| Posted: April 19 2005,22:33 |
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PROGRESS: Has your organization seen
progress toward a culture of peace and nonviolence in your domain of
action and in your constituency during the first half of the Decade? |
The
culture of peace and non-violence in our state of Gujarat has been
greatly challenged during the first half of the decade. The opening
years of the new millenium have seen intense violence between two of
the major religious communities in our region - Hindus and Muslims.
Inter-community tolerance and harmony have been severely tested since
the prolonged violence which began in the year 2002. This has been
further exacerbated by the slow process of delivering justice in the
thousands of cases of arson, sexual abuse and murder which occured then.
The
indicators we use to measure progress is delivery of justice, attitude
and action of the state in delivering justice and creating physical and
mental security among the citizens, extent of dialogue between
communities, efforts by media to promote tolerance and reduction in
instances of violence.
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OBSTACLES: What are the most important obstacles that have prevented progress?
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The main obstacles are:
1. Involvement of the State in the perpetration of violence and retarding the process of justice
2. Partisan role of the media
3. Growing intolerance in the public at large
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ACTIONS: What actions have been
undertaken by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence during the first half of the Decade?
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The actions that our organisation has taken are:
1. Conducting Youth camps with young people from different religious and social groups to encourage open dialogue between them.
2.
Conducting meetings and interactions between leaders of different
religious and social groups to promote understanding and dialogue
toward joint action
3. Extensive advocacy through media on the
themes of inter-community dialogue and emphasing the shared culture
between different groups in the region
4. Extensive legal advocacy to ensure that justice is done in the thousands of cases of arson, sexual abuse and mas murder.
4.
Developing awareness materials to emphasise that different religious
and social groups in our western Indian state of Gujarat have a shared
culture going back over two millenia by demonstrating how this is
reflected in a common language, musical traditions, food, art and
architecture.
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ADVICE: What advice would you like to
give to the Secretary-General and the General Assembly to promote a
culture of peace and nonviolence during the second half of the Decade? |
We
believe that peace and justice go together and that there cannot be
peace without the State ensuring that justice is available to all
citizens and justice will be done in every case. Equally important is
that all citizens have the freedom to practice their beliefs in an
atmosphere of tolerance and that there exist adequate mechanisms for
all to express themselves non-violently and without fear. The UN should
invest in young people who will be the decision makers of tomorrow and
create all opportunities for them to be educated and exposed to others
like themselves and unlike themselves to create greater tolerance and
understanding.
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PARTNERSHIPS: What partnerships and
networks does your organization participate in, thus strengthening the
global movement for a culture of peace? |
We are associated with:
1. National and international human rights groups
2. National and international minority rights groups
3. National and internationalAcademic networks working on the theme of "Nationalism and religion"
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PLANS: What new engagements are
planned by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence in the second half of the Decade (2005-2010)? |
We plan to continue our work with young people and community leaders as well as our engagement with ensuring legal justice.
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Postal address of organization
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1 Punyashlok, Near Liberty Bus stop, University Road, Navarangpura, Ahmedabad 380 009, INDIA
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E-mail address of organization
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setumail@wilnetonline.net
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Website address of organization
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Highest priority action domain of a culture of peace
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Education for a culture of peace
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Second priority action domain of a culture of peace
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Human rights
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Highest priority country of action (or international)
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India
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Second priority country of action (or international)
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South Asia - Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan
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