From The Canadian Culture Peace Program:

We are forwarding an invitation to civil society, including non-governmental organizations, to provide information to the United Nation's Secretary-General on the observance of the Decade and the activities undertaken to promote a culture of peace and non-violence. (see below)

Please kindly distribute this information to others you feel may want to provide input.

Renee Vaugeois
Canadian Culture of Peace - National Coordinator for Mid-Decade Report

As many of you may well know, 2005 marks the halfway mark for the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010). A report to the General Assembly in November of 2005 will be presented by Secretary General Kofi Annan that will highlight progress towards creating a culture of peace, as well as the obstacles and opportunities in doing so. This report will seek to provide the General Assembly with a viewpoint of what civil society is doing around the globe to promote peace and how it can be improved/increased over the remainder of the decade and further on into the future. For particular details of this invitation to submit a civil society report to the UN, see UN General Assembly document A/55/47, particularly paragraphs 11 to 13:
11. [the United Nations General Assembly] Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its sixtieth session in 2005 a report on the observance of the Decade at its mid-point and on the implementation of the Declaration and Programme of Action, taking into account the views of Member States and in consultation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund and other relevant bodies of the United Nations system;
12. Invites civil society, including non-governmental organizations, to provide information to the Secretary-General on the observance of the Decade and the activities undertaken to promote a culture of peace and non-violence;
13. Decides to devote one day of plenary meetings at its sixtieth session to consideration of the item, including a review of the progress made in the implementation of the Declaration and Programme of Action, as well as the observance of the Decade at its mid-point, with the participation of all relevant actors, as appropriate;)
It is with this report in mind that I am writing in order to invite you to participate and contribute to this vital report from civil society and to make Canada’s participation and voice heard around the world. The information received from you (deadline of April 2005) will be included in the report to the UN Secretary General and will then figure into the plenary session of the UN General Assembly devoted to the culture of peace in Fall 2005. More detailed information on the Culture of Peace is provided following this email however input is critically needed from civil society involved in the promotion of peace and non-violence (direct and indirect) at the individual, family, community, national, regional and world levels via education; sustainable economic and social development; human rights; equality of gender; democracy; understanding, tolerance and solidarity; freedom and free flow of information; and international peace and security.

A user-friendly website database has been established for civil society organizations to go online and add their contribution. This is a unique opportunity to celebrate your contributions as well as to assess the progress (or lack thereof) toward a culture of peace in the world today. It also presents a genuine occasion to have your voice heard at the United Nations and around the world. The database will be available for viewing as well, which provides potential networking opportunities. The Fundación Cultura de Paz has taken the leadership role in preparing this report and has noted that following the presentation to the General Assembly, they will be potentially seeking out individuals for publications. Volumes will be created to make civil society’s efforts known as well as to highlight their progress and challenges.
Input from Civil Society for this report is essential; it will ensure that the international community is aware of activities relating to creating a culture of peace and it will also strengthen the global movement for a culture of peace. If you wish to enter information as the representative of an organization, please click here to go to a registration page for your organization. (http://decade-culture-of-peace.org/cgi-bin/ib3/ikonboard.cgi?s=;act=Reg;CODE=00 )
For further information or require any assistance, please e-mail: cultureofpeacereport@yahoo.ca and we will assist in every way possible. Also, please feel free to circulate this notice widely as this is a big task to get all Canadian groups to provide input and become aware of the report! Information received by April 30, 2005 will be included in the report sent to the UN Secretary-General in accordance with operative paragraph 10 of General Assembly Resolution A-58-11. For more information, please, visit: http://decade-culture-of-peace.org.

Warm Regards,
Renee Vaugeois
Canadian Culture of Peace Program
(for more information on this new network visit http://www.peace.ca/canadiancultureofpeaceprogram.htm - our own website is yet to be developed, but the history is in these pages!)

Home Phone: (780) 472-1135
Email: rjvarney@telus.net

As defined by the United Nations, the Culture of Peace is a set of values, attitudes, modes of behaviour and ways of life that reject violence and prevent conflicts by tackling their root causes to solve problems through dialogue and negotiation among individuals, groups and nations (UN Resolutions A/RES/52/13 : Culture of Peace and A/RES/53/243, Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace). For peace and non-violence to prevail, we need to:
- foster a culture of peace through education by revising the educational curricula to promote qualitative values, attitudes and behaviours of a culture of peace, including peaceful conflict-resolution, dialogue, consensus-building and active non-violence. Such an educational approach should be geared also to:
- promote sustainable economic and social development by reducing economic and social inequalities, by eradicating poverty and by assuring sustainable food security , social justice, durable solutions to debt problems, empowerment of women, special measures for groups with special needs, environmental sustainability…
- promote respect for all human rights: human rights and a culture of peace are complementary: whenever war and violence dominate, there is no possibility to ensure human rights; at the same time, without human rights, in all their dimensions, there can be no culture of peace...
- ensure equality between women and men through full participation of women in economic, social and political decision-making, elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against women, support and assistance to women in need,…
- foster democratic participation indispensable foundations for the achievement and maintenance of peace and security are democratic principles, practices and participation in all sectors of society, a transparent and accountable governance and administration, the combat against terrorism, organized crime, corruption, illicit drugs and money laundering…
- advance understanding, tolerance and solidarity to abolish war and violent conflicts we need to transcend and overcome enemy images with understanding, tolerance and solidarity among all peoples and cultures. Learning from our differences, through dialogue and the exchange of information, is an enriching process…
- support participatory communication and the free flow of information and knowledge: freedom of information and communication and the sharing of information and knowledge are indispensable for a culture of peace. However, measures need to be taken to address the issue of violence in the media, including new information and communication technologies…
- promote international peace and security: the gains in human security and disarmament in recent years, including nuclear weapons treaties and the treaty banning land mines, should encourage us to increase our efforts in negotiation of peaceful settlements, elimination of production and traffic of arms and weapons, humanitarian solutions in conflict situations, post-conflict initiatives…