nuclear-free zones, and South Africa is the only country in history to have made nuclear weapons and then renounced them. If they were to become permanent members of the UN Security Council, as suggested above, it would provide some balance to its domination by the nuclear powers with their culture of war.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Lula opens BRICS Summit with call for investment in peace and security

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

BRICS Summit signs historic commitment in Rio for more inclusive and sustainable governance

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION

Niger: Agadez Mobilizes Its Traditional Chiefs for Peace

WOMEN’S EQUALITY

Violence Against Women: West Africa at a Time of Decisive Choices

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

United States: Indivisible, the team that organized the No Kings demonstrations

EDUCATION FOR PEACE

Mexico: Civil Society in Juárez Promotes Law on a Culture of Peace and Reconciliation in the Country

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY

CPNN in the Peace Wave 2025

HUMAN RIGHTS

Colombia: At Hague Group Emergency Summit, 30+ Nations Seek to ‘Halt the Genocide in Gaza’

August 1, 2025d-informationenglish bulletinCPNN Coordinator

English bulletin July 1, 2025

THE PEOPLE TAKE TO THE STREETS

Fed up with the wars and militarism of their countries, the people of Europe, North America and the Middle East have taken to the streets in protest.

In the United States, more than 5 million people participated in the No Kings rallies on June 14 to protest the escalating abuses of power by President Trump. CPNN has republished photos of No Kings rallies from all 50 states. One of the organizers, Joseph Gerson of Mass Peace Action, explained, “If you had doubts about Trump/MAGA tyrannical ambitions and the threat to democracy, think about Trump’s illegal and totally mobilization of National Guard troops, the dispatch of Marines to repress protests in Los Angeles, the threat to arrest Governor Newsom or Trump’s stupid birthday gift to himself – his massively expensive and wasteful military parade.”

The map republished by CPNN showed that the thousands of demonstrations took place throughout the United States, including in those states that voted for Trump.

The protest in San Antonio, Texas faced National Guard sent by the pro-Trump governor of the state, who predicted violence. Instead, however, the protest was more like a fiesta with mariachi and conjunto music. According to the mayor, “Once again, San Antonio has demonstrated that we have a long tradition of peaceful demonstrations and protests in support of human rights and civil rights.”

In The Hague, Netherlands on June 15, a demonstration against the government’s support of Israeli genocide was so large that it stretched for five kilometers, as shown in a video republished on CPNN. Rights groups such as Amnesty International and Oxfam organised the demonstration through the city to the International Court of Justice, creating a so-called “red line”. Many waving Palestinian flags and some chanting “Stop the Genocide”, the demonstrators turned a central park in the city into a sea of red on a sunny afternoon.

People took to the streets in The Hague again a week later to protest the NATO meeting dedicated to the rearmament of Europe, while other large demonstrations took place in Rome and Brussels for the same reason. In both Rome and Brussels the turnout was claimed to be 30,000, as can be seen in the videos published by sources in India. Protesters condemned the expansion of military budgets across Europe, coming at the direct expense of public services like healthcare, education, and other public services.”

In Israel on June 28 , tens of thousands of demonstrators fille Hostages Square in Tel Aviv to demand an end to the war on Gaza .with a deal that brings everyone home

The Israeil/American attack on Iran brought hundreds of thousands of people into the streets in protest in cities across the country Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi called Friday’s demonstrations “unprecedentedly large.” “We have to keep in mind that a considerable proportion of Tehran’s population has decided to get out of the city amid the attacks, but still we see huge numbers,” said Asadi. “Since day one of these strikes, we’ve seen this strong sense of anger from ordinary citizens. Now they’re taking to the streets to express that.”

Thousands of people joined a March on Gaza, inspired by the Gaza Flotilla sailboat Madleen, that included environmental activist Greta Thunberg, that set sail to break the blockade of Gaza and that was illegally boarded and seized by Israel (an act of piracy). A video of the March was published by CPNN.. German lawyer Melanie Schweizer explained that this peaceful initiative sends a messages of international solidarity, aiming to:
° Represent civil societies of the participating countries.
° Involve unions, rights organizations, medical and humanitarian sectors, and individuals from all backgrounds to amplify the voice of global civil society.
° Emphasize the nonviolent and voluntary nature of the march — no government backing, and participants self-fund their journey.

Although the March on Gaza has been blocked by Egyptian authorities, and none of the marches and protests have yet prevented the increased genocide, war and preparations for war by the governments of the United States, Europe and the Middle East, they serve notice that their citizens do not support their wars and are not afraid to take to the streets in order to oppose them.

While the repressive policies of Russia and Ukraine have prevented street demonstrations against their war, there has been another form of resistance that may ultimately be as effective. The 100,000 documented deserters from Ukraine and Russia are an invisible army for peace. And since the war began, Russia has lost much of its scientific and artistic citizens who have protested the war. One estimate puts the figure at 700,000 people who have fled Russia in protest..

The stage is set for a global anti-war movement.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION

USA: No Kings rallies in all 50 states

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

300 Participants from 60 Countries Attend Annual Forum of China and Globalization

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

European Protests against NATO

WOMEN’S EQUALITY

France: Thirty Years of Service to Immigrant Women

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Gaza Floatilla Ship Madleen Begins Voyage to Gaza

EDUCATION FOR PEACE

Mexico: UNAM cannot remain neutral in the face of escalating violence and the resurgence of authoritarian views: Rector Lomelí Vanegas

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY

Fourth Annual 24-Hour Peace Wave

HUMAN RIGHTS

The Hague: Rally against Gaza genocide June 15

July 1, 2025d-disarmamentenglish bulletinCPNN Coordinator

English bulletin June 1, 2025

. THE PEACE MANIFESTO RE-LAUNCHED .

It has become increasingly difficult to find good news to report this year.

The most terrible war crimes in recent memory continue to be committed by Israel against the Palestinian people including their genocide of Gaza. And this continues to receive the support of the United States. Meanwhile Europe is rearming as if in preparation for their Third World War, failing to consider that nuclear weapons have changed the nature of war. And the United States continues to lead the world in armaments, announcing their largest military budget of history. Wars continue in the Ukraine and Sudan and India and Pakistan started what could have become nuclear war.

As The Elders declare, “The risk of nuclear catastrophe is higher than at any time since the Cold War. Leaders are failing to uphold international law, and eroding basic norms. We are regressing into a world in which the rule of law is being replaced by rule by power, with a destabilising new nuclear arms race.”

The few good news stories below consist mostly of protests against these wars and rearmaments.

As we said in last month’s bulletin, CPNN cannot be content to report the news for a culture of peace.

WE MUST CREATE IT.

Last month the launch of the Peace Manifesto 2025 did not achieve the results we hoped for. Perhaps you are one of the hundreds of people who went to our website but failed to publish the Manifesto on social media. And perhaps you found, as we were told by some readers, that the instructions were too complicated to follow.

So we are relaunching the initiative this month, with a revised website that provides a simple procedure to post the Manifesto on social media.

Please go to our website, https://activatingpeace.org and click on facebook, instagram or linkedin to share the Manifesto.

To become successful, there needs to be enough posts that the Manifesto “goes viral” and continues to do so “until we win” a culture of peace.

It is not enough to report. We must create the good news!

Here is the new frontpage of our website

THE PEACE MANIFESTO

I’m sick and tired of the culture of war, so I give my support to the culture of peace, and I will keep spreading the word on social media until we win. I live in City, Country .

LIKE IT! SHARE IT! MAKE IT VIRAL! CREATE A GLOBAL MOVEMENT!

To share the Peace Manifesto using Facebook, click here.

To share the Peace Manifesto using Instagram, click here.

To share the Peace Manifesto using Linkedin, click here.

To share the Peace Manifesto using Twitter-X, click here.

For educators who wish to promote the Peace Manifesto in a school class or a youth group, click here.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY

The People’s Peace Summit in Jerusalem, final day. Israelis and Palestinians together to say ‘Peace now’

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

78% of Russian students consider climate change to be a problem

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Joint Statement on Palestine by Seven European Countries

WOMEN’S EQUALITY

Urgent Call for Peace Launched by Indian and Pakistani Feminists

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Pope Leo XIV appeals for ‘no more war’ in first Sunday message

EDUCATION FOR PEACE

Kurdish language at the forefront of Turkey’s peace process: Recognition demands intensify

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION

Uruguay: The 5th World Forum of Cities and Territories of Peace

HUMAN RIGHTS

Tens of thousands protest in The Hague against Gaza war

June 1, 2025UncategorizedEast Asia, english bulletinCPNN Coordinator

English bulletin May 1, 2025

. THE PEACE MANIFESTO 2025 .

In recent months, we have published signs of a fightback, some light in this time of darkness in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and now in the US against Trump and Musk.

This month we are making the fightback and we are shining a light ourselves. CPNN is proud to have been involved from the beginning in the Peace Manifesto 2025 that is being launched today, May 1.

Here is the press release that has been sent to media around the world.

SICK AND TIRED OF THE CULTURE OF WAR? SHARE THE PEACE MANIFESTO 2025

Saying they are “sick and tired of the culture of war,” Nobel Peace Laureates and other peace organizations and peace activists hope to repeat the success of the Manifesto 2000 that was signed by 75 million people during the UN International Year for the Culture of Peace. They announce that the Peace Manifesto 2025 will be launched on May 1.

Its text is simple; “I’m sick and tired of the culture of war, so I give my support to the culture of peace, and I will keep spreading the word on social media until we win. I live in [your City, Country].”

One of the organizers of the new manifesto, David Adams, was in charge of the mobilization of the Manifesto 2000. He says that the success in the year 2000 struck fear in the heart of the military-industrial complex to such an extent that the initiative was shut down. “This time,” he says, “we are not relying on any organization run by states, but we are simply asking the youth of the world to disseminate the Manifesto 2025 on social media. We believe that the current state of the world demands it.”

The Manifesto 2025 is supported by Nobel Peace laureates Mairead Maguire and the International Peace Bureau. Maguire, who is now on a hunger strike to support the people of Gaza (see article below), says “I am very delighted that you are relaunching the culture of peace and wholeheartedly give my support to your efforts.” And Jay Ngoma, the granddaughter of Bishop Desmond Tutu and representative of Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation, says “This manifesto couldn’t come at a more important time, and I wholeheartedly stand with the movement to amplify the voices of youth and civil society in building a just and peaceful world.”

“Our world and Mother Earth continue to be deeply fractured by crises, conflicts and the suffering of wars, injustices, human rights violations, discriminations, and ecological destruction. The Peace Manifesto 2025 urgently appeals to all humanity to embrace personal and social action to build a peaceful, nonviolent, just, compassionate, inclusive and sustainable web of life”, says another of the organizers, Toh Swee-Hin, former professor at the United Nations University for Peace and laureate of the 2000 UNESCO Prize for Peace Education.

The many partners of the initiative include Mouvement de la Paix, World Without War, the Global Campaign for Peace Education, Pathways to Peace and the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding. Other partners include organizations in Philippines, Colombia and Palestine.

People are encouraged to compose their messages for social media on the website for the Peace Manifesto 2025: https://activatingpeace.org A map on the website shows participation coming from all corners of the world.

The Manifesto Team

David Adams, CPNN Coordinator, coordinator@cpnn-world.org, France

David Wick, Ashland Culture of Peace Commission and Pathways to Peace, USA

Myrian Castello, culture of peace and right to dream activist and educator, Brazil

Nawal Amjad, SDG Changemaker, Pakistan

Munira Beisenbayeva, Teacher, Kazakhstan

Alicia Cabezudo, Education Expert, Colombia

Virginia Cawagas, Peace Educator, Philippines/Canada

Toh Swee-Hin (S.H.Toh), Laureate, UNESCO Prize for Peace Education (2000), Canada/Australia

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION

‘This Is Not Trump’s Country’: 255,000 Have Rallied With Sanders and AOC on Nationwide Tour

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Ministers approve BRICS Environment declaration

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Eulogy for Pope Francis

WOMEN’S EQUALITY

Pope Francis tried to change the Catholic Church for women, with mixed success

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Mairead Corrigan Maguire: The moral imagination and Gaza

EDUCATION FOR PEACE

Teaching Peace: Nurturing Young Peacemakers in Ghana through Education

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY

Germany’s Easter peace marches lament war-filled world

HUMAN RIGHTS

US: Millions March Against Trump-Musk in Nationwide ‘Hands Off’ Protests

May 1, 2025d-disarmamentenglish bulletinCPNN Coordinator

English bulletin April 1, 2025

. WOMEN LEAD THE RESISTANCE .

We can repeat the introduction to last month’s bulletin:

It has been difficult to find good news this year.

Last month it was the fate of Gaza and the fate of Humanity.

This month it is the devastation being wrought by Trump and Musk.

But there are signs of a fightback, light in this time of darkness.

And this month, the good news, the fightback news, comes primarily from the women who took to the streets on International Women’s Day.

In the US, they stated directly their opposition to the oligarchy of Trump and Musk. In Los Angeles their placard said simply, “Stop `Trump”. In San Francisco, their signs read RESIST No Oligarchs Save Democracy; NO KINGS NO TYRANNY; HELL HATH NO FURY LIKE 170 MILLION WOMEN SCORNED.

In Europe, the theme was more general. For example, in Valencia, Spain, ““We are the cry of those who no longer have a voice” or “We are half the earth, we want half the sky.” And in Amsterdam, “Abortion in the constitution” and “Keep your hands off my womb”.

In Latin American, the demands were radical. In Buenos Aires, rejecting the policies of President Milei, the cry was “Contra el fascismo, el racismo, el patriarcado y el capitalismo”. And in La Paz, Bolivia, one of the most chanted slogans was: “What’s the big deal? They kill us and rape us and the state does nothing,”

In Asia, (Jakarta, Indonesia), the placards demanded “Fair maternity and menstrual leave rights without discrimination” And in Africa,(Abuja, Nigeria): the theme was “commitment to gender equality and empowerment as essential drivers of health for all.”

Codepink celebrated International Women’s Day: “From Los Angeles to Dallas, from Massachusetts to London, UK, our local chapters centered international working women’s resistance to send a powerful and urgent reminder that if women around the world are standing together – liberation from imperialism and militarism is inevitable!”

The fightback against the arrival of fascism in the US as described in last month’s bulletin has continued to develop, especially by trade unions. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Workers (AFSCME) has launched a new campaign, called Get Organized, or AFSCME GO to fight back against “Elon Musk, billionaires and anti-union extremists.” And Bernie Sanders continued to draw big crowds in districts that voted for Trump. Sanders was joined in Detroit by the head of the United Auto Workers Union.

Although it is not recognized by the major mass media, street protests in the United States against the Trump administration are numerous and frequent, as described in an article from Waging Nonviolence. The authors point out that “Historically, street protest and legal challenges are common avenues for popular opposition to governments, but economic noncooperation — such as strikes, boycotts and buycotts — is what often gets the goods.” They point to the recent effectiveness of boycotts against Tesla and Target as evidence that this is happening now.

The authors conclude that “That Americans seem to be rediscovering the art, science and potency of noncooperation — combined with a robust protest capacity and legal action — shows that resistance against Trump’s agenda in America is not only alive and well. It is savvy, diversifying and probably just getting started.”

WOMEN’S EQUALITY

International Women’s Day: Latin America

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Brazil hosts first BRICS Sherpas meeting with expanded membership

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Voice of the Global South: Multilateralism Can and Must Deliver

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY

Pope Francis calls for ‘disarmament’ while still hospitalized

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

PLANETE: Scouts in Africa and Europe leading change in peace, gender, and sustainability

EDUCATION FOR PEACE

New Feasibility Study on Peace Education in Non-formal Learning and Youth Work commissioned by the Council of Europe

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION

AFSCME, United States: It’s Time to Get Organized

HUMAN RIGHTS

Resistance is alive and well in the United States

April 1, 2025d-women, globalenglish bulletinCPNN Coordinator

English bulletin March 1, 2025

LIGHT IN A TIME OF DARKNESS

It has been difficult to find good news this year.

Last month it was the fate of Gaza and the fate of Humanity.

This month it is the devastation being wrought by Trump and Musk.

But there are signs of a fightback, light in this time of darkness.

Bernie Sanders, the only declared socialist in the American Senate, is attracting big crowds in his “National Tour to Fight Oligarchy.” This comes even as he targets districts where the Republican Party, the party of Trump, is in the majority. “”Today in America we are rapidly moving toward an oligarchic form of society where a handful of multibillionaires not only have extraordinary wealth, but unprecedented economic, media, and political power. Brothers and sisters, that is not the democracy that men and women fought and died to defend.”

“Trumpism will not be defeated by politicians inside the D.C. Beltway,” he says. “It will only be defeated by millions of Americans in Iowa, in Vermont, in Nebraska, in every state in this country, who come together in a strong grassroots movement and say no to oligarchy, no to authoritarianism, no to kleptocracy, no to massive cuts to programs that low-income and working Americans desperately need, no to huge tax breaks for the wealthiest people in this country.”

The political force with the greatest potential to oppose Trumpism is the trade union movement. In recent years the labor movement has witnessed a resurgence in organizing, and 2024 was no different. Tens of thousands of workers fought for pay raises, increased job protections and union representation. Workers across the United States also linked their domestic struggles with Israel’s assault on Palestine, demanding an arms embargo and an end to the genocide in Gaza.

Organized labor is currently preparing to fight back. Just a week into 2025 the SEIU announced that it was rejoining the AFL-CIO to help fight Trump’s anti-worker agenda. The two unions have been unaligned for almost 20 years. A first sign of the fightback came on February 22 when the President of the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal employees union, told workers not to obey Elon Musk’s demand for federal workers to justify their jobs or resign.

Despite Trump’s victory, enthusiasm for unions remains high. A recent Gallup poll found that support for unions is at 70 percent — just one point under their highest rating ever.

The American Peace Movement, although reduced in size, continues its struggle for nuclear disarmament and world peace.

Codepink urges us to sign the Peace Clock Manifesto: “We must stop giving our blessing and consent to endless steps to “control” arms that lead to ever more danger as illustrated by the aging Doomsday clock. Instead, we must demand their abolition, and the transition to a nuclear free world at peace unthreatened by catastrophic annihilation and the ultimate climate change; a nuclear winter.”

World Beyond War urges us to demand the closure of American military bases: “The thousands of military bases, both foreign and domestic, around the world are a critical piece of the war machine that must be dismantled. Closing bases is a necessary step to shift the global security paradigm towards a demilitarized approach that centers common security — no one is safe until all are safe.”

Michael Klare, a veteran peace activist known for his strategic advice, proposes that we support those policy statements by Trump and his cronies that align with a peace agenda. These statements include calls for agreements to reduce nuclear arms, cutting defense spending and shutting US foreign military bases. He reminds us that the old foreign policy establishment of the United States that has risked World War III by their bellicose policies is gone forever, and a new policy elite is emerging. Their agenda is full of contradictions, but their primary goal is to enrich Trump and his cronies, which may, in some cases, lead them to reverse certain militaristic policies.

In publishing Trump’s statements for nuclear arms reduction in CPNN, we asked if it is possible to take his words seriously, “Or are they just part of a game he is playing with the world, much like Charlie Chaplin’s portrayal of Hitler playing with a toy balloon of the world. Let us hope they can be taken seriously in this case.”

In any case, as argued in this month’s blog for the Transition to a Culture of Peace, we cannot sit still but must act more vigorously than ever for peace and justice.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY

Remarks by Michael Klare on strategy for the peace movement

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

China’s Renewable Energy Boom: A Record-Breaking Shift or Still Chained to Coal?

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Global Day of Action to Close Bases

WOMEN’S EQUALITY

Women, Peace and Security: Mongolia, a Feminist-oriented Foreign Policy

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Australia: Symbols, messages of peace mark interfaith gathering

EDUCATION FOR PEACE

Wilmington, Delaware: Visionary Peace Youth Art Exhibition

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION

The Labor Movement Won Big Victories in 2024. Now It Must Fend Off Trump

HUMAN RIGHTS

Thousands in Midwestern GOP Districts Attend Sanders’ First Stops on Tour to Fight Oligarchy

March 1, 2025Uncategorizedenglish bulletinCPNN Coordinator

English bulletin February 1, 2025

THE FATE OF GAZA AND HUMANITY

Will the recent ceasefire agreement for Gaza lead to peace? Here are some perspectives from some people whom we especially respect at CPNN.

CODEPINK celebrates the news of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza. As reported, as of January 15 only the first stage of the ceasefire agreement has been accepted by both Israel and Hamas. We hope all stages are also accepted as soon as possible to ensure a permanent ceasefire and the ability for Palestinians to rebuild with freedom from Israeli attacks.

If there is to be peace, CODEPINK lists 8 addition steps that are necessary. These include an end to all US military “aid” to Israel, the right of return for all Palestinians barred from their homeland and a free Palestine from the river to the sea.

Michael Moore urges us to go to the cinema to see FROM GROUND ZERO: STORIES FROM GAZA that shows us what the people of Gaza are facing every single day. He reminds us that art has always been a powerful weapon of the oppressed. “There is no better means of cultivating understanding and empathy than through art. And for me, there’s no better outlet to convey truth and inspire resistance than the art of the moving image.”

Rivera Sun reminds us that the pro-Palestinian movement has achieved an extensive number of strategic objectives in the longer effort to halt the genocide through nonviolent action. The International Court of Justice found that BDS – Boycott, Divest, Sanction – is not only legal, it’s obligatory. Boycotts in Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Syria, Iran, Iraq, parts of Turkey, and other regional nations have led to a 48.2% drop in profits for US-brands like KFC, Pizza Hut, Baskin Robbins, Costa Coffee, and Krispy Kreme. BDS also forced Pret a Manger to drop plans to open 40 stores in Israel.

The Elders warn Gaza ceasefire and recovery at risk if UNRWA is not protected. After fifteen months of war and at least 46,000 Palestinians killed, the massive surge in humanitarian relief and the restoration of essential services that are so urgently needed now rely on UNRWA as the indispensable agency in Gaza. 

Richard Falk believes that Israel will probably not end the conflict until it has annexed the West Bank coupled with a declaration of Israel’s victory over the Palestinians, signified by the formal establishment of Greater Israel as an exclusivist Jewish state from ‘the river to the sea.’ He warns that “even if the ceasefire is more or less maintained in its first phase, Israel seems unlikely to remain within the ceasefire framework once the six weeks of phase one is completed, which means that the latter two latter phases of ending the campaign and IDF withdrawal phases of the ceasefire will never happen. In this event, it is all but certain that Israel would then resume the full fury of its genocidal campaign.”

Falk says that In the background of his response is the growing evidence that Israel allowed the October 7 attack to happen because it wanted to initiate massive violence against the Palestinians with the justification of acting in a retaliatory mode that would excuse the death and expulsion of large number of Palestinians, a lethal process more or less repeating the expulsions of an estimated 750.000 Palestinians in 1948, what is known to Palestinians as the nakba or catastrophe.

He explains that the Israel government received several extremely reliable warnings preceding the October 7 attack, including from US intelligence sources. In addition, Israel possessed advanced surveillance capabilities throughout Gaza to monitor Hamas resistance moves. These technical capabilities were reportedly reinforced by informers making the supposed ‘surprise’ nature of the attack hardly possible to believe.

Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate, has nominated Palestinian activist Mazin Qumsiyeh for the Nobel Peace Prize. Mazin, left a brilliant career as a scientist in the United States to return to Palestine where he works for peace. We often quote him in CPNN.

Mazin Qumsiyeh tells us the following about the significance of the current situation. “Locally, Israeli apartheid forces are now doing in our parts of the West Bank what they did to Gaza. Ethnic cleansing, destruction of property, and massive violations of human rights ranging from right to move right to worship, right to simple dignified life. People here are scared that this is merely the beginning of accelerated genocide and ethnic cleansing as perpetrated in Gaza.

“We have repeatedly warned of the consequences of Western collusion with genocide and ecocide. The fate of Gaza will be the fate of humanity if not enough people wake up in time to the global reality of simply unsustainability of “might makes right” colonial policies. . . .

“An alliance of neocolonial powers [is] reinvigorated and working towards the same goals: making the rich richer, the poor poorer, and wrecking the global environment while unleashing militarism and wars in unprecedented cruelly like we see in Palestine (genocide and ecocide). Our species is at a pivotal moment in history never experienced before. We are then many, they are the few. If more of the many mobilize quickly we may still have a chance to save ourselves and our planet. . . .”

HUMAN RIGHTS

The Elders warn Gaza ceasefire and recovery at risk if UNRWA is not protected

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The International Institute for Peace through Tourism: A personal memoire

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

For Nobel Peace Prize: Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh, Bethlehem, Palestine

WOMEN’S EQUALITY

Essaouira: The “Warriors of Peace” nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 2025

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

China, Japan reach 10 agreements on people-to-people, cultural exchanges

EDUCATION FOR PEACE

Colombia: PazRock, an initiative of the Ministry of Cultures for the culture of peace through music

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION

Burkina Faso: Living together: Traditional and religious leaders speak to their communities

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY

CODEPINK Celebrates the Announced Ceasefire in Gaza

February 1, 2025d-human rightsenglish bulletinCPNN Coordinator

English bulletin January 1, 2025

PEACE ADVANCES IN AFRICA, LATIN AMERICA

While Europe and North America, exhaust themselves with the culture of war, Africa and Latin America continue to advance toward a culture of peace.

Last month, the bulletin described the leadership from the heads of state in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.

This month, we have published articles advancing the culture of peace at at regional and local levels in Colombia (2), Mexico (2), Ecuador and Chile.

The anthropologist and peace activist Angela Lederach describes the process of “slow peace” in the Colombian territory of Montes de María. She draws three conclusions: first, slow peace is a multigenerational process; second, slow peace centers social-environmental relations; and finally, slow peace demands a shift from technical projects to social movements.

The city government of Cúcuta in Colombia has carried out workshops for youth on historical memory and culture of peace. The workshops, using Hip Hop culture as an educational and transformative tool, contributed to the process of reparation and reconciliation of the victims of the armed conflict.

The National Union of Education Workers and the National Commission for Human Rights of Mexico held a “Peaceful School Coexistence” Drawing Contest as part of the campaign “Arm yourself with courage for a Culture of Peace!”, which promotes respectful and reflective relationships in schools. The winning paintings are presented in the CPNN article.

Also in Mexico, the state government of Jalisco, through the Secretariat of Planning and Citizen Participation, has began the training process in Culture of Peace for the reconstruction of the social fabric, in order to promote communities of care in the municipalities of the State.

In Ecuador, the project “Promoting a culture of Peace and Democracy through the strengthening of Indigenous Justice” has achieved great successes, as more than a thousand people from indigenous organizations have been trained in Indigenous Justice, Gender and New Masculinities and Community Communication, with a high participation of women.

In Chile, the Universidad San Sebastián has launched the innovative Collaborative Project of Vinculación con el Medio Transforming conflicts . Its objective is to strengthen the virtues and skills necessary to resolve disputes peacefully in the school community. Through this initiative, law students actively participate in mediation workshops at Colegio Providencia, promoting a culture of peace that transcends the classroom.

In Africa, the culture of peace is being promoted at the continental, regional and national levels.

The African Union has held its third edition of the youth, peace and security in Africa dialogue Bujumbura, Burundi. Over 1,200 participants, including policymakers, young leaders, and representatives of international institutions are attending and reflecting on effective ways to promote peace education in Africa.

The final report of the 2023 Biennale of Luanda, “Pan-African Forum for the Culture of Peace”, has just been published. The Biennale is a joint initiative of the Government of the Republic of Angola, UNESCO and the African Union that aims to promote conflict resolution and prevention of violence, encouraging cultural exchange and intergenerational dialogue in Africa. The next edition is scheduled for next year.

In Cameroon, students from over 20 countries on the continent, gathered at the Pan African University Institute of Governance, Humanities and Social Sciences,, the African Union’s premiere institution of higher learning, for a strategic discussion on how to promote a culture of peace on the continent. Besides masterclasses and panel discussions with experts from UN agencies, development partners, diplomatic corps, government, and academia, the young scholars also shared experiences of what peace means to them.

The Sougourounoma Initiative for Education, Peace and Health, based in Burkina Faso, has organized the second edition of the International Youth Forum on the Culture of Peace. The meeting, under the theme “Youth, Religion, Mediation and Climate Change in the Sahel and West Africa”, brings together young people from Benin, Mali, Niger, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso. It allows participants to discuss issues related to peace, including the link between peace and climate change, conflict analysis and interreligious dialogue.

More than 300 young people from across Niger gathered in Maradi recently to explore the part they can play in building peaceful communities, as published by the Bahá’í World News Service. A young participant explained, “The conference helped us understand that we cannot be mere observers of harmful social forces affecting our neighborhoods and villages—we must be active participants in building peace.”

In Abidjan, the Caucus of Women of Côte d’Ivoire for Peace planned a meeting for peace with an expected attendance of more than 5,000 women, including women from the institutions of the Republic, elected officials, women from public and private administration and women economic operators around the theme of peace”.

Last month we concluded: “while leaders from Europe and North America continue to aggravate global warming and threaten World War III, Lula, Petro and Sheinbaum give us hope and vision to help us overcome these crises, which, as Petro says, threaten the extinction of humanity.

This month we can conclude that their hope and vision is shared at the local and regional levels throughout Africa and Latin America.

“Let us listen to them and take action with them!”

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Slow Peace: Three Lessons from Grassroots Peacebuilders in Colombia

HUMAN RIGHTS

Activists Occupy Canadian Parliament Building to Protest Gaza War & Arming of Israel

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Personal Souvenirs of Federico Mayor

WOMEN’S EQUALITY

Women of Côte d’Ivoire commit to the Culture of Peace: more than 5,000 women expected at the Palais des Sports on December 21

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

2nd International Youth Forum on the Culture of Peace: Religion, Mediation and Climate Change in the Sahel

EDUCATION FOR PEACE

Chile: Transforming conflicts: USS promotes a culture of peace

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION

Colombia: Cúcuta Mayor’s Office Successfully Concludes Workshops on Historical Memory and Culture of Peace

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY

Third edition of dialogue on youth, peace, security in Africa opens in Bujumbura, Burundi

January 1, 2025globalenglish bulletin, globalCPNN Coordinator

English bulletin December 1, 2024

. A TALE OF TWO SUMMITS .

Two global summits were held in November, with two completely different results. One was held in a country of the global south seeking independence from northern domination. The other was hosted by a country profiting from the sales of oil and was dominated by the interest of the US and Europe.

The meeting of the G20 was held in Brazil, and its President Lula da Silva, played a major role in its conclusions.

In his speech at the closing of the summit, Lula paid tribute to the accomplishments of the developing countries as they have occupied the leadership of the G20 over the past four years and he hoped from more as he passed the leadership to South Africa.

Here are some excerpts from his speech:

“We launched a Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty and began an unprecedented debate on taxing the super-rich.

“We put climate change on the agendas of Finance Ministries and central banks and approved the first multilateral document on the bioeconomy.

“We issued a Call to Action for reforms that make global governance more effective and representative. . .

“We have a responsibility to do better.

“It is with this hope that I pass the gavel of the G20 presidency to President Ramaphosa.

“This is not an ordinary handover of the presidency — it is the concrete expression of the historical, economic, social, and cultural ties that unite Latin America and Africa. . . .

“I remember the words of another great South African, Nelson Mandela, who said: it is easy to demolish and destroy; the heroes are those who build.

“Let us continue building a just world and a sustainable planet.”

The rich countries wanted the summit to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but Lula, as host of the summit, did not allow this. Instead, the summit statement simply says: “The G20 condemns the war in Ukraine and its impacts on the global economy and supply chains.” In the words of one expert, “Brazilian diplomacy always tries to build bridges.”

Lula was not the only Latin American president to show progressive leadership at the summit.

The newly-elected president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, criticized the rise in global military spending and advocated for increased investment in reforestation programs. She argued that allocating just 1% of global military spending to reforestation programs could significantly impact poverty, migration, and climate change mitigation. ““I come on behalf of a generous, supportive and wise people to call on the great nations to build and not to destroy. To forge peace, fraternity and equality. . . The proposal is to stop sowing wars and instead sow peace and sow life.”

And the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, criticized the North for failing to address the poverty and hunger of the Global South. “The only effective policy to stop the exodus of people from the south to the north is for the south to be more prosperous, to not be hungry. . . Every blow to a migrant abroad is simply the recognition of the inability of the rich North to end hunger in humanity.”

Petro demanded the rejection of the practice of food security based on countries that export food to the rest of the world based on an intensive use of oil and coal. It fails to relieve hunger and it contributes to global warming that threatens the extinction of humanity.

Instead, he demanded a restructuring of international finances to promote food sovereignty, which consists of being able to produce enough food in countries where there is hunger. That requires a carbon-free agriculture based on the peasantry and the small farmer.

Petro, Sheinbaum and Lula met with Gabriel Boric, the president of Chile and the four presidents agreed on the importance of working together as the Latin-American progressive governments and spoke of the importance of maintaining such relationships.

In contrast to the positive aspects of the G20 summit, the conclusions of the United Nations climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, were considered to be a complete failure according to organizations concerned with the future of our planet. The article by Common Dreams quotes the following organizations in this regard:

Center for International Environmental Law
Oil Change International
Indigenous Environmental Network
Climate Home New
Carbon Market Watch
Friends of the Earth International
Friends of the Earth Ireland
Climate Action Network Europe
Oxfam International
Union of Concerned Scientists
Center for Biological Diversity

In conclusion, while leaders from Europe and North America continue to aggravate global warming and threaten World War III, Lula, Petro and Sheinbaum give us hope and vision to help us overcome these crises, which, as Petro says, threaten the extinction of humanity. Let us listen to them and take action with them!

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Brazil: President Lula’s Speech At The Closing Session Of The G20 Summit And Handover Of The Presidency To South Africa