Looking back over the past year, here are the themes of the CPNN bulletins in 2025 and their updates

The people take to the streets in protest against the support of their governments for the Israeli genocide in Gaza and in protest against the growing authoritarianism of the government of Trump in the United States. This was the theme in February, March, July, September and November including major manifestations for peace and human rights in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Iran, Israel, Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Belgium.

This month we publish an update of the movement against Trump, an interview with three of the major organizers of the demonstrations in the United States who see a growing unity between the anti-Trump forces and traditional socialist organizations.

The latest article about the protests of Israeli genocide highlights the >arrest of Greta Thunberg in London for having shown in public a placard that supports the banned organization Palestine Action. Over 2,000 people have been arrested by the UK government for such actions, an extraordinary attack on freedom of speech and support by the government for the Israeli genocide.

While the countries of Europe and North America continue their move towards authoritarianism and their support for Israeli genocide, more progressive actions took place in Africa and Latin America. This was the theme in January, August and December with articles from South Africa, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ecuador, Chile, Cote D’Ivoire and Niger.

This month we carried articles from Mexico, Tunisia and Burkina Faso.

In Mexico, the Sinaloa State Congress held an event entitled “Culture of Peace for Sustainable Development: 2030 Agenda in Action,” with young people from different parts of the state.

In Tunisia, the African Union successfully convened the 6th High-Level Africa Forum on Women, Peace and Security. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, paid tribute to the women of Sudan, standing firm amid conflict; the women of the Great Lakes region, persevering in protracted crises; and the women of the Sahel, who sustain communities despite insecurity and displacement. He concluded by asserting: “Their resilience reminds us that women are central pillars of peace and stability.”

In Burkina Faso, the government headed by Ibrahim Traore has increased food sovereignty by providing credit and distributing agricultural machinery to small farmers. This can provide a model for other countries in Africa who import their food.

Continuing a CPNN tradition, the bulletins of April and October were devoted to the global mobilizations for International Women’s Day and the International Day of Peace.

Finally, a new theme was added in the CPNN bulletins of May and June, 2025. They announced the Peace Manifesto 2025, saying that CPNN cannot be content to report the news for a culture of peace. We must create it. This month we publish an update on the Manifesto with a new strategy based on the development of Activating Teams.

Let us hope that more and more people will take to the streets in 2026 for peace and human rights, that Africa and Latin America will continue to provide leadership, and that the Peace Manifesto can become viral on social media.

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.