Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies

Common Ground News Service
Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH)
for constructive & vibrant Muslim-Western relations
09 - 15 May 2007

The Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH) aims to promote constructive perspectives and dialogue about Muslim–Western relations. CGNews-PiH is available in Arabic, English, French and Indonesian.
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Inside this edition

1) What words can mean by Javed Anand
Javed Anand, general secretary of Muslims for Secular Democracy in Mumbai, India, addresses the question “aren’t Muslims, religious leaders particularly, allergic to the very sound of the word secularism?” He describes how escalating religious intolerance, hatred and violence in India have given new meaning to the words “secular” and “religious”.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 8 May 2007)

2) Getting Turkey right by Suat Kiniklioglu
Suat Kiniklioglu, director of the German Marshall Fund of the United States’ Ankara Office, looks at concepts of democracy, secularism and religion in Turkey in the context of the latest presidential elections that were blocked by the secular establishment with the support of the military. Kiniklioglu chronicles Turkey’s drive towards democratisation and considers the internal debate over recent events.
(Source: International Herald Tribune, 2 May 2007)

3) Islam and violence by John Esposito
John Esposito, university professor and founding director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, analyses the pervasive myth that violent extremism and terrorism are inherently connected to Islam. Looking at the history of the three Abrahamic faiths – Christianity, Judaism and Islam – he explains how religion has been (mis)used as a powerful source of political authority and legitimacy by religious extremists.
(Source: On Faith, 26 April 2007)

4) Five centuries of German-Turkish friendship by Ariana Mirza
Ariana Mirza, a Berlin-based writer, reviews Eren Önsöz’s recent documentary “Import-Export” describing Turkish-German relations going back to the Ottoman Empire and the German monarchy. Outlining both the positive and negative impacts of the relationship, her film shows how judgements and opinions change over time.
(Source: Qantara.de, 26 April 2007)

5) A musical dialogue between East and West by Nicole Hamwi
Nicole Hamwi, a Chilean writer living in Beirut, describes a form of East-West dialogue that uses no words. The recently formed ensemble of Spanish and Moroccan musicians explains how music helps different nations get to know each other, blending the sounds of different countries and “creating an atmosphere that transmit[s] a feeling of ‘marriage’ between cultures.”
(Source: Daily Star, 8 May 2007)

1) What words can mean
Javed Anand

Mumbai - On July 11, 2006, terrorists blasted bombs on several suburban trains in Mumbai, the industrial and commercial capital of India. Over 200 commuters were killed while many more were maimed.

Within 48 hours, over two dozen Mumbai-based maulanas, or religious leaders, representing the most prominent Muslim religious bodies in India - Jamiatul ulema-e-Hind, the All India Sunni Jamiatul ulema, Ahl-e-Hadith, Jamaat-e-Islami, Ulema Council, Milli Council, Tanzeem-e-aaimma Masajid, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, the All India Qazi Board, among others - came together to collectively declare all terrorist targeting of innocents as “barbaric”, “cowardly”, “inhuman” and “un-Islamic”.

Within the same period, they also had an hour-long, wide-ranging meeting with two politburo members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) visiting Mumbai in the wake of the terrorist atrocity. In the midst of this unusual Maulana-Marxist engagement, Maulana Athar Ali lobbed a remark sure to surprise many: “We have come to the conclusion that communists are the only genuinely secular politicians in this country,” he said. The spontaneous endorsement of his statement from fellow clerics showed that the good maulana was speaking not only for himself.

Maulanas singing the praises of secularism at a meeting with Marxists? It happened, believe you me, for I, an avowed secularist who had something to do with bringing the maulanas together for a collective denunciation of wanton violence in the name of Islam, was present.

But aren’t Muslims, religious leaders particularly, allergic to the very sound of the word secularism? Yes, they were. Until recent years the relationship between those who swore by secularism and those who kept faith was one of mutual antipathy, even animosity. For devout Muslims, secularists spelt anti-God atheists while for the latter all clerics were synonymous with irrationality, obscurantism, bigotry, intolerance and fanaticism. But having lived through the nightmare of escalating religious intolerance, hatred and violence in India, promoted by extremist rightwing Hinduism in the last two decades, both sides have discovered new meanings of the words “secular” and “religious”.

Muslims in most Western countries today might worry about increasing Islamophobia, racial profiling and selective violation of human rights. But especially after the bloody violence against Muslims in India, first in the city of Mumbai in 1992-1993 and then state-wide in Gujarat in 2002, for the 150 million battered, brutalised and traumatised Indian Muslims, lack of security is the prime concern. What better time to learn who your friends are?

In Mumbai and in Gujarat, when Hindu mobs went on an orgy of killing, looting, arson, gang rape, and desecration and destruction of Muslim religious symbols, policemen chose to look the other way. Often, they did worse, conniving with the perpetrators of mass crime. In their hour of greatest need, Muslims discovered that they shared common ground with that very circle of secular activists, journalists and political leaders whom they had hitherto dismissed as anti-religion secularists and atheists.

And those who held that religion itself was the root of all problems had to contend with numerous instances of devout Hindus and Muslims alike giving protection to their neighbour from the other religion, risking the wrath of their co-religionists in the process. They have also had to factor in the example of compassionate Christian priests who, though vulnerable themselves, threw open the gates of their parishes to offer refuge to Muslims fleeing from mobs and an uncaring police force.

It is this shared, lived experience that spoke when the maulanas met up with the Marxists. Experience has taught them that whatever their personal belief, genuine secular democrats, atheists included, can be the believers’ best friends; and that a devout person can simultaneously subscribe to the idea of a non-theocratic, secular state, based on the view that in multi-religious, multi-cultural societies matters of faith are perhaps best not mixed up with affairs of State.

Meanwhile, non-believers among the secularists have had the humility to draw the appropriate lesson from the examples of those who risked their lives to save people from a different faith. “It’s no big deal, we did what we did because that’s what our religion teaches us to do,” said the oft-unsung heroes.

In short, experience has taught both sides that in so far as there are borders, those who have learnt to respect differences, be they believers or atheists, belong on the same side. And it is those who interpret or manipulate religion to legitimise violence in pursuit of power or ideology who belong to the other.

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* Javed Anand is the general secretary of Muslims for Secular Democracy, based in Mumbai. This article is part of a series on secularism and Muslim-Western dialogue distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org .

Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 8 May 2007, www.commongroundnews.org
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

2) Getting Turkey right
Suat Kiniklioglu

Ankara - The Turkish Constitutional Court’s decision to block the election of a new president was an unfortunate and unnecessary intervention in Turkey’s political process by the powerful secular elite.

The secular establishment - which has the powerful support of the military - claims that the election of Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, a member of the moderately Islamic governing AK (Justice and Development) Party - would challenge the secularism that is at the heart of the modern Turkish state.

But if the record of the last five years under AK Party rule is any indication, those fears are misplaced. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his government have shown themselves to be shrewd pragmatists willing to operate within Turkey’s secular democracy. In fact, the very popularity of the AK Party is due to its success in distancing itself from the Islamist Virtue Party.

The governing party’s moderation and success have become an inspiration for a wide range of moderate Muslim elites in the Middle East.

Those outside Turkey who view the recent mass rallies in Turkey in support of secularism as an expression of Western values should think twice. Most militant Turkish “secularists” are in fact suspicious of Turkey’s aspiration to join the European Union, often strongly anti-American and generally uncomfortable with globalisation.

By contrast, the AK Party has led one of the most impressive pro-democracy drives in Turkish history and has brought the country into accession negotiations with the European Union. The Turkish economy has grown on an average of 7 percent over the last five years, and has attracted close to $50 billion in foreign direct investment in three years.

Not surprisingly, polls indicate strong support for the AK Party while a weak opposition is struggling to pass the 10 percent threshold quota.

By blocking the election of Gul, a politician who has kept Islam largely out of public policy, the secularists are denying Turkey a critical opportunity to further moderate the AK Party. What is lost on the militant secularists is that the AK Party will eventually transform into a German-type Christian Democratic Party if it is allowed to do so.

The Turkish establishment must understand that it cannot intervene in the political process forever. It must allow Turkey’s Muslim democrats to moderate themselves by learning and experiencing power and responsibility within the democratic process. This is the only way Turkey will find its elusive domestic political consensus.

In any case, the primary reason behind the intervention of the secular establishment was not fear that Turkey would become Islamic. Their fear was that the democratisation drive, led in part by hopes of entering the European Union, will erode their power.

In this respect, Gul’s nomination touched a key nerve of Turkey’s fragile democracy - relations between the civilian government and the military, which perceives itself as a guardian of secularism and has ousted four elected governments since 1960.

The Turkish president not only appoints all judges and university rectors, but is also commander-in-chief of the armed forces, with the authority to appoint the uniformed chief of the army.

Erdogan has now declared that he will seek early elections, as well as sweeping constitutional changes that would make the president popularly elected, rather than elected by the Parliament.

Thus the real question behind the crisis is what sort of democracy will prevail in Turkey - one under a secular elite with an authoritarian flavour, or an open and transparent democracy under Muslim democrats.

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* Suat Kiniklioglu is director of the German Marshall Fund of the United States’ Ankara Office. His views are his own and do not represent the views of the German Marshall Fund. This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org .

Source: International Herald Tribune, 2 May 2007, www.iht.com
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

3) Islam and violence
John Esposito

Washington, DC - While the atrocities and acts of terrorism committed by violent extremists have connected Islam with terrorism, the Islamic tradition places limits on the use of violence and rejects terrorism, hijackings and hostage taking. As with other faiths, mainstream and normative doctrines and laws are ignored, distorted, or hijacked and misinterpreted by a radical fringe.

Islam, like all world religions, neither supports nor requires illegitimate violence. The Qur’an does not advocate or condone terrorism. The God of the Qur’an is consistently portrayed as a God of mercy and compassion as well as a just judge. 113 of 114 chapters start with a reference to God’s mercy and compassion; throughout the Qur’an in many contexts, Muslims are reminded to be merciful and just. However, Islam does permit, indeed at times requires, Muslims to defend themselves and their families, religion and community from aggression.

Like all scriptures, Islamic sacred texts must be read within the social and political contexts in which they were revealed. It is not surprising that the Qur’an, like the Hebrew scriptures or Old Testament, has verses that address fighting and the conduct of war. Arabia and the city of Mecca, in which Muhammad lived and received God’s revelation, were beset by tribal raids and cycles of vengeance and vendetta. The broader Near East, in which Arabia was located, was itself divided between two warring superpowers, the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) and the Sassanian (Persian) empires.

However, Qur’anic verses also underscore that peace, not violence and warfare, is the norm. Permission to fight the enemy is balanced by a strong mandate for making peace: “If your enemy inclines toward peace, then you too should seek peace and put your trust in God” (8:61) and “Had God wished, He would have made them dominate you, and so if they leave you alone and do not fight you and offer you peace, then God allows you no way against them” (4:90). From the earliest times, it was forbidden in Islam to kill non-combatants as well as women and children and monks and rabbis, who were given the promise of immunity unless they took part in the fighting.

But what of those verses, sometimes referred to as the “sword verses”, that call for killing unbelievers, such as, “When the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them, and confine them, and lie in wait for them at every place of ambush” (9:5)? This is one of a number of Qur’anic verses that are cited by critics to demonstrate the inherently violent nature of Islam and its scripture.

During the period of expansion and conquest, many of the ulama (religious scholars) enjoyed royal patronage and provided a rationale for caliphs to pursue their imperial dreams and extend the boundaries of their empires. They said that the “sword verses” abrogated or overrode the earlier Qur’anic verses that limited physical jihad (as opposed to spiritual and moral jihad) to defensive war. In fact, however, the full intent of “When the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever you find them” is missed or distorted when quoted in isolation, for it is followed and qualified by: “But if they repent and fulfil their devotional obligations and pay the zakat [the charitable tax on Muslims], then let them go their way, for God is forgiving and kind”And if one of the idolaters should seek refuge with you, give him refuge so that he may hear the Word of God; then convey him to his place of security. (9:5-6).

The same is true of another often quoted verse: “Fight those who believe not in God nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by God and His Apostle, nor hold the religion of truth [even if they are] of the People of the Book,” which is often cited without the line that follows, “Until they pay the tax with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued” (9:29).

Throughout history, the sacred scriptures of Judaism, Christianity and Islam have been used and abused, interpreted and misinterpreted, to justify resistance and liberation struggles, extremism and terrorism, holy and unholy wars. Religion does provide a powerful source of authority, meaning and legitimacy. Religiously motivated or legitimated violence and terror adds the dimensions of divine or absolute authority (buttressing the authority of terrorist leaders), religious symbolism, moral justification, motivation and obligation, certitude, and heavenly reward that enhance recruitment and a willingness to fight and die in a “sacred struggle.”

In the same way that the militant (as distinguished from mainstream) Christian Right of a Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell must be distinguished from violent forms of the Christian Right, so must Wahhabi Islam be distinguished from violent forms of Wahhabi Islam similarly infused with a theology of hate. The former do follow exclusivist, non-pluralistic theologies as well as alternative theological interpretations or orientations within their own faith tradition, but do not advocate violence and terror. However, their theological worldviews can be appropriated by militants to justify blowing up abortion clinics, government buildings or the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, assassinating “the enemies of God,” and radicalism in Israel/Palestine and Iraq. Christians and Muslims share a common task of addressing exclusivist theologies which are anti-pluralistic and weak on tolerance for they contribute to beliefs, attitudes and values which feed religious extremism and terrorism.

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* John L Esposito is university professor and founding director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University. This abridged article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org . The full text can be found at http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith .

Source: On Faith, 26 April 2007, http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

4) Five centuries of German-Turkish friendship
Ariana Mirza

Berlin - Döner kebab and guest workers – that is often all that many Germans know about Turkish culture. But there’s more to it than that. Turkey and Germany have had a close cultural exchange for centuries. The film director Eren Önsöz has been searching for evidence beyond the clichés, and has found out surprising pieces of information.

For example, when people shout “Türken Hopp” (”Turkish jump”) during carnival in Limburg in the Saarland in southwest Germany, they are referring back to the fact that for centuries the people of the region used to travel to the Ottoman Empire as guest workers. Odd? No, just something which scarcely anyone in Germany knows about.

In her documentary film “Import-Export” Eren Önsöz confronts us with historical facts which cast a new light on the German-Turkish relationship. One aspect is the close alliance between the Ottoman Empire and the German monarchy, and another is the issue of asylum in Turkey.

In Ankara and Istanbul Önsöz follows the traces of the German intellectuals who fled to Turkey from National Socialism. Among the most prominent emigrants was the future Mayor of Berlin, Ernst Reuter.

The camera follows Reuter’s son Edzard through the streets of Ankara, where he talks about his childhood in the secular, modern state. Eren Önsöz lets many such witnesses tell their tales, and the picture they offer is very different from the usual picture of Turkey as a backward country.

“It’s important that so many Germans say positive things about Turkey in my film,” says Eren Önsöz. “Germans are far more inclined to accept a truth told by another German.”

The football trainer Christoph Daum, who lives in Istanbul, seems not quite to trust his own ability to convince others. He sounds like he’s almost given up as he tells of his difficulties in trying to get dual citizenship, as well as about the deep prejudice of his fellow-Germans – “as if we would all go around here in Turkey on flying carpets,” he says.

Önsöz’s look at history shows that judgements and opinions can certainly change. From the mid-nineteenth century until the Weimar Republic Germany was gripped by a wave of enthusiasm for everything Ottoman.

This fascination led to such creations as the “oriental” design of cigarette packets and other items of daily use, as well as in the design of buildings. Waterworks and factories which looked like mosques were all the rage.

In addition, there’s a whole gallery of German monarchs who all shared a passion for the Ottoman Empire.

One of the most amusing passages in the film is the section about the turcophile King Ludwig of Bavaria. The prince, who was inclined to live in a fairy-tale, required his retainers to smoke hookahs and lie around on cushions, so that he could create the convincing illusion that he was an Ottoman ruler.

About thirty years after Ludwig’s death, another monarch promoted German-Turkish cultural exchange. Önsöz has done the detective work and found out that, in the time of Kaiser Wilhelm, the two countries even had joint vocational training projects.

She has researched the lives of those Turks who came as apprentices to Berlin in 1917. The young Ahmed Talib stayed in Germany, and settled in the Brandenburg village of Fürstenwalde. In the film, Talib’s son tells what happened to his father during the Imperial period, under the National Socialists and in the communist GDR.

But “Import-Export” does not just tell interesting biographies and present historical facts. Eren Önsöz repeatedly brings us to the present. At the very beginning of the film she speaks to young Turks who are helping create cultural life in Berlin with their ideas, and who struggle energetically against the negative image of the Turks.

Later in the film, she listens to the scathing comments of young Turks in Istanbul and Ankara, who react to German Turcophobia with a mixture of disbelief and amusement.

With her road movie, which reveals unknown facts and recalls repressed experience, the 34-year-old film director was fulfilling a long-held ambition.

For years she’s been researching into the individual stories which she links in a sympathetic unconventional way. “I wanted to prove that the cultural import and export has been going for centuries and that it is an enrichment for both countries,” she says.

So far the film, which was made on a tiny budget, has only been shown at festivals. But Eren Önsöz hopes that “Import-Export” will meet with interest from both German as well as Turkish television stations. It is to be hoped that it does, since Önsöz’s voyage of discovery offers an entertaining contribution to the debate on Turkey’s EU accession.

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* Ariana Mirza is a Berlin-based writer. This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org .

Source: Qantara.de, 26 April 2007, www.qantara.de
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.
Translated from the German by Michael Lawton.

5) A musical dialogue between East and West
Nicole Hamwi

Beirut - Spanish guitar and oud may seem an unlikely combination for some. Before they commence a tune, oud player Suhail Serghini and guitarist Cesar Lopez habitually look at how each has placed his hands on the neck of his instrument, assessing one another’s chords.

“We always begin this way to establish dialogue,” says Suhail just before performing “Dame la Libertad” (”Give Me the Liberty”). “We always look for the point of dialogue. It’s difficult to talk sometimes.”

It’s good practice. In the hands of Lopez and Serghini - both members of Al-Kassida, the Spanish-Moroccan ensemble that performed at St. Joseph’s University Friday evening - Spanish guitar and oud mingle perfectly.

Entitled “Living Together,” the concert, sponsored by the Cervantes Institute, was dedicated to establishing a dialogue of civilizations through music by combining the sounds of oud and qanun with the rhythms of flamenco. The dialogue was well received by the audience.

A recently constituted ensemble, Al-Kassida (”The Poem” in Arabic) is made up of two Spaniards and two Moroccans who aspire to cultural understanding between West and East through their tunes, all composed and sung by Serghini, the founder of the group, in Spanish and Moroccan Arabic.

Singing to the magical mixture of the qanun, oud and Spanish guitar, Serghini - a native of Tetuan in Morocco - interpreted both the Arabic and Spanish pieces with equal facility, creating an atmosphere that transmitted a feeling of “marriage” between cultures.

“The Spanish culture has inherited a lot from the Arabic culture,” the singer said, “especially in the south” due to 750 years of Moorish and Arab presence.

The crowd was unusually attentive to the musicians but the concert’s most euphoric moment came when Flamenco dancer Javier Perez - in a traditional black suit with a black-and-white neck scarf - took the stage. Evidently inspired by the fusion of instruments, he gave a fine performance along the knuckle percussion made by his clicking feet, finger snapping and hand clapping. The joyful public of some 300 people hung on his every move, applauding and yelling “Ole!”

Though only together for a brief time, Serghini’s ensemble has had great success while touring through Europe and the Middle East - from France though Slovenia, Italy and Egypt to Syria and Palestine.

“We have had very good reception by our audiences everywhere we have been,” said the vocalist with a satisfied smile.

Serghini said he “strongly believes that the mixture of music and culture could be helpful to have a better world, through which at least citizens from different nations could know each other better.”

Al-Kassida ended the show by dedicating their song “Marrakech” to the public. The crowd, obviously thrilled by the performance, responded with a standing ovation.

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* Nicole Hamwi is a Chilean writer living in Beirut. This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org .

Source: Daily Star, 8 May 2007, www.dailystar.com.lb
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

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Editors
Leena El-Ali (Washington)
Juliette Schmidt (Canada)
Rami Assali (Jerusalem)
Chris Binkley (Dakar)
Emmanuelle Hazan (Geneva)
Nuruddin Asyhadie (Jakarta)
Andrew Kessinger (Washington)

Translators
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Rio Rinaldo (Jakarta)
Azmi Tubbeh (Washington)

Book Review in American Journal of Psychiatry by Joel Yager, M.D., Albuquerque, New Mexico
On Apology by Aaron Lazare
New York, Oxford University Press, 2004.

What a pleasure to read a book by a prominent psychiatrist that bubbles with wisdom.
Aaron Lazare, Chancellor and Dean at the University of Massachusetts Medical School
and Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard, previously gifted the field with seminal research
on the “negotiated encounter” between clinicians and patients. In part as an extension of
that work, in this erudite, edifying and deeply satisfying volume he now focuses on
processes of apology as key transactions in human affairs. Beginning with the
observation that articles about apologies in popular media have more than doubled in the
past decade he identifies several contemporary factors contributing to this increase.
Among others, as the world flattens apologies are necessary to help diverse individuals
and groups get along - if they are to work together successfully. And thanks to the
ubiquity of media virtually every cell-phone is now a video-camera, so that potentially
embarrassing and offending acts that were previously private have suddenly become
public. Perhaps there’s now more out and about to apologize for.
In select subcultures cultures and alpha-male-dominated social classes, the idea of having
to apologize has sometimes been abhorrent, indeed shamefully dishonorable, leading
certain prominent historical figures to publicly condemn the idea of apologizing,
regardless of the offense. But, times are changing. Now, given the groundswell in acts of
apology and advocates for apologizing in certain prominent and very public subgroups,
we may be witnessing a deep shift in cultural values and behavioral norms. Lazare’s take
is that the art of apology, always important in human conduct, is likely to become even
more important to assure future social harmony among individuals, groups, nations and
trans-national aggregations.
Having established this premise, Lazare formulates his analyses based on more than 1000
acts of apology, from episodes in his personal and family life, clinical practice and
demanding administrative positions in complex organizations to publicly documented
apologies in today’s media, historical and religious sources. He is both a scholar and a
skilled practitioner. First, he carefully deconstructs virtually every aspect of these
transactions — linguistic, developmental, intra-psychic, interpersonal, cultural, political,
historical, philosophical and religious. From these inquiries he then fashions concise,
largely face-valid, and testable theoretical models as well as field-tested techniques for
offering apologies and for mediating apologies between offending and offended parties.
Woven throughout the book are valuable pointers on what constitute genuine and
effective apologies and how they may be achieved.
The book focuses on what you might call “ the offended-offender relationship” – those
inter-subjective fields encompassing key intra-psychic and interpersonal events that can
consume victims with humiliation, shame, guilt and rage, and, sometimes, perpetrators
with humility, remorse, repentance, and redemption. In the best possible humanistic
Book Review – Joel Yager, M.D., Albuquerque, New Mexico 2
scenarios these transactions can lead to genuine forgiveness. Within this broad interactive
space numerous types of offenses exist – from thoughtless blunders to intentional
violations; personal vs. impersonal affronts; single acts vs. ongoing offenses; those
causing trivial damages and slights vs. unforgivable offenses such as intentional
genocides.
Offended parties vary in sensitivity from self-blaming victims to prickly grudge-seekers
and grudge-holders. Similarly, offenders and their apologies vary in important ways –
from sincere, heart-wrenching remorseful confessors to half-hearted, coerced, apologists;
from private face-to-face acts of truly humbling apology to staged, indirect acts that reek
of insincerity (such as having an excuse-laden letter read to a news-conference by a
spokesperson). And there are “apologias” that serve more to justify offensive actions than
to apologize for them. Apologies may occur immediately or delayed in time, contributing
to personal rituals of restoration as through Steps 8 and 9 of 12-Step programs, or through
national rituals of reconciliation as in the post-Apartheid public political rituals in South
Africa.
On the “offended” side of the equation, Lazare identifies seven needs that offended
persons and groups hope to satisfy to varying degrees through apology. These include
needs for restoration of dignity; acknowledgement that the offender actually shares
important core values held by the offended party (such as respect for treating individuals
with dignity); truthful explanations as to why the offense was perpetrated; assurances of
future safety; exculpation from blame (i.e. assuring that the offense was not somehow the
offended party’s fault in the first place); revenge and/or restitutive justice; and
reparations.
On the “offender” side, motivations to apologize stem from intra-psychic needs to
alleviate guilt and shame in order to restore an inner sense of piece, and/or from
externally motivated adaptive needs, as the cost of doing business to meet social
expectations in order to move on – to preserve social harmony. Lazare’s insightful
analyses of failed and unconsummated apologies show how these misguided stumbles
may leave the offended party feeling even more offended, hopeless, and further enraged.
In essence this section offers a helpful guide of what not to say and what not to do. He
also discusses why certain individuals and groups are unwilling and/or unable to
apologize.
Although this book transcends Psychiatry per se, implicit are hosts of clinically relevant
questions that beg further study: What accounts for the fact that males seemingly have a
harder time than females in apologizing? What temperamental and developmental factors
related to pride, narcissism, rigidity, sociopathy and so forth contribute to the maladaptive
impairments of the prone-to-offend personality? Of the easily-offended personality? Of
the incapable-of-apologizing personality? Given how important apology is in clinical
situations, dispute resolutions, and legal transactions, should clinical training in many
human-service fields mandate core competencies in how to apologize, in teaching others
how to apologize, and in mediating apologies? (Indeed, Lazare proposes that an apologyBook
Review – Joel Yager, M.D., Albuquerque, New Mexico 3
oriented curriculum might benefit “ethics” and “communications” education in high
schools, colleges and religious schools.)
At the same time, you can’t read this book without reflecting on numerous apologies
waiting out there to be delivered, from those involving your own interactions with family,
friends, patients, and colleagues, to those involving larger human aggregations up to and
including nations, and trans-national ethnic and religious groups. Lazare’s analyses bring
welcome clarity to offenses that constantly occur at each of these interacting levels. He
adds considerably to our understanding of what might be done and difficulties likely to be
encountered in efforts to resolve long-standing offenses ranging from minor humiliations
to truly horrendous ongoing policies and activities.
A “must read” for clinicians of all stripes, the book will also stimulate, provoke and
possibly change ways of doing business for a much wider audience, virtually anyone
engaged in reciprocal relationships. When you read it, I have no doubt that you’ll think of
family members, friends, colleagues and public figures to whom you’d like to send gift
copies, with certain sections underlined.

Invitation Message from the 13th Asia Pacific Quality Organization International Conference & the 6th Shanghai International Symposium on Quality

It’s our great honour to announce that the 13th Asia Pacific Quality Organization International Conference & the 6th Shanghai International Symposium on Quality (13th APQO Int’l Conference & 6th SISQ), hosted by APQO and China Association for Quality (CAQ), organized by Shanghai Association for Quality (SAQ), will be held from October 18—20, 2007 in Shanghai, China.
Since the first APQO Int’l Conference successfully held in Beijing in 1985 with the continuous development of APQO, APQO Int’l conference has become one of the most influential quality events. This is the third time that the conference is going to be held in China.
The theme of the Conference is Excellence and Harmony. Excellence means to upgrade organizational excellent management level and provide excellent products and service to the customers by advocating the application of excellence management approaches. Harmony means to promote effective management model, in ensuring food safety of consumers and health, safety of employees, and to adopt effective measures in protecting environment, and achieving human-focused harmony in the society, nation region, and world and maintaining sustainable development along with the economic development and wealth creation.
With these purposes in mind, we cordially invite you to the 13th APQO Int’l Conference & 6th SISQ. Let’s take this opportunity to exchange, discuss and share quality concepts, methods and achievements. Shanghai, a prosperous metropolis with rich historical and cultural heritage, is now preparing for the 2010 World Expo. We are looking forward and firmly believe that with our thorough arrangement and earnest service, this coming Conference will leave you a wonderful and unforgettable memory.

Ma Lin
President of 13th APQO Int’l Conference
Vice President of CAQ
Secretary General of CAQ

Tang Xiaofen
Executive President of 13th APQO Int’l Conference
Vice President of CAQ/ Vice President of SAQ
President of SAQM

Invitation to an E-Dialogue
Creating an Inclusive Society: Practical Strategies to Promote Social Integration
23 May – 20 June 2007

This is to invite you or your organization to participate in our online E-dialogue on “Creating an Inclusive Society: Practical Strategies to Promote Social Integration”. This is a multi-stakeholder dialogue organized by the Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD) of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), in collaboration with UNESCO and UN-HABITAT. The result of the online discussion will serve as important guiding inputs to the Expert Group meeting, scheduled for September 2007, to be organized by DSPD/UNDESA, in collaboration with UNESCO and UN-HABITAT.

Objectives of this E-Dialogue

1. Explore essential elements necessary to create an inclusive society;
2. Compile current initiatives and existing approaches in measuring the “health” of societies (i.e., social inclusion/exclusion, citizen’s participation, safety or security) and identify their strengths and weaknesses;
3. Identify the methodologies and information gathering processes which could be used for measuring social integration/inclusion/cohesion; and
4. Create a knowledge-base of good practices in this area.

It also aims to create a network of researchers, practitioners, and local communities and NGOs to work together to build a safe, stable and just society for all.

Duration: 23 May – 20 June (4 weeks)

Agenda:

Week 1: Critical elements necessary for creating an inclusive society (a society for all)

Week 2: Obstacles to social inclusion

Week 3: Can we measure social integration/inclusion/cohesion?

Week 4: Existing indicators

For more information and details click on participation
Before proceeding further you are invited to first read the ground rules
For technical support, please contact: inclusive_society [at] un.org

Go to Registration at http://esa.un.org/dspdEsa/Inclusive_Contacts/Inclusive_Contacts_add.asp.

What follows are some extracts from a research report on ragging and an evolving conversation between Harsh Agarwal and Michael Britton in 2007 that began with Harsh’s research report on “ragging” in colleges in India.

Introduction: Ragging, hazing, bullying, pledging, fagging etc. are traditional practice of humiliation and human rights abuse taking place in educational institutions all across the world, especially across South Asia.

Harsh has worked with several leading organisations including the United Nations both in India and abroad, and has worked closely with young people from more than 40 different countries. He is a founding member of the youth social organisation called Coalition to Uproot Ragging (Hazing) from Education (CURE).

Michael is a psychologist and member of the Global Core Team of the Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies Network, and had read a research report Harsh had written on the subject of ragging.

Please read the entire conversation here.

Campaign for Peace Education
Newsletter | Issue # 43 | May 2007

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The Global Campaign for Peace Education (GCPE) e-newsletter provides a monthly bulletin of GCPE news, events, action alerts and reports of peace education activities and developments from around the world. Back issues of the newsletter are archived online at www.tc.edu/PeaceEd/newsletter.

Dear Friends,

It has been almost five months since the Peace Education Center volunteered to take on the duties of coordinating the Global Campaign for Peace Education (GCPE). In this brief period of time members of the GCPE community have shared with us many success stories. These stories often go untold or unnoticed - they are experiences that fall into the cracks of history. Reading these shared experiences I can’t help imagining how significant these stories are to those that are doing the telling. There is some relative truth to the old proverb that actions speak louder than words – however actions are only brief flashes in a much richer history.

As peace educators we can find hope in the realization that most decisions and actions (positive or negative) are arrived at via a learning process. Actions are learned and typically value informed behaviors gleaned through a blend of formal and non-formal learning experiences including schooling, the family, religious institutions, friendships, acquaintances, etc. These moments of learning should be considered as historically important as the actions they produce.

Consider the moment when you first learned that peace education could make a difference. How did this change your outlook on the world? What new possibilities emerged in that moment? How has your life change because of it?

Now take a moment to contemplate or observe the near opposite. How has violence (direct, physical, structural, cultural) become “normalized” and accepted as a response to conflict? How have/are violent actions and behaviors been learned? What forms of learning might perpetuate violent attitudes and behaviors?

Learning is a remarkable and transformational process. In our present world violence is all too common. Our history of actions – fueled by our history of learning – tells this story well. As peace educators we have a great opportunity to help facilitate the learning of others so that they might write a new history. Facilitating learning in a way in which learning itself becomes historical is our responsibility. Transforming educational policies, practices and curriculum that perpetuate violent attitudes and actions is also part of our comprehensive and holistic task.

The GCPE network exists to help facilitate the necessary learning between and among us that might make such transformations in learning and educational practice possible. As you read the articles and stories shared by other GCPE colleagues below try to imagine the significant learning that took place (and what that learning looked like) that made their actions possible. What might you learn from their experience?

We hope that many of you will join us this August 8-10 to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the International Institute on Peace Education (IIPE) with a special educational event taking place at the United Nations (see details below). This event, co-sponsored by the GCPE, will be a unique opportunity to learn with and from peace educators from around the world. We invite you to join us at this event to reflect upon the past 25 years of peace education and to envision the learning and actions that may guide us into the future.

In peace,
Tony Jenkins, Coordinator, GCPE
(Co-Director, Peace Education Center; Global Coordinator, IIPE)

CONTENTS

News & Highlights

Peace Education
in the Field

Action Alerts

Events & Conferences

Training & Workshops

Publications & Research

Jobs & Internships

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QUICK LINKS

Peace Education Center

Hague Appeal for Peace

IN THIS ISSUE

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News & Highlights: 25th Anniversary Celebration of the IIPE, Peace Education in Japan
Peace Education in the Field: News from Nigeria and India
Action Alerts: Israeli-Palestinian Peace Event, Rebel Letters Campaign - Darfur

NEWS & HIGHLIGHTS

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Peace Education and a Culture of Peace in Japan
(Article contributed by Koe Yoshino)
Alicia Cabezudo, a professor of peace education from Argentina, made her first trip to Japan for a seminar on a culture of peace and peace education. Alicia was invited by a group of peace educators in Japan (”Japanese Society for Developing the Culture of Peace”), which so far has invited renowned peace researchers such as Johan Galtung, Betty Reardon, and David Adams. Alicia and I were delighted with the first time meeting in a year, as I felt her unchanged passion as a peace educator. Her eventful one-week trip to Japan was composed of 2 days seminar in Tokyo and a day workshop in each Osaka and Hiroshima. The seminar in Tokyo had approximately 40 participants of educators, professors, teachers and students. The seminar was appreciative for the participants as many Japanese people were not so familiar with the issues and background of Latin America, the opposite side of the earth from Japan. Alicia gave us a clear presentation how and why democratization was possible in a struggle of freedom by people. Participants were also introduced to a comprehensive structure of peace education and a culture of peace and were given practical examples of peace education from Argentina. Lastly, her workshop on peace education built relationships among participants that fostered participant’s engagement toward raising the significance of peace education to Japanese society. The seminar reflected on the importance of “Praxis,” the transformation of ideas into action for social change, as this seminar encouraged participants to take action for peace in reality as a process of peace education.

The 25th Anniversary Celebration of the International Institute on Peace Education
August 8-10, 2007 — United Nations Headquarters, New York
The 25th Anniversary of the International Institute on Peace Education will be hosted at the United Nations from August 8-10, 2007.The celebratory event will be a three day symposium launching new and more intense initiatives in the development and dissemination of peace education while providing an opportunity for reflection on the evolution of the international peace education movement over the past quarter century. Sponsored by The Peace Education Center, Teachers College along with many UN & NGO cosponsors. For more information and to register visit www.tc.edu/PeaceEd or email peace-ed@tc.edu

Join the “Peace Education Online Communities”
( www.c-i-p-e.org/forum)
The Peace Education Center, IIPE, and Global Campaign for Peace Education invite you to participate in a new global online initiative “the Peace Education Online Communities.” The Peace Education Online Community is an interactive website that enables members of the global community to communicate and interact with each other. This web-based initiative was developed to support the members and participants of the International Institute on Peace Education, Community-based Institutes on Peace Education, and the Global Campaign for Peace Education, and other concerned educators. You can access the forum directly at www.c-i-p-e.org/forum.

PEACE EDUCATION IN THE FIELD

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Centre for Human Development and Social Transformation – Nigeria
(submitted by Colins Imoh)
Dear Friends, -The formal launching / training on peace and civic education in the Niger Delta was successful held from 29th March - 1st April at Toki Hotels Port Harcourt. The opening ceremony was witnessed by members of the civic society, government officials and members of the public. The full report will be on our new website which hopefully will be online before the end of next month. Please visit www.protectourfuture.org

National Council of Educational Research and Training – India
(submitted by Dr. Saroj Pandey)
It is my proud privilege to write a column for inclusion in this newsletter. There is no need to high light that peace is the most desired value in this highly violent world. In this context I would like to inform the august readers of this newsletter that India has been doing lots of efforts to integrate peace concerns in the school education curricula and teacher education programmes, both at the pre-service and in-service level and has recently brought out the National Curriculum Framework (2005) for school education in which major emphasis is given on integrating peace values across the entire school activities. This curriculum framework is based on the principles of a constructivist approach and provides ample opportunity for promoting peace through dialogue, experiential learning, active listening, and problem solving and conflict resolution. It aims at developing more mature and self-directed learners and emphasizes continuing and lifelong learning. I am working in the area of peace education and a member of the National Focus Group on Peace Education and have been associated with the teachers’ training programmes organized by NCERT on peace education. We have a diploma programme for teachers of the country on peace education. I have recently organized an orientation programme on education for peace for teachers educators working in the Colleges of Teacher Education through out the country which was quite successful and attended by 32 participants of 14 states of the country including Jammu and Kashmir and the North Eastern states. I have also attended some international programmes and expert group meetings on peace education and would like to collaborate with international organizations in the mission to promote peace through education. I am also interested to know from readers of other countries how they are teaching peace through their curriculum both to students and teachers. Please e-mail pandey_saroj_@hotmail.com

ACTION ALERTS

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Action Alert Subscription
For those interested in receiving action alert updates more frequently than the once-a-month information provided in the newsletter you can subscribe to the “action alerts” email list: http://c-i-p-e.org/elist/?p=preferences

Join the Rebel Letters Campaign to bring peace to Darfur
The Rebel Letters campaign is a grassroots effort to support peacebuilding in Darfur, Sudan. Despite the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement in May 2006 and the presence of African Union peacekeepers on the ground, the crisis in Darfur remains one of the world’s worst humanitarian emergencies. The recent splintering of the rebel movement in Darfur has become a major obstacle to the resumption of peace talks. Unless the rebel groups come together to unite and create a common platform to negotiate with the Sudanese government, a peace process will not be possible. You can help build sustainable peace in Darfur by sending a letter to the rebel group leaders through the campaign website at: http://www.rebelletters.org

March for Israeli-Palestinian Peace – Global Event – June 5, 2007
June 5, 2007 will mark 40 years since the June 1967 war. On June 5 the “march for Israeli-Palestinian peace” will take place in cities and towns throughout the world in solidarity with the people of Israel and Palestine who will march, demonstrate and organize for Israeli-Palestinian peace throughout Israel and Palestine. Several main events will be held in key cities such as Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Ramallah, Nablus, Gaza, Washington, New York, Chicago, Athens, Paris, Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, London, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Moscow, Rome, Amman, Cairo, Tokyo, and others. If interested in participating or volunteering in this event information can be found at the following website: 2007initiative-for-israeli-palestinian-peace@googlegroups.com

EVENTS & CONFERENCES

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Why Dialogue? (and when, and how, and where?)
Marymount Manhattan College – NY June 15-16, 2007 T

he Network for Peace through Dialogue in cooperation with Marymount Manhattan College presents “Why Dialogue? (and when, and how, and where?).” This conference applies to community groups, researchers, teachers, students and others and will explore how strangers, policy makers, families and community groups can create meaningful dialogue to overcome impasses and find innovative solutions for critical issues. For more information, a complete schedule, and registration visit: http://www.networkforpeace.com/conference.htm Conference on Central America at U.N. Headquarters – June 13th
The Albert Schweitzer Institute at Quinnipiac University & The Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress, in collaboration with the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs and UNDP, invite you to attend a conference “A firm and lasting peace in Central America: The pending agenda 20 years later”. This event is to be held on 13 June at the UN Headquarters. This conference, which marks the 20th anniversary of the Esquipulas II Accords, will assess the main challenges that the region is still facing now. Please confirm your participation by June 1st to JosephinePalmieri@quinnipiac.edu or call 203-582-3144.

PJSA Award Nominations
Each year the Peace and Justice Studies Association presents various awards to teachers, scholars, activists, and distinguished peace and justice proponents by recognizing their service, accomplishments, and excellence at a ceremony held during the PJSA conference, Saturday night at the Banquet. The distinguished peacemakers are recognized and given the opportunity to present a message of challenge and hope. PJSA relies on the input from members of the peace and justice community to nominate individuals for these awards. There are people out there doing outstanding work - this is your chance to see that they are recognized for their efforts, visit http://www.peacejusticestudies.org/conference/awardsubmit.php

Justice Institute of British Columbia – Conflict Free Conflict Resolution; June 25-26th
Resolving Conflicts by Building Unity — Emerging Trends in Conflict Resolution will be hosted by the Justice Institute of British Columbia on June 25-26, 2007. This workshop provides an introduction to the theory and practice of Conflict-Free Conflict Resolution. Participants will explore the implications of applying CFCR to both negotiation and mediation. For more information visit www.jibc.ca

Gandhi-King Conference on Peacemaking: October 26-27 – Memphis, Tennessee
I would like to inform you about the Gandhi-King Conference on Peacemaking which will occur October 26th and 27th in Memphis, TN. This will be Memphis’ fourth annual conference during which academics, activists, professionals, students, and community members will gather from all over the country to participate in workshops, hear plenary addresses and paper presentations, and learn about various topics having to do with peace, nonviolence, and conflict resolution. For more information visit http://www.gandhikingconference.org

Training on Making Governance Gender Responsive: June 24-30, 2007 in Manila, Philippines.
For local governments (city/municipality), and the government bureaucracy political parties, training institutes, human rights and other civil society organizations. Training will be held at the CAPWIP Institute for Gender, Governance & Leadership (CIGGL) in Manila, Philippines. Making Governance Gender Responsive (MGGR) is a generic course that can be adapted and modified to suit the needs of the different countries in Asia-Pacific. For more information email trainings@capwip.org or visit www.onlinewomeninpolitics.org

BCA conference –The Future of International Education: Peace, Justice, and the Development of Global Civil Society – Ireland
“The Future of International Education: Peace, Justice, and the Development of Global Civil Society”, June 16 - 23. - A maximum of 25 participants will be accepted. This seminar will lay the initial foundation for a much broader effort to create synergy between international educators and those working on peace and justice in various educational institutions. You can find further information on the seminar at the following web page: http://www.bcaabroad.org/Programs/International/derry_and_galway.asp

Alliance for Conflict Transformation Summer Institute on Peacebuilding & Conflict Resolution (IPCR)
Santa Cruz, Bolivia - June 9, 2007 - July 7, 2006
Study peacebuilding and conflict resolution in an exciting country experiencing historic political changes and challenges! The Alliance for Conflict Transformation (ACT), in partnership with Nur University in Bolivia, is pleased to announce the Summer Institute on Peacebuilding & Conflict Resolution (IPCR). IPCR is an intensive 4-week, 6-credit residential program to build the capacity of current and future professionals in a variety of fields to make a critical difference in furthering peaceful relations in the world. Application deadline is April 15, 2007. To see the complete program description, visit the ACT website: http://conflicttransformation.org

International Education for Peace Conference: Vancouver, Canada - November 15-18, 2007
This conference is being held November 15-18, 2007 and is entitled “Strategies for Building a Civilization of Peace”. The primary goal of the conference is to contribute to the worldwide efforts to create a civilization of peace. Essential to this undertaking is life-long peace education at home, in schools, and in the community, with its focus on the integral role of all members of society-children, youth, and adults-and with the equal participation of women and men in the administration of human affairs. For more information visit their website at: www.efpinternational.org/conference2007 . Paper proposals are also being accepted. Send to conference@efpinternational.org

TRAININGS, WORKSHOPS, & SCHOLARSHIPS

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Scholarships available for MA in Peace and Reconciliation Studies at Coventry University
The Centre for Peace and Reconciliation Studies at Coventry University in the UK has a limited number of scholarships for overseas applicants from low income countries to enable them to study for our postgraduate MA in Peace and Reconciliation Studies commencing September 2007. For details of our courses and scholarships go to www.coventry.ac.uk/peacestudy

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network Summer School 2007
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) is a network of human rights organizations, based in 30 the Euro-Mediterranean region, which has been established in 1997 in response to the Barcelona Declaration. The EMHRN 2007 Summer School will be held in Limassol, Cyprus from the 23rd to the 29th of July 2007. The focus will be on methodologies, so as to facilitate human rights learning in youth related environments in the formal and informal sectors. Additional information about and application forms can be found at: http://www.euromedrights.net/pages/52

Peace and Security Fellowships for African Women
As part of its Knowledge Building and Mentoring Programme, the Conflict, Security and Development Group at King’s College London, is pleased to announce a call for applications for the Peace and Security Fellowships for African Women for 2007/2008. This Fellowship is a financial and intellectual reward for personal and academic achievements as well as the recognition of future potential. It does not lead to a formal qualification, but will open doors to opportunities that would otherwise seem beyond reach for many. For more information email ekaette.ikpe@kcl.ac.uk

Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies Program – Bangkok, Thailand – January 2008
Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies (RPCS) Program announces a call for applications for the January 2008 program session “Strengthening Today’s Leaders to Build Peace”. The Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies Program is a professional development program held in Bangkok, Thailand through which up to 30 participants embark on three months of intensive study instructed by some of the leading specialists in the peace and conflict resolution fields. For more information contact Jenn Weidman, Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies Program Specialist, at jenn.weidman@rotary.org or call 847-866-3374.

International Training Programs through TRANSCEND
It is with great pleasure that we write to you to announce two of our forthcoming advanced international training programmes on: Peacebuilding, Conflict Transformation and Post-War Rebuilding, Reconciliation and Resolution (PCTR) and Designing Peacebuilding Programmes (DPP). Peacebuilding, Conflict Transformation and Post-War Rebuilding, Reconciliation and Resolution (PCTR) is the only five-days training programme of its kind, which uses the TRANSCEND Method for Conflict Transformation by Peaceful Means. Designing Peacebuilding Programmes (DPP) is a five-day advanced international training programme for staff of national and international organizations, the UN, and governmental and non-governmental organizations. For more information on either program visit www.transcend.org/training

European Training and Research Centre for Human Rights and Democracy – Graz, Austria
The International Summer Academy on Human Security is part of the HUMSEC project and will be held in the Human Rights City of Graz. The project is designed to contribute to a better understanding of the connection between transnational terrorist and criminal organizations in the peace-building process of the Western Balkan through the organization of an annual summer academy. The network aims to bring the scientific discourse closer to civil society, to strengthen democratic principles and to raise awareness by means of human rights education and education for democratic citizenship. The summer academy is designed as a ten day course. For more information visit www.summeracademy.etc-graz.at or send an email to summeracademy@etc-graz.at

European University Center for Peace Studies, Stadtschlaining, Austria
We wish to invite you to join a select group of 44 students from around the world in an intensive course in peace and conflict studies at the European University Center for Peace Studies (EPU) in Stadtschlaining, Austria. All the courses are taught in English, by leading specialists in their field from around the world, including Johan Galtung, one of the founders of the academic discipline of peace research and frequent mediator in international conflicts. EPU offers students a well-rounded program covering Peace with Security, Development, Freedom, Nature and Culture. Website: www.epu.ac.at

University for Peace – Gender & Peacebuilding, Costa Rica
University for Peace with great pleasure announces its forthcoming Master of Arts in Gender and Peacebuilding. This program is comprised of eleven intertwining courses and a thesis project that offers a combination of theoretical and practical knowledge, incorporating historic and current events from around the world. For more details and the application procedure can be found on our website: http://www.upeace.org/academic/masters/GPB.cfm

Washington & Lee University and the Council on Foreign Relations, Virginia
Washington & Lee University and the Council on Foreign Relations will sponsor an interdisciplinary workshop for educators on the role of nuclear power in meeting future U.S. energy requirements. The workshop will be held June 20-24, 2007, on the campus of Washington & Lee in Lexington, VA. For more information, contact Carah Ong via email: cong@armscontrolcenter.org

The International Human Rights Academy
Utrecht, Netherlands – August 20 – September 1, 2007
The 2007 International Human Rights Academy will be held in Utrecht, the Netherlands, between August 20 and September 1, 2007. The various intensive courses that make up the Academy are designed to provide high quality legal education in comparative international human rights and humanitarian law, with an emphasis on practical aspects in the various fields. Lectures are given by members of the organizing universities and institutes and by highly experienced practitioners in the field of human rights, coming from different intergovernmental and other international institutions. Applications are due April 20. For more information visit www.law.uu.nl/ihra

PUBLICATIONS & RESEARCH

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Reflective Peacebuilding: A Planning, Monitoring and Learning Toolkit
The Kroc Institute at the University of Notre Dame and Catholic Relief Services are pleased to announce a new publication: Reflective Peacebuilding: A Planning, Monitoring and Learning Toolkit. Written by John Paul Lederach, Reina Neufeldt, and Hal Culbertson, Reflective Peacebuilding is designed to improve peacebuilders’ abilities to learn before, during and after interventions in unpredictable conflict contexts. Electronic copies of the toolkit are available online at http://kroc.nd.edu/ and http://www.crs.org/publications/peacebuilding.cfm

PJSA Bibliography of Children’s-Youth Peace Books
Sorted by reading level and specific peace foci, this annotated bibliography will list books widely available to the general public which also teach a peace theme. It will serve as a PJSA outreach tool and resource for parents, educators, faith groups, child advocates, and others interested in teaching peace to children. Please submit texts you would like to include within this resource at http://www.peacejusticestudies.org/publications/peacebiblio.php

MIT Contest - Promoting Peace in Jerusalem, A Global Challenge
MIT announces a global competition that seeks to transform Jerusalem into a place where Palestinians and Israelis can one day co-exist in peaceful ways. Starting March 31, MIT will be accepting entries from around the globe for its “Just Jerusalem” competition. Winners of the competition will become fellows at MIT where they will have the opportunity to further develop their creative works by drawing on the university’s resources. Guidelines for the competition can be seen at http://web.mit.edu/cis/jerusalem2050/competition.html.

Call for Papers: Women’s Narratives, War, and Peace-Building
Submissions Deadline: 21 May 2007. Critical Half, the bi-annual academic journal of Women for Women International, is currently seeking submissions for its Summer 2007 issue, which will focus on the function of women’s individual and collective narratives during and after war and civil conflict. Women for Women International provides women survivors of war, civil strife, and other conflicts with the tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency, thereby promoting viable civil societies. For more information visit: http://www.wougnet.org/Events/projectnews07.html#WNWPB

TFF Publication
The Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research has published a presentation of human rights theory and practices in Islam and Christianity by Farhang Jahanpour. The author points to the fundamental need for dialogue as the only road to peace. For access to this publication visit - http://www.transnational.org/Area_MiddleEast/2007/Jahanpour_Islam-HumanRight.htm l

Peace Voice
Peace Voice is devoted to changing U.S. national conversation about the possibilities of peace and the inadvisability of war. Our main goal is to link professors and professionals of the field of Conflict Resolution / Peace Work to the mainstream media. We invite you to send us your peace and justice editorials which we will then work to place in newspapers within the US. Please join us in awakening people to the importance of making discussions of peace more a part of daily conversation and setting goals toward peace more of a reality. For submissions contact peacevoice.thais@gmail.com

Journal of Human Dignity and Humiliation
May we announce to you the launch of our Journal of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies! Please see http://www.humiliationstudies.upeace.org/

Peacemaker’s in Action: Profiles of Religion in Conflict Resolution
The Tanenbaum Center’s Latest Book – Peacemakers in Action: Profiles of Religion in Conflict Resolution follows 16 men and women who have successfully tapped into religious beliefs as a tool for intervening in some of the world’s most violent conflicts. To purchase the book go to the following website: http://www.amazon.com/Peacemakers-Action-Profiles-Religion-Resolution/dp/0521618940/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-9931073-9318455?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173977753&sr=8-1

The ABA Human Rights Committee
The ABA Human Rights Committee has a weekly newsletter that is available for free for human rights attorneys, activists and educators by visiting. You can join the listserve by sending and email russell@kerrlawfirm.com or by going to the website: http://w3.abanet.org/abanet/common/email/listserv/listcommands.cfm?parm=subscribe&listgroup=inthumrights

School of Peace Education – Curriculum Materials available online!
We have posted, in the web page of the School of Peace Education, some practical exercises for educating for peace. Most of those activities have been invented or adapted by us during trainings and workshops, so we certify they work! There are by now more than 60 exercises, classified into four main subjects: peace education, conflict education, intercultural learning, and education to understand the world. Those activities can be found, in Spanish, at: http://www.escolapau.org/castellano/programas/dinamicas.htm (activities are posted in Spanish and Catalan, not yet in English, although it will come.)

International Journal of Transnational Justice – call for submissions
The International Journal of Transitional Justice invites submissions for an upcoming thematic issue on ‘Gender and Transitional Justice’. This issue will be jointly co-edited by Justice Navi Pillay of the International Criminal Court and will be published in November 2007. The deadline for submissions is June 15, 2007. Articles can be submitted online from the journal’s home page which also contains full submission guidelines and instructions. http://www.oxfordjournals.org/our_journals/ijtj/

Peace and Justice Studies Association – Thesis and Dissertation Collection
We will be publishing a list of theses and dissertations completed between January 2006 and July 2007 in the upcoming September 2007 issue of the Peace Chronicle. Your submissions will also be eligible for the separate Graduate and Undergraduate Student Research Awards, announced at the annual meeting of PJSA this fall. Complete the on-line form by July 15, 2007 (we have already begun to compile the list). The web address for your submissions is: http://www.peacejusticestudies.org/membership/theses.php

JOBS & INTERNSHIPS

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National Coordinator - The Graduation Pledge Alliance
The Graduation Pledge Alliance (GPA) is seeking a National Coordinator starting August of 2007. Students at over a hundred colleges and universities internationally have used The Graduation Pledge of Social and Environmental Responsibility in varying ways. Some of the schools involved include research institutions such as Harvard University and Stanford University, as well as liberal arts schools such as Middlebury College and Manchester College. If interested, please send application materials to Dr. Neil Wollman: njwollman@manchester.edu

Events Coordinator – Joan B. Kroc Institute at University of Notre Dame
The Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame seeks applications for the position of Events Coordinator. The Events Coordinator’s primary purpose is to efficiently and professionally coordinate all administrative aspects of academic conferences, workshops, lectures, panels and other public events organized by the Kroc Institute. The Institute organizes several conferences and workshops each year, both on campus and at international venues. To apply, please visit http://jobs.nd.edu and apply to Requisition Number 020070069.

Seeking International Volunteers
We are a Camp based peace building and community Development organization specialized in Empowering Liberian residing in Ghana or desiring to return home. Our activities are run on the weekly basis in a six classrooms building, three offices and one auditorium. We currently have lots of Volunteering opportunities within our organization. Our ongoing programs include Capacity Building Training Workshops in NGO Management, Private School Management, Peace Education & Community Based Rehabilitation, we have Peace and Health Clubs in 4 community Schools and we run weekly tuition free remedial classes for Junior and senior high students. We are kindly asking for International Volunteer support to facilitate some of these activities or help in the provision of useful resources that will help in the implementation of our activities. If interested contact Kadio Ali at pcrforliberia@yahoo.com

ABOUT THE GLOBAL CAMPAIGN FOR PEACE EDUCATION
Founded in 1999, the Hague Appeal for Peace Global Campaign for Peace Education (GCPE) is an international organized network that promotes peace education among schools, families and communities to transform the culture of violence into a culture of peace. The Global Campaign for Peace Education is presently being coordinated by the Peace Education Center at Teachers College, Columbia University. (peace-ed@tc.edu)

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, international law, 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:
1. To see peace education integrated into all curricula, community and family education worldwide to become a part of life;
2. To promote the education of all teachers to teach for peace.

The papers of the Hague Appeal for Peace have been archived at Swarthmore College Peace Collection and can be found at http://ww w.swarthmore.edu/Library

CONTRIBUTE TO THE NEWSLETTER
Do you have news or an event to share with the GCPE community? If so please contribute to the newsletter by emailing the editor, Tiffany Hunter, at peace-ed@tc.edu. In the subject line of the email please indicate the category from our current table of contents you feel best describes your information.Send 3 to 5 sentences (longer for news and peace education in the field) describing your activity or news story as you would like to see it printed. Be sure to include contact information such as a website or email address for readers wanting more information. Some emails may be edited for length. Thank you for your contributions!

Questions or comments? Contact list administrator: peace-ed@tc.edu

The WMD’s DemocracyNews
Electronic Newsletter of the World Movement for Democracy - www.wmd.org
May 2007

POSTING NEWS:
We welcome items to include in DemocracyNews. Please send an email message to world@ned.org with the item you would like to post in the body of the message.

*********************************************************************************
CONTENTS

1. Update: Organizations Respond to Ongoing Repression in Zimbabwe
2. Update: Blog Started for Arrested Vietnamese Lawyer Le Quoc Quan
3. Update: Dr. Yang Jianli Released from Prison
4. Iranian Women’s Rights Activist Arrested
5. NGOs Make Joint Statement to UN Human Rights Council

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS

6. CIVICUS to Hold Seventh World Assembly, May 23-27
7. CIVICUS and the Aga Khan Foundation Create Resource Mobilization Toolkit
8. Iraqi Network for Civil Peace Building Created
9. Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies Established in Lithuania
10. Country Reports Published for International Advisory Committee for the Community of Democracies
11. Americas Society and Council of Americas Announces New Policy Journal

ELECTIONS

12. Zimbabwe Election Support Network Outlines Requirements for Free and Fair Elections
13. Nigerian Presidential and National Assembly Elections Widely Considered Fraudulent
14. Amman Center for Human Rights Studies Publishes Report on Elections in the Arab World

GENDER ISSUES AND SEXUAL MINORITY RIGHTS

15. The Center for Development and Population Activities Announces “WomenLead” Workshop
16. Sisters’ Arab Forum for Human Rights Issues Report on Second Women Democracy Forum
17. Call for Submissions: German UNIFEM 2007 Award, Say NO to Trafficking in Women

HUMAN RIGHTS, EQUALITY, AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE

18. Humanitarian Workers in Sri Lanka Threatened
19. Appeal Sent to UN for Protection of Human Rights Activists in Burma
20. Bangladesh Forum Holds Meeting on Human Dignity
21. Youth in the World for Peace Network Releases Report on Human Rights in Dimbelenge, Democratic Republic of Congo

LABOR UNIONS AND WORKER RIGHTS

22. Bahrain Center for Human Rights Condemns New Discriminatory Law against Migrant Workers

MEDIA, FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

23. Center for International Media Assistance Holds Inaugural Forum
24. Freedom House Releases 2007 Global Media Independence Survey
25. Reporters Without Borders Builds Monument to Fallen Journalists

RULE OF LAW AND JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE

26. US Institute of Peace Launches International Network to Promote the Rule of Law

TOLERANCE AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

27. Social Capital Foundation to Hold Ethnic Diversity Conference
28. Leadership Council for Human Rights Announces Middle East Minorities Database Project

YOUNG PEOPLE’S POLITICAL AND CIVIC PARTICIPATION

29. Global Youth Assembly of the United Nations to Be Held in Edmonton, Canada
30. Zimbabwean Group Publishes Report on Student Involvement in Defending Values and Rights

31. WORLD MOVEMENT PARTICIPATING NETWORKS, ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS MENTIONED IN THIS ISSUE

DEMOCRACY ALERTS/APPEALS

1. Update: Organizations Respond to Ongoing Repression in Zimbabwe
In March 2007, the World Movement for Democracy issued three DemocracyAlerts regarding the assaults and arrests of several participants by riot police at the March 11 “Save Zimbabwe” rally in Harare, and the human rights violations that followed. Since then, the crisis has continued to escalate.

According to Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), on April 23 approximately 56 individuals were arrested as they continued their ‘power to the people’ campaign outside local offices of the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply in Harare. Three of those arrested have since been hospitalized following the beatings they received in custody at the Harare Central Police Station. Almost all who were arrested required medical treatment. Moreover, the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) reports that on April 25, Hillside Teachers College Student Union President Tafadzwa Chengewa was abducted from his campus residence in Bulawayo by four unidentified men driving an unregistered vehicle. His whereabouts remain unknown. Also, a new organization called the Zimbabwe Youth Movement was launched in Zimbabwe recently; however, their launch was marred by state violence, as the youths were abducted, beaten, and abandoned in Marondera.

A number of international organizations have also responded to the escalating crisis in Zimbabwe. On April 23, the Council of the European Union adopted a new and stronger position on Zimbabwe. The Council joins the African Union (AU) and the UN Secretary General in expressing strong concern at the rapidly deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe, and in urging the Zimbabwean Government to respect Africa’s own commitments, such as those articulated in the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).

To see WMD alerts, go to: www.wmd.org/democracyalerts/zimbabwe07.html

To see updates by Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), go to: www.wozazimbabwe.org

To see updates by the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU), go to: www.zinasu.org
To read more about the Zimbabwe Youth Movement, go to: www.zimbabwejournalists.com/authors.php?auth_id=307 To see the Council of the European Union statement, go to: www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/gena/93785.pdf

2. Update: Blog Started for Arrested Vietnamese Lawyer Le Quoc Quan
A blog has been created for Vietnamese Lawyer Le Quoc Quan, who was arrested on March 8 of this year at his house in Nghe An province, Vietnam. He was later charged under article 79 of the Vietnamese criminal code, which bans “activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s government.” He remains in police custody, unable to contact his wife. The new blog includes alerts on Le Quoc Quan, articles from the Vietnamese press, general information about the growing number of human rights violations in Vietnam, and the response of the US government to his arrest.

To view the blog, go to: http://quan-news.blogspot.com/search/label/US%20Government%20responses

To see previous WMD alerts, go to: www.wmd.org/democracyalerts/mar1407.html and www.wmd.org/democracyalerts/mar2307.html

3. Update: Dr. Yang Jianli Released from Prison
On April 27, 2007, writer Dr. Yang Jianli was released after serving a five-year sentence in China. In June 2002, the World Movement for Democracy began issuing DemocracyAlerts for Dr. Yang, Chairman of the Boston-based Foundation for China in the 21st Century and an advocate of democracy and the rule of law in China. In 2002, Dr. Yang returned to China for the first time since being expelled for taking part in the Tiananmen Square demonstrations in 1989. He was arrested on April 26, 2002, while secretly reporting on workers’ strikes in northeastern China, and sentenced to five years in prison. According to Independent Chinese PEN Center, Dr. Yang was one of 74 writers in prison in China.

For more information from Independent Chinese PEN Center (in Chinese), go to: www.penchinese.com/wipc/01wipl-main.htm
For previous WMD alerts, go to: www.wmd.org/democracyalerts/june2602.html

4. Iranian Women’s Rights Activist Arrested
On May 7, Zeinab Peyqambarzadeh, an active youth member of the Women’s Learning Partnership for Rights, Development, and Peace (WLP) “One Million Signatures” campaign, was arrested for her participation in a peaceful protest on March 4. She reported to the Revolutionary Court after receiving a summons, where she was then arrested and transferred to Evin prison. Her father and lawyer attempted to post the set bail of 20 million toumans (about $27,000 US), but the court refused to accept the bail or authorize her release. Two other women’s rights activists, Maryam Hosseinhkah and Fatemeh Govaraie, were also summoned to court for their role in the March 4 protest. The peaceful protest was staged in objection to increasing government pressure on the Iranian women’s movement and its efforts to curb activities aimed at raising awareness of discriminatory laws against women.

Go to: www.learningpartnership.org/advocacy/alerts/iranwomenarrests0307
5. NGOs Make Joint Statement to UN Human Rights Council
On May 1, in a joint statement, the Democracy Coalition Project, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, Open Society Institute, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, and CONECTAS called on the members of the UN Democracy Caucus to support strong reforms at the UN Human Rights Council in its fifth and final session of its inaugural year, June 11-18. The statement urges democratic countries to work together in the next two months to ensure that the UN Human Rights Council adopts mechanisms that will strengthen its ability to address human rights violations around the world. The groups write that “specifically, the Council must preserve the independence and flexibility of the system of ’special procedures’ that monitor human rights worldwide” and “establish a universal periodic review that involves independent experts and non-governmental stakeholders at all stages.” Finally, the groups urge the Council to “demonstrate an increased willingness to act on urgent human rights situations in a balanced and proactive way.”

Go to: www.demcoalition.org/pdf/Statement%20on%20Fourth%20and%20Fifth%20Sessions%20May%201%202007.pdf

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS

6. CIVICUS to Hold Seventh World Assembly, May 23-27
This year’s CIVICUS World Assembly will take place on May 23-27 in Glasgow, Scotland. The theme for the Assembly is “Acting Together for a Just World,” which will be explored through a central focus on “Accountability: Delivering Results.” This year, CIVICUS has broadened the scope of the World Assembly by compiling a program that appeals to stakeholders beyond civil society, including government, business, donors, and the media. The list of speakers and contributors at the World Assembly is comprised of experts and leaders from these sectors.

Go to: www.civicus.org/new/media/WorldAssembly2007Programmeflyer.pdf
7. CIVICUS and the Aga Khan Foundation Create Resource Mobilization Toolkit
CIVICUS and the Aga Khan Foundation have created a resource mobilization toolkit. The toolkit includes a handbook entitled “Towards Financial Self-Reliance: A Handbook on Resource Mobilization for Civil Society Organizations in the South,” a training manual written by Richard Holloway, and a Web-based interactive course. The toolkit covers numerous and varied areas such as earned income, local foundations, governmental sources, foreign agencies, the corporate sector, microcredit, the Internet, and social investments. It also sets these areas within a strategic overview of planning and management effectiveness, and is useful for those wishing to achieve organizational growth or for training other organizations.

Go to: www.akdn.org/agency/akf_trainer.html

8. Iraqi Network for Civil Peace Building Created
On March 24-26, the Amman Center for Human Rights Studies (ACHRS), in cooperation with the Iraqi Youth League and the Monitoring Network of Human Rights in Iraq, held a workshop entitled “The role of civil society organizations in building peace in Iraq.” The workshop concluded with a decision to create a network of Iraqi civil society organizations for civil peace, which will initially be established among the organizations that participated in the workshop. The workshop addressed many topics, including the concept of civil peace and the role of civil society organizations and the media in building civil peace in Iraq.

Go to: www.achrs.org/english/CenterNewsView.asp?CNID=274
9. Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies Established in Lithuania
The Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies (BISS) was established in Vilnius, Lithuania, in March 2007. Founded by Belarusian think tanks, analysts and journalists, BISS is a network of nongovernmental organizations that aims to enhance dialogue about the future of Belarus among experts and the wider Belarusian society, democratic forces, authorities, and the international community. As a research policy platform and communication center for Belarusian analysts, BISS intends to become a leader in conducting interdisciplinary socio-political research and to intensify public policy activities among various stakeholders in Belarus. New materials, including a study on the current trends and challenges of Belarusian independent trade unions, are already available on its Web site. In cooperation with the Belarus Public Policy Fund, BISS has also announced a call for proposals for small grants to further stimulate public policy research further and to foster public policy debate in Belarus.

Go to: www.belinstitute.eu

10. Country Reports Published for International Advisory Committee for the Community of Democracies
To provide the International Advisory Committee (IAC) for the Community of Democracies (CD) with a concise analysis of the state of democracy and human rights around the world, a Secretariat team coordinated by the Democracy Coalition Project, in partnership with the Bertelsmann Stiftung, the Ghana Center for Democratic Development, and Freedom House, has prepared a series of specific country reports. The CD brings together those nations committed to promoting and strengthening democracy worldwide. The IAC recommends countries to be included in the CD’s ministerial meetings, the next of which will be held in Bamako, Mali, in November of this year. The Secretariat team prepared 35 reports on countries that needed further analysis and 11 shorter reports on countries that initially qualified for an invitation to the CD ministerial meeting, but where recent developments and ongoing trends demanded closer scrutiny. Each country report analyzes the government’s record of respect for democracy and human rights according to the official criteria for participation in the CD. It also provides suggestions on steps governments should take to meet the criteria. The recommendations were released to the public this month at events in Bamako, Washington, and Brussels, and are available online. The IAC will issue its recommendations on which governments merit invitation to the CD ministerial meeting later this year in Bamako, Mali.

Go to: www.demcoalition.org/2005_html/commu_cdm07.html
11. Americas Society and Council of Americas Announces New Policy Journal
On April 19, the Americas Society and Council of the Americas announced the launch of its new policy journal, AMERICAS QUARTERLY. The journal is dedicated to the community of the Americas, highlighting and engaging new leaders in politics, civil society, and business in the debate about policy in the hemisphere. The editors of AMERICAS QUARTERLY promise a neutral space that will bring together voices, research, and opinions that do not usually meet in the current array of media. The first issue debuted this April and includes articles by Ricardo Lagos, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Jorge Castaneda, and a number of leading academics.

Go to: www.americasquarterly.org

ELECTIONS

12. Zimbabwe Election Support Network Outlines Requirements for Free and Fair Elections
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) has outlined the fundamental requirements needed to ensure free and fair elections in Zimbabwe for the 2008 presidential elections. ZESN wishes to hold the Zimbabwean Government to the principles of the South African Development Community (SADC) and calls upon the Zimbabwean Government to review the electoral framework and environment ahead of the 2008 Election. The SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections articulate principles for conducting democratic elections and guidelines for the observation of elections. The SADC Principles also outline the responsibilities of member states holding elections. Governments in the SADC region have committed themselves voluntarily to these standards.

Go to: www.zesn.org.zw/docs/FUNDAMENTALS_FOR_FREE_AND_FAIR_ELECTIONS_ZIM.doc

13. Nigerian Presidential and National Assembly Elections Widely Considered Fraudulent
The Presidential and National Assembly elections held in Nigeria on April 21 have been characterized by many election observation groups as fraudulent. The Domestic Election Observation Group (DEOG), composed of civil society organizations in Nigeria, has published a preliminary report that notes widespread irregularities and electoral malpractices. The European Union Election Observation Mission (EUEOM) to Nigeria has issued a press release, which states that the elections failed to meet hopes and expectations of the Nigerian people and fall short of basic international standards. EUEOM concludes that the elections were marred by violence, poor organization, and a lack of transparency, significant evidence of fraud, voter disenfranchisement, and bias. The National Democratic Institute (NDI) has released a preliminary statement asserting that the electoral process failed the Nigerian people. On April 25, the Alliance for Credible Elections (ACE), a Nigerian NGO, organized a post-election civil society summit that was attended by over 20 other Nigerian NGOs. In their post-summit report, ACE states that the elections were characterized by malpractice and fraud. The report accuses the Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria of having betrayed their constitutional duties of organizing a free and fair election by playing a direct and conscious role in organizing the fraudulent elections. Finally, ACE rejected the elections and called for their immediate cancellation.

For the DEOG Preliminary report, go to: www.wmd.org/documents/may07demnews13.pdf
For the EUEOM press release, go to: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/07/333&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

For the NDI statement, got to: www.accessdemocracy.org/library/2151_ng_election_statement_042307.pdf
For the ACE report, go to: www.acenigeria.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=57&Itemid=44

14. Amman Center for Human Rights Studies Publishes Report on Elections in the Arab World
The Amman Center for Human Rights Studies (ACHRS) has published a report entitled “Elections in the Arab World 2006: A Human Rights Evaluation.” This report is the first of its kind to systematically and comparatively analyze elections in Arab countries from a human rights perspective. The report analyzes the parliamentary elections that have taken place in 2006 in six Arab countries, focusing on the level of compliance of such elections to international standards and human rights principles. It also investigates the relationships between elections, democracy, and human rights. It uses indicators such as freedom of expression, association, and movement; civil and political rights; and women and youth participation as fundamental principles that define democratic elections. The report incorporates results from some of the election monitoring activities that ACHRS conducts.

Go to: www.achrs.org/english/CenterNewsView.asp?CNID=285

GENDER ISSUES AND SEXUAL MINORITY RIGHTS

15. The Center for Development and Population Activities Announces “WomenLead” Workshop
The Center for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA) will hold a workshop titled “WomenLead in Promoting Peace and Stability” from October 22 to November 16, 2007, in Washington, DC. The workshop themes include gender and governance and contextual analysis and advocacy. CEDPA will recruit women with a high level of motivation, the ability to articulate their intentions, and a strong desire to make a difference in their communities. This workshop is designed for early and mid-career women from NGOs, faith-based organizations, government, the private sector, and political institutions working in conflict affected or post-conflict environments. Fluency in English is required. The due date to submit applications for the workshop is May 30, 2007.

Go to: www.cedpa.org/section/training/womenlead

16. Sisters’ Arab Forum for Human Rights Issues Report on Second Women Democracy Forum
The Sisters’ Arab Forum for Human Rights (SAF) has issued a report on the Second Women Democracy Forum, held on November 3-5, 2006. The theme of the Forum was “Two Years of Democratic Transformation: Achievements and Missed Opportunities.” It was sponsored by the US State Department’s Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), FIDH, No Peace Without Justice, and the United Nations Fund for Women. The Forum was attended by 40 participants from 14 Arab states, Turkey, Afghanistan, and a number of activists from Yemen. The report covers the various sessions held and the various country reports presented at the forum.

Go to: www.wmd.org/documents/may07demnews16.pdf

17. Call for Submissions: German UNIFEM 2007 Award, Say NO to Trafficking in Women
German UNIFEM, a division of the United Nations Development Fund for Women, is accepting submissions for its “2007: Say NO to Trafficking in Women” award until May 31. Ongoing programs in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and East European transition countries outside the European Union may win the award, which includes a 10,000 euro prize. The prize can be granted for the prevention, support, and protection of victims, as well as for measures that serve to sensitize the general public to the issue of women trafficking. Organizations must have been established for at least three years to be eligible for the award. Other requirements for eligibility are listed on the Web site.

Go to: www.unifem.de/dokumente/download/ausschreibung/Unifem_Prize_2007_Announcement.pdf

HUMAN RIGHTS, EQUALITY, AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE

18. Humanitarian Workers in Sri Lanka Threatened
The Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) reports that on April 20, the Tamileela People’s Liberation Tigers (TMVP) threatened the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA) in Sri Lanka that it would take the “necessary steps to eliminate them if needed” should they not comply with the TMVP’s demand to register with them by April 30, 2007. The TMVP, which has power over several far-eastern districts of Sri Lanka, is a political party and paramilitary group formed in 2004 by Colonel Karuna, a breakaway Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) military leader. The original demand to the CHA in the Trinocomalee district was issued on April 17, 2007, and warned that those failing to register won’t be allowed to carry out humanitarian work in the war zones. The threats issued by the TMVP to the humanitarian NGOs who are members of the CHA extend to the UN workers in Eastern Sri Lanka. Since January, several aid workers have already been killed in the eastern part of Sri Lanka, but no one has been held responsible.

Go to: www.achrweb.org/Review/2007/164-07.htm

19. Appeal Sent to UN for Protection of Human Rights Activists in Burma
The World Forum for Democracy in Asia (WFDA) recently concluded a petition for the protection of human rights activists in Burma. The appeal refers to the case of two human rights defenders, Myint Naing and Maung Maung Lay, who were brutally attacked in Burma by members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), the civilian wing of the Burmese military regime, on April 18, after conducting a human rights education session. The appeal also highlights other attacks on human rights defenders with which the USDA has been linked, including the 2003 incident that became known as the Depayin Massacre, in which 1991 Nobel Peace Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was attacked. WFDA estimates that since 2006, there have been at least 15 cases of violent gang attacks by members of the USDA on human rights defenders that resulted in three deaths and at least 200 injured people.

Go to: www.ipetitions.com/petition/joint

20. Bangladesh Forum Holds Meeting on Human Dignity
In March, the Bangladesh Dignity Forum held a meeting on the theme “Human Dignity a Must for Making Democracy Meaningful and Effective.” The meeting was presided over by noted civic activist Khairul Alam and was addressed by several members of the Bangladesh Dignity Forum. The speakers observed that 36 years have elapsed since Bangladesh was liberated, yet the people have neither derived the expected benefits of independence nor grasped the true meaning of independence in their social, economic and political life. That political parties often abuse the word ‘independence,’ as well as the history of independence, to serve their vested political interests was cited as an important reason for falling short of expectations.

Go to: www.wmd.org/documents/may07demnews20.pdf

21. Youth in the World for Peace Network Releases Report on Human Rights in Dimbelenge, Democratic Republic of Congo
Youth in the World for Peace Network (RJMP), a human rights NGO based in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has released a report detailing human rights abuses in Dimbelenge, a territory in the Kasai Oriental province in rural and southern DRC. According to information received from network members in the province, RJMP maintains that the human rights situation in this particular part of the country is extremely dire. The police, charged with upholding order in Dimbelenge, is composed of former rebels from the Rassemblement Congolais Pour La Démocratie (RCD), which ruled this part of DRC during its civil war five years ago. The former rebels were never adequately trained to be police officers in peacetime, and have been known to pillage, rape local women, and conduct arbitrary arrests and detentions. They also commit other forms of human rights violations and disrespect customary law and authority. Since December 2006, the human rights situation in Dimbelenge has seriously deteriorated, and RJMP has taken the initiative in relaying this problem to its partners and other human rights defenders by issuing the report.

Go to (in French): www.wmd.org/documents/may07demnews21.pdf

LABOR UNIONS AND WORKER RIGHTS

22. Bahrain Center for Human Rights Condemns New Discriminatory Law against Migrant Workers
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) has issued a press release condemning as discriminatory a new law under consideration that would ban migrant workers who are unmarried from living in residential areas. BCHR also believes that the new law would promote derogatory racist attitudes towards migrant workers. BCHR strongly urges the Parliament to vote against the proposal. It encourages the Council of Representatives to work on methods that will enforce decent standards of living for migrant workers, which will decrease the overcrowding of their residencies and improve health and living conditions. Finally, BCHR calls on the Council of Representatives to set a good example for citizens and to promote harmony and peaceful relations among the various communities living in Bahrain, instead of exploiting people’s prejudices and fears.

Go to: www.bahrainrights.org/node/1202

MEDIA, FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

23. Center for International Media Assistance Holds Inaugural Forum
The Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA), a project of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) begun in September 2006, held its first public meeting on May 2. CIMA brings together a broad range of media experts with the objective of strengthening support of free and independent media throughout the world. The May 2 forum focused on the international role of the media in exposing corruption and promoting good governance, and was attended by members of the Congressional Caucus for the Freedom of the Press, journalists, and other individuals from the fields of anti-corruption, governance, and media. The meeting, held in honor of World Press Freedom Day, included a panel discussion on the impact of media on corruption and governance, and the launching of Media Matters: Perspectives on Advancing Governance and Development a book produced by the Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD), a new network within the World Movement for Democracy.

Go to: www.ned.org/press/releases.html

24. Freedom House Releases 2007 Global Media Independence Survey
On May 1, Freedom House released its global media independence survey “Freedom in the Press 2007.” While the survey points to improvements in several countries, such as Italy, Nepal, Colombia, and Haiti, it notes that on the whole press freedom suffered continued global decline in 2006. The survey shows mixed trends in Africa, as well as a continuation of a longer-term pattern of decline in press freedom in Asia, Latin America, and the former Soviet Union. The study also warns of a growing effort to place restrictions on Internet freedom by censoring, harassing, or shutting down sites that provide alternative sources of political commentary. The survey, launched in 1980, assesses the degree of print, broadcast, and Internet freedom in every country in the world. It assigns each country a numerical score from 0 to 100, which in turn determines a category rating of Free, Partly Free or Not Free.

Go to: http://freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=362

25. Reporters Without Borders Builds Monument to Fallen Journalists
The French town of Bayeux and Reporters Without Borders have built a memorial to ensure that journalists killed while doing their job around the world since 1944 will never be forgotten. The completed memorial is the first of its kind in Europe and was inaugurated on May 2. It was designed and built by French architect and landscape artist Samuel Craquelin and consists of a pathway marked by 23 white stones bearing the names of 1,876 killed journalists.

Go to: www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=21777

RULE OF LAW AND JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE

26. US Institute of Peace Launches International Network to Promote the Rule of Law
On March 26, the United States Institute of Peace launched the International Network to Promote the Rule of Law (INPROL), a Web-based network of rule of law practitioners and experts, to promote information sharing and address the immediate information needs of officials in the field. The aim of the INPROL is to assist international rule of law specialists in their efforts to prevent conflict and stabilize war-torn societies. INPROL provides those serving in the field the ability to exchange information with other practitioners and experts, and to access relevant documents, best practices, and related materials. INPROL seeks to foster an integrated approach to the rule of law by incorporating multiple professional communities, including judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, civilian police, stability police, corrections officials, legal advisors, and judicial administrators. Membership in INPROL is open to those who are currently serving in a rule of law-related capacity, as described above, or who have previously done so. Membership is also open to scholars and others with specialized expertise of relevance to this community.

Go to: www.inprol.org

TOLERANCE AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

27. Social Capital Foundation to Hold Ethnic Diversity Conference
The Social Capital Foundation (TSCF), a Belgium-based NGO, is holding a conference on ethnic diversity on November 15-19, 2007, in Hawaii. This conference will bring together social scientists, economists, policy makers, and social workers to explore the issues arising in increasingly multiethnic societies. The objective is to make progress on the understanding of these issues by shedding light on some current developments and drafting innovative, practical responses. Activities will include presentations by selected keynote speakers, paper presentations, and panel discussions. Individuals are invited to submit papers and research, the deadline for which is October 1.

Go to: www.socialcapital-foundation.org/conferences/2007/TSCF%20International%20Conference%202007.htm

28. Leadership Council for Human Rights Announces Middle East Minorities Database Project
The Leadership Council for Human Rights (LCHR) is creating a comprehensive database of ethnic and religious minorities in the greater Middle East to promote recognition of these groups and enhance cross-cultural tolerance in the Arab world. The Middle East is home to dozens of distinct ethnic and religious groups, which share a common history of persecution. Through careful documentation of minorities in the region, LCHR will raise awareness of the truly diverse inhabitants of the region and the acute need to devote attention to minority rights. LCHR’s database will highlight the status of Middle East minorities through history, illustrating the movement of populations and subsequent formation of Diaspora communities. As an advocate for minorities and women in the Middle East, LCHR will use the database as a tool to emphasize recognition and tolerance of, as well as rights, respect, and justice for, peoples at risk. Specifically, LCHR aims to promote individual rights, language rights, and the right of minority populations to enjoy peaceful, public lives without fear.

To contribute information to the database, please contact lc4hr@leadership-council.org

YOUNG PEOPLE’S POLITICAL AND CIVIC PARTICIPATION

29. Global Youth Assembly of the United Nations to Be Held in Edmonton, Canada
The Global Youth Assembly of the United Nations will be held in Edmonton, Canada, from July 30 to August 4, 2007. Rights & Democracy is working in partnership with the Youth Assembly of the United Nations to help bring international youth and young professionals aged 16 to 28 to the Global Youth Assembly, titled “Reach Out, Speak Up! Ignite Change Now.” The Assembly will focus on UNESCO’s eight areas of action for establishing a culture of peace as a conceptual framework. The eight areas of action include fostering a culture of peace through education; promoting sustainable economic and social development; promoting respect for all human rights; ensuring equality between men and women; fostering democratic participation; advancing understanding, tolerance, and solidarity; supporting participatory communication and the free flow of information and knowledge; and promoting international peace and security.

For more information, write: info@youthassembly.ca

30. Zimbabwean Group Publishes Report on Student Involvement in Defending Values and Rights
On April 28, Students Solidarity Trust (SST) released a report entitled, “Inside the Pandora’s Box.” The report reflects the role the students have taken in defending the values and rights provided for and attached to conventions, such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The report attempts to initiate the engagement of the students movement in serious and critical policy research by looking at the problems and identifying possible areas of intervention.

Go to: www.studentsolidarity.org/Resources/PublicationsReports/tabid/58/Default.aspx

31. WORLD MOVEMENT PARTICIPATING NETWORKS, ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS MENTIONED IN THIS ISSUE

• Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) ­ www.wozazimbabwe.org
• Women’s Learning Partnership for Rights, Development, and Peace (WLP) ­
• CIVICUS ­ www.civicus.org
• Democracy Coalition Project (DCP) ­ http://demcoalition.org/html/home.html
• Cairo In