Worldwide Activities Brief, Issue #32, April 2006

Peace Boat US is happy to be sending out this newsletter as we begin the merger with Hague Appeal for Peace.

Peace Boat will be docking in New York coming June 5th and 6th! Look out for more information on upcoming events and occasions on our May Newsletter.

Continue to send us your news! (info@peaceboat-us.org) The Peace Education Newsletter will continue every month.

HAP HIGHLIGHTS & PEACE NEWS

l Peru's EDUCA continues to influence national education
l Mine Risk Education saves children's lives
l 100 days update: Argentina parliamentary action
l Stop War, Refugees Are Increasing
l Global Teacher Shortages Threaten Goal of Quality Education for All
l The UNDC Kicking off its Three Year Cycle of Deliberations with an Agreed Agenda

GET INVOLVED

l Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Education, Inputs from Civil Society Invited for the Biennial Report of the Secretary-General to the General Assembly at its 61st Session
l Get Involved with the Network of African Peace Educators (NAPE)

COURSES AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

l Peace Building and Development Institute, Training Course in Human Rights & Conflict Resolution, Summer Program 2006
l Fletcher Summer Institute for the Advanced Study of Nonviolent Conflict: July 23-29

EVENTS

l 18th Annual Information Security Conference & Exhibit, United Nations Headquarters, June 27-28, “Moving Forward At Light Speed: The Latest InfoSec Threats, Alternatives and Solutions”

RESOURCES, MATERIALS, PUBLICATIONS

l Blossoms on the Olive Tree: Israeli and Palestinian Women Working for Peace
l International Law and Small Arms and Light Weapons, Briefing Paper, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue
l Security Council Open Debate on Small Arms

HAP HIGHLIGHTS & PEACE NEWS

Peru's EDUCA continues to influence national education
Peru was one of the four countries in partnership with the Hague Appeal for Peace which intriduced peace education into a community of schools and trained teachers. Betty Evans of EDUCA sends the following report:
There are repercussions after the project was finished. "Peace Education" is being taken seriously now by the Ministry of Education as well as by civil society. We are still being called to share the project and to give feed back to a national planning of PE in the school curriculum. We are asked to share our experience with educators but also with all kinds of grassroots movements. At the present time we are preparing to launch a adaptation of the project in a rural area, Huancavelica, where the violent confrontation took place some time ago but the scars are still open and the people are still suffering and the children are not being helped to go beyond these lasting effects. Two Spanish NGOs, Madre Coraje and Entreculturas are funding this project. The materials for the students will be in Quechua language to encourage its use by the teachers.
EDUCA has been greatly influenced by our participation in this Project and in any strategy or activity we undertake we incorporate the essence of Peace Education in it. Everyone here sends warm regards and the best wishes for peace and hope to you.

Mine Risk Education saves children's lives
Story by project officer Emily Reilly
"Mine Risk Education is very important, especially for those who do not know what landmines are or look like. They may play with them and get killed, as happened to four of my friends." Zaynab Yassen Dewali is an 11-year old pupil at Brayeti primary school in Domeeze, North Iraq. Since 2003, this small town has witnessed eleven casualties as the result of landmines or unexploded ordnance (UXO).
Mine Risk Education (MRE) provides appropriate knowledge for those at risk to live more safely in contaminated areas. It's now part of the curriculum at the school and a number of the teachers have been trained by MAG to educate the children about the dangers from the remnants of conflict, and what safe actions they should take if they discover such an item. Children are taught about the physical appearance of landmines and UXO and given basic safety guidelines and emergency measures, involving how to mark and report dangerous items.
MRE is now a crucial part of the children's education at Brayeti primary school. Zaynab expresses how important it is to her and her classmates: "We enjoy learning MRE because we learn how to protect ourselves. I tell my parents what MRE messages I learned at school. I also tell my cousins, who visit me from Baghdad. I keep away from dangerous areas."
MAG (Mines Advisory Group) is one of the world's leading humanitarian organizations providing conflict-affected countries with a real chance for a better future.
For more information, visit MAG website: http://www.mag.org.uk/news.php?s=2&p=2628
Article from: Good News Agency http://www.goodnewsagency.org

100 days update: Argentina parliamentary action
As part of the 100 days countdown, a bill has been introduced in the Argentina parliament that would commit the government to support the Arms Trade Treaty and international initiatives for small arms control. The bill has been promoted by Espacios and the Parlamento de Jenes por la Paz y la Solidaridad (the youth peace parliament).
For the press coverage visit: http://www.adital.com.br/site/noticia.asp?idioma=ES&cod=22088

Stop War, Refugees Are Increasing
By Kamala Sarup
In 2000 the General Assembly of the United Nations passed a resolution that proclaimed June 20th to be World Refugee Day. Some time ago the UN's High Commissioner for Refugees said the following: "Every day we can observe incredible courage and strength of refugees who have lost everything they had. That is why on World Refugee Day we all should take a break and reflect."
Do we think the world or UN is doing enough to combat refugees problems? Or do we think it is down to the government or individual to be more responsible? Every day, worldwide, there is a tremendous increase in refugees internally and by the wars. Do we think it maybe time now to pressure to refugees problems that is still dominating.
Many refugees are deprived of education and they are not attending schools. In certain developing countries, including in Nepal a lot of refugees children in villages do not attend school or drop out of school to share family responsibilities at an young age? Would the government or UN take special steps to ensure these children get appropriate education?
What we think on the research being done towards developing refugee's living standard? With the patent war on refugees - is the balance skewed too far toward refugees health? With over 90% of refugees women being of child-bearing age, do we think that it may be a good approach to automatically give more power to refugees women of child-bearing age? What is the best solution for the refugees especially like in Nepal? It is said that the refugees women are dependent on prostitution for their living and it is a family tradition. How would we describe the social responses? Do we think there is less of discrimination now than we saw 2 decade ago?
Wars continue to disturb the peaceful life of millions of people in the whole world today, for example the recent conflicts in Africa, Iraq, in the Balkans and in Afghanistan and in Nepal. Even, the United Nations refugee agency, the UNHCR, is trying to draw attention to the challenges it faces in trying to help refugees.
To read more visit:
http://groups.google.com/group/peacejournalism/browse_thread/thread/7e231235c20e857d

Global Teacher Shortages Threaten Goal of Quality Education for All
With a projected worldwide shortage of 18 million teachers over the next decade, most critically in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab States, a United Nations report released today advocates training parents and teaching assistants to fill the gap, along with other innovative solutions.
This is the Darfur of children’s future in terms of literacy, Peter Smith, Assistant Director-General for Education of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), told correspondents at UN Headquarters in New York. We have to invent new solutions or we or as good as righting off this generation, he added. Entitled teachers and Educational Quality: Monitoring Global Needs for 2015, the report, produced by UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics, assesses trends in teacher quantity and quality while exploring the policy implications of bridging the gap between the two, especially in developing countries.
The greatest challenge, the report says, lies in sub-Saharan Africa, which will need to expand its teaching force by 68 per cent by 2015. Countries like Chad will need almost four times as many primary teachers, from 16,000 to 61,000, while Ethiopia must double its staffing to achieve universal primary education.
The Arab States will need to create 450,000 new teaching posts, mainly in Egypt, Iraq, Morocco and Saudi Arabia. Another 325,000 teachers will be needed in South and West Asia, primarily in Afghanistan, where the teaching force must grow by almost 9 per cent a year over the next decade, according to Institute estimates.
In general, the countries needing the most teachers have the least qualified personnel, with only 45 per cent of teachers having a lower secondary education, which is considered the absolute minimum qualification to teach.
Even North America and Western Europe, though, face a shortage in specialized teachers, particularly in math and science, partly as the result of changing demographic and labour conditions.
The education report is one of the highlights of Education For All Week, observed from 24 to 28 April and intended to remind governments keep their promise to achieve Education for All by 2015, one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) agreed upon by world leaders at the 2000 World Summit.
The theme of this year’s celebrations is Every Child Needs a Teacher.
For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news

The UNDC Kicking off its Three Year Cycle of Deliberations with an Agreed Agenda
The United Nations Disarmament Commission (UNDC) is kicking off its three year cycle of deliberations with an agreed agenda for the first time in two years. Now in the middle of its three week 2006 session the UNDC is discussing:
1. Recommendations for achieving the objective of nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation of nuclear weapons; and
2. Practical confidence-building measures in the field of conventional weapons.
The UN Disarmament Commission is a deliberative body that considers and makes recommendations on various problems in disarmament. Reaching Critical Will is monitoring and reporting on the process, with the only website posting all governmental statements and papers.
The Commission has the most time allocated to multilateral substantive consideration of nuclear disarmament in any of the disarmament fora in years. The Commission can only make recommendations, like the 1999 guidelines for Nuclear Weapon Free Zones, but this opportunity should be seized to find common ground and compromise on nuclear disarmament at a time when international disarmament negotiations (and even deliberations) are at an impasse. New Under-Secretary General for Disarmament Affairs Nobuaki Tanaka told the Commission they had a responsibility to provide fresh momentum by using new and creative thinking instead of allowing posturing to get in the way of results.
The Commission is also considering how to improve the effectiveness of its work. While this may not sound political, some states have used procedures to block substantive work on disarmament in various disarmament fora, including the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, the Conference on Disarmament and the Disarmament Commission. In this environment, procedure IS substance and is absolutely political. Governments are choosing to fight over procedure because it attracts less NGO attention, outrage and action, and makes it more difficult to pinpoint blame.
To read more visit: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/dc/dcindex.html#2006

GET INVOLVED

Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Education, Inputs from Civil Society Invited for the Biennial Report of the Secretary-General to the General Assembly at its 61st Session
The first biennial report on the implementation of the recommendations made in the United Nations Study on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Education (A/57/124) was prepared for the General Assembly at its 59th session in 2004 (A/59/178 and Addendum 1 and 2). In 2004, by resolution 59/93, the Assembly a) requested the Secretary-General to prepare a report for the sixty-first session of the GA reviewing the results over the previous two years of the implementation of the recommendations and possible new opportunities for promoting disarmament and non-proliferation education, and b) to utilize electronic means to the fullest extent possible in the dissemination, in as many official languages as feasible, of information related to that report and any other information that the Department for Disarmament Affairs gathers on an ongoing basis. The current report will include disarmament and non-proliferation education initiatives and activities from Member States, United Nations offices and agencies and other international organizations, and non-governmental organizations and academic institutions.* The Department invites reports on its DNP education work.
Send inputs to ddaweb@un.org by 16 June 2006, preferably electronically

Get Involved with the Network of African Peace Educators (NAPE)
The Network of African Peace Educators (NAPE) is open to collaborating with different organizations. NAPE brings together educationists from the Great Lakes and Horn regions of Africa that are currently helping to mainstream Peace Education in the region. This peace education will integrate gender equity, environmental concerns, responsible citizenry, global issues and life skills education into formal, informal and non-formal education at all levels of education. NAPE was founded in 2004 and is based in Nairobi Kenya.
The contact person is Mr. Penuel Nyagaka Moturi, the Executive Director, moturi_nape@yahoo.com

COURSES AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Peace-building and Development Institute, Training Course in Human Rights & Conflict Resolution, Summer Program 2006
Each summer the Peace-building and Development Institute at American University holds a summer training program to train individuals in conflict resolution. The program covers a wide range of issues as they relate to peace and conflict resolution including the promotion of human rights.
Courses offered include:
Week I: June 19-June 23, 2006
Course 1: Religion & Culture in Conflict Resolution with Mohammed Abu-Nimer
Course 2: Bridging Human Rights & Conflict Resolution with Edy Kaufman
Course 3: Positive Approaches to Peace-building & Development with Claudia Liebler & Mark Chupp
Week II: June 26-June 30, 2006
Course 1: Applied Conflict Analysis and Resolution with Ronald Fisher and Brian Mandell
Course 2: Training for Trainers in Peace-building & Development with Mohammed Abu-Nimer
Course 3: Practical Approaches to Peace-building & Development in Conflict Areas with Erin McCandless
Course 4: Islam & the West: Strategies for Peace with Nathan C. Funk and Meena Sharify-Funk
Week III: July 3-8, 2006
Course 1: Arts Approaches to Peace-building & Development with Babu Ayindo
Course 2: Forgiveness & Healing with Eileen Borris
Course 3: Design, Monitoring & Evaluation for Peace-building and Conflict-Sensitive Development with Cheyanne Church
For further questions or to apply, contact 1-202-885-2014 / PCRINST@american.edu
Online Application: http://www.american.edu/sis/peacebuilding
Web: http://www.american.edu/sis/peacebuilding

Fletcher Summer Institute for the Advanced Study of Nonviolent Conflict: July 23-29
The Fletcher Summer Institute for the Advanced Study of Nonviolent Conflict, co-sponsored by the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict and the Fletcher School at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts, announces an executive education program. The week-long executive education program will focus on the role of nonviolent, civilian-based strategies in past and contemporary movements for human rights, freedom and justice. It is specifically designed for staff and directors of NGOs and international institutions, journalists, policy advisors and analysts, and others active in international affairs, as well as scholars and academics. The institute will be co-taught by Fletcher School faculty members and outside speakers and will be highly interactive, meant to draw on participants' professional experiences. The course will run from July 23 to 29.
For further details, inquiries and applications, please contact Dr. Stephan at
mstephan@nonviolent-conflict.org

EVENTS

18th Annual Information Security Conference & Exhibit, United Nations Headquarters, June 27-28,
“Moving Forward At Light Speed: The Latest InfoSec Threats, Alternatives and Solutions”
The 18th Annual Information Security Conference & Exhibit will be held at UN headquarters in New York City, this coming June 27-28. Join hundreds of information security, IT infrastructure, business continuity, enterprise security and executive management attendees. Many members of the UN diplomatic community also attend, representing over 100 nations. The InfoSec Conference & Exhibit offers a chance to meet and exchange views with top industry professionals and global decision makers: ambassadors and other diplomats, information ministers, senior business leaders, cabinet-level officials, secretaries of state, even heads of government.
Hosted by, Office for ECOSOC Support & Coordination and theUN Department for Economic and Social Affairs. Sponsors include AIT Global, International Data Group, InfoWorld Media Group, The Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association Founder's, Chapter, and The Rotary Club of New York. Featured Speakers to date include Curtis Sliwa (founder and president, Guardian Angels and 77 WABC Talk Radio personality), Sarbuland Khan (Exec Coordinator, UN ECOSOC Support & Coordination), Ron Layton (Director, US Dept Homeland Security), and more.
For further details and to register, please visit:
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=uisnvubab.0.5x48igbab.sezbjfbab.1504&p=http%3A%F%2Fwww.aitglobal.com%2Ftheform.html

RESOURCES, MATERIALS, PUBLICATIONS

Blossoms on the Olive Tree: Israeli and Palestinian Women Working for Peace
(Janet M. Powers, Westport, CN: Praeger, 2006. Foreword by Betty Reardon; Introduction by Elise Boulding)
Comprising a mix of academic research, oral histories, and accounts of women's lives in various locales, the work emphasizes commonalities and projects shared by Israeli and Palestinian women who as political moderates seek an end to the Israeli occupation. The last chapter calls for bringing women to the peace table as required by UN Resolution 1325.
"It is hearing the stories of real people which brings alive the dryness of statistics and the coldness of official reports. The genius and skill of Janet Powers is to enable us to share in the experiences of women from Israel and Palestine, as they struggle with all the restrictions imposed on them by the political and religious systems within which they live. With clarity and sensitivity she lets these women speak, and the honesty with which their stories are recorded will challenge all of us, and the cliches behind which we often take refuge."
Rev. Clarence Musgrave, St. Andrews Church of Scotland, Jerusalem
The book is out and available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or directly from Greenwood Press website.

International Law and Small Arms and Light Weapons, Briefing Paper, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue
The Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue has released a briefing paper on international law, small arms, and light weapons. “International norms governing the transfer and use of small arms and light weapons have evolved quite rapidly in the last decade. Yet the ensuing picture is rather fragmented, with often regional rather than global rules, and insufficient clarity on the application of broad obligations. For instance, how could States obligation to prevent patterns of abuse by private individuals translate into regulation of private ownership and use of firearms? According to which criteria must States assess the appropriateness of an arms transfer, and what level of knowledge would make them complicit in a wrongful deed if weapons were nevertheless misused? What rules should govern arms transfers to non-State armed groups, or arms transfers arranged through brokers? Do these rules cover only small arms, or do they extend also to light weapons and ammunition? How can relevant laws be better enforced? This briefing paper examines the challenges and opportunities surrounding the development of legal standards on private ownership and use of firearms; arms transfers, including to non-state armed groups; and brokering activities. It also calls for a reaffirmation of existing obligations, notably on the appropriate use of weapons by law enforcement officials. As profiled above, these questions have often been addressed at the regional level, providing useful models and lessons learned. However, this reliance on regional arrangements can result in a fragmented patchwork of provisions, susceptible to gaps, inconsistencies and loopholes. These gaps need to be closed at the global level in order to provide protections to all people. A crucial opportunity for action will present itself in June/July 2006, during the First Review Conference (RevCon) of the UN Programme of Action on small arms.”
To read the paper, visit http://m1e.net/c?50094065-aYucM25zhvjqc%401589261-/AIJvx0TzZSSA

Security Council Open Debate on Small Arms
March was a busy month for the Security Council and small arms issues. Under the Presidency of Argentina and following on from the 16th March first ever Arria Formula meeting on small arms issues, there was an open debate on the 20th March. Open Debates of the Security Council include all States, not just the 15 members of the Council. Many of the issues raised by the four NGOs who provided briefings at the Arria Formula meeting, of which the HD Centre was one, were echoed through the day ranging from the need to more effectively include weapons control and DDR in peace agreements and peace operation strategies, to tougher enforcement of arms embargoes, to the need for clearer binding international law to control the arms trade.
The UN press service summary of the full debate can be found at
http://m1e.net/c?50094065-uDohhlZfHqAKw%401589262-bHiWIxBMx.Bis
Presentations from the Arria Formula meeting can be found at
http://m1e.net/c?50094065-mWpvJ3c8jGhaQ%401589263-88M35wBwBBJ5E

Founded in 1999, the Hague Appeal for Peace Global Campaign for Peace Education (GCPE), is an international organized network which promotes peace education among schools, families and communities to transform the culture of violence into a culture of peace. The Hague Appeal for Peace Board of Directors voted to transfer the responsibilities for the coordination of the GCPE to Peace Boat US which has moved into the Hague Appeal for Peace’s office in New York City.
Peace education is a holistic, participatory process that includes teaching for and about human rights, nonviolent responses to conflict, social and economic justice, gender equity, environmental sustainability, disarmament, traditional peace practices and human security. The methodology of peace education encourages reflection, critical thinking, cooperation, and responsible action. It promotes multiculturalism, and is based on values of dignity, equality and respect. Peace education is intended to prepare students for democratic participation in schools and society.

The Global Campaign for Peace Education has two goals:
- To see peace education integrated into all curricula, community and family education worldwide to become a part of life
- To promote the education of all teachers to teach for peace.

The Worldwide Activities Brief e-newsletter highlights how and where the GCPE network is active and growing. Submissions are encouraged! Please contribute how you are working for peace education including dates, locations, a brief description, and a website and/ or contact information and send it to maiko_m@peaceboat.gr.jp. For more information on the Hague Appeal for Peace and Peace Boat, visit www.haguepeace.org / http://www.peaceboat.org/english/. The website for Peace Boat US is currently under construction!

Special Thanks
The Hague Appeal for Peace is grateful to the following for their generous support: The Ford Foundation, Robert and Fran Boehm, The Arsenault Family Foundation, Olof Palme Minnesfond, Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, Compton Foundation, Stewart R. Mott Charitable Trust, Samuel Rubin Foundation, The Simons Foundation, Norwottock Foundation, CarEth Foundation, Loretto Community, Rissho Kosei Kai, General Board of Global Ministries, United Methodist Church, Tides Canada Foundation Exchange Fund of Tides Foundation, Wade Greene and several anonymous donors.