david This month’s CPNN bulletin carries remarks by indigenous peoples who are guarding their environment against the destruction brought by our modern civilization: From Brazil: “We indigenous peoples have shown that we will never allow our lands to be recolonized, invaded or destroyed, even if that means sacrificing our own lives.” From Canada: “We have one Earth, … Read more
First, Truth Commissions are important because they break the secrecy of the state which is one of the key defenses of the culture of war. This month, as described in the CPNN bulletin, there are several examples of this. The US government, and in particular its CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) has kept secret the details of … Read more
Imagine ! … …if we could apply in Europe and North America initiatives such as those described from Africa such as the contributions of Nelson Mandela, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, the Gacaca in Rwanda, etc…. Imagine ! … …that networks of mass media, radio and television, devoted to the culture of … Read more
This month’s CPNN bulletin shows that initiatives for a culture of peace are taking place in most regions of the world. As discussed in previous blogs, Latin America and Africa are in the leadership, although this may be difficult for the North to accept . The Arab States took two steps forward with the “Arab Spring”, although the turnaround in Egypt moved them one step back. … Read more
When we drafted the Declaration and Programme of Action for a Culture of Peace at UNESCO in 1998, adopted by the UN General Assembly a year later as Resolution a/53/243, we envisaged that progress towards a culture of peace could be achieved through the following: – Partnerships between and among the various actors [including civil … Read more
The CPNN bulletins for August 1 and September 1 illustrate how history is moving dialectically. Two opposing tendencies exist and interact simultaneously, the culture of war and the culture of peace. At the same time the culture of war advances towards self-destruction, the culture of peace is slowly growing. While the commercial media drowns us with news about the culture … Read more
The CPNN bulletin this month is in great contrast to the headlines of the commercial mass media. CPNN tells us of progress in participatory democracy in the cities of Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Portugal and the United States. Ordinary citizens are deciding directly what should be the priorities for the budget in their neighborhoods. And the results … Read more
It is not by accident that the progress in democratic participation is being made at the level of the city and not at the level of the nation state. At the level of the nation state, there is no progress. Instead, we are going backwards. More and more the American model is being imposed at … Read more
This month’s CPNN bulletin illustrates clearly that we cannot make progress towards a culture of peace without engaging in conflict. The divestment from companies that aid the Israeli apartheid oppression of the Palestinian people is a good example. Several years ago we carried an article at CPNN by a young Palestinian activist at Wesleyan University who … Read more
In this month’s CPNN bulletin, we consider both positive and negative sides of the discourse about human rights. On the positive side, the state of human rights is a good indicator of progress towards a culture of peace. In this regard, the lead taken by Latin American countries to ratify and enforce human rights treaties reflects … Read more