news and messages This section collects quotes from the media and messages from individuals - from the youngest child to the most important head of state - which illustrates how everybody is involved in the global movement for a culture of peace. The information published here is under the responsibility of each author. UNESCO Director-General Attends Round Table on Women Peacemakers on the occasion of International Women’s Day (08/03/2007) On 8 March, the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, attended the Round Table on Women Peacemakers organized on the occasion of International Women’s Day at UNESCO Headquarters. Participating on the Panel of Speakers of the Round Table were Ms Sylvie Kinigi, former Prime Minister of the first democratically elected, ethnically mixed government of Burundi; Ms Luz Mendez, one of the few women to participate in the Guatemalan peace negotiations in the early 1990s; Ms Ruth-Gaby Vermont-Mangold who, through the Swiss parliament and the Council of Europe, has helped to win international recognition for women peace activists; Senator Mobina Jaffer, former Canadian Special Envoy for Peace in the Sudan and Chair of the Canadian Committee responsible for implementing Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security; and Ambassador Swanee Hunt, founder of the Initiative for Inclusive Security that helps bring together and train women peacemakers from around the world. In his address, Mr Matsuura highlighted how the theme of the Round Table relates to the overarching message of International Women’s Day – that is, “Ending Impunity for Violence Against Women”. “Violence”, he said, “is a common thread in the fabric of women’s everyday lives … responsible for the majority of deaths of women aged 15 to 44 worldwide … [and] … is all too often met with impunity.” He recognised that such violence is particularly aggravated by situations of conflict, and argued that this is all the more reason why women should therefore be included in the processes put in place to resolve conflicts. In making reference to United Nations Resolution 1325, which engages all Member States to promote the participation of women in decision-making and peace processes, integrate gender perspectives and training in peacekeeping, and protect women in armed conflict, the Director-General took a moment to pay tribute to Ms Angela King, the Jamaican diplomat and UN official who recently passed away and who was the driving force behind the conception and passage of the Resolution. However, while hailing that international commitments such as Resolution 1325 and the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) have gone far in raising awareness on women’s equality and women’s role in peace building and keeping, the Director-General recognized that “the advancement that Resolution 1325 represents, and the tireless contributions of individuals like Ms Angela King, women remain underrepresented in peace processes and at top decision-making levels. Indeed, the gap between policy and practice remains wide.” Finally, the Director-General congratulated Ms Thacoor-Sidaya, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Mauritius to UNESCO for her initiative of establishing the “Group of UNESCO Ambassadors for Gender Equality.” He expressed the hope that this group will play an important role in strengthening UNESCO’s action in support of gender equality and women’s empowerment. THE NORWEGIAN NOBEL COMMITTEE - The Nobel Peace Prize 2004 The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2004 to Wangari Maathai for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace. Peace on earth depends on our ability to secure our living environment. Maathai stands at the front of the fight to promote ecologically viable social, economic and cultural development in Kenya and in Africa. She has taken a holistic approach to sustainable development that embraces democracy, human rights and women's rights in particular. She thinks globally and acts locally. Maathai stood up courageously against the former oppressive regime in Kenya. Her unique forms of action have contributed to drawing attention to political oppression - nationally and internationally. She has served as inspiration for many in the fight for democratic rights and has especially encouraged women to better their situation. Maathai combines science, social commitment and active politics. More than simply protecting the existing environment, her strategy is to secure and strengthen the very basis for ecologically sustainable development. She founded the Green Belt Movement where, for nearly thirty years, she has mobilized poor women to plant 30 million trees. Her methods have been adopted by other countries as well. We are all witness to how deforestation and forest loss have led to desertification in Africa and threatened many other regions of the world - in Europe too. Protecting forests against desertification is a vital factor in the struggle to strengthen the living environment of our common Earth. Through education, family planning, nutrition and the fight against corruption, the Green Belt Movement has paved the way for development at grass-root level. We believe that Maathai is a strong voice speaking for the best forces in Africa to promote peace and good living conditions on that continent. Wangari Maathai will be the first woman from Africa to be honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize. She will also be the first African from the vast area between South Africa and Egypt to be awarded the prize. She represents an example and a source of inspiration for everyone in Africa fighting for sustainable development, democracy and peace. Oslo, 8 October 2004. More info http://nobelprize.org/peace/laureates/2004/press.html Coordination CP - UNESCO MONSIGNOR ETCHEGARAY & GRAND MUFTI OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA MUSTAFA CERIC TO RECEIVE UNESCO'S 2003 FELIX HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY PEACE PRIZE The Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mustafa Ceric, member of the European Council of Religious Leaders, and the Roman Catholic Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, former President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, were chosen today as laureats of the 2003 UNESCO Félix Houphouët-Boigny Prize. In choosing the two laureates, the international jury recognised their contribution to inter-faith dialogue, tolerance and peace, working towards the reconciliation of religious views. The Félix Houphouët-Boigny Prize was created in 1989; UNESCO awards it annually in order to honour people, organisations and institutions which have contributed significantly to the promotion, research, safeguarding or maintaining of peace. The Prize is named after the first president of Côte d'Ivoire, Félix Houphouët-Boigny. The date for the ceremony will be announced in due course. Gestion UNESCO CULTURE OF PEACE EXHIBITION AT UN NEW YORK: ''Building a Culture of Peace for the Children of the World'' opens at the United Nations in NYC, 45th and First Avenue. The exhibition celebrates the limitless potential of the individual to build peace in today's world. It is open to the public from 5 to 27 February on weekdays between 9am and 4:30pm. A multi-media exhibition emphasizing the ways in which ordinary people can create peace will be installed in the public lobby of the United Nations (visitors entrance). Peace-builders from around the world will be featured, and there is a special interactive section for children, featuring peace essays and artwork. The exhibition brings together ideas and examples of people, organizations and movements dedicated to opening a path to lasting peace, while stimulating viewers to consider how they can contribute to creating peace. It concentrates on concepts such as self-mastery, dialogue and tolerance, community and culture. The exhibition is a joint venture of the United Nation's Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries (OHRLLS), UNESCO, the Permanent Missions to the UN of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the Republic of Mozambique and Tuvalu, the Soka Gakkai International-USA and the International Committee of Artists for Peace (ICAP). UNESCO New York MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF UNESCO ON THE OCCASION OF HUMAN RIGHTS DAY (10 DECEMBER 2003) - In a world disfigured by poverty, discrimination, exclusion, the deterioration of the environment and other ills, the realization of human rights for all is a common purpose which unites people from different continents, religions and cultures. In this regard, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted fifty-five years ago, continues to be “a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations”. Its relevance is undimmed by the passage of time; it remains a vital source of inspiration to all those striving for a better future for themselves and their children. The need to construct a world respectful of human rights was deeply felt by Sergio Vieira de Mello, the late United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. His tragic death in Baghdad in August 2003 was a major loss for all those who believe in and work for human rights. With his passing, I lost a good friend and a close colleague who dedicated his life to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the struggle to ensure their attainment by all. Human Rights Day is not an occasion for celebrations or festivities. Rather, it is a day for taking stock – for reflecting on what has been done and what remains to be achieved. A lot has been done: numerous standards have been internationally agreed upon, mechanisms for the protection of human rights have been established at international and national levels, and people are generally much more aware of their rights and of the ways in which they can assert and protect them. However, much remains to be done to make all human rights – civil, cultural, economic, political and social – affordable and attainable by all. Raising awareness on human rights is a key to their attainment. This is why the right to education is so fundamental for human rights in general. This is why knowledge and awareness are a condition of empowerment. Only a person who is aware that he or she has rights can better strive for those rights, whether it be the right to a job, to obtain adequate food, shelter or medical care, to participate actively in political life, or to benefit from the progress of science and technology. Only a person aware of his or her rights can fully utilize all the means to protect those rights and the rights of others. UNESCO strongly believes that every child – girl or boy – should have access to education. Indeed, we believe that quality basic education should be available to everyone by right. The implementation of the right to education, together with other human rights and fundamental freedoms, lies at the heart of the Strategy on Human Rights just adopted by the Organization. We seek to ensure that all of UNESCO’s activities in the fields of education, the sciences, culture, communication and information are designed with a view to improving the daily life of people. Research on the obstacles to the implementation of human rights and the ways to overcome those impediments should feed into the global movement for human rights. In this movement, every government, every organization and every person has a role to play. It is only by working together that we can protect our own rights and the rights of those who need them the most. Our world can be a more secure and better place for everyone if a real culture of human rights prevails. This means that all activities, all actions and all decisions by governments and peoples alike should be measured by reference to certain fundamental criteria. To what extent, for example, do these decisions/actions correspond to the ideals of human rights? To what extent do they help to implement human rights for all? And to what extent do they protect human beings from the detrimental effects of the improper or unethical use of science, technology or power? A world in which all human beings “…shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want…”, as stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is our shared goal. Let us work together to achieve this goal. Office of the Spokeswoman - La Porte Parole Message of the Director-General on the occasion of the International Day for Tolerance ( 16 November 2003) On 16 November 1995, the date of the fiftieth anniversary of the Organization, the Member States of UNESCO adopted a Declaration of Principles on Tolerance in which they affirmed that tolerance is neither concession nor indulgence but rather respect and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world’s cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human. UNESCO thus set a date with the international community as a whole by recognizing, through the principle of tolerance, the universal human rights and fundamental freedoms of others. This international day of collective reflection has today taken on renewed significance because the paradoxes of tolerance are, as we all know, immense: how can we explain, for example, that it may be morally acceptable to permit things which are still considered to be morally wrong? How can we accept, without being overcome by a profound sense of scepticism, that all values and truths are relative and that the appeal of universality is only an illusion? Must we, then, in the name of the tolerance advocated by democratic societies, give up our search for the truth and agree to tolerate everything, even the intolerable? These are valid questions. They lie at the heart of our contemporary concern with values and certainties and they continue to point up one of the most pressing issues of our times: the relation between tolerance and pluralism. For whereas it is true that pluralism cannot guarantee tolerance, the rejection of pluralism is unquestionably one of the major causes of growing intolerance. Modern sociology has taught us that the values motivating our actions are not only multiple but also competing and conflicting, without a possible standard measure of what is good and what is just. At the same time, we have learned that tolerance and pluralism strengthen democracy and in so doing facilitate the full exercise of all human rights, thus providing a solid foundation for civil society, social harmony and peace. If we are to stand up to what is intolerable in intolerance, we must be certain of the fundamental values that we advocate and have to defend. It is on the basis of such a “reasonable consensus”, favouring open societies and their basic values of democracy and respect for human rights, that we can no doubt find a way out of a highly destructive relativism. The fact is that no society is exempt from the dangers inherent in the absence of tolerance and the violence to which it may give rise. The forces of aggressive nationalism, the lack of religious tolerance and ethnic extremism continue to present new challenges. Tolerance does not, therefore, mean indifference. Tolerance must also be active, combative and self-critical. We cannot, therefore, lose sight of the process of acquiring the right to tolerance and the duty we have to defend it. That means, in particular, taking measures to thwart all manifestations of hate and intolerance or acts of violence, encouraging and reinforcing harmonious co-existence and relations between ethnic, religious, linguistic and other groups, ensuring that the values of pluralism and respect for diversity and non-discrimination are effectively promoted. It is my profound belief that this commitment is inseparable from action to foster dialogue among cultures. Indeed we have here a framework with the potential to develop fully the capacity of cultures to agree on common values. Promoting such dialogue represents an act of trust in the willingness of human beings to develop universally valid ethical standards through reflection and dialogue. We should honour and keep alive this trust which has been the essence of UNESCO’s mandate since its founding. Our nascent century needs to find a sense of meaning, to create a shared perception of things and events, in order to resolve its tensions. I believe that we can do so by engaging in open and ongoing dialogue. May this international day inspire each of us to open the channels of this dialogue in which nothing less than the future of our humanity is at stake. Office of the Spokeswoman / La Porte Parole MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF UNESCO ON THE OCCASION OF WORLD SCIENCE DAY FOR PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT (10 NOVEMBER 2003) - The greatest challenge of our time is to create a world where all citizens live in dignity and peace in a hospitable environment that they have learnt to care for. Achieving this will require political will, public support and science. In celebrating World Science Day for Peace and Development 2003, we place particular focus on the role of science, calling attention to the positive attributes and beneficial consequences of scientific research and knowledge. However, while we continue to marvel at new scientific discoveries and enjoy the benefits of innovative technological developments grounded upon scientific advances, there is a growing unease about science and mounting concern about its adverse consequences. In some quarters, these misgivings have turned into distrust and opposition, reactions which are worrying because they may erode the foundations of public support for science. That support, which is inseparable from public confidence in science and scientists, can no longer be taken for granted. Today, therefore, the case for science needs to be re-made, in terms that are convincing to a general public less and less deferential towards the pure intentions of scientists or their greater wisdom. Nor can the case for science rest on past achievements or on promises of future benefits taken on trust. Science will increasingly need to justify itself anew in the knowledge that its evidence and arguments may be subjected to critical scrutiny by a more skeptical public. Scientists should welcome these developments, especially when they are associated with the proper functioning of democratic processes. At the same time, scientists should work hard at educating policy-makers, opinion-shapers and the general public about science – its purposes, its principles, its methods, its critical and questioning spirit, and its many accomplishments. In this perspective, science education should address not only education in science but also education for and about science, taking the more troubling and contentious issues confronting us into active consideration. Scientists must become better communicators but this is not just about sending out clear, accurate and relevant messages about science. It is also about listening to the interaction between science and society as well as recognizing the failures and dangers of scientific activities – the days of an automatic equation of “scientific development” with “human progress” are long past. Consequently, the education and training of scientists, which should be considered lifelong in character, must include the ethical, social and political dimensions of scientific activity. While science is recognized as contributing to some of the problems and looming crises facing our world, this does not mean that viable solutions can leave science out of account. The design of realistic solutions must be undertaken with science, not against it. We need the contribution of science, for example, to analyse the extent to which human activities are responsible for climate change, environmental degradation and other worrying phenomena. And it is scientists and engineers who will help us to prepare for tomorrow’s complex problems. Science must be mobilized globally to address the enormous problems related to public health, agricultural productivity, environmental degradation and poverty. This will require addressing the very real disparities between the developed and developing countries when it comes to producing scientific knowledge and using this knowledge for social and economic benefit. Closing this knowledge gap will require, inter alia, finding solutions to the unceasing exodus of scientific brainpower to the rich countries of the North. Closing the scientific knowledge gap also requires North-South and South-South partnerships between scientists, institutions and governments. Science is a shared enterprise. The pace of scientific progress and the interrelations between global problems require teamwork and networking. Consequently, national and international partnership and collaboration between scientific institutions, academia, NGOs and other sectors and disciplines are essential. World Science Day for Peace and Development is an occasion for UNESCO to reaffirm the vision of scientific research as promoting the economic, social and cultural development of nations and peoples and fostering the prospects for peace and a sustainable future. Let us all commit ourselves to working together for greater solidarity in the sharing of scientific knowledge. Without global science, there can be no sustainable development; without sustainable development, there can be no global peace. for more information . Office of the Spokeswoman/ La Porte Parole "PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO VIOLENCE AT WORK" Kimberly Ann Rogers and Duncan Chappel. Workplace violence is one of today’s most serious occupational hazards. This practical guide offers valuable information on how to systematically design and implement workplace prevention programs and policies. This new ILO publication on violence in the workplace demonstrates on the one hand how workplace violence can be prevented. On the other hand it outlines how to respond to violence in the workplace. The response programmes include particularly: *the assessment and the description of risks *the designing and the implementing of preventive and reactive measures *monitoring the effectiveness of prevention and reactive measures *and reviewing the risk-management process. Every worker deserves to work in a safe and secure environment, and violence should not be accepted as part of any job. This book presents concrete guidance for combating violence in the workplace while also providing a wider understanding of the factors and conditions, which contribute to it. for more information To order this publication, please contact travail@ilo.org International Labour Organisation - http://www.ilo.org/publ Entitled “Une décennie pour apprende la paix”, a special issue of the quarterly journal of the International Movement for Reconciliation “Cahiers de la Réconciliation” is dedicated to the International decade for a Culture of Peace and non-violence for the children of the world (2001-2010). This double issue envisaged as a reflection and animation tool on the Decades implemented by the United Nations and the Ecumenical Council of Churches contains: -The messages of Kofi Annan secretary general of the United Nations., Koïchiro Matsuura, director general of U.N.E.S.C.O., and Konrad Raiser, secretary general of C.O.E. -Articles dealing with non-violence (J.-M. Muller), the biblical roots of non-violence(priest F.Dietz)) and the actors of the Decade at the french and the international levels (C.Renoux) -Free words of scientific and religious figures (professor A. Jacquard, the rector of Paris Mosque D. Boubekeur, pastor J. –A de Clermont, Mgr Martino…) setting out their opinions on the Culture of Peace -Thematic analysises on the violence at work, in family, in sport, in television…. -The account of experiences of groups involved in the promotion of the culture of peace and non-violence. -Animation grids to become peace and non-violence actor. -A bibliography This issue can be ordered at the following address: secrétariat du M.I.R., 68 rue de Babylone, 75007 Paris. Tel: 01 47 53 84 05. Fax: 01 45 51 40 31. E-mail: mirfr@club-internet.fr Cahiers de la Réconciliation, n° 4-2002/1-2003, « Une décennie pour apprendre la paix », 96 p. Mouvement International de la Réconciliation Every year the City of Hiroshima holds The Peace Memorial Ceremony to commemorate the memory of the victims of the atomic devastation suffered by Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This ceremony is also aimed to call for peace in the world and for the abolition of nuclear weapons. ON this occasion the mayor of Hiroshima issues a Peace Declaration in which he reiterates his commitment to promote peace and for the elimination of nuclear weapons. At exactly 8:15 a.m., the time the atomic bomb was dropped, the Peace Bell is rung, sirens sound all over the city and for one minute people at the ceremony grounds, in households and in workplaces pay silent tribute to the victims of the atomic bombing and pray for the realization of everlasting world peace. The full text of the Declaration of 6 August 2003 is available at the following address for more information details are also available at the following address http://www.city.hiroshima.jp/shimin/heiwa/declaration.html The City of Hiroshima eerlands Expertisecentrum Alternatieven voor Geweld (NEAG), a network of individuals and partner organisations, interested in conflict management and transformation, hosted the conference on “The Role of Women in the Realm of Peace-Building and Reconciliation” held at The Hague on June 12, 2003, where 130 women and men peacemakers from all over the world agreed on “The Hague Declaration on Women and Peace-building”. Emphasizing on “urgent need to recognize women’s creative and effective contributions in waging peace,” the Declaration calls on nations in conflict to give women access to formal education, health services and economic self improvement, to integrate gender perspectives into social transformations, to allow women to participate in all stages of peace negotiation, policy-making and healing, and to liberate women from cultural constraints. Women are also encouraged to reinforce peace-building efforts. The internationals organizations are called on to commit more gender sensitive resources and to address the root causes of armed conflicts such as unjust socio-economic policies. for more information . NEAG contact: Anke Kooke - info@neag.nl DIRECTOR-GENERAL AWARD THE UNESCO MAHATMA GANDHI MEDAL TO DR THOMAS G. STICHT The Director-General today awarded UNESCO’s Mahatma Gandhi Medal to Dr Thomas G. Sticht of the United States of America, in recognition of twenty-five years of service on the international jury that selects the literacy prizes awarded annually by UNESCO. Dr Sticht, who is currently serving as President of the International Jury for the Award of the Literacy Prizes, was praised by the Director-General for his "wise counsel, deep knowledge, extensive experience and an abiding commitment to the importance of adult literacy." Dr Sticht noted that adult education is often the foundation for the education of children; adult literacy improves children’s health, schools, work productivity and overall investment in the community. Dr Sticht began his work on adult literacy in 1966 when he developed methods for helping blind students read thorough listening. The four prizes on which the Jury deliberates are the International Reading Association Literacy Award, the Noma Literacy Prize, and the two King Sejong Literacy Prizes. The Representative of the Jury, Her Excellency Mrs Ghada al-Jaabi, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of the Syrian Arab Republic, thanked UNESCO for its work in the field of adult literacy and its special emphasis on women’s and girls’ education. Office of the Spokeswoman - La Porte Parole - Contact: m.de-pierrebourg@unesco.org CULTIVONS LA PAIX PAR LE PATRIMOINE LOCAL - par Roger Billé Selon la définition des Nations Unies la culture de la paix consiste en ’’un ensemble de valeurs, attitudes et comportement qui rejettent la violence et préviennent les conflits en s’attaquant à leurs racines par le dialogue et la négociation entre les individus, les groupes, et les Etats.’’ L’année 2000, ‘’Année internationale de l’ONU pour la Culture de la Paix’’ à été un très grand succès. Le ‘’Manifeste 2000’’ ensemble de brefs textes de 5 prix Nobel de la Paix, qui a servi de support politique à l’année Internationale, a connu un succès considérable. A ce jour, 75 millions de signatures individuelles ont été recueillis, ce qui est tout à fait unique dans l’historique des ‘’Années Internationales’’ de l’Onu, qui n’ont pas toujours été un succès, mais qui ont au moins l’avantage de focaliser un problème et de faire en sorte que l’on en parle un peu de par le vaste monde. L’année 2000 pour la Culture de la paix, est un concept né à l’Unesco. Avec le soutien populaire exceptionnel qu’à donc connu cette initiative, cela a conforté l’organisation internationale qui, par la même occasion, a réalisé là une opération magistrale de communication. L’assemblée Générale de l’ONU à proclamé la décennie 2001/2010 « Décennie internationale de la promotion d’une culture de la non-violence et de la paix au profit des enfants du Monde ». L’invitation à continuer était donc nette. Les Ong se sont donc interrogé ’’que faire qui soit original ?’’ L’idée nous est venue d’Italie –de Toscane- ou dans le Haut Moyen âge, au XIIIème siècle une Nonne – canonisée depuis sous le nom de Sainte Catherine de Sienne – envoyait des messages aux puissants du monde d’alors pour les exhorter à prendre en considération le désir profond de Paix des populations les plus humbles. Le souvenir de cette sainte est resté excessivement vivace dans cette province italienne, ou elle est l’objet d’un véritable Culte. Nos amis de la Fédération Italienne des Clubs Unesco ont donc eu l’idée géniale d’unir ce souvenir pluriséculaire à la moderne Culture de la Paix ; 2002 étant l’année internationale du Patrimoine, le groupe de travail Culture de la Paix des ONG à donc lancé une campagne mondiale, avec l’idée de la décentraliser dans de nombreux pays et dans de nombreuses provinces, sur le thème ‘’Le Patrimoine pour une culture de la Paix’’. Avec l’aide efficace de l’Unesco, nous avons édité des brochures, en trois langues Anglais, Français, Espagnol que nous avons adressé aux 344 ONG Internationales qui ont statut officiel avec l’Organisation. A ce jour une quarantaine d’OING* a montré un intérêt pour cette campagne. Concernant le Patrimoine, (avec cette précision de patrimoine matériel - que chacun voit et connaît – mais également la notion, nouvelle, de patrimoine immatériel tel que la musique, la danse, la littérature etc.) chacun comprendra qu’il n’est pas besoin d’utiliser Versailles ou St Pierre de Rome ou la Tour de Londres comme support d’une campagne mais de focaliser telle petite chapelle de village ou telle maison ou castelet ou a vécu un ou une autochtone qui a laissé un nom ! Ce patrimoine décentralisé qui intéressera les habitants du cru et la presse locale. Roger Billé membre du secrétariat de l’IDRP représentant permanent du Conseil Mondial de la Paix auprès de l’Unesco il est l ’animateur du groupe de travail des OING pour la Culture de la paix et la Décennie. Article publié dans ''La Lettre de l'Institut'' IN THE FACE OF THE SITUATION IN IRAQ, THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL CALLS ON THE MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD TO FOCUS THEIR ENERGIES ON ENSURING THAT UNESCO IS READY TO ASSUME ITS PROPER RESPONSIBILITIES WHEN THE TIME COMES Speaking at the opening of the current session of the Organization's Executive Board, which is being held from 4 to 16 April, chaired by Mrs Aziza Benani, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Morocco to UNESCO, the Director-General, Koïchiro Matsuura, began by expressing once again his "compassion in the face of the terrible suffering of the Iraqi civilian population". "How", he said, "can anyone not shudder at this deluge of noise and fire or not feel for the families of so many dead and wounded, whether civilians or military personnel? Loss of life by any token is unbearable". Anxious to maintain the cohesion of the Organization, which he considers it his duty to uphold, the Director-General called on the Member States "to set aside [their] differences and to focus [their] energies on ensuring that UNESCO is ready to assume the responsibilities that will be assigned to it when the time comes". He emphasized that "through the specificity of its mandate, which is to lay the foundations of peace, UNESCO has a unique role to play, but it can only do so if we show cohesion and patience". "I am aware", he said, "that the capability of the United Nations to act is being questioned and doubted. But I also know, like Kofi Annan, that the Iraqi people, and all other peoples of the world, are counting on the United Nations, which could well emerge stronger from this ordeal". Koïchiro Matsuura expressed the wish that the Organization "turn to full account the intervening period, during which our mandate does not directly relate to the prevailing situation on the ground, to prepare ourselves to tackle, in our fields of competence, the post-conflict phase", which he hoped would be "with us as soon as possible". The Director-General described the steps he has taken within the Secretariat to ensure the Organization's full participation, in close coordination with the other United Nations system agencies, in future emergency humanitarian missions. Thus, in the field of education, every measure has been put in place to ensure the continuity of Iraq's education system, in particular through the Oil-for-Food Programme, in which UNESCO is closely involved. In the cultural sphere, the Director-General stressed the initiatives taken, prior to the outbreak of hostilities in Iraq, to ensure that the various parties involved were conscious of the dangers facing the Iraqi cultural heritage. He announced in this connection that he would be convening in the very near future "a meeting of the world's leading experts on Iraqi cultural heritage so as to draw up a status report and an emergency safeguarding plan", before sending "as soon as the situation permits, a mission of experts into Iraq to complete this assessment and make an inventory of the most urgent needs". The measures put in place also include actions relating to other fields of competence of the Organization, such as communication and the environment. The full text of the speeches of the Director-General and the Chairwoman of the Executive Board can be consulted on the Organization's website at the following addresses: for more information and http://www.unesco.org/exboard/index.shtml. Office of the Spokeswoman - La Porte Parolel - Contact: m.de-pierrebourg@unesco.org THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF UNESCO SAYS HE IS « RELIEVED » AT YESTERDAY'S ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT THE RESUMPTION OF THE « OIL FOR FOOD » PROGRAMME - Declaring his "deep sympathy with the Iraqi people, whose suffering has been worsened by lack of food and drinking water supplies", Koïchiro Matsuura has reaffirmed UNESCO's determination to "resume as soon as possible, alongside the other eight United Nations system agencies involved, an active part in the implementation of the Oil for Food Programme". "News of the resumption of the Oil for Food Programme is a relief for all those who are determined to allay the suffering of the Iraqi people. Provision of drinking water, food and medicine is an absolute priority, but we must also be ready to ensure the continuity of the educational process for the Iraqi children", he added. Contact: m.de-pierrebourg@unesco.org IRAQ: THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF UNESCO URGES BELLIGERENTS TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF JOURNALISTS - The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, urges all the parties involved in the war in Iraq to respect the rights of journalists under international law, to refrain from targeting the media and to ensure the free flow of information. The Director-General states “I call upon all belligerents to respect Article 79 of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Convention which states that ‘Journalists engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict shall be considered as civilians’, as well to recognize the need for the free flow of information”. The Director-General also deplores the death of Australian photographer Paul Moran and British war correspondent Terry Lloyd. Two other journalists are missing and two have been wounded, according to different sources. “In a war that also includes a fierce media battle, the task of seeking independent information is especially vital if world public opinion is to avoid being the target of manipulation and propaganda”, he said. Statement attributable to the Spokeswoman for the Director-General Cabinet du Directeur général - Contact: m.de-pierrebourg@unesco.org KOÏCHIRO MATSUURA : « WE ARE DUTY BOUND TO ASSIST THE IRAQI PEOPLE IN PROTECTING ITS MEMORY AND BUILDING ITS FUTURE » - Following converging reports about damage to several cultural buildings in Iraq, particularly in Baghdad, Mossul and Tikrit, since the beginning of the conflict, the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, recalling that Iraq, “the cradle of civilizations that go back thousands of years, has many treasures and sites that are a valuable part of the heritage of all humankind”, has again emphasized that everything possible should be done to preserve the Iraqi cultural heritage. He noted that UNESCO was “duty bound to assist the Iraqi people in protecting its memory and building its future”, and said he was confident that the United States authorities were determined to “take all possible steps to protect and preserve the outstandingly rich Iraqi heritage for the benefit of future generations”. Over the past weeks, well before the outbreak of the conflict, UNESCO took a number of steps to ensure that the different parties involved were aware of the terms of the 1954 Hague Convention and its two additional protocols relating to the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict. The Director-General accordingly alerted the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the US Department of State and made available a detailed map of the positions of Iraqi archaeological sites and museums. UNESCO also invited INTERPOL, the World Customs Organization and the International Confederation of Art Dealers to ensure compliance with the 1970 Convention relating to the illicit transfer of ownership of cultural property. Cabinet du Directeur général - Contact: m.de-pierrebourg@unesco.org MESSAGE OF THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF UNESCO ON THE OCCASION OF THE INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION - 21 March 2003 The twenty-first of March, International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, is one of the oldest international days observed by the United Nations. It was proclaimed in 1966 following a tragic event which profoundly shocked the world's conscience: the massacre by the South African racist regime of schoolchildren demonstrating against the laws of apartheid, an abject system which institutionalized racism and discrimination in outright defiance of all the moral and ethical progress achieved by humanity. Despite the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa and the end of segregationist policies in other countries, racism and discrimination have not, alas, disappeared. Millions of men and women still suffer, and even die, because of their colour, ethnic origin, religion or social status. On top of this, new forms of discrimination - associated with scientific advances and the phenomenon of globalization - are threatening gains that we once thought to be irreversible. It was in response to such threats that the international community decided to convene in 2001 in Durban, South Africa, the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. Representing the third major conference on racism, following those of 1978 and 1983, the World Conference also fell within the Third United Nations Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination, which will end in 2004. The Durban Conference provided a forum for the examination of questions crucial not only to the protection of fundamental human rights but also to understanding, coexistence and harmony among individuals and peoples. At the Conference racism was, for the first time, recognized as a scourge affecting all societies, without exception, and as a source of conflict with far-reaching and often uncontrollable consequences. The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted by consensus, offers States, international organizations and forces in civil society fresh outlooks for renewing their commitment to combating racism and other forms of discrimination. On that occasion the long struggle that UNESCO has been waging against these evils was unanimously hailed. In response to the specific recommendations made to us, we decided to elaborate a new strategy with a view to reinforcing UNESCO's action in this domain. To maintain the momentum of the Durban process and broaden public awareness of its results, we are planning to celebrate the International Day of 21 March 2003 in a very special way. This year, several important events (young people's workshops, film screenings, meetings with people working to counter racism, debates, shows) will take place at UNESCO Headquarters throughout the day. I invite all those who can to participate in this celebration in order to exchange experiences and express support for victims everywhere of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. It is by joining together in an unrelenting endeavour on all fronts that we can withstand what begins in people's minds and thrives on economic uncertainty, social exclusion and deprivation of hope. Koïchiro Matsuura Cabinet du Directeur général - Contact: m.de-pierrebourg@unesco.org STATEMENT BY MR KOÏCHIRO MATSUURA, Director-General of UNESCO - “As Director-General of an institution dedicated to constructing the defences of peace in the minds of men through education, science, culture and communication, I can only express my heartfelt emotion, my infinite sadness and my most profound wish that the loss of human life and the scale of suffering and destruction will be reduced to the minimum. I am determined to ensure UNESCO’s full participation in the work of humanitarian assistance and reconstruction to be carried out by the United Nations system. It is our duty to do all we can to ease the suffering of the Iraqi people, to help protect their heritage and to build their future. UNESCO is already participating in the coordination machinery established by the United Nations in response to urgent humanitarian needs. But the essential part of our contribution will come after the conflict and will take the form of rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in all our fields of competence. It is there that our experience and our expertise – particularly that acquired under the Oil-for-Food programme, which was the reason for UNESCO’s continued presence in Iraq until just a few days ago – will be turned to full account. Notwithstanding the current international tensions, it is incumbent upon UNESCO to remain true to its founding mission. That “intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind” to which our Constitution refers is today, perhaps even more than ever before, the true guarantee of the unity of the international community. In answer to those who see the present conflict as an expression of the clash of civilizations and religions, we must do all we can to nurture intercultural dialogue and the values of tolerance and mutual respect.” Cabinet du Directeur général Contact: m.de-pierrebourg@unesco.org AGUE APPEAL FOR PEACE HONORS WORLD PUBLIC OPINION, COMMENDS SECURITY COUNCIL AND SECRETARY GENERAL KOFI ANNAN AND WARNS AGAINST WAR WITHOUT END - The Hague Appeal for Peace, which has always called for the force of law, not the law of force, as the instrument of international relations, notes with distress that a few nations are prepared to violate international law, ignore the voice of the world's second super power, public opinion, and risk a lawless and violent future. * We believe the best way to support the young men and women in military service is to bring them home alive and well. * We believe the use of the billions of dollars that will be required for carrying out the destruction of Iraq and the $20 Billion per year projected for post war expenditures, would be better allocated to cleaning up the swamp of poverty, disease and illiteracy that gives rise to despotic rule and terrorism. * We believe the United Nations is the world's only forum for debating and managing peace and security. We will defend the fundamental values of international law, of the Charter of the United Nations, of democracy and human rights. *We commend those who have resisted blind reliance on the law of force including most members of the Security Council and Secretary General Kofi Annan. We are as critical of the despotic regime of Saddam Hussein as anyone, but we have learned much over the years about safer ways of handling tyranny and saber rattling. The quantity and nature of weapons in today's world is of such lethal consequence that to risk war is to risk massive numbers of dead, wounded and people made ill, hungry and homeless and angry. * The new doctrine of preventive war will do more to prevent the achievement of democracy and justice in the world than to prevent terrorism. * We call on all nations to abide by treaties and agreements long ago reached that require the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction. We grieve with the victims of this atrocity HAGUE APPEAL FOR PEACE DECLARATION DE LA FEDERATION MONDIALE DES ASSOCIATIONS, CENTRES ET CLUBS UNESCO POUR LA PAIX (FMACU) - Nous, représentants élus de la Fédération Mondiale des Associations, Centres et Clubs UNESCO, ONG en relations formelles d’association avec l’UNESCO, réunis en session extraordinaire du Conseil exécutif de la FMACU, en la Maison de l’UNESCO, signataires du “ Manifeste 2000 ” pour la paix, déclarons avec vigueur, en cette troisième année de la “ Décennie des Nations Unies pour la promotion d’une culture de la paix et de la non violence en faveur des enfants du monde ”, notre attachement, non seulement au maintien de la paix, mais surtout à la construction d’une paix voulue, où la rencontre de l’ “ Autre ” et le “ Dialogue entre les civilisations ” préservent le “ Passé ” pour construire un meilleur “ Avenir ”. Persuadés que le patrimoine culturel de l’humanité, notre héritage commun, et la diversité qui en témoignent, doivent permettre un dialogue facteur de réconciliation, nous affirmons que la couleur du multilinguisme est une musique humaine porteuse d’espoir, face au tonnerre inhumain des armes qui détruisent vies humaines et familles et bafouent ainsi les droits indissociables de chaque être humain, instaurant la misère où devrait régner la joie de vivre, que chacun est en droit d’espérer. Nous, représentants de dizaines de milliers de militants de tous âges, issus de nos 5000 Clubs répartis dans le monde, attachés aux idéaux de l’UNESCO, nous n’avons que la parole pour contribuer à “ élever les défenses de la paix dans l’esprit des hommes ” et nous ne pouvons nous taire face à la situation mondiale actuelle. Aussi, nous appelons solennellement chaque être humain à prendre conscience de ce que la destruction de l’“ Autre ” est notre propre destruction, la destruction d’une part de notre dignité humaine, tandis que la richesse, qu’offrent l’échange et l’esprit de bonne volonté, permet de venir à bout des situations les plus compromises et de préserver ainsi un avenir digne pour les générations futures. Les membres du Conseil exécutif de la FMACU DEUXIEMES RENCONTRES EUROPEENNES ENTRE JUIFS ET CATHOLIQUES - Paris, le 12 mars 2003 - Le Directeur général de l’UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura a ouvert, le 10 mars, les Deuxièmes rencontres européennes entre Juifs et Catholiques. Ces rencontres sont le fruit d’une initiative conjointe du Congrès juif européen et du Congrès juif mondial, placée sous les auspices du Vatican avec la participation du Conseil des Rabbins d’Amérique du Nord et du Comité épiscopal des évêques de France pour les relations avec le judaïsme. Dans son discours, après avoir rappelé que, conformément à son Acte constitutif, l’UNESCO oeuvrait « à influencer les comportements et les mentalités, pour faire de la solidarité entre les peuples, leurs cultures et leurs spiritualités, le ciment d’une paix durable », le Directeur général a mis l’accent sur le rôle que joue le dialogue interculturel et inter religieux : « A l’heure où les contacts interculturels sont de plus en plus fréquents entre les sociétés et en leur sein, il est essentiel de faire du dialogue entre civilisations, cultures et traditions spirituelles l’axe principal des relations intercommunautaires et internationales. Faute de quoi nous risquons d’être les témoins de replis identitaires de tous ordres, dont nous savons combien ils sont dangereux » a-t-il déclaré. Koïchiro Matsuura a également insisté sur le rôle de l’éducation car « ce dialogue exige un apprentissage permanent ». Reconnaissant que « Il est difficile d’abandonner ses certitudes et de s’ouvrir à l’autre », le Directeur général a insisté sur la nécessité de proposer aux pays des outils pédagogiques appropriés pour combattre les ignorances et stéréotypes car « Les jeunes, auxquels nous devons léguer un héritage de paix et d’espoir, doivent être formés dans ce sens. L’éducation, par une initiation aux cultures, religions, modes de pensée et de vie de l’Autre, est donc au centre de ce dialogue, non seulement en Europe, mais partout dans le monde ». En conclusion, le Directeur général a invité les participants à ces rencontres à avoir « le courage d’agir et de faire en sorte que nos choix, dans leur diversité, élèvent dans l’esprit des hommes les défenses de la paix ». Office of the Spokeswoman/La Porte Parole-Contact: m.de-pierrebourg@unesco.org MEDIATION AND YOUTH - Within the framework of the conferences cycle organized by the Education for Universal Values Section (ED/PEQ/VAL) on methods for non-violent resolution of conflicts, you are invited to attend this following conference, opened to UNESCO staff and the general public: Mediation and youth 7th March 2003 - 14h00-18h00 - room XI Organised jointly by UNESCO, the CIME (Communication & Mediation) and the CMFM (Center for Mediation and Training in Mediation - France), the conference will focus on the mediation as a non-violent conflict prevention and transformation method in and out-of-school, through good practices in France, Italy and the Balkan region. We sincerely hope you will be able to join us on this occasion! Antonella Verdiani ED/PEQ/VAL, Tél. 0145681177 “PROMOTING PEACE AND SECURITY THROUGH EDUCATION AND SCIENCE: ELEMENTS FOR A UN STRATEGY AGAINST TERRORISM” - On 26 February 2003, the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr. Koïchiro Matsuura, convened at the Organization’s Headquarters a meeting with the representatives of United Nations sister agencies to identify a common approach against terrorism by promoting peace and security through Education and Science. This meeting is meant as a response to two of the recommendations contained in the Report of the Secretary-General’s Policy Working Group on the United Nations and Terrorism, which was presented in August 2002 to the UN General Assembly and the Security Council by Kofi Annan. In his opening remarks Mr Koïchiro Matsuura encouraged the group to think in terms of concentrating on existing programmes and their efficiency rather than creating new programmes. Arguing that today’s problems are not a “clash of civilizations” but are more a result of a “clash of ignorance” the Director-General explained that “ignorance of each other’s way of life, values and heritage, the ignorance of the equal dignity of the human person in all cultures and civilizations, and the ignorance of the unity of humanity and of commonly shared values” was in fact the world’s greatest challenge in the decades ahead. Stating that peace and security should not be separated the Director-General recalled UNESCO’s General Conference Resolution on Terrorism reiterated the duty of the United Nations system to “address both sides of the terrorism question in terms of its political as well as criminal nature”. The participants agreed on the need to concentrate their existing programmes on three interlocking areas in the field of education. Aware of the challenge to devise ways of aiding national policy makers to introduce textbook adjustments they agreed to focus on developing national curricula frameworks with a human rights orientation, while addressing the implications of globalization and determining the role of education in life long learning efforts. In the field of science a strong emphasis was placed on the need for reinforcing ethical norms and creating codes of conduct for scientists based on common concerns and values, it was agreed to continue seeking opportunities to introduce the ethics of science into education curricula. The Director-General welcomed the results of the meeting’s deliberations and will share the outcomes with the Secretary-General and the members of the United Nations Chief Executive Board at an upcoming meeting hosted by UNESCO next April. Director-General Spokesperson - m.de-pierrebourg@unesco.org “CIVILIZATIONS: HOW WE SEE OTHERS, HOW OTHERS SEE US” - International symposium organized by UNESCO and the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes - The second international symposium “Civilizations: how we see others, how others see us”[1], held at UNESCO Headquarters on 30 January 2003, brought together academics and intellectuals from different continents to continue discussions, begun in December 2001, at the first symposium organized within the framework of the United Nations Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations. Promoting dialogue among civilizations and cultures is at the heart of UNESCO's mission and activities. Examining the interactions between cultures by highlighting reciprocal influences brings better understanding of the factors that shape them and, in the long run, promotes tolerance. The Director-General of UNESCO, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, the President of the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Mr Jean Bauberot, and the President of the French National Commission for UNESCO, Mr Jean Favier, opened the symposium. In his address to the participants, the Director-General stated that: “ We cannot ignore the fact that new fault lines have appeared and that tensions and polarization are occurring at the international, regional and local level, which are a threat to the very foundations of dialogue among cultures and civilizations. We must guard against such threats, especially since they could well be accentuated by certain negative effects of globalization. For these reason we must ensure a lasting place on the international agenda for the protection of cultural diversity and the promotion of heritage in all its forms, tangible and intangible.” Mr Matsuura then awarded the UNESCO Ghandi medal to Mr Jean Bauberot in recognition of his tireless action for the promotion of dialogue among civilizations and religions. An introductory lecture given by Felipe Fernandez Armesto entitled “A short history of misunderstanding” was followed by three roundtable debates on “conflicts or dialogue between civilizations”, “the historical dimension in the current debate on the dialogue among civilizations” and “overcoming obstacles to dialogue among civilizations.” [1] ( for more information ) Flash Info n° 99 M. TERJE ROED-LARSEN INVITE SPECIAL D'UNE REUNION D'INFORMATION DES DELEGUES PERMANENTS AUPRES DE L’UNESCO SUR LA SITUATION AU PROCHE-ORIENT - Le Directeur général de l’UNESCO, M. Koïchiro Matsuura a invité M. Terje Roed-Larsen, Coordonnateur spécial des Nations Unies pour le processus de paix au Proche-Orient à participer à une réunion d’information des Ambassadeurs, délégués permanents auprès de l’UNESCO sur le Proche-Orient. Au cours de cette rencontre, qui a eu lieu au Siège de l’Organisation, le mercredi 29 janvier 2003, M. Terje Roed-Larsen, après avoir décrit la situation sur le terrain, a fait une présentation détaillée des différentes initiatives de la communauté internationale en faveur du processus de paix au Proche-Orient visant à parvenir à la vision exprimée par la résolution 1397 du Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies du 13 mars 2002 « d'une région dans laquelle deux Etats, Israël et la Palestine, vivent côte à côte à l'intérieur de frontières reconnues et sûres ». Le Directeur général de l’UNESCO, après avoir salué les efforts et l’engagement personnel de M. Roed-Larsen, en faveur de la paix, a rappelé le cadre dans lequel s’exerçait l’action de l’UNESCO en faveur de la reconstruction et la réconciliation au Proche-Orient. Il a informé les Délégués permanents des résultats des différentes missions dépêchées, tant en Israël que dans les territoires palestiniens, et a fait part des autres activités importantes prévues. Voir ci-dessous, en fichier joint, le texte intégral de l’intervention du Directeur général devant les Délégués permanents. . Flash Info n°98 THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL STRESSES THE IMPORTANCE OF INTERNATIONAL INTER-UNIVERSITY COOPERATION - Following a call by the governing body of the University of Paris VI for a boycott of Israeli universities, the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, issued the following statement: “We must do everything possible to preserve the conditions for dialogue between the various scientific and academic communities throughout the world, as this dialogue is sometimes the last link between peoples divided by war and the first step towards reconciliation. “UNESCO was created ‘for the purpose of advancing, through the educational and scientific and cultural relations of the peoples of the world, the objectives of international peace and the common welfare of mankind’ (1). I accordingly urge the university community to remain true, at all times and in all circumstances, to its mission of international cooperation, not only in the interests of intellectual exchange but also because it brings with it the hope of peace. “Places of learning – schools, universities, laboratories and research centres – are seedbeds of the culture of peace. We must do all we can to keep alive there the spirit of tolerance and open-mindedness without which there can be no fruitful dialogue between the different cultures, religions and civilizations.” Cabinet du Directeur général- La Porte-parole RESENTATION OF THE REPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL PANEL ON DEMOCRACY AND DEVELOPMENT - Mr Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Chairperson of the International Panel on Democracy and Development (IPDD), and Mr Robert Badinter, member of the Panel, presented to the Director-General of UNESCO and to senior officials of the Organization’s Secretariat the report devoted to “The Interaction between Democracy and Development”, produced by this Panel composed of 21 eminent men and women, political leaders, university professors, jurists and specialists in development and international economic or social relations. Mr Koïchiro Matsuura noted that while, through the years, UNESCO, alone or in partnership, had participated in the debate on democracy and development, there was one question that had yet to be probed in depth, namely, the relationship between democracy and development. For this reason, in order to come to grips with this issue, a think-tank had been set up in 1998: “The International Panel on Democracy and Development”, chaired by Mr Boutros Boutros-Ghali, author during his term of office as Secretary-General of the United Nations of an Agenda for Democracy, who has also served as Professor of International Law and International Relations and held the highest responsibilities both in the political life of his country and on the international scene. This report, which follows on from two previous reports prepared under the Presidency of Mr Perez de Cuellar on the theme of “Culture and Development” and Mr Delors on “Education and Development” is intended, as recalled by the Director-General of UNESCO in his preface, “to improve our knowledge and understanding of these complex phenomena” by promoting “strategies capable of ensuring that equitable development and the common welfare of mankind are sustainable, and to help societies characterized by social harmony, the rule of law, respect for human rights and genuine democracy to thrive.” During his presentation, Mr Boutros Boutros-Ghali first emphasized that “for a long time democracy and development remained concepts that were foreign to each other in the eyes of analysts”. While recognizing that “everyone now agrees that there is a close relationship between democracy and development”, he listed the questions that should be asked: “what is the nature of the links? How do they hang together? Should some of them be reinforced, and if so which? How can the emergence of a democratic form of development, without which democracy would remain meaningless, be encouraged?” Concerning the relationship between democracy and development, the members of the Panel first sought to “specify what is meant by the democratic imperative, then to define the concept of development and finally to analyse the interaction between democracy and development”. After clearly affirming that there could be no development without democracy, the Panel attempted to spell out the relationship between these two concepts and to “set it in its international context, against the background of globalization and the action of international organizations”. The building of democratic development should also take into account the impediments to its achievement, which “exist at the national and global level”, in times of peace, as well as in times of pre-conflict or of post-conflict reconstruction. One of the “ major impediments” is “the serious inequalities that exist in the way revenues and wealth are shared out.” For the authors of the report, democracy runs up against not only economic and social impediments but also a series of other obstacles such as religious fanaticism, racism, xenophobia, a self-segregation brought about by the negative effects of globalization and discrimination in all its forms. The report also analyses in detail the relations between democratic development and justice. The authors questioned considered the operation of the State and the negative consequences of an excessive concentration of power in the absence of an opposition force of parliamentary origin. As was noted by Mr Badinter: “Without rights, therecan be no democracy, nor development”, and he accordingly stressed the need to “foster the emergence of a basic legal culture”, grounded in fundamental legal texts, which should “allow the concept of the rule of law to penetrate into people’s minds”. Following a detailed review, the Panel examined the ways and means of overcoming these different obstacles. They assigned leading importance to education in this regard, while also stressing the essential role played by protection of cultural diversity at the national and international level, and by freedom of expression, equitable justice and international solidarity. Mr Koïchiro Matsuura assured Mr Boutros Boutros-Ghali that the recommendations contained in the report would be examined with a view to their implementation in UNESCO’s programmes relative to democracy-building. He highlighted the “closeness that exists between the recommendations and the priorities set out in the Organization’s Medium Term Strategy, whether in respect of the primacy given to education and the quality of its content, the necessary promotion of cultural diversity, freedom of expression or the efforts made to facilitate access to the new technologies and to the information society.” The Director-General also announced his intention to ensure wide circulation of the document among UNESCO Member States, National Commissions and traditional partners of the Organization. He will likewise be asking Mr Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, to arrange for it to be distributed to the other agencies of the UN system, inviting them to implement the recommendations of the report within their respective fields of competence. The Panel’s recommendations should also serve to guide the research activities of the International Centre for Human Sciences (ICHS) in Byblos, Lebanon, concerning the relations between democracy and culture. Finally, as part of the follow-up to the work of the Panel and on the invitation of the Director-General of UNESCO, an international conference, in which Mr Boutros Boutros-Ghali will participate, will be held at the beginning of February 2003. In close cooperation with ICHS, it will continue to study the themes addressed in the report, in particular the new challenges that globalization presents to democracy, notably in respect of culture, poverty, women’s rights and freedom of expression. Flash Info n° 89 TEXTBOOKS AND LEARNING MATERIALS - Today at Headquarters, the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura opened a two-day Experts Meeting on ‘Textbooks and Learning Materials: Components of Quality Education that can foster Peace, Human Rights, Mutual Understanding and Dialogue’. The meeting aims to secure expert advice on the shaping of UNESCO’s strategy in this area in the period ahead, especially in terms of the Organization’s effectiveness in enhancing quality education based on universal values. Mr Matsuura emphasized that UNESCO is challenging itself to respond to fresh demands and new situations. “Fear, suspicion, hatred, anger and resentment are the combustible elements in our societies”, he said, “seizing upon our differences and undermining the sense of common humanity and solidarity which UNESCO and the whole UN system have sought to promote for over five decades.” He reminded the meeting that the resolution on terrorism adopted at the 31st session of the General Conference one year ago calls upon UNESCO to prevent and eradicate acts of terrorism through education and the Organization’s other fields of competence. The Director-General stated that, in follow-up to the resolution, “UNESCO is strengthening its efforts to promote among nations and peoples a better knowledge and appreciation of their different cultures, especially with a view to achieving greater respect for and acceptance of cultural diversity.” UNESCO’s approach to textbooks and learning materials revision must take account of these concerns and the situation of growing insecurity in the world, he maintained. The recommendations of the experts meeting will be channelled into similar events at the regional level and an international conference scheduled for late 2003. Flash Info n° 88 MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF UNESCO ON THE OCCASION OF HUMAN RIGHTS DAY - Recognition of the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. These key principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are as valid today as on 10 December 1948 when it was adopted. Sadly, lack of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is still the main source of instability, tension and violence in the world. Extreme poverty constitutes a denial of human dignity and a flagrant violation of human rights. A world where hundreds of millions of people are unable to satisfy their basic needs cannot be considered fair or just. The fact that almost one-third of the world’s population lives in conditions of poverty is incompatible with the United Nations Charter, in which the States proclaimed their common determination to promote social progress and better standards of life in the ambit of broader freedom. The eradication of poverty is the clear priority on the international agenda, thereby confirming that freedom from want should be guaranteed for all. The current wave of violence marked by armed conflicts, hostilities and inter-community tension in many parts of the world is both a consequence of violations of human rights and a trigger for new violations. In combination with terrorism and organized crime, this violence undermines one of the fundamental freedoms of humankind: freedom from fear. Lasting peace and genuine human security can be ensured only when human rights and fundamental freedoms are respected. Security cannot be guaranteed at the expense of human rights. The fight against racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia must be conducted with a greater energy. In an increasingly multiracial, multiethnic and multicultural global community, the elimination of racism will help to avoid new divisions and will contribute to the sustainment of harmonious diversity. There must be no place in our world for such violations of human rights as trafficking in human beings, torture, or the economic and sexual exploitation of children. Women must have opportunities to realize all their human rights and enjoy unhindered access to equal participation in political, economic, social and cultural life. This should be achieved by a combination of various measures, including those directed towards securing change in people’s attitudes, values and behaviour, especially in societies where men have traditionally held dominant positions. Commitment to human rights, to the dignity and worth of all human beings and to the equal rights of men and women is at the core of the activities of the United Nations system. This commitment is being reaffirmed in the process of current reforms that the United Nations in general and UNESCO in particular are implementing in order to respond more effectively to the challenges of today. Through education, policy-oriented research and awareness-raising, UNESCO intends to increase its contribution to the promotion and protection of all human rights for all. In these efforts, we are inspired by the Millennium Declaration and the recommendations of the World Conference on Human Rights (1993). Respect for the principle of the indivisibility, interrelation and interdependence of human rights is at the heart of our endeavours. We should always remember that all human rights – civil, cultural, economic, political and social – are of equal importance and are universal. Cultural specificities and local traditions cannot be used to justify derogations from human rights obligations established by international law. This world belongs to everyone and it is our responsibility to make it a place where the dignity and rights of each person are respected. Only such a world will be just, free and secure. Koïchiro Matsuura La porte-parole du DG/ DG's Spokesperson MESSAGE OF UNESCO’S ASSISTANT DIRECTOR-GENERAL FOR EDUCATION FOR INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S RIGHTS DAY (20 November 2002) - The Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the United Nations on 20 November 1989, affirms that a child is not only a fragile being that needs to be protected, but also a person that has a right to be educated, cared for, protected, wherever in the world he/she is born. And also that a child is a person who has the right to have fun, learn and express himself! UNESCO has always accorded a special place to children in its programmes and activities which seek, in particular, to safeguard optimal personality development from early childhood, to enhance the social, moral, cultural and economic progress of communities, to promote an appreciation of cultural identities and values, and to raise awareness of the need to respect fundamental rights and freedoms. To contribute to promoting the rights of the child within the framework of the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non Violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010), and « to involve children in the reconstruction of the world and building peace» as suggested by Maria Montessori*, UNESCO organized a world drawing and painting contest for children aged 4 to 7 : " Draw me Peace - Children colour the world". The 18 winners selected by a Jury of artists and children will be announced today. The some 680 artworks received were drawn and painted by young children in daycare centres, schools, orphanages, slums, art institutes, villages, in the street - in other words, in a diversity of settings where these young children were in a position to create a collective work of art. Through these, of great quality and diversity, illustrating graphically and visually their opinions, the young children from the 80 countries participating in the Contest have addressed many messages and spontaneous suggestions about self-respect and respect for others, sharing, solidarity, tolerance, war and peace, reconciliation, protection of the planet … These messages remind us all that a child is a person, and that we have to respect children as such. The Convention on the Rights of the Child is a very important text. Important, but not sufficient: much remains to be done to make the rights of children a reality. Rights only become real when they are implemented, for children as well as for adults. Promoting children’s rights is first and foremost creating the social, economic and cultural conditions that will ensure that all can attain those rights. It is at this cost that the rights of children will be truly respected. Today, at the beginning of the XXIst century, promotion and respect of the Rights of the Child must not simply remain an ideal, but must become a daily reality. This is a long-term challenge for every country, every institution, every community and every individual. We must respond to this challenge and ensure that the essential rights of the child are finally recognized: the right to protection, the right to health, the right to harmonious development, the right to culture, the right to education. Essential rights that are, unfortunately, still out of reach for millions of children. Thus, all of us must act every day in favour of the Rights of the Child, so that the Convention becomes the wherewithal for modifying attitudes, for awareness raising, and for preventing the abuse of children, enabling us together to build and promote a culture of peace. * Maria Montessori (Fourth General Conference of UNESCO - Florence, 1950) : « If one day UNESCO resolved to involve children in the reconstruction of the world and building peace, if it chose to call on them, to discuss with them, and recognize the value of all the revelations they have for us, it would find them of immense help in infusing new life into this society which must be founded on the cooperation of all..» b.combes@unesco.org WORLD SCIENCE DAY FOR PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT - The World Science Day for Peace and Development (10 November), launched by UNESCO, will be celebrated for the first time all over the world. Many partners, such as Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, UNESCO's National Commissions, international organisations, scientific institutions, and scientific associations are participating in the celebrations. Please read more about the Day in the World Science Day website: for more information for the activities organised world wide. d.malpede@unesco.org CHILDREN’S RIGHTS AND HUMAN SECURITY- Euro-Mediterranean Conference - The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, opened today the Conference on Children’s Rights and Human Security in the Euro-Mediterranean region, which is being held from 22 to 24 October 2002 in Marrakech, Morocco, under the patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, with Princess Lalla Meryem in the chair. This conference, attended by members of international organizations, governmental representatives, jurists, economists and some ten UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors, aims to identify the major challenges related to the rights and security of children, propose multidisciplinary guidelines, and seek to find ways of ensuring that legislative provisions for the protection of children are duly reflected in the actual availability of such protection on the ground. In his opening speech, Mr Matsuura stressed that “children and their protection are at the heart of the concerns of UNESCO, as the lead agency within the United Nations system for the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World”. Presenting UNESCO’s proposals for the meeting, the Director-General laid emphasis on the “necessary promotion of ethical, normative and educational frameworks for the human security of children in the Euro-Mediterranean region” and on “the translation of the ethical and normative dimensions into educational action”. He expressed the hope that ways would be found of “countering the dangers facing children today in many countries, including in the Euro-Mediterranean region, in terms of respect for their rights, their protection and their security, so as to stop those rights from being flouted on a daily basis.” On the occasion of the conference, UNESCO’s Goodwill Ambassadors, present in Marrakech, will hold an informal meeting. Flash Info n°73 The International Jury of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize met at UNESCO Headquarters on 9 October 2002. It awarded the Prize to Mr Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste for his valiant endeavours in the service of his people, for the promotion of human rights, freedom and justice. - Alioune Traoré Executive Secretary of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize UNESCO Prix Félix Houphouët-Boigny pour la recherche de la paix UNESCO INTANGIBLE HERITAGE: ADOPTION OF THE ISTANBUL DECLARATION - At the close of the two-day round table organized by UNESCO in Istanbul, Turkey, on 16 and 17 September 2002 on the theme Intangible Cultural Heritage, mirror of cultural diversity, the representatives of 110 countries, including 71 Ministers of Culture, adopted yesterday the Istanbul Declaration. Recognizing that “the intangible heritage constitutes a set of living and constantly recreated practices, knowledge and representations enabling individuals and communities, at all levels, to express their ways of seeing the world through systems of values and ethical standards”, the Declaration stresses that “an all-encompassing approach to cultural heritage should prevail, which takes into account the dynamic link between the tangible and intangible heritage and their deep interdependence.” The signatories to the Istanbul Declaration also “consider that it is appropriate and necessary, within this framework, in close collaboration with the practitioners and bearers of all expressions of intangible cultural heritage, to consult and involve all the stakeholders, namely governments, local and regional communities, the scientific community, educational institutions, civil society, the public and private sector as well as the media.” To arrive at these ends, they called on UNESCO “to foster the development of new forms of international cooperation, for example by setting up mechanisms of recognition, inventories of best practices and the creation of networks, by mobilizing resources and encouraging consultations between countries sharing expressions of intangible heritage”. Koïchiro Matsuura welcomed the adoption of this Declaration which, by ensuring that the intangible cultural heritage forms part of a specific political agenda, marks an important step in the process of elaborating an international convention. As a follow-up to the Istanbul round table, governmental experts from all UNESCO’s Member States will meet in Paris from 23 to 27 September. A preliminary draft international convention will be submitted to them for consideration. The full text of the Istanbul Declaration can be found at http://portal.unesco.org/culture_roundtable Flash Info n°61 CITY MONTESSORI SCHOOL AWARDED THE 2002 UNESCO PRIZE FOR PEACE EDUCATION (Media Advisory) - Paris - UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura will award the 2002 UNESCO Prize for Peace Education to Jagdish and Barthi Gandhi, founders of the City Montessori School (India) on Monday September 23 (5 p.m., Organization Headquarters) ( for more information ) UNESCOPRESS NO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT WITHOUT EDUCATION - Johannesburg, September 3 - A new vision of education for sustainable development was outlined yesterday by UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura, President Gustavo Noboa of Ecuador, President Natsagiin Bagabandi of Mongolia and Education Minister Kader Asmal of South Africa, at a major symposium during the World Summit on Sustainable Development. ( for more information ) UNESCOPRESS SECOND MEETING OF THE TASK FORCE ON RECONSTRUCTION AND RECONCILIATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST - On Thursday, 29 August 2002, the Director-General of UNESCO convened the Task Force on Reconstruction and Reconciliation in the Middle East, which he set up in June. After sectoral presentations on the progress of different projects, Mr Matsuura announced the calendar for the next few months. Dialogue and technical assistance reinforced A mission from the External Relations and Cooperation Sector will visit the Palestinian Territories and Israel in the coming days. Prepared in close consultation with the Permanent Delegate of Israel and the Permanent Observer of Palestine to UNESCO, it should ensure an initial evaluation of needs, an exchange of views with Palestinian and Israeli representatives and reinforced cooperation with the different agencies of the United Nations system present on the ground. A detailed report of the mission will be submitted to UNESCO’s Executive Board at its165th session, in October 2002. During the first week of October a mission from the World Heritage Centre will undertake an initial stocktaking on the ground, in accordance with the decisions taken in Budapest by the Committee last June. In late October or early November, a UNESCO high-level intersectoral mission to the Middle East will serve to update the Organization’s programmes and supplement its global strategy documents in the light of the current situation in the region. A number of ad hoc technical missions are also under preparation, notably in the fields of communication and culture. Information meeting with the representatives of Member States On 26 September 2002, the Director-General will hold an information meeting for Permanent Delegates to UNESCO with the participation of Mr Terje Roed-Larsen, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Peace Process in the Middle East. The purpose of this meeting will be to present the main lines of UNESCO’s strategy for the region and exchange views prior to the debates on the Middle East at the 165th session of the Executive Board. Consultation with the representatives of the Palestinian Authority A joint UNESCO/Palestinian Authority Coordination Committee meeting is scheduled for November or, at the latest, mid-December 2002. It will be devoted to a detailed review of the plan of action for reconstruction and reconciliation, established by the Organization in accordance with the decisions adopted in May 2002 by the Executive Board. Strengthening the UNESCO Ramallah office The Director-General has confirmed his decision to reinforce the capacity of the UNESCO Ramallah Office and announced that, in the coming weeks, specialists in education and culture will be sent to that Office. Flash Info No 52 NOBEL LAUREATE CALLS ON IRISH GOVERNMENT TO ACT TO SAVE THE CHILDREN OF IRAQ… "The Continuing death and suffering of Iraqi children is preventable, let us therefore together prevent it"… "War on our Iraqi brothers and Sisters would be a war on the spirit and dignity of the entire human family". Speaking at the 23rd War Resisters' International Conference in Dublin, on Monday 4th August, Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate, Northern Ireland said: "I call on the Irish Government to use its voice in every European and World Forum of which they are a part, to oppose US war against Iraq and work for diplomatic options, including the lifting of economic trade sanctions, to be taken to stop the violence against the Iraqi people, who have been living and dying under these brutal sanctions and effects of war for too long. Wednesday 6th August (Hiroshima Day) will be the 12th year of the Economic Sanctions against Iraq. These Economic Sanctions were described to me during my visit to Iraq, by Joanne an Iraqi teenager, as being their "Silent Nuclear Bomb" that drops into every home and is slowly destroying not only the children but the whole Iraqi nation. Well over half-a-million Iraqi children have died of malnutrition and preventable diseases (resulting from the after effects of the Gulf War and continuing economic sanctions) and each day more children die unnecessarily. Now as the Bush Administration is making extremely clear, Iraq is in serious danger of an all-out US assault in the coming months. This week when the Iraqi government have offered weapons inspections, the American Administration have responded by saying it is not about weapons inspections. Rather than going into yet another war causing further untold suffering to Iraqi civilians, also effecting the Middle East and the entire human family, as we are now so interconnected, that every diplomatic option must be tried to divert war. The age of wars has gone, such barbaric activity is not acceptable at any time, but even for those who believe in War it should not be acceptable when diplomatic options are readily available as has been, and continues to be in the case of Iraq. The American Government has a responsibility to uphold its Democratic Constitution and abide by International Law, and respect the democratic wish of many American people, and the vast majority of Governments and peoples of the World , who are calling for a nonviolent solution to this crisis. WAR ON OUR IRAQI BROTHES AND SISTERS WOULD BE A WAR ON THE SPIRIT AND DIGNITY OF THE ENTIRE HUMAN FAMILY. We are currently in the UN Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the World (2001-2010) and this challenges us all to focus on the children and do all in our power to see they have clean water, food, medicine, a safe environment, and world. Children in Iraq do not have these things because of UN/USA/UK sanctions. The continuing death and suffering of Iraqi children is preventable, let us therefore prevent it. Mairead Corrigan Maguire - Nobel Peace Laureate, info@peacepeople.com / www.peacepeople.com 2002 UNESCO CHILDREN’S PERFORMING ARTS FESTIVAL OF EAST ASIA (Fukuoka, Japan, 1-3 August 2002) On 1 August 2002, Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, will attend the opening ceremony of the second UNESCO Children’s Performing Arts Festival of East Asia, to be held in Fukuoka (Japan). This follows on from the success of the first Children’s Performing Arts Festival, held in Beijing, in August 2001, within the framework of the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010), and is being organized in Japan at the suggestion of Mr Matsuura who asked the Secretaries-General of the National Commissions for UNESCO in five East Asian countries to join their efforts for this worthwhile initiative. Participants will be groups of young performers representing China - including Macao SAR-, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Japan, Mongolia and the Republic of Korea who will have the opportunity during the Festival to learn about each other’s cultural traditions, thereby furthering mutual understanding and respect. This project is expected to have a positive impact on the ongoing efforts by countries in the East Asia sub-region to encourage peaceful interaction among young people from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. The Director-General, in a message to the participants, notes that “Mandated to advance the objectives of international peace and the common welfare of humankind, UNESCO has, since its inception in 1946, been promoting intercultural understanding through various cultural exchange programmes. This 2002 UNESCO Children’s Performing Arts Festival of East Asia, which is in many ways an expression of UNESCO’s long-standing mission, is also in keeping with the spirit of the UN International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010)”. He concludes: “No doubt the children of the Republic of Korea, the People’s Republic of China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Macao SAR, Mongolia and Japan will be concentrating on their own performances, but I am certain they will also enjoy the performances of others. It is my sincere hope that through this experience, they will develop bonds of friendship with each other, despite their differences of language and nationality. This experience will also serve as a source of inspiration to them for the future in the construction of a peaceful and prosperous society, which can only be realized through dialogue and mutual understanding”. Flash Info No.48 LA ESCUELA DE CULTURA DE PAZ DE LA UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA DE BARCELONA PROPONE A ESPAÑA Y MARRUECOS QUE CONVIERTAN LA ISLA PEREJIL EN UN PARQUE NATURAL ADMINISTRADO POR AMBOS PAÍSES Ante la escalada de la tensión entre los gobiernos de España y Marruecos a raíz de lo ocurrido en la isla Perejil, la Escuela de Cultura de Paz de la UAB se ha dirigido a ambos gobiernos para plantearles la siguiente propuesta de solución pacífica al conflicto: 1. Ambos países acuerdan llevar el litigio por la soberanía de la isla al Tribunal Internacional de La Haya, comprometiéndose a respetar su veredicto. 2. Ambos países convienen en convertir la isla Perejil en un parque natural, una zona protegida que será administrada por un Patronato con miembros de la comunidad científica de Marruecos y España, a partes iguales. Dicho Patronato impulsará también la cooperación entre ambos países en temas medioambientales y de protección de espacios naturales. 3. Ambos países reconocen el escaso o nulo valor económico y estratégico de la isla, por lo que acuerdan que no tiene sentido que esta disputa enturbie el futuro de las relaciones entre los dos países. 4. Ambos países renuncian a la escalada verbal o militar en el tratamiento de dicho contencioso, para dirigirlo exclusivamente en términos políticos, jurídicos y diplomáticos. 5. Ambos países acuerdan desmilitarizar la isla, comprometiéndose a no tener una presencia militar en la misma. 6. El punto anterior, no obstante, no ha de ser impedimento para que de forma concertada ambos países colaboren para que la isla no sea utilizada para fines de contrabando ( for more information ). Vicenç Fisas, director de la Escuela de Cultura de Paz - Barcelona - Tel. 93 581 24 14 SCIENCE IN THE SERVICE OF PEACE On 15 July 2002, Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO opened the eighth session of the International Interim Council of SESAME. This two-day meeting is the first to be held since the Executive Board of UNESCO decided, at its 164th session, to establish an International Centre for Synchrotron Light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East ( for more information ). The Centre, which is to be housed in a 6,200 m2 facility at Jordan’s Al Balqa’ Applied University in Allan will be responsible for installing, operating, maintaining and upgrading the synchrotron light source and providing training for technicians while promoting international cooperation in this field. In his speech, the Director-General highlighted the “considerable and specific” role that science plays in “the promotion of a culture of peace”. He recalled that one of the reasons UNESCO was particularly determined to see the SESAME project through was because it would “promote basic sciences in the Middle East, facilitate training in the region and forge a new relationship between science and society”, while also serving to “create bonds of cooperation across borders and between peoples”. He noted, moreover, that “cooperation in science makes allies and paves the way to joint creative work which is conducive to peace”. The SESAME project is in fully consonant with UNESCO’s Constitution, which stipulates that “the purpose of the Organization is to contribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among nations through education, science and culture …”. Furthermore, within the United Nations family, UNESCO is the only organization that has a mandate to promote international cooperation in the basic sciences and that possesses relevant experience. The Organization is therefore uniquely placed to encourage the establishment of SESAME as an international centre of excellence for synchrotron light for experimental science and applications. The objectives and activities of SESAME are also fully compatible with UNESCO’s aim to “bring to bear its position at the forefront of international efforts for the advancement, transfer, sharing and dissemination of knowledge.”( for more information ) Flash Info n°46 UNESCO KNOWLEDGE HUB FOR ASIA-PACIFIC. This new website, developed by UNESCO Regional Bureau for Communication and Information in New Delhi was officially launched during the recent meeting of the Asia-Pacific National Commissions for UNESCO, held in Jakarta (Indonesia), 24-27 June 2002 ( for more information ). UNESCO New Delhi KOÏCHIRO MATSUURA LAUREATE OF THE INTERNATIONAL PRIZE OF ST ANDREW FOR DIALOGUE AMONG CIVILIZATIONS. The International Prize of St Andrew for 2002, created by the Centre of National Glory of Russia, has been awarded to Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, for his “outstanding contribution to the development of dialogue among civilizations”. This prize is awarded every year to “individuals who, through their action, have upheld the values of civilization and pursued a policy in favour of peace and mutual understanding among peoples and countries”. This distinction will be presented to him by Mr V. Yakunin, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Centre of National Glory of Russia, and First Deputy Minister for Railways, on Wednesday, 3 July 2002, in the presence of Ambassador V. Kalamanov, Permanent Delegate of the Russian Federation to UNESCO, Mr S. Molozhavy, Deputy Minister for State Property of Russia, Mr A. Melnik, Chairman of the Saint Andrew Foundation, the cosmonaut O. Atkov, nationally acclaimed painter D. Belyukhin, and many other personalities. ( for more information ) UNESCO (Flash info n°43) WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY, 5 June 2002 - In his message for this year’s World Environment Day, whose motif is ‘Give Earth a Chance’, the Director-General stresses the appropriateness of this theme for the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, 26 August - 4 September 2002. He urges everyone to help make the Johannesburg Summit a success “so that the world can be a safer, better place for people and for the environment that sustains us all.” Although the environmental and human problems facing us are very serious, the Director-General acknowledges, he insists that “there is room for hope” and that we all must nurture this hope in practical ways. For its part, UNESCO has consistently adopted an approach to sustainable development that is genuinely cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary in character. This approach is embedded in UNESCO’s promotion of peaceful co-existence between communities as a way to heal “global environmental wounds”; for example, through transboundary World Heritage sites and Biosphere Reserves. UNESCO’s interdisciplinary approach to sustainable development, the Director-General noted, is being applied to mountain communities. To mark the International Year of Mountains (2002), an information package on “UNESCO in the Mountains of the World”, prepared in collaboration with UNEP-WCMC, is now available on CD-ROM and via Internet ( for more information . ) As part of UNESCO’s celebration of World Environment Day, Mr Matsuura will launch at the Organisation’s Headquarters the UN Atlas of the Oceans at a meeting of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission. Prepared by the UN and leading international scientific agencies after more than two years in development and a decade of planning, the Oceans Atlas represents the most ambitious global scientific information collaboration ever online ( for more information ) and an international consensus-building tool expected to assist negotiations of future marine-related agreements. UNESCO (Flash info n°36) CONSEIL EXECUTIF DE L'UNESCO - La 164e session du Conseil exécutif de l’UNESCO, qui s’est réuni sous la présidence de Mme Aziza Bennani, a pris fin le jeudi 30 mai après deux semaines et demi de travaux. Dès son discours d’ouverture, le Directeur général avait tenu à faire part aux représentants des 58 Etats membres de l’Organisation de sa vive préoccupation face à l’aggravation de la situation et au nombre sans cesse augmenté de victimes civiles, tant palestiniennes qu’israéliennes. Rappelant que « devant le désastre humain provoqué par les actions militaires comme par les actes terroristes » il avait toujours été « habité par une seule vraie préoccupation : la personne humaine, avec ses droits et ses responsabilités », il a alors invité le Conseil exécutif à l’aider à préciser la place que l’UNESCO devrait occuper dans le processus de réconciliation et de reconstruction de la paix dans la région et à dégager les moyens matériels pour y parvenir. C’est dans ce cadre que s’inscrit la résolution que le Conseil a adoptée par consensus, en séance plénière et par laquelle il « exprime son approbation sans réserve au Directeur général pour les efforts qu’il envisage de déployer, dans le cadre du mandat de l’UNESCO » et invite le Directeur général à « poursuivre et développer l’élaboration de projets destinés à la reconstruction, la réhabilitation et la remise en marche des systèmes éducatifs, culturels et d’information » dans les Territoires autonomes palestiniens « en vue de mettre l’UNESCO en mesure de prendre une part active à la restauration de la paix dans la région et à l’instauration de relations de confiance » entre les deux peuples. L’utilisation des sommes non dépensées au cours de l’exercice biennal 2000-2001 (…) était également à l’ordre du jour de cette 164 ème session du Conseil. Après avoir identifié cinq priorités, le Conseil a adopté à l’unanimité la proposition de répartition avancée par le Directeur général. C’est ainsi [qu'une partie du montant a été accordée] aux programmes destinés à la reconstruction de l’Afghanistan et aux dépenses de fonctionnement du bureau de l’UNESCO à Kaboul dont l’ouverture a été approuvée par le Conseil afin d’accroître l’efficacité de nos activités sur le terrain, (à la) reconstruction des infrastructures éducatives et culturelles dans les Territoires autonomes palestiniens et les activités visant à susciter les conditions de la réconciliation entre Israéliens et Palestiniens , (à ) l’éducation en Afrique, et en particulier la formation des maîtres et le renforcement des centres d’excellence en Afrique (…). Enfin, il a été décidé d’affecter une somme (…) en vue de prévenir et éliminer les actes de terrorisme. Cette somme pourra venir notamment en appui des initiatives prises en faveur du dialogue entre les cultures et les civilisations, de l’achèvement des histoires régionales et de la révision des manuels scolaires (…) UNESCO (Flash info n° 34) WORLD WATER DEVELOPMENT REPORT - Within the framework of the World Water Assessment Programme, a high-level working group is meeting in Paris from 15 to 17 May to finalize the “World Water Development Report”. This periodic and detailed study is designed to give an authoritative picture of the state of the world's freshwater resources. A provisional version will be presented in August 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Director-General of UNESCO, addressing the opening session on 15 May 2002, first emphasized the active role played by the 23 United Nations system agencies participating in the World Water Assessment Programme and in particular that assigned to UNESCO as lead agency for the United Nations Year of Freshwater 2003. He then stressed the crucial importance of the “World Water Development Report”, which is expected to become a major component of the World Programme and whose first edition will be submitted to the Third World Water Forum in March 2003. UNESCO recognizes that freshwater is a global priority that requires immediate action and has therefore initiated the PCCP (From Potential Conflicts to Cooperation Potential) project whose aim is to promote peace in the use of transboundary watercourses by addressing conflicts and fostering cooperation among states and stakeholders. The unequal distribution of water resources is indeed a cause of tension that can lead to conflict. A concerted approach to freshwater issues with a view to equitable sharing and the preservation of resources cannot but be conducive to peace. All the Director-General’s addresses and speeches may be accessed on the Organization’s website for more information . UNESCO (Flash Info n°30) G-8 LEADERS TALK ABOUT TERRORISM - By PHIL COUVRETTE, Associated Press Writer - MONT-TREMBLANT, Quebec (AP) - Ministers from the world's industrial powers began two days of talks Monday by looking at links between terrorist fund-raising and organized crime. The meeting of the G-8 justice and interior ministers in this mountain resort an hour north of Montreal is a prelude to the G-8 summit in June involving leaders from the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia. With terrorism in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States an agenda item for the June summit, the justice ministers were focusing on efforts to dismantle terrorist funding and other anti-terrorist measures. U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft (news - web sites) said after Monday's opening session that terrorist financing and international crime have become almost inseparable. "We find that transnational criminal activity is associated with terrorism," such as drug trade money going to terrorist groups, Ashcroft said. "We need to expand and improve international cooperation to confront the internationalization of criminal and especially terrorist activity." An international campaign to block terrorist funding has seized or frozen more than $100 million so far. Canadian Solicitor General Lawrence MacAulay warned Sunday that such steps could cause terrorist groups to turn to organized crime to raise money. "We have to look at it as a possibility that they will join forces," MacAulay said. "We are still dealing with them as two different issues." Canadian Justice Minister Martin Cauchon said the Monday morning session also covered the threat from chemical, biological, nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. Afternoon talks agreed on the need to set up an international databank to share information on child pornography, though Cauchon said issues such as privacy and enabling legislation remain unresolved. "The way we think that a databank could work is that you will have in the databank some images of victims," Cauchon said. "You will have as well ... some names of criminals that have been involved in such a crime." He and MacAulay also held bilateral talks with Ashcroft on tightening security along the 4,000-mile border between the world's largest trade partners. Ashcroft called Canada and the United States "two great friends ... united to form a common defense against a common enemy." Phil COUVRETTE, Associated Press Writer SEF NEWS 13 - In addition to the question of civil society development in Muslim states and the possible role of religion in creating peace-fostering structures this NEWS deals in particular with aspects of intercultural dialogue. The author, Dr Jochen Hippler, comments on the preconditions for such an exchange between the Western and the Muslim world in a closing outlook: "Neither the West nor the Muslim countries are homogenous and unified entities, but are characterized by plurality, diversity and internal contradictions. Rather than dialogue, therefore, a 'multipolar discussion process' is actually the only option." He advises against a mere ritual of discussions of both sides, but at the same time identifies numerous starting-points for a peaceful coexistence. Read more about this publication via: for more information . Subscriptions to SEF E-NEWS can be made via e-mail to vorrath@sef-bonn.org. Stiftung Entwicklung und Frieden - Judith Vorrath - Gotenstr. 152 - 53175 Bonn - Tel.: ++49 (0) 228/95925-13 - Fax: ++49 (0) 228/95925-99 - E-mail: vorrath@sef-bonn.org . SEF NEWS 13 (Germany) FRANCO-ARAB DIALOGUE AT UNESCO - The Director-General of UNESCO delivered the opening address at a symposium held at the Organization’s Headquarters on 29 April 2002, on the theme of Franco-Arab dialogue. This symposium, which was attended by numerous leading figures from the political, academic and industrial spheres, was organized by Mr Amin Esber, Chairperson of the Arab States Group, and Mr Mohamed El-Aswad, Permanent Delegate of Libya. Ms Aziza Bennani, Chairperson of the Executive Board, Mr Ahmad Jalali, President of the General Conference, and a large number of Ambassadors, Permanent Delegates of the Arab countries to UNESCO, also took part in the meeting, the first in a series of symposia on Franco-Arab relations. In his address, Mr Matsuura emphasized “the rich and manifold interactions shaped by history, geography and culture between the Arab world and France”. He invited the participants “to ponder the way in which we perceive others”, this being a particularly important question “at a time when we must do all we can to prevent the emergence and spread of new stereotypes and prejudices and reaffirm the equal dignity of all cultures and civilizations”. To enhance and encourage this dialogue and ensure the preservation of cultural diversity, the Director-General stressed the role of cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible. “By learning to appreciate and develop our own heritage, we can learn to know and appreciate other cultures. This is an essential step towards ensuring fruitful dialogue and mutual understanding”, he said. UNESCO - Flash Info n°26 SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF THE WORLD EDUCATION FORUM IN DAKER. Today, on the second anniversary of the World Education Forum held in Dakar, the UNESCO Director-General met with the permanent delegations to UNESCO in order to review EFA developments over the past twelve months. While stressing that the EFA challenges defy easy or quick solution, Mr Matsuura spoke of his basic optimism concerning EFA progress: “There have been several highly positive and encouraging developments in recent weeks, especially in regard to the financing of EFA, and the spirit of partnership within the EFA movement is healthy”. The Director-General surveyed several important initiatives - the G-8 Task Force on Education, the new World Bank action plan, and the Monterrey Conference - which promise to make extra funding for EFA available to developing countries. He also launched the publication of the international strategy to operationalize the Dakar Framework for Action, stating that “the purpose of the strategy is to offer an agreed framework of partnership that will help countries meet the EFA challenge effectively”. This theme of partnership was echoed in the joint statement issued by the five agencies most involved in the EFA endeavour (UNESCO, UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA and the World Bank). Mr Matsuura announced his intention to improve the operation of the High-Level Group (which will next meet in Abuja, Nigeria, in November 2002) and the Working Group on EFA. Moreover, he told the permanent delegations of measures to strengthen the preparation and quality of the annual Monitoring Report on EFA, which will be “an indispensable tool of the entire EFA movement”. The Director-General applauded the efforts of Member States, other partners and UNESCO national commissions and field offices during the current EFA Week: “We must raise public awareness of EFA, stimulate the desire for more education, and make national education debates better informed”. He recognized the important boost given to basic education in the Millennium Declaration but insisted that “all countries should seek to achieve all six Dakar goals, which embody the full EFA vision agreed two years ago”. He expressed some concern about the progress with national EFA plans of action and emphasized the importance of civil society’s role in national EFA efforts. Mr Matsuura concluded with a mixture of optimism and realism, stating that “it is my clear sense that there is a positive will at large in the world to deal practically and productively with the EFA question”. UNESCO - Flash Info No.25 Du 8 au 13 avril, une délégation oecuménique de pèlerins de paix venus de cinq pays européens a rendu visite à plusieurs mouvements de paix israéliens et palestiniens. Ces membres du Mouvement International de la Réconciliation, de Pax Christi International et du réseau de communautés de paix « Église et Paix » ont voulu par cette visite manifester leur solidarité avec ceux qui sont engagés en Israël et en Palestine dans la défense des Droits de l'Homme et de la paix. La délégation a rencontré le Patriarche latin de Jérusalem, Mgr Michel Sabbah, président de Pax Christi International, le rabbin Jérémie Milgrom, porte-parole des Rabbins pour les Droits de l'Homme, la Commission Justice et Paix de Jérusalem, les responsables de l'« Open House », centre de rencontre entre juifs, chrétiens et musulmans, à Ramle près de Tel Aviv, ainsi que des membres du Comité contre la destruction des maisons, de la Coalition des Femmes pour une Paix juste, du « Check-point Watch », du groupe « Paix maintenant » de Jérusalem, du Centre pour la Résolution des Conflits et la Réconciliation de Bethléem et de l'Institut arabe de formation, également basé à Bethléem. La situation actuelle est marquée par le désespoir, la peur et, dans les Territoires occupés, par la lutte quotidienne pour la survie. Sans la perspective d'un avenir meilleur, la violence actuelle paraît insurmontable. Lors de leurs nombreuses rencontres, les membres de la délégation ont eu le sentiment qu'un large consensus existe à l'intérieur des mouvements de paix israéliens et palestiniens. Pour tous, la cause principale de la violence actuelle est l'occupation israélienne des Territoires palestiniens. Tant qu'il n'y sera pas mis fin, Israël ne peut pas espérer vivre en sécurité. Cette violence subie depuis longtemps par la population palestinienne a été condamnée par tous leurs interlocuteurs au même titre que la violence faite aux Israéliens par les attentats-suicides. Ces mouvements de paix ont décrit la Bande de Gaza comme une « grande prison » et les habitants de Cisjordanie comme de quasi prisonniers du fait de la fermeture des villages palestiniens par les check-points installés par l'armée israélienne depuis deux ans. La spirale de la violence doit être brisée. Pour cela, il faut qu'après un cessez-le-feu immédiat, un plan de paix entre au plus vite en et que l'armée israélienne se retire de Cisjordanie et de la Bande de Gaza. La seule perspective d'avenir pour les deux parties passe par la création de deux États aux frontières sécurisées, avec Jérusalem comme capitale commune. Pour y parvenir, une intervention de la communauté internationale, sous la forme, par exemple, d'une mission des Nations-unies est indispensable. Pour les palestiniens, qui subissent une humiliation permanente, c'est une question de vie ou de mort. « Nous avons besoin d'une solution qui permettent aux deux parties de sortir gagnantes du conflit », affirme un membre de la Commission Justice et Paix de Jérusalem, pour qu'aucune ne perde la face. Pour y parvenir, de nombreux mouvements de paix appellent à un embargo sur les armes, à des sanctions économiques contre Israël et à l'arrêt de la colonisation puis au démantèlement des implantations israéliennes dans les Territoires occupés. Les inégalités économiques et sociales qui séparent les sociétés israélienne et palestinienne doivent être progressivement réduites pour permettre une solution durable. Yehezkel Landau, de l'« Open House » de Ramle, ajoute qu'après tout ce qui s'est passé ces dernières semaines, les seuls plans de paix, même les mieux pensés, ne suffiront pas. La souffrance, le désespoir et la méfiance sont tellement forts aujourd'hui qu'on aura besoin de personnes formées à l'écoute, à la communication non-violente et à la résolution des conflits pour surmonter les blocages psychologiques et pour mettre en ¦uvre un processus de « dédiabolisation » de l'autre et de réconciliation. « Nous avons également besoin de 'désintoxiquer notre langage' », conclut-il. Les mouvements de paix rencontrés ont tous dit l'importance de telles visites, particulièrement en ce moment, et ont remercié les délégations internationales présentes sur place pour manifester leur solidarité avec les populations victimes de la violence. Le groupe oecuménique de paix était composé de : Dr Hildegard Goss-Mayr (Vienne/Autriche), Présidente d'honneur du Mouvement International de la Réconciliation, P. Paul Lansu (Bruxelles/Belgique), membre du Secrétariat International de Pax Christi, Sur Minke de Vries (Neuchâtel/Suisse), longtemps prieure de la communauté ¦cuménique de Grandchamp, Dr Christian Renoux (Paris /France), coprésident de la branche française du Mouvement international de la Réconciliation, et Clemens Ronnefeldt (Krastel/Allemagne), membre du secrétariat de la branche allemande du Mouvement International de la Réconciliation. La délégation a reçu pendant son voyage le soutien de milliers de personnes, qui, dans différents pays, ont organisé des services religieux, des veillées de prière et des jeûnes. Pour contacter les membres de la délégation : Hildegard Goss-Mayr: +43-1-4855714 Paul Lansu, paul@paxchristi.net Christian Renoux, +33-1-53280043 ou c.r@infonie.fr Clemens Ronnefeldt, +49-(0)6762-2962 Le groupe oecuménique de paix THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL COUNCIL OF THE INFORMATION FOR ALL PROGRAMME is holding its first working session, from 15 to 17 April 2002, at UNESCO Headquarters. In his speech to the opening of the session, the Director-General placed emphasis on the fact that “this is the first time that an intergovernmental body, comprised of 26 Member States representing all regions of the world, will address the implications of and provide responses to the new situation created by the rapid development of new information and communication technologies (ICTs)”. The purpose of the Intergovernmental Council is to guide the different stages of the Information for All Programme, in terms of both content and implementation. It will seek to strengthen international cooperation by involving Member States in each stage of the process. Moreover, it will have an active role to play in the search for extra-budgetary funding. Mr Matsuura stated that, in his view, “one of the main contributions of UNESCO is its focus upon the ethical, legal, social and cultural dimensions of the information society, which is being born before our eyes”. He stressed the key role that the Internet and ICTs can play in promoting sustainable development through the diffusion of knowledge, the expression of cultural and linguistic diversity, and the empowerment of civil society. “If we do not want the new knowledge society to be a synomym for exclusion, we must try to reduce and if possible close the digital divide”, he added. “Due to the rapid growth of a new civilization based on information and knowledge, all of UNESCO’s sectors are facing a phenomenon that offers us an opportunity to add a new dimension to our mission. We must seize this chance!” he concluded. The Intergovernmental Council, in conformity with decisions taken by the General Conference, will deal with two highly topical subjects within this session’s agenda: first, it will be examining the draft recommendation on the promotion and use of multilingualism and universal access to cyberspace, taking account of the conclusions of the Experts Group that met in March; and, second, it will consider the discussion paper on the Charter on the Preservation of Digital Heritage, which is under preparation. Eventually, this charter could become the first international normative instrument on digital heritage and its preservation. UNESCO CAMPAGNA DISARMIAMO EXA 2002 PER DIRE NO ALLA GUERRA E AL COMMERCIO DI ARMI - BRESCIA, 13 / 14 APRILE 2002 - Quest’anno, dal 13 al 16 aprile, Brescia ospita la ventunesima edizione di EXA, uno degli appuntamenti espositivi più importanti per le maggiori aziende produttrici di armi leggere e di piccolo calibro a livello mondiale. Secondo la pubblicistica degli organizzatori l’;esposizione promuove l’uso delle armi a scopo ludico, sportivo, di difesa. In realtà è un’ottima vetrina per i marchi delle imprese del settore e costituisce occasione d’incontro e di affari anche per tipologie di armi ad uso bellico e antisommossa. Nel luglio 2001 il Segretario Generale dell’O.N.U. Kofhi Annan, ha definito le armi leggere e di piccolo calibro, “armi di distruzione di massa”. Recentemente Mons. R. Martino, rappresentante della Santa Sede all'Onu, facendosi voce di molte organizzazioni della società civile, ha dichiarato che "gran parte del traffico illecito di armi ha origine nel commercio legale delle medesime" (cfr. Intervento alla 56ma Sessione Generale dell'Onu sul disarmo - 15/10/2001). (…) : pour plus d'informations . Le adesioni all’appello, che possono essere tanto a titolo personale quanto a nome di realtà collettive, devono essere inviate via mail a bsf@bresciasocialforum.org . Nostri Libri (Italy) APPEAL BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF UNESCO : The Director-General of UNESCO launches an appeal for the protection of historic, cultural and religious heritage in the Palestinian autonomous towns. Alarmed by the threats to which historic, cultural and religious heritage is being exposed through the violent ongoing fighting in the main Palestinian autonomous towns, the Director-General has written to the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Shimon Peres, and to the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mr Yasser Arafat. In his two letters, the Director-General appeals for every effort to be made “to respect the sacred character of religious sites, not only those known as the ‘Holy Places’, but also all those built around them in this region, which was the cradle of civilizations and which is (…) the symbol of our shared humanity”. Recalling that “these monuments - churches, monasteries, synagogues and mosques - were built by men and women of good faith, who were convinced of the possibility of a better life for all”, Mr Matsuura urges that every possible measure be taken not to “kill this age-old hope”. He calls on the State of Israel, as a party to the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, to do everything within its power to ensure compliance with this Convention in all the Palestinian autonomous territories. “This cultural heritage is the most striking symbol of the fruitful interaction between peoples, cultures and religions. In destroying it, we jeopardize the future”. Emphasizing that “the choice today is between a headlong descent into the abyss and what may be the last chance for peace in the region”, the Director-General expressed his readiness to lend his services to “any mediation that might help to save lives and irreplaceable monuments and create the conditions for the resumption of a dialogue based on mutual respect”. UNESCO NATIONS UNIES : ACCOUCHEMENT DANS LA DOULEUR DE LA CPI. LA HAYE (AFP jeudi 11 avril 2002, 10h53) - La Cour pénale internationale (CPI), qui deviendra réalité aujourd'hui, constitue un pas de géant pour les droits de l'Homme et la justice internationale mais reste en butte aux préventions de plusieurs grandes puissances. La future Cour, dont le siège sera à La Haye, est une "première" judiciaire: c'est la première fois qu'une Cour internationale sera dotée d'une compétence universelle et sans limite dans le temps pour juger les criminels de guerre, les auteurs de génocide et de crimes contre l'humanité. Dans sa compétence figurent notamment des crimes comme l'extermination de civils, la torture, le viol, l'esclavage, la persécution pour des motifs raciaux, ethniques ou religieux, la déportation, l'apartheid. Tous ces crimes sont définis très précisément dans le traité de Rome (1998), acte fondateur de la Cour, signé à ce jour par cent trente-neuf pays. Par une particularité du statut, l'entrée en vigueur de la CPI interviendra au premier jour du mois dans lequel tombe le soixantième jour suivant la soixantième ratification du traité, en l'occurrence le 1er juillet. Le cap des soixante ratifications doit être marqué aujourd'hui, par une cérémonie au siège des Nations unies. "Il s'agit d'un pas de géant vers l'universalisation du droit et le règne du droit", avait déclaré le secrétaire général de l'ONU Kofi Annan en saluant le Traité de Rome. Quatre ans après, l'enthousiasme n'est plus au rendez-vous. Ni les Etats-Unis, ni la Russie ne figurent parmi les soixante Etats qui ont ratifié le traité de Rome. La Chine, empoisonnée par le conflit du Tibet, ne l'a même pas signé. La France, qui a pourtant été l'un des premiers pays à ratifier le traité, a fait insérer dans le texte une clause permettant à ses militaires d'échapper, pendant une période de sept ans, à la compétence de la Cour. Selon des sources diplomatiques à New York, l'administration Bush réfléchit, parmi d'autres options, à la possibilité de retirer sa signature. Elle a fait savoir qu'il n'était pas question qu'"un seul dollar" du budget de l'ONU serve à financer la CPI. Israël, échaudé peut-être par les menaces de poursuites judiciaires internationales qui ont pesé sur Ariel Sharon, n'a pas non plus ratifié le traité. "Il y a quelque chose de fondamentalement anti-démocratique dans une Cour permanente qui peut lancer des enquêtes, désigner des suspects, arrêter des gens en dehors de leurs propres pays, et cela pratiquement en l'absence de tout contrôle", notait un éditorialiste du Washington Post, Fred Hiatt, résumant partiellement les préventions des opposants à la CPI. Les pères fondateurs de la CPI ont pourtant multiplié les gardes-fous. Parmi ceux-ci, la non-rétroactivité des poursuites. En admettant que les actes de terrorisme entrent un jour dans sa juridiction, la CPI ne pourra jamais juger Oussama ben Laden pour l'attentat du 11 septembre. En vertu du principe de "complémentarité", la compétence de la nouvelle Cour sera subordonnée à celle des Etats nationaux. Ce n'est que dans le cas où une juridiction nationale ne sera pas en mesure pas ou ne voudra pas juger elle-même l'un de ses ressortissants que la Cour pourra intervenir. Avec toutes ses limitations, la Cour risque fort de ne pas être inondée d'affaires, au moins dans les premiers temps. Ce sera "un tigre de papier", pronostiquent certains juristes. Malgré tout, l'espérance est immense. L'objectif, à terme, est que "nulle part dans le monde, aucun dirigeant, aucun Etat, aucune junte, aucune armée ne puissent violer impunément les droits de l'Homme", selon les mots de Kofi Annan. Sites Web : ONU (La Cour pénale internationale (avec webcast de la cérémonie, en anglais) : pour plus d'informations . AFP OPEN LETTER TO FIELD OFFICERS, JUNIOR OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS OF THE ISRAELI ARMY - This letter was formulated by the first 10 signatories and underwritten by another 134 university professors and lecturers of the University of Bologna, in reaction to what has been happening for all too long in Palestine. (…) The collection of signatures is now open. Our letter hopes to encourage teaching staff at other Italian and foreign Universities to take up a responsible position and make a participatory commitment to resolving a human drama of international dimensions. It is hoped that public opinion, stimulated by those responsible for the cultural and technical-scientific training of the young generation, can help people to think for themselves, stop the violence and promote peace. For the Organizing Committee Silvio Pampiglione MD, PhD. "We, the undersigned professors of the University of Bologna, the oldest university in Europe, who hold various philosophical and political ideologies and different religious creeds are aware that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the most dangerous factors for instability and war in the present international situation. We are therefore signing this open letter to the military personnel in the Israeli army as a warning and hopefully as a contribution to the peaceful solution of this conflict. We have always considered the Jewish people as an intelligent, sensitive and strong people, perhaps because more than many others they have survived sufferings, persecutions and humiliations over the centuries, in pogroms and, more recently, in the Nazi extermination camps. We have had Jewish school companions and friends, work colleagues whom we have respected and also Israeli students whom we have taught up to graduate level and who now exercise their professions in Israel. Many of us have been in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank in the frame of cultural missions or for European Union programmes, and we have therefore direct knowledge of the situation. Today, because of what is happening in the Israeli-Palestinian territory, we want to write to you because we feel that unfortunately our respect and affection for you, for the Jewish people, is changing into sad anger for what you are doing to the Palestinian people. And, believe us, there are many other people inside and outside our University who respect your people but who today are experiencing the same feeling. You should realize that today you are doing to the Palestinians what has been done to you in past centuries. Your tragic experiences cannot have been so easily forgotten! You have humiliated them, destroyed their houses and their fields, cut down their fruit trees, walled up their wells, blocked their ambulances, imprisoned, starved and tortured them, ordered them around in their own cities, closed them into ghettos, seriously traumatizing their children and killing them. Is it possible that you do not realize that you are encouraging engendering a tremendous hatred, increasingly profound, full of the desire for vengeance against you? It is not difficult to understand that only people at the end of their tether, people who cannot defend themselves in other way, would immolate themselves in order to kill some of your people, now considered accomplices in the repression. We are against terrorism, but - tell us, what other means do they have of defending themselves? What arms do they have other than stones, ambushes or their own bodies? And would you yourselves not have reacted in the same way if you were in their situation? Israeli soldiers! Refuse to continue oppressing the Palestinian people. Lay down your arms. Call out loudly, with the courage that your religious faith gives you, for an end to the violence. And you will see that the violence will cease also on the other side. If you continue with the repression, you will earn the increasing disapprobation of the whole world, and not only the Arab world. There will be no peaceful future for your people. Think with your own head, above all with your heart. You cannot always live surrounded by hatred and carrying a gun in your hand. Remember that you are not defending your country but the colonial settlements in Palestinian territory, which is not the same thing. Remember how many children and young both Palestinians and Israeli have been killed in this war. Have the courage to refuse using arms against Palestinians and we are absolutely confident that the Palestinians also will stop their desperate actions. Someone must be the first to stop the war. We ask you for the good of the Jewish people, in the name of civilization and culture. Such a decision could create difficulties, punishment, pressures, persecutions and perhaps prison for you. But only in that way can you be yourselves again and not live in a continual contradiction against your conscience, for the unjustifiable crimes that you are committing. Some of you have had the courage to denounce the situation. They have all our solidarity and admiration." Professors and lecturers of the University of Bologna (Italy) JOINT STATEMENT - Adopted by the ten countries of South-East Europe participating in the High-Level Conference on Strengthening Cooperation in South-East Europe (UNESCO Headquarters, Paris) : We, representatives of the ten South-East European countries(*) participating in the High-Level Conference on Strengthening Cooperation in South-East Europe organized by UNESCO, Expressing our grave concern at the increasing deterioration of the situation in the Middle East; Emphasizing the self-evident truth that a durable solution can only be achieved through political means guaranteeing the right of both Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace; Fully support the calls made by the international community, including the Security Council in its resolutions 1397 (2002) of 12 March 2002, 1402 (2002) of 30 March 2002 and 1403 (2002) of 4 April 2002, for “an immediate cessation of all acts of violence, including all acts of terror, provocation, incitement and destruction”; (*)Albania-Greece-Bosnia and Herzegovina-Republic of Moldova-Bulgaria-Romania-Croatia-Turkey-Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia-Yugoslavia UNESCO (Flash Info n°16) CHILD SOLDIERS TO SWAP GUNS FOR PCs IN SIERRA LEONE - A Sierra Leonean entrepreneur, Francis Steven George, is planning to set up a vocational training centre to teach computer and programming skills to the former rebels. "There are thousands of young people who were taken away from school during the war years and now that the fighting is finished, the question of what to do with them has to be addressed," said Mr George. He hopes that the project will be the first step towards developing West Africa as a regional hub for the computer industry. for more information . Alfred HERMIDA, BBC News Online (UK) INDIGENOUS LEADERS ACROSS THE AMERICAS LAUNCH HEMISPHERIC PEACE INITIATIVE - Indigenous leaders from across the Americas, gathered at the Reunion of the Condor and the Eagle Indigenous Action Summit in the Commonwealth of Dominica, signed an historic agreement that offers new hope, security and vision for not only marginalized and oppressed people around the world, but for all members of the human family. Joining the Indigenous leaders in this hemispheric alliance for peace and prosperity were the highly respected humanitarian and conservationist, Dr. Jane Goodall and Prince Alfred von Liechtenstein, Chairman of the Vienna based International Peace University, whose patrons are eighteen Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. This Sacred Unity Pact formally unites Indigenous peoples and their allies from Greenland, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Guyana, Guatemala, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and the Commonwealth of Dominica, countries with populations of more than 57 million Indigenous peoples. (…) For more information : 4worlds@uleth.ca ; Phil LANE Jr., International Coordinator, Four Worlds/Four Directions International (Canada) GROUND-BREAKING NEW BOOK ON NON-VIOLENCE IS SELLING LIKE HOTCAKES. Is There No Other Way? The Search for a Nonviolent Future by Paki S. Wright. Michael N. Nagler's ground-breaking new book, "Is There No Other Way? The Search for a Nonviolent Future," is selling like hotcakes from what I hear. Small wonder. Professor Nagler's work was published last year, but in the aftermath of 9-11 will surely come to be seen as a seminal work in understanding the causes of violence and the sorely-needed application of nonviolence -- which is not the same as pacifism. For starters, let's get over the prevailing modern assumption that waging peace is somehow wimpy or unworkable. Prof. Nagler (UC Berkeley Emeritus) challenges us to really understand nonviolence, as Gandhi meant it to be employed. It is not "passive resistance." Neither is it nonviolence-unless-that-doesn't-work-and-then-we'll-go-back-to-being-violent-again. It is a morally-compelling, wondrously effective way of responding to violent force, not without its concommitent dangers, but then as Nagler says, "Nonviolence is dangerous, but not as dangerous as violence." (…) for more information . Paki S. WRIGHT, Common Dremas News Center (USA) UNESCO CITIES FOR PEACE PRIZE - Five cities have just been awarded the UNESCO Cities for Peace Prize for the 2001-2002 biennium by the Director-General, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, on the recommendation of five regional juries composed of eminent figures from the worlds of research, administration and politics. The prizes will be officially presented to the Mayors of these cities in Marrakech on 18 March 2002, on the occasion of the 107th Inter-Parliamentary Conference. The place chosen for this ceremony, the Jemaa-el-Fna Square, is highly symbolic, since in 2001 it was included among the first 19 Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity proclaimed by UNESCO. The five prizewinning cities are: for Africa, Lubumbashi (Democratic Republic of the Congo), for the Arab States, Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt), for Asia and the Pacific, Bukhara (Uzbekistan), for Europe and North America, Vilnius (Lithuania), and for Latin America and the Caribbean, Cotacachi (Ecuador). The following five cities have been awarded honourable mentions: Bahir Dar (Ethiopia), Sousse (Tunisia), Jaipur (India), Kazan (Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation), and Havana (Cuba). The number of competing projects - 325, for 76 cities - attests to the popularity of this Prize, launched at the HABITAT II Conference held in Istanbul in 1996. These 325 projects will be entered in the data base established by UNESCO on “good practices” in urban areas, where they will be included in the extensive directory available through the steadily expanding “Cities for Peace Network”. The Director-General and the Jury particularly appreciated the projects singled out which, taking into account such varied factors as town planning, environment, civic education, the establishment of cultural facilities and the strengthening of social links, could serve as models. They also wished to honour cities emerging from a long and difficult period that have demonstrated their capacity to rise to new situations. UNESCO 4000 CALL ON EUROPEAN UNION TO ACT IN MIDDLE EAST - Dear Friends, On Wednesday February 27th between 3000-4000 individuals from France, Italy, Spain and Belgium gathered in Brussells to manifest their support for a political intervention by the European Union. in favour of peace and a cessation of hostilities in Palestine. NGO's, national elected officials eg French Senators, trade unionists, students, the civil society, former officials from governments and international organizations and the media marched through the streets in front of the offices of the European Union. 30 busloads of French citizens and Arabs represented perhaps the largest contingent from outside of Belgium. During the two hour meeting chaired, speeches were delivered by the Palestinian representative to the EU, a member of the Israeli peace movement and delegations from the different sectors reported on their discussions with various EU officials, which were held i! n a positive atmosphere. The EU talks included were with the Commission of Development, representatives from the offices of Messieres Solano and Patton. The delegations appealed for action on the following issues: cessation of hostilities; withdrawal from occupied territories, including Arab Jerusalem and the settlements, right to return for the refugees; implementation of UN resolutions; and withdrawal of economic and political relations with Israel due to her violation of Article 2 of the Accord with EU regarding 'respect for human rights and democratic principles' In addition the groups called for the EU to establish an international or regional protection force and to become involved in the political aspect of the problem, rather than only providing economic assistance. A report was submitted to the EU detailing the cost of the damages of the bombings and destruction......assistance provided by the EU.....calling on them to request reparations from Israel. The organizers hope to mobilize all of Europe to influence the Union and a series of activities will be held in different countries. In the near future another general mobilization will be held in France. The NGO women's committee announced that the EU women's bureau will hold a large conference for Arab and Israeli women in the near future . Phyllis KOTITE - kotite@hotmail.com (France) U.N. APPEALS FOR EMERGENCY AID FOR AFGHANISTAN - KABUL (Reuters) - The United Nations launched a fresh $1.18 billion relief appeal for Afghanistan on Thursday, saying Afghans need a speedy improvement in their living standards if the country's fragile stability is to be maintained. The appeal underlines concerns that Afghanistan risks falling back into chaos without a quick injection of funds to bolster the credibility of the new interim government. Millions of Afghans are in urgent need of food and other humanitarian supplies following four years of drought and more than two decades of war. Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N. Secretary-General's special envoy to Afghanistan, appealed for the funds at a meeting of U.N. officials, non-governmental organizations, Western donors and the interim administration in the capital Kabul. "Within the U.N. system, we ask for international support for the $1.18 billion programme...which covers a wide spectrum of relief, recovery and reconstruction needs," Brahimi said. U.N. officials said the appeal, to meet Afghanistan's emergency relief needs until the end of the year, was separate from the $4.5 billion pledged by Western governments at a conference last month in Tokyo for long-term reconstruction. Brahimi said 2002 was a time of hope for Afghanistan after tribal forces, backed by U.S. air strikes, ousted the hardline Taliban regime, which placed heavy restrictions on the work of humanitarian aid agencies. But he said the international community needed to act quickly to address the needs of the Afghan people to prevent the country falling back into the chaos and insecurity of the past. (…) Rosalind RUSSELL, Reuters DIALOGUE WITH AMERICANS BEGUN. JOIN IT NOW. MAKE LEADERS LISTEN ! By American citizens who wrote to TFF - See the overwhelmingly critical and concerned voices of Americans in response to PressInfo 143 - for more information . Now we invite many more Americans and everybody else to send us their ideas and concrete proposals for alternative, sustainable peace policies for the US and the world. See how and distribute this message to as many as you can. We at TFF urge you to share your views. Americans and all other nations around the globe. We appreciate if you write your name and country. This information will be known only to TFF. Your views will be published anonymously unless you explicitly tell us you want it to be public. We will then selected messages to inspire our 500-1000 daily visitors. And perhaps, one day, we will see better policies? Without people's voice, we won't... See here what the dialogue is about and how to participate: for more information . And then submit your ideas and proposals to: AmericanDialogue@transnational.org - © TFF 2002 Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research (Sweden) APRES PORTO ALEGRE - AVANT JOHANNESBURG - Bonjour, Le n°6 de L'Ecologiste est paru. J'ai le plaisir de vous adresser une présentation de ce numéro spécial sur "l'après développement": Défaire le développement, refaire le monde. Une critique de la notion même de développement - a fortiori du développement durable - qui prépare un colloque sur le même thème à l'UNESCO du 28 février au 3 mars 2002 avec l'association des Amis de François Partant et Le Monde diplomatique. Un numéro exceptionnel, qui rassemble les principaux auteurs et textes classiques sur le sujet, sans équivalent ! A lire et à diffuser après Porto Alegre, avant la conférence de Monterrey (Mexique) sur le financement du "développement" du 18 au 22 mars 2002 et surtout le sommet des Nations Unies sur le " développement durable " à Johannesburg du 26 août au 4 septembre 2002 ! L'Ecologiste est partenaire du Colloque à l'UNESCO sur l'après développement, organisé par l'association La Ligne d'Horizon et Le Monde diplomatique et accueilli par le programme MOST de l'UNESCO, du 28 février au 3 mars 2002. Tel. 01 42 06 05 26 ou pour plus d'informations . pour plus d'informations . Thierry JACCAUD, Rédacteur en chef, L'Ecologiste (France) IMIDE SOUFFLE DE LIBERTE DE LA PRESSE A KABOUL - Interdit par les talibans, avant même leur arrivée au pouvoir, l'hebdomadaire "Kabul Weekly" décline en quatre langues – dont le français – les nouvelles d'un Afghanistan à peine sorti de la guerre....Son rédacteur en chef, Fahim Dashty, 29 ans, était cependant aux côtés du chef afghan assassiné, le 9 septembre, au moment où des kamikazes islamistes se faisant passer pour des journalistes firent exploser leur bombe cachée dans une caméra. Les mains brûlées lors de l'attentat, il porte encore aujourd'hui des gants de protection. "J'espère que, dans la situation présente, notre indépendance sera garantie", affirme M. Dashty, qui ajoute : "Je sais que cela sera difficile." Le premier numéro de l'hebdomadaire, tiré à 2 500 exemplaires, a été publié en langue dari et pachtou avec des articles en anglais et en français. Financé en grande partie par l'Unesco, le journal est également soutenu par l'ONG française Reporters sans frontières (RSF) ; deux journalistes français assistent une équipe composée de cinq rédacteurs (auxquels s'ajouteront bientôt deux femmes) et d'un photographe. Les moyens sont limités à quelques ordinateurs et un scanner mais une énergie farouche anime la rédaction provisoire de cette sorte de laboratoire de la future presse indépendante afghane. pour plus d'informations . Le Monde (France) NVITATION TO OPEN PUBLIC E-SYMPOSIUM ON CONFLICT PREVENTION - Entirely on the Internet at for more information . "The Future of Conflict Prevention in the Post September 11 World" February 6 -14, 2002. Registration in Advance now Open - Sponsored by The Japan Center for Preventive Diplomacy (JCPD) for more information . and the Japan Times for more information . Support from the Sasakawa Peace Foundation for more information . Panelists include conflict prevention experts from academia, government, UN and NGOs such as: Mr. Joseph Montville (USA), Director, Preventive Diplomacy Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) - Ms. Sandra Melone (France), Executive Director, European Centre for Common Ground - Dr. Kevin Clements (New Zealand), Secretary General, International Alert - Mr. Johan Galtung (France), Director, Transcend - Mr.Wuria Karadaghy (Kurdish), UNDP/PEACE Senior Programme Coordinator, UNDP Afghanistan - Building on the accomplishments of the first e-Symposium on Conflict Prevention for more information and the ongoing Dialogue Webpage for Conflicts Worldwide for more information the Japan Center for Preventive Diplomacy (JCPD) for more information and the Japan Times for more information are pleased to present the Second e-Symposium on Conflict Prevention. The aim of this exciting initiative is to review, analyze and learn from the events of September 11 and to find out how they relate to the future of conflict prevention and will again bring together a number of experts from diverse backgrounds and regions. The e-Symposium will be structured as per a normal symposium with presentations, comments, open public discussions, responses and reviews. The public is invited to participate in the symposium through contributing comments and posing questions throughout the first 7 days of the Symposium from February 6-12. For participant registration and more details see the already opened e-Symposium site at for more information . The Japan Center for Preventive Diplomacy (Japan) FORUM SOCIAL MONDIAL PORTO ALEGRE - C´est avec une grande allégresse et solidarité que le Forum social mondial II cloturait hier sa seconde édition. Des milliers de personnes s´étaient déplacées pour assister aux festivités musicales organisées à l´Université catholique de Porto Alegre. Un message de paix et l´espoir de vivre dans un monde plus juste ont accompagné l´annonce d´un troisième Forum social mondial à Porto Alegre et d´ une série de forums régionaux de préparation. L´Inde est d´ores et déjà candidate pour accueillir le Forum en 2004. Pour son dernier jour de participation, l´UNESCO a organisé un débat sur le stand qui mettait en présence un leader autochtone de Colombie, une sociologue et une spécialiste des droits culturels, toutes deux brésiliennes, pour évoquer l´importance de la représentation de minorités culturelles au Forum social et les solutions alternatives d´épanouissement. Quelques entretiens ont egalement été menés en particulier avec Enrique Ortiz, ex-secrétaire général de HIC (Habitat International Coalition) sur la défense des droits à la ville et au logement et Vandana Shiva. Equipe UNESCO à Porto Alegre UNESCO IN PORTO ALEGRE - Creating Learning Societies: Participation, Citizenship and Governance A seminar was co-organised by UNESCO and the Consejo de Educacion de Adultos de América Latina (CEAAL) - regional focal point of the Collective Consultation of NGOs on EFA. It discussed visions, forms and strategies to transform education systems through civil society participation and partnership based on country experiences from Cuba, Pakistan and Tanzania. The presenters included a government representative and two non-governmental organisations. The seminar showed that in the context of globalisation and its new demands on learning, civil society is in the process of formulating and putting into practice visions of education, which go beyond individual compartmentalised education towards collective and holistic learning. The discussion emphasised the “inability” or even the “failure” of the public education system in responding to the diverse learning needs of today. As a result new spaces for civil society involvement have emerged, either introduced through decentralisation and devolution policies or created by civil society organisations and communities. However, communities are not always prepared to play the new roles and require capacity building and lifelong learning opportunities. The need to continue and expand the debate on the new roles of civil society and the State in public education was underlined . Following the motto of the WSF II: “A different world is possible”, the seminar proposed some strategies to promote the creation of learning societies. The NGO from Cuba for example suggested the application of popular education methodologies and the networking of grassroots initiatives across the globe as a strategy to promote collective learning and solidarity for what she called “globaliberation.” UNESCO team in Porto Alegre Au moment où se réunissent à Porto Alegre les représentants des mouvements en faveur d'une autre mondialisation, les Cahiers de la Réconciliation rappellent que leur dernier numéro est consacré à une analyse critique de la mondialisation actuelle (« Déséquilibres économiques et actions non-violentes ») et comprend les articles suivants : - une interview exclusive de José Bové : « Des actions non-violentes légitimes » - Jacques Fontanel (E.C.C.A.R.) : « La mondialisation et la paix » - Patrice Sauvage (Démocratie et spiritualité) : « Déséquilibres de la mondialisation » - René Valette (C.C.F.D.) : « Pour un commerce mondial plus juste » - Françoise Vanni (Agir ici) : « La solidarité dépend de nous » - Bernard Rodenstein (Espoir) : « Églises et mondialisation » - Gérard Gourguechon (A.T.T.A.C) : « Mondialisation et violence ». Nous pouvons vous adresser un exemplaire de ce numéro en service de presse. Cahiers de la Réconciliation - MIR (Mouvement international de la Réconciliation) - 68, rue de Babylone - 75007 Paris - Tél. : 01 47 53 84 05 - Courriel : mirfr@club-internet.fr . Christian RENOUX, MIR (France) THE DEFENCES OF PEACE - Certain phrases lose their first tartness - phrases such as 'Turn the other cheek' or 'Love thy neighbour as thyself '. Certain others jolt us back into a new awareness - 'Let us not negotiate out of fear, but let us not fear to negotiate'. One that needs to be recalled is the commitment made by what remained of the civilized world in November 1945, when UNESCO was formed. The preamble to its constitution (to which both India and Pakistan have bound themselves voluntarily as member states) reads: 'When wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed.' Could anything be more apposite or a timelier reminder of what the governments of India and Pakistan should be doing now that, instead of going to war, they are retreating behind the defences of peace? for more information . www.dawn.com 2002 MEANS GOOD NEWS FROM TFF TO YOU - Lots of new stuff on TFF's site. The usual TFF associates, of course. This year we expand the Features: comments and analyses we find on Internet and deem worthy of a lift to get to you via links on our site. A revised, updated and much expanded link library, including September 11, terrorism, intelligence, covert operations, and more...Use it as YOUR web library on international affairs. We know many are busy. PeaceBrowser now provides hyperlinks directly to the single articles. Just click on them. If this does not work for some of you, copy and paste this for more information . into your browser's address field and you will get to all the materials. But take your time, go slow, explore - and be rewarded. Jan OBERG, Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research (Sweden) LET'S CELEBRATE THE WORLD PEACE DAY ON SEPTEMBER 21ST 2002 - (…) This year, we want to give a particular glamour to this day and challenge the entire world. All together and united in the same Hope, we will proclaim our addiction to Peace on September 21st 2002. In this world of unrest, where tears and blood are still shed in abundance in all the continents, although it is time to claim for peace and to exalt the virtues of it for the well-being and development of the people, this day is most often ignored. We invite you to strive for this day to be taken out of oblivion and indifference. Each and everyone of us must be allowed to express their unfailing attachment to non-violence and to negotiated solutions, out of respect for human rights. It is of course not enough to want peace to get it right here, right now, but perseverance always pays off and it will make utopia a reality. Come and join the 'flow of hope'! Children or adults, wherever you are in the world, join the call of September 21st. Let's all together show our refusal of war and injustice. THE CHALLENGE: How to participate on September 21st 2002 individually or collectively - Draw the outline of your hand(s), leave the field open to your imagination and illustrate a part or all of your drawing, or even a giant fresco. All techniques are allowed. Write your message(s) in your mother tongue. 1) Organise an exhibition in schools, institutions, cultural centres and other public places. 2) Show the drawings at the windows and doors of your house, of offices, schools, hospitals, crèches, old people's home, barracks, theatres, shops, cinemas, cultural centres, musea, art schools, fire houses, prisons, police stations, refugee centres, courts of justice, ministries, big institutions, etc. 3) Hang up drawn hands from trees, sign posts, school bags. 4) Organise a big ballon release with hands hanging from them. 5) Send your handprint to our internet site, with a message of peace and tolerance, a poem, a quote, etc. You might have other ideas such as exchanging your drawings with children from other countries or even other initiatives, and we warmly encourage you to do so. If you take part in this beautiful universal round of peace and brotherhood, please send us an e-mail mentioning your address, the event you would like to organise, the place and a few data concerning the event. Unfortunately, seen the scope of the project and the huge number of events that have been foreseen for this day, it will be impossible for us to thank you all personally. When visiting our web site, you will get an idea of the international dimension of the actions achieved by 'Hands of Hope'. Web site: for more information . Address: AFOUS asbl, 91 rue de l'Enseignement - 1000 Brussels, BELGIUM - Tel/fax (32) 2 219 73 09 - E-mail: afous@swing.be Hamsi BOUBEKER, Afous asbl (Belgium) THE NONVIOLENT PEACEFORCE FEASABILITY STUDY - We are proud to announce the release of this Study, one of the most comprehensive examinations of third party nonviolent intervention ever produced. You may access it on our website: for more information ., at the top of the home page. It is available in both HTML and for download in the more readable PDF formats. We hope this study advances all of our work in creating nonviolent approaches to peacemaking and peacekeeping. The document provides tremendous background information to the Nonviolent Peaceforce as we develop our pilot project. We also make it available to any of you to aid in your peacemaking work or in your further research. Feel free to download, use or quote any portion of it. Please use proper attribution. A very skilled team, directed by Christine Schweitzer, worked over one year in producing this research. Major contributors included: Donna Howard, Mareike Junge, Corey Levine, Carl Stieren and Tim Wallis. Without Mark Sherman, Judy Miller and Sister Pat Keefe the study would not have been put on the web. The research was conducted with support from the United States Institute of Peace. Comments should be directed to Christine XSchweitz@aol.com . We appreciate your continued interest and support. With hope and resolve, David Hartsough - Mel Duncan Executive Director - Project Director David Hartsough, Executive Director, The Nonviolent Peaceforce (USA) LE NUMERO 260 DE NON-VIOLENCE ACTUALITE VIENT DE PARAÎTRE - Les enjeux de la formation à la médiation - La médiation est maintenant mise en oeuvre dans de nombreux domaines, alliant des formes bénévoles et citoyennes à des fonctions et des statuts professionnels. Face à la grande diversité des champs d'application, les offres de formation sont elles aussi multiples, qui ne peuvent qu' inciter à la recherche de cohérence dans un secteur qui s'ouvre à peine à la société. Pour assurer une fonction dont il faut rappeler l'indépendance par rapport au jugement, à l'arbitrage, à la conciliation, à l' assistance ou encore au maintien de la paix, le médiateur doit faire preuve de compétences liées non seulement à sa personnalité, à sa culture et à son expérience de vie mais aussi à une nécessaire formation. L' acquisition de savoirs spécifiques est complémentaire d' un apprentissage en matière de « savoir faire » et d'un développement personnel en terme de « savoir être ». En s'attachant, en tiers impartial, à créer et à développer des liens dans la société, le médiateur se montre non seulement un citoyen actif et responsable, mais également un artisan de la paix sociale et du « mieux vivre ensemble ». Ce numéro a été réalisé en collaboration avec le RMA, Réseau des Médiateurs Associés d¹Ile-de-France. Il aborde de multiples aspects de la formation à la médiation (nombre d'heures, contenu, aspects théoriques, entraînement, débouchés) et comporte de nombreux témoignages ainsi que des adresses d'organismes de formation. NVA n° 260, Janvier/février 2002 : 5 euros (20 euros les 5 ex. ; 35 euros les 10 ex.) NVA, BP 241, 45202 Montargis cedex. Tél. 02 38 93 67 22. Fax. 02 38 93 74 72. Mail : nonviolence.actualite@wanadoo.fr - Internet : pour plus d'informations . Guy BOUBAULT, NVA (France) PROPUESTAS PARA CAMBIOS INAPLAZABLES - Federico Mayor Zaragoza - 'Somos culpables de muchos errores', escribió Gabriela Mistral, 'pero nuestro peor crimen es abandonar a los niños, ser negligentes con la fuente de la vida. Muchas de las cosas que necesitamos pueden esperar. Los niños no pueden. El tiempo es ahora... No podemos contestarles: 'mañana'. Su nombre es hoy'. Pensando en los jóvenes, en su desconcierto y búsqueda de asideros, es urgente proponer una serie de acciones que, para ser efectivas, deben basarse en unos valores esenciales, tan bien referidos en la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos, que ahora más que nunca debe inspirarnos (…) Texto completo : pour plus d'informations d_date=20020109&xref=20020109 elpepiopi_8&type=Tes&anchor=elpepiopi Federico Mayor ZARAGOZA, Presidente de la Fundación Cultura de Paz (España) NEW PARTNERSHIPS TO WARD OFF POTENTIAL WATER WARS - (ENS) - To help to avert potential conflicts between nations over the world's scarce freshwater resources, a former Soviet president who is now an environmental leader has pledged to cooperate with the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, currently president of the non-governmental environmental organization Green Cross International <>for more information and UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura have signed a two year cooperative agreement to pool their complementary approaches to water conservation. Full text available : for more information . http://ens.lycos.com L'UNESCO AU FORUM SOCIAL MONDIAL 2002 - Cliquez ici: pour plus d'informations . Documentation Centre - Education Sector - UNESCO - 7, Place de Fontenoy - 75007 PARIS (France) - Tel: 33 1 45 68 10 29 - Fax 33 1 45 68 56 24 - pour plus d'informations . UNESCO TOGETHER, LET US BUILD UP A NEW INDUSTRY : THE PEACE INDUSTRY - We have been witnesses of so many cruelty of humanity for thousand years and lately at the World Trade Centre. Enough is enough! It is time to stop war by reducing enormous investments that companies and governments continue to put into war business. If we really and sincerely want to have more peace in this world, it is time to start build up Peace industry for the 21st century for the sake of our children and grand-children… What could be peace industry made of ? Peace industry is like War industry, it is fed by human work and money. War industry is made of gun, bomb, antipersonnel mine business and all kinds of violence and crime business. War business is nourished by hatred and Peace industry is nourished by love. Peace industry is made of art, music, poetry, sport, movies, internet, games, education, communication, etc. supported by values such as: respect, justice, love, sharing, tolerance, compassion, forgiveness, etc. There are thousands of non-profit associations in the world that work for peace for so many years already. The result is very disappointing. Why ? Because it does not pay to work for Peace. Why War industry is so flourishing? Because it pays to work for War, for violence and for crime. What could we do to bring Peace to this world ? Let us help United Nations and UNESCO to promote the Culture of Peace during the coming decade. Let us ask our governments and our entreprises of all sectors to start investing in Peace industry and reducing investments in War industry. Every one can do some thing to influence his or her immediate environment. Should we try something new ? Think, speak, act, behave, as often as possible, by choosing usually more difficult but peaceful solutions instead of easy and fast and aggressive solutions at all environment at home, at school, at work or at the offices, in politic, in economy, in social, in media environment, etc. In a few years, the result could be astonishing. Together, we could build a new industry: the Peace industry. The world of tomorrow that we leave behind us is the result of our today decision. Peace is in our hands ( UNESCO). If you are interested to organise a “World Conference on Peace and Security in our cities” please contact our organisation. Congratulations to United Nations and to Mr. Kofi Annan, the laureates of Nobel Prize of Peace of the year 2001. We thank you for what you have done for this world. Peace through Love to all of you Mrs. Thu-Hà Tô, President World Peace Foundation ( Canada) 8375 Rimbaud, Brossard, Quebec, Canada, J4X 1R4 Tel: (450)466-1453, Fax: (450)923-1839, thuhato@evatec.com Mrs. Thu-Hà TO, President World Peace Foundation ( Canada) URGENT : A CALL TO THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD - From : Nobel Peace Laureate Mrs Mairead MAGUIRE - The greatest gift we can all receive is the gift of human life. This year my husband and I were blessed with the gift of two beautiful grandchildren - Jack and Matthew. How much love they bring into our lives by their gentle presence. To cuddle them, and whisper « I love you », gives me great joy. They deepen my soul. They make me want to laugh and sing. I feel deeply responsible for their welfare. I also feel in good conscience responsible for the welfare - and indeed the lives of the children in the world. It is in this spirit that I wish to share with you my belief that many children are now in grave danger and need our help. The American and British Governments have gone to war in Afghanistan and I fear that the next step by these Military Giants is to attack our Brothers and Sisters in Somalia. At a time when the entire International Community should be increasing our humanitarian and political efforts to solve this crisis, we are wasting valuable energies discussing bombs, instead of bread for Somalian children. Each of us must do everything we can to save the lives of the children, whether they live in Iraq, Somalia, Colombia, the Philippines or Belgium. We each must do something. So what can we do ? I believe that it is the responsability of each citizen and those in political power to do all they can to nurture and protect the lives of the children in the world. The U.N. has a responsability to lead the way for us all to establish a Coalition for Peace and Dialogue in the new Century. At a time when the UNHCR has said that in the events of a strike by the United States on Somalia, the agency has developped contingency plans for coping with any resulting refugees exodus. I believe it is more important that we develop our political initiatives to prevent any such strikes and begin a peace process in this « troubled » land. We the peoples of the World can unite in working for “no war” to uphold all International laws and solve our problems nonviolently in this Decade for a culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the children of the world. We must change of mindset from a war mentallity to a peace mentality. For myself, I promise that, if the American and British military Giants attack these countries, I will go and stand under the bombs with the people, as in good conscience I can do no less. Mairead MAGUIRE, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Brussels (Belgium) WARD CEREMONY OF THE UNESCO PRIZE FOR PEACE EDUCATION 2001 - Speech pronounced by the Director-General of UNESCO : (…) In recognition of their outstanding efforts in the field of peace education and the promotion of peace and non-violence, and in appreciation of their work in favour of conflict resolution through dialogue, I now have the great pleasure of presenting the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education 2001 to Bishop Nelson Onono-Onweng and to the Jewish-Arab Centre for Peace at Givat Haviva - represented here by its two Directors, Ms Sara Ozacky-Lazar and Mr Riad Kabha. The Prize is represented by the statuette, a symbol of peace, executed by the Catalan sculptor Fenosa, together with a cheque of US$15,000 each. Please allow me to congratulate you and to encourage you in your noble endeavours. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am also happy to award an Honourable Mention to Ms Betty Reardon (USA), teacher and peace educator, in appreciation of her pioneering theoretical and practical contributions to initiatives that have influenced the development and promotion of peace and peace education. Among these initiatives is the foundation of the International Institute on Peace Education (IIPE), of which she has been the director since 1982 and which enables educators from across the world to meet, interact and improve their knowledge, skills and values. Another initiative is the Global Campaign for Peace Education (GCPE), a campaign of the Hague Appeal for Peace, which, under her supervision, has produced “Learning to Abolish War”, a widely-used teaching resource. She has mentored, inspired and encouraged countless individuals, groups, and associations through her teaching, workshops, lectures and publications. She is, in fact, the author of innumerable books, articles and lectures on peace education, human rights, global problems and women’s issues which are used by educators throughout the world. Ms Reardon’s widely recognized exceptional contribution to the cause of peace and peace education is even more remarkable and admirable as it has always been provided on a voluntary basis. (…) Koïchiro MATSUURA, UNESCO Director-General SPANA - EL GOBIERNO OBLIGADO, POR PRIMERA VEZ, A INFORMAR AL PARLAMENTO DE LA VENTA DE PRODUCTOS ARMAMENTISTICOS A CADA PAIS - El texto aprobado es una herramienta para los grupos parlamentarios para exigir una mayor transparencia y realizar un mejor control del comercio de armas - Amnistía Internacional, Greenpeace, Intermón Oxfam y Médicos sin Fronteras, promotoras de la campaña “Adiós a las armas”, muestran su satisfacción por la aprobación unánime, ayer en el Pleno del Congreso, de una Proposición No de Ley (PNdL) que significa un avance hacia una mayor transparencia de las exportaciones de armamento y de un mejor control parlamentario del mismo. La campaña “Adiós a las Armas” ha promovido activamente durante dos años la adopción de un acuerdo en esta materia. Si bien el texto aprobado no refleja íntegramente la propuesta de las ONG, es un avance significativo porque incorpora por primera vez la obligación de detallar las ventas de armas, cruzando los materiales vendidos a cada país. La importancia de este logro va más allá de su carácter técnico, ya que dota a los grupos parlamentarios de una nueva herramienta que les permitirá ejercer un mayor control de este comercio. Por primera vez, el Gobierno deberá reflejar qué vende a cada país, datos que hasta ahora no se habían ofrecido de forma detallada. Con el nuevo acuerdo, se podrá saber si un país determinado recibe munición de guerra o bombas de racimo, o por el contrario, material puramente defensivo como rádares o equipos de comunicación. Sin embargo, las ONG trabajarán para lograr el cumplimiento de este texto y para la mejora del mismo hasta lograr la total transparencia. Igualmente, de acuerdo a la PNdL aprobada, el Gobierno deberá “aplicar, de forma individualizada, el Código de conducta de la Unión Europea aprobado en 1998; manteniendo la postura firme de no autorizar exportaciones cuando no se cumplan los criterios señalados en el Código”. En estos últimos años, la campaña “Adiós a las armas” ha denunciado en numerosas ocasiones la venta de material militar por parte de España a países en conflicto, altamente militarizados, o que no respetan los derechos humanos, en contradicción con dicho Código. “Lo acordado supone un paso más para acabar con el secretismo en esta materia. Sin duda es un nuevo éxito de la sociedad civil”, declaró Vicenç Fisas, portavoz de la campaña “Adiós a las armas”. Para estas ONG, al apoyo otorgado a la campaña por 7 parlamentos autonómicos (Aragón, Asturias, Baleares, Cataluña, Castilla-La Mancha, Euskadi y Navarra), 12 diputaciones provinciales (Albacete, Burgos, Cádiz, Guadalajara, Granada, Huelva, León, Málaga, Palencia, Salamanca, Sevilla y Valladolid), cerca de 350 ayuntamientos y más de 100.000 ciudadanos a título particular, ha sido decisivo para convencer a todos los grupos parlamentarios de la importancia de avanzar decididamente hacia el control y la transparencia de las exportaciones de armas. Algunos de los compromisos recogidos en la PNdL deberán ser desarrollados durante la Presidencia española de la Unión Europea. Entre ellos el desarrollar el Plan de Acción derivado de la Conferencia de Naciones Unidas sobre Armas Ligeras, celebrada en Nueva York el pasado mes de julio. Para más información, llamar a: Amnistía Internacional: Celia Zafra (630 74 68 02 / 91 310 12 77) Greenpeace: Carlos Bravo (626 99 82 41) / Asensio Rodríguez (91444 14 00 ) Intermón Oxfam: Lourdes Vergés (93 482 07 81 / 93 482 07 20) Médicos Sin Fronteras: Isabel Leal (656 901 462 / 93 304 62 15) Cátedra UNESCO: Daniel Luz (686 03 30 30 / Vicenç Fisas (93 581 24 14) Raül ROMEVA, rromeva@pangea.org (Spain) BISHOP WINS UNESCO PEACE PRIZE - New Vision (Kampala) by Caroline Lamwaka - Onono says his first challenge after going to Gulu, was how to fit in with all the rampant insecurity. When Bishop Nelson Onono Onweng went to Bishop to serve in Gulu, a war zone in May 1998, the biggest limitations to his mission was insecurity. But three years down the road, the Bishop finds himself being awarded the internationally prestigious peace prize by UNESCO. Onono shares this prize with the Jewish-Arab Centre for Peace based in Girat Haviva. A statement from UNESCO says the award was to "recognise his exceptional efforts in the areas of peace education, the promotion of peace and non-violence and the work done for the resolution of conflicts through dialogue." Onono will receive the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education on December 13 2001 at 6.00 p.m. at UNESCO Hall in Paris, France. Thereafter, he will travel to Copenhagen, Denmark to give talks on the peace award for two days. "When I look at this honour given to me, I get a strong feeling that the world is recognising all the efforts of the Acholi people who are on the ground here and are affected by the war. My advice to our people is that none of us should sleep soundlessly without doing anything for peace. We have to help the (rebel) returnees to be tamed to settle home by being productive and responsible. Poverty will lead to more crimes," says Onono. "I count this award as the highest honour. I value it above all the academic qualifications I have achieved. I look at this award as a calling to be a Bishop," Onono adds. The Bishop at 56 cuts a distinctive feature in his purple priestly robes. He is a calm, down-to-earth and confident person, with a warm disposition that tells a lot about his peace work. (…) Full text available on : for more information . Caroline LAMWAKA - New Vision Kampala (Uganda) GOOD NEWS : YUGOSLAVIA ' S TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION - At least three recent pieces of good news from the Balkans have passed virtually unnoticed: - Yugoslavia has established a Commission for Truth and Reconciliation. - Dr. Ibrahim Rugova's and LDK's election victory opens new prospects for reconciliation in Kosovo/a. - Non-violence has proved to be stronger than police repression and authoritarian rule in Serbia and stronger than extremist violence by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA/UCK) in Kosovo. Contrary to violence and war, non-violence and opportunities for reconciliation don't make it to the headlines. As a matter of fact, they don't make it to the media at all. Destructive news furthers pessimism and the feeling of powerlessness. Constructive or good news furthers the opposite and signals that peace may, in spite of all, be possible. In short, those in power, as well as power-loyal media, naturally prefer the former rather than the latter. These three news items contain important evidence that should begin a debate about the lessons to be learned by the international community regarding its conflict-management in the Balkans since 1991. Regrettably, such a debate - broad-based, democratic and multi-ethnic - does not yet exist. TFF PressInfo 139, 140 and 141 will deal with each of these news items. PressInfo 142 will address why reconciliation inside Kosovo is absolutely essential for the future. You are welcome to reprint, copy, archive, quote or re-post this item, but please retain the source and copyright. In these troubled times, shape you own views and find the larger truth by visiting The Transnational News Navigator, TNN - now with new links to Afghan and Central Asian affairs... for more information . Jan OBERG, TFF director (Sweden) THE UN SECRETARY-GENERAL - THE NOBEL LECTURE (Oslo) - (…) Throughout my term as Secretary-General, I have sought to place human beings at the centre of everything we do – from conflict prevention to development to human rights. Securing real and lasting improvement in the lives of individual men and women is the measure of all we do at the United Nations. It is in this spirit that I humbly accept the Centennial Nobel Peace Prize. Forty years ago today, the Prize for 1961 was awarded for the first time to a Secretary-General of the United Nations – posthumously, because Dag Hammarskjöld had already given his life for peace in Central Africa. And on the same day, the Prize for 1960 was awarded for the first time to an African – Albert Luthuli, one of the earliest leaders of the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. For me, as a young African beginning his career in the United Nations a few months later, those two men set a standard that I have sought to follow throughout my working life. This award belongs not just to me. I do not stand here alone. On behalf of all my colleagues in every part of the United Nations, in every corner of the globe, who have devoted their lives – and in many instances risked or given their lives in the cause of peace -- I thank the Members of the Nobel Committee for this high honour. My own path to service at the United Nations was made possible by the sacrifice and commitment of my family and many friends from all continents – some of whom have passed away -- who taught me and guided me. To them, I offer my most profound gratitude. In a world filled with weapons of war and all too often words of war, the Nobel Committee has become a vital agent for peace. Sadly, a prize for peace is a rarity in this world. Most nations have monuments or memorials to war, bronze salutations to heroic battles, archways of triumph. But peace has no parade, no pantheon of victory. (…) Kofi A. ANNAN, Secretary-General of the United Nations RWANDAN VILLAGE BREAKS DOWN HUTU/TUTSI DIVISIONS - (CNN) - Ask the residents of the Nelson Mandela Peace Village if they are Hutu or Tutsi, and you will get a different answer altogether. "I am Rwandese," says an old woman working to pull beans from the vine. "Rwandese," echoes her neighbor. Located just 50 kilometers from the capital of Kigali, the village was established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1996 to intentionally blur the lines between the two ethnic groups; groups with a history of such deep seeded hatred that, in 1994, it erupted into a genocide, claiming the lives of 800,000 Tutsis and Hutus. Each of the 152 residents of the Peace Village lost someone in the slaughter. They are all orphans, widows and refugees. They came to the village to try and forget their ethnic origins in an effort to live together in peace and build a new Rwanda. (…) for more information (/2001/fyi/news/11/26/mandela.village/index.html.) By Janice McDonald, CNN NEWSROOM (USA) Extrait de "Voyage à travers la France et l'Algérie réconciliées" (livre en préparation) - (...) La paix est un idéal qui anime tous les peuples dans le temps et dans l'espace, un message inscrit dans la conscience des hommes. Puisse le nouveau siècle et millénaire être celui de la paix, du progrès, pour toute l'humanité, qu'il soit une ère de lumière où surgiraient les idées neuves qui changeront les vieux réflexes, les vieilles traditions, et les idées reçues pour frayer un chemin à un nouvel ordre mondial où les hommes savoureraiant les fruits de leur civilisation, de leur technologie, qui les serviront et non aviliront cette mutaion qui peut se réaliser si nous le désirons. Chaque ressortissant de quelques pays que ce soit doit se sentir citoyen du monde et doit participer à la culture de la paix et de la non-violence et doit entreprendre et favoriser le rapprochement entre les individus, les communautés, les peuples et les nations sans distinction de race ni de religion. (...) Ali Sid AHMED, Alger (Algérie) POEME A MON FRERE (l'humain du XXIème siècle). (...) Démontrer qu'il est d'autres gloires / Que le pouvoir ou l'argent / La violence qui avilit / Ou le désespoir qui démolit / La guerre pure folie / Dont les peuples sont les seuls détruits (...) (…) L'homme n'est qu'un / Citoyen du monde / Citoyen universel / Au service de la vie / Qui le grandit / Bien précieux, raison d'être / Du genre humain / Pour le dialogue et la coopération / Entre les civilisations / Afin que vivent les "multitudes" / Nos prochains. Guy CREQUIE, Lyon (France) OPEN LETTER TO ISRAELIS AND PALESTINIANS FROM MAIREAD MAGUIRE - Dear Friends, I have had the pleasure and the pain of being here in the Holy Land , for 3 days with Israeli and Palestinian people, meeting old and new Jewish and Arab friends. I came because I am aware of the deep suffering and pain of both Israeli and Palestinian people and I wanted you to know that many people around the world care for you all, and are hoping and praying that you will continue on the hard path of justice making and peace with a renewed determination and conviction that peace is possible, indeed peace is the only way to solve these deep problems you are facing as Jews and Arabs together. I took great inspiration on my first evening in Tel Aviv, when I met at the Jewish and Arab Theatre, listening to the work of the peace activists, committed to practical peacemaking from person to person, and group to group, starting within our own lives to be people of peace. I was meet with such kindness, I knew yet again that it will be warm hearts and fine minds that will change the Middle East, and our World. The old ways of war, militarism, and violence, are not the way, not only because they destroy human life and human dignity, but also because they simple do not work. We learned this lesson in Northern Ireland - indeed it was only when it was recognized and acknowledged that repressive legislation, military repression, 'armed struggle' all increase fear, deepened the anger, and division, and put back the day of peace. Our security lies not in our military strength, but in the strength of our ability to create equality, justice, and a sense of belonging ! and ownership where we each live. On my second day I went to Bethlehem, to take part in a peace walk. 2,000 people walked in prayer and song, very peacefully, their only wish to go to Jerusalem to join with their fellow Jerusalemites in prayers and walk for peace. The President of Pax Christi International, Mgr. Michel Sabbah, led the march together with other church representatatives, Islamic Institutions, NGO, etc., Tragically, when the people got to the checkpoint they were told they were not allowed to go to Jerusalem. Only the Religious Reps., and Internationalists could go to Jerusalem. For me it was deeply painful to stand alongside Palestinians, conscious of the fact, their father and forefathers tilled the land for centuries, and now so many of them are boxed into little square camps of land totally controlled by Israeli guards, as regard to when, where, and what they do. One Palestinian Professor spent 8 years trying to get a permit to go back to his home village, and showed it to me -! it is valid for 4 days. Palestinian people in the occupied territories, are hungry, their daily lives are a nightmare, everything is so hard for them. I believe what is happening in the occupied terrorities is cruel and inhuman, and I cannot understand why Israeli spiritual and intellectual leaders, both in Israel and American and other countries, are not raising their voices on behalf of the Palestinian people in a demand for justice. Even though I could have gone as a 'Foreigner' to Jerusalem, with the Church people, I choose to spend the night in Bethlehem with the people, as I could not in good conscience go to Jerusalem, What right would I have as a foreigner to be in Jerusalem, when the arabs who fathers tilled the soil of this land, are living under occupation, or as refugees in surrounding countries, with only memories of their olive groves and tomatoes with a special taste found only in palestinian soil. When peace comes to Palestine and Israel, and I passionately believe it will, it can come only from a recognition that a deep injustice has been done to the Palestinian people, and continues to be don! e, and that has to be acknowledged and put to right by the Israelis. On the following day I went to Ramallah to meet with President Arafat. I had a long meeting with him, and he graciously offered me lunch. He was very kind to me. I believe him when he says the Palestinian people want peace, and they want justice. I saw for myself their suffering on the ground in their daily lives - many are hungry. One Israeli peace activist told me how she was asked by a palestinian woman to get flour so she could bake bread for her hungry family. This is the reality of many Palestinian families in the occupied terrorities. We learned in our own experience in Northern Ireland, you cannot build a peace process if people on the ground feel no benefits in their daily lives. Until the Palestinian people, have jobs, are no longer under military repression, and being daily harrassed, interrogated, and boxed into virtual camps, without a place to call home, there cannot be progress towards peace. In Northern Ireland at the height of our conflict, we started a Peoples Movement to reject the bomb and the bullet and dedicate ourselves to working for peace. We had the freedom to cross communities to build friends and starting trust each other, in order to help the political solutions to be found. The Israeli and Palestinian people can build peace together, but only if they have the freedom of movement to enable the people to meet together, in dialogue and consensus building. I hope the ordinary Arab and Jewish people will find that way to work together, so that there will be a People Initiative for Peace built across the ground, to challenge the political leadership to become peacemakers and not war makers. I know this is possible, I believe in the Jewish and Arab people, and for their children's sake, and the children of the World, I urge you, dear friends, to keep up you hope. The world supports you and many of us want to help. But in the final analysis it is up to you to make the peace...... Peace , Shalom , Salaam, Mairead Maguire - PEACE PEOPLE, 224, LISBURN ROAD, NORTHERN IRELAND. Tel: 44.90.663465 - Mobile: 0-353-77.36147713 - for more information . Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate (Ireland) UNESCO TO ORGANIZE EDUCATION CONFERENCE ON AFGHANISTAN - In a first step towards rebuilding Afghanistan's education system, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is to hold a conference as early as January, chief Koichiro Matsuura said. "The education system has been completely destroyed," said Matsuura. "We have to start from scratch." It will take an estimated 10 years to rebuild the school system in the central Asian nation, he said at a ceremony here to inaugurate UNESCO's Statistical Institute, as the Taliban completely dismantled secular education when they came to power in 1996. At the conference to be held at the agency's Paris headquarters, UNESCO will develop a new educational system to include women, excluded by the Taliban from learning beyond the age of eight. UNESCO also hopes to revitalize the preservation of Afghanistan's landmarks, although two of the country's most visible antiquities, the Bamyan Buddhas, were destroyed earlier this year by the Taliban, and its museum in the capital Kabul was pilfered by Taliban officials. Extract from : for more information . Koïchiro MATSUURA, UNESCO Director-General Rumors of Peace - Rumores de Paz - Rumeurs de la Paix - Newsletter of the Nonviolent Peaceforce - Boletín informativo de la Fuerza No-Violenta de Paz Global - Bulletin de la Force de paix sans violence - In English / En Espanol / En Français / for more information . Mailto:tineka@nonviolentpeaceforce.org . November, 2001 Nonviolent Peaceforce (USA) Promotion of Systematic And Holistic Methods of Teaching Tolerance in Schools - by Sana B Camara (The Independent / Banjul) - "Education for tolerance is the key to peace, and it should be considered an urgent imperative." So said Jalamang Camara, national coordinator of UNESCO clubs. Mr. Camara was speaking during a two-day peace education workshop on conflict prevention. According to Camara, there is need to promote systematic and holistic methods of teaching tolerance that will address conflict in schools. "Education must be directed to the development of the whole human person, the intellect, the emotions and the will, and peace, respect for human rights and democracy." According to him, the dissemination of peace messages to all people is vital, "It is of utmost importance that teachers are empowered with knowledge of conflict resolution and prevention skill taking into account the alarming rate of violence in schools," he said.He further mentioned that UNESCO clubs not only organisation adduce activities, they constitute the largest unofficial education movement for such things as building a spirit of peace, ensuring education for all, preserving the cultural and natural heritage, promoting free circulation of ideas, defending respect for rights of everyone, one fundamental freedoms. UNSECO clubs teach, practice and promote a culture of democracy, which will perish social inequalities, exclusion and marginalisation, which are major challenges related to common practice of democracy, he asserted. The formal education curriculum which has emphasized knowledge and skills but neglected values, attitudes, and behaviors, needs to seek innovative ways to introduce values education in the curriculum based on the culture of peace, values as it convey knowledge about the possibilities and obstacles to peace, and the particular skills of peace building and peace making and non violence resolution of conflict such knowledge, values and skills must be inclusive to education at all levels and in all accas. Extract from : for more information . Sana B.CAMARA (Gambia) Robinson asks nations to adopt anti-terrorism measures - New Delhi, Nov 17 - UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson said the nations should adopt anti-terrorism measures without compromising on human rights principles otherwise the steps could be counter-productive and create more terrorists. The terrorism combat measures often erode liberties and freedom of expression of speech, which could result in creating more terrorists as they would feel that violence was the only way to give vent to their frustration and sentiments, Robinson said at a function held to mark the 'International Day for Tolerance' on Friday. Wrong moves by the nations, while attempting to curb terrorism could be dangerous hence the measures should follow the rule of law and based on human rights principles, she said. Stressing the need for tolerance, the UNHCHR said, it was more important to make tolerance a way of life in the backdrop of September 11 terrorist attacks on US. The function, organised jointly by UN Information Centre and UNESCO, was among others attended by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson Najma Heptulla, UNESCO Director Mohsen Tawfik, UNIC Director Feodor Starcevic and MP Kapil Sibal. "I will move a step ahead from tolerance as it means that one is helpless and that is why they are tolerating each other. It should be acceptance and understanding among all the cultures," Heptulla said. Extract from : for more information . Mary ROBINSON, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights UNESCO CALLS UPON WORLD COMMUNITY TO EXERCISE TOLERANCE - Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Koïchiro Matsuura made an appeal on the occasion of the International Day for Tolerance, November 16. “A terrible threshold has been crossed this year in the escalation of violence. The terrorist outrages of September 11, last are, apart from an attack on the country concerned, an offence against human dignity, against the essential purposes of UNESCO and of the United Nations system. This blind, criminal violence has been perpetrated in the very midst of the United Nations Year of Dialogue among civilisations, itself following on from the International Year for the Culture of Peace. (…) Prompted equally by respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and openness towards others - recognised as both different from and similar to ourselves - tolerance is the very foundation of dialogue and pluralism. Today more than ever it needs to be put into practice, particularly through education. It is not only a requirement of the Year of Dialogue among Civilisations, which we are celebrating in 2001, but also a condition of the application of the Programme of Action of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance held this year in Durban, which has constituted a landmark in the struggle against racism and intolerance. (…) On the occasion of the International Day for Tolerance, I appeal to the international community, to governments, to parliamentarians, to parents, to teachers, to the media, to non-governmental organizations and to all branches of civil society to ensure that, in accordance with the principles set forth in the Declaration, they give expression in their everyday lives to an ethic of dialogue, openness and mutual respect. Koïchiro MATSUURA, UNESCO Director-General LA PAIX ET NOUS TOUS - PEACE AND ALL OF US - Nous sommes tous peinés des malheurs causés aux milliers d’innocents à World Trade Center. Posons chacun, selon ses moyens et dans son milieu, des gestes concrets pour que les tragédies du 11 septembre ne se reproduisent plus dans l’avenir. Prendre conscience de nos pensées, nos paroles et de nos actions quotidiennes envers nos proches : employés, employeurs, collègues, parents, enfants, époux et épouse, frères et soeurs, parentés, amies et amis. Même si nous avons envie d’être violent des fois, choisissons des solutions pacifiques le plus possible même si c’est souvent plus difficile et cela prend toujours plus de temps de régler nos conflits interpersonnels ou les différents entre des groupes de personnes ou entre les pays. Posons des gestes concrets et simples pour influencer le cours de l’histoire de l’humanité et la vie des êtres qui nous sont chers. Car c’est l’ensemble de nos pensées violents, nos paroles violentes et nos gestes violents, nos avidités en matière de consommation, de richesse et de pouvoir, qui ont peut-être influencé l’histoire de l’humanité jalonnée de guerres meurtrières depuis des millénaires. Commençons à investir dans la paix comme nous le faisons pour nourrir les guerres depuis des millénaires. Demandons et exigeons que nos gouvernements et nos entreprises investissent les ressources financières et humaines dans la paix comme ils ont fait pour nourrir la guerre avec des budgets importants, de quelques milliards de dollars chaque année. Demandons aux médias de laisser la parole aux leaders pacifiques, tels que les lauréats du Prix Nobel de la Paix et les organismes qui travaillent pour la culture de paix, soit près de 2000 organismes messagers de paix de l’UNESCO dans 196 pays dans le monde, etc. Demandons à l’ONU et à l’UNESCO d’intervenir plus activement dans le règlement de conflits entre les pays et d’aider à résoudre le problème des terroristes dans le monde. Peut-être l’ONU devrait-il organiser une « Conférence Mondiale pour la Paix et la Sécurité dans les villes » le 11 septembre 2002 à Montréal, à New York, à Paris, à Londres ou ailleurs pour réunir les intervenants désireux de travailler pour la paix et de trouver des solutions concrètes et réalisables pour une Paix durable… Donnez une chance à la Paix. Give a chance to Peace. Thu-Hà Tô, Présidente Fondation Mondiale de la Paix ( Canada ) World Peace Foundation ( Canada ) E-mail : thuhato@evatec.com, Tel : 450-466-1453, Fax : 450-923-1839 Thu-Hà TO, Présidente Fondation Mondiale de la Paix ( Canada ) TERROR ATTACKS ON US STRENGTHEN NEED FOR DIALOGUE OF CIVILISATIONS - UN Secretary General Kofi Annan told world leaders that the September 11 attacks on the United States reinforced the need for dialogue among civilizations to combat hatred and intolerance. "If ever one doubted the need for a dialogue among civilisations, let them doubt no longer," he told the United Nations General Assembly. "September 11 made the need for such a dialogue crystal clear." Annan was speaking on the second and final day of a special session suggested three years ago by Iran's President Mohammad Khatami and endorsed by the UN, which declared 2001 the Year for Dialogue Among Civilisations. The session was expected to adopt a resolution stressing the responsibility of governments and the media in promoting intellectual, artistic and cultural exchanges. The resolution also pointed to cultural tourism and sports events as ways of improving understanding between peoples. South African writer Nadine Gordimer, winner of the 1991 Nobel prize for literature, was among seven intellectuals who were due to address the session. The session preceded the start Saturday of the UN's annual debate of heads of state and government. The debate was postponed at the request of the New York authorities after the city's World Trade Center was destroyed in a suicide attack by two hijacked airliners. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, part of a coordinated action which also destroyed part of the Pentagon near Washington. But US President George W. Bush blamed them on Osama bin Laden, a Saudi-born Islamic militant, and ordered massive air strikes against Afghanistan after its ruling Taliban militia refused to surrender him. Bin Laden has claimed that the campaign is a war on Islam and called on Muslims to wage holy war against it. Khatami told the session the attacks were an "inhuman and anti-Islamic act of terror" perpetrated by "a cult of fanatics". It would be an error to blame them on "the evil deeds of a certain state, group or religion," he said. "All cultures, civilisations and faiths are now bound to co-habit the same world by the inviolable verdict of technology," the Iranian leader went on. "A rare opportunity has presented itself, which could either lead to interminable war, or to enduring peace and compassion among human societies." In his speech, Annan did not mention bin Laden and did not even use the word "terrorism". He alluded to the attacks only by the date. But, he said, "the idea that there is one people in possession of the truth, one answer to the world's ills, or one solution to humanity's needs has done immense harm throughout history." He praised Khatami for suggesting the dialogue, saying he had "served the noblest aims of the United Nations." But, Annan went on, words alone will not resolve the world's problems. "A dialogue of words and action, that is of reciprocal actions based on respect and genuine understanding of the other's grievances, can resolve disputes and prevent violent conflict," he said. Speaking on behalf of the European Union, Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel said the UN Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) had "a privileged role" to play. "As UNESCO has reminded us, one of the major aims of the dialogue among civilisations is to increase and propagate a knowledge and appreciation of the historic and cultural base of societies all over the world," he said. For more details : http://sg.news.yahoo.com/011109/1/1q94f.html Agence France-Presse ENCIENDA UNA LLAMA Y ADHIERASE A NUESTRA INVOCACION POR LA PAZ - Miles y miles de llamas se encenderán en nuestro país este próximo viernes 9 de noviembre y en su breve fulgor inaugurarán una invocación por la paz. Esta actitud simbólica responde a una apelación de la entidad Mil Milenios de Paz, que congrega a niños del Mercosur y que ese día realizarán desde Humahuaca a Puerto Madryn, San Pablo, Colombia, distintos actos como cierre de una serie de eventos realizados en el Congreso de la Nación y la Biblioteca Nacional. Las primeras lumbres de esta singular demostración serán encendidas por Gabriela Arias Uriburu, Marcelo Tinelli, Santos Biasatti y Raúl Portal, entre otras personalidades que han sido invitadas a adherirse a esta rogativa en pro de la paz, para un mundo conmovido por los últimos actos de violencia. Ese día quienes enciendan una llama, ya sea de un fósforo, de un encendedor, de una vela, durante unos segundos abrirán su mente con ese breve resplandor para rogar por la paz entre todos los seres humanos, sin distinción de nacionalidades o religiones. Asimismo, quienes quieran adherir a esta convocatoria podrán reenviar sus correos electrónicos a info@milmilenios.org.ar Quienes lo deseen, podrán requerir a la coordinadora de esta entidad, Inés Palomeque, una copia del Manifiesto por la Vida, elaborado por los niños y aprobado durante un acto celebrado en el Congreso de la Nación el pasado 24 de septiembre. Mil Milenios de Paz (Argentina) KHATAMI'S MESSAGE IN UNESCO GENERAL CONFERENCE - by IRNA - President Seyed Mohammad Khatami stressed the key role of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in promoting the idea of the dialogue among civilizations. (…) President Khatami called for further attention to the moral values in absence of which the world risk being engulfed in more trouble and tension. He called for measures to replace terror by affection and tenderness. He added that a promoted dialogue amongst the civilization could be more efficient than every other measures to guarantee the security and peace in the world. The world is now thirsty for justice, freedom and morality, he noted. Full text available on : http://www.irna.com/newshtm/eng/12220933.htm Seyed Mohammad KHATAMI, President of Iran (Iran) COUNCIL (S/PRST/2001/31) - 4402nd meeting of the Security Council, held on 31 October 2001, in connection with the first anniversary of the Council’s adoption of its resolution 1325 (2000) of 31 October 2000 on the item entitled “Women and peace and security”, the President of the Security Council made the following statement on behalf of the Council: “The Security Council reaffirms its commitment to the implementation of its resolution 1325 (2000) of 31 October 2000 and welcomes the efforts by the United Nations system, Member States, civil society organizations and other relevant actors in promoting the equal participation and full involvement of women in the maintenance and promotion of peace and security and in implementing the provisions of resolution 1325 (2000). “The Council further reaffirms its strong support for increasing the role of women in decision-making with regard to conflict prevention and resolution and renews its call on States to include women in the negotiations and implementation of peace accords, constitutions and strategies for resettlement and rebuilding and to take measures to support local women’s groups and indigenous processes for conflict resolution. In this regard it recognizes the efforts of the Mano River Women’s Peace Network in facilitating peace and dialogue in the Mano River Union region. It is also encouraged by the inclusion of women in the political decision-making bodies in Burundi, Somalia and in East Timor. (…) - Full text available on : www.un.org/Docs/sc/statements/2001/prst31e.pdf President of the UN Security Council EL 9/11 INVOCAREMOS LA PAZ PERDIDA EL 11/9 - Reunidos en MIl Milenios de Paz niños y jovenes del MERCOSUR convocan a una jornada de invocación el 9 de noviembre próximo, encendiendo una vela como símbolo Universal de luz y entendimiento en todos los hogares, asociaciones, centros religiosos, educativos, gubernamentales, empresariales y medios de comunicación. Mujeres hombres y niños del mundo invocaremos la PAZ perdida tragicamente el 11 de septiembre Para que la unidad de los pueblos no se limite a la coerción armada sino que trascienda hacia esa instancia superior, donde el equilibrio y la armonía son posibles. Que asi sea. JUNTOS POR LA PAZ. Para más información : inespalomeque@fibertel.com.ar Niños y jovenes del MERCOSUR CHARTE DE PORTO ALEGRE POUR L'EDUCATION PUBLIQUE POUR TOUS - Adoptée au Forum Mondial de l'Education, Porto Alegre, 24-27 octobre 2001- Les participants du Forum mondial de l’éducation, pour la plupart des enseignants, étudiants, chercheurs, autorités, syndicalistes et représentants de multiples et différentes forces sociales et populaires présentent aux gouvernements de tous les pays et à tous les peuples du monde les positions approuvées durant la plénière finale de la rencontre. Ces plus de 15000 acteurs de l’histoire affirment ainsi leur engagement dans l’éducation publique, gratuite et de qualité pour tous les hommes et toutes les femmes de tous âges, de n’importe quelle orientation sexuelle et appartenance ethnique, religieuse et culturelle, comme condition nécessaire et possible pour la paix et de meilleures perspectives de vie pour l’humanité. (…) Texte complet : pour plus d'informations Forum01/021portoalegre.html . www.users.skynet.be/aped/index.html Greetings, As we work for long-term peace, justice, and plenty for all, many of us also wish to find a trustworthy way to contribute in some small way to immediate relief for those who have been most directly impacted by ongoing military operations. As you probably know, the people of Afghanistan were already suffering malnutrition and hunger due to drought and internal military conflicts. Now, that crisis has become more acute and will follow refugees into neighboring nations. Many people have asked us to whom donations for immediate hunger relief in Afghanistan and neighboring regions might be directed. My sources in Pakistan tell me that the international agency Islamic Relief, which has operations in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, is very reliable and is working very hard to provide aid to those who need it most. This agency does have a website through which individuals may easily make donations targeted specifically to this relief effort. Here is the URL for Islamic Relief: for more information - Here is the URL for making an online donation: for more information - With warm regards and hopes for peace, pattrice le-muire jones Coordinator Global Hunger Alliance for more information -- please feel free to forward this message widely! Pattrice LE MUIRE JONES, Coordinator Global Hunger Alliance Those interested in knowing more about the positive aspects of Islamic civillization can watch a series on French-German TV station ARTE, Saturday 27 October 2001 at 1:30 (French time) 'Lorsque le monde parlait Arabe' - Check your cable for Saturday programmes. Good luck and peace. Phyllis KOTITE (France) HOLY SEE STATEMENT AT UN ON CULTURE OF PEACE - What a Serious Campaign Against Terrorism Entails - Here is the text of a statement given Monday before the Plenary of the UN General Assembly on Item 28, Culture of Peace - Mr. President: Today, it is indeed appropriate that the General Assembly address the topic of the Culture of Peace. The imperfect peace in which our world has dwelt has suddenly been shattered by violent and senseless attacks against innocent human beings. An initial reaction may come in words of war and not in a language of peace, understanding and reconciliation. Yet, institutions such as the United Nations are entrusted with the most serious responsibilities to "Maintain international peace and security and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace... (The Charter of the United Nations, Chapter 1, Article 1, Paragraph 1). (…) Peace is first known, recognized, willed and loved in the heart. Then, in order to establish a culture of peace, it must be expressed and impressed on humanity, on its philosophy, its sociology, its politics and its traditions. (…) "a culture of peace" might be seen as "that pattern of human behavior which must be cultivated and transmitted to future generations". Once we have come to an understanding of what a culture of peace is, we begin to ponder upon ways in which to communicate that understanding and fostering its place in the minds and hearts of humanity. Establishing a culture of peace and non-violence will necessitate a new language and new gestures for peace. In this search, we will not only educate a new generation but also will educate ourselves for peace and awaken in ourselves firm convictions and a new capacity for taking initiatives at the service of the great cause of Peace. Education for and a better understanding and realization of peace can benefit from renewed interest in the everyday examples of simple builders of peace at all levels. Our eyes and those of the next generation need to be focused on the visions of peace which will nurture the aspiration for peace and non-violence that is an essential part of every human being. All of this, of course, is the work that the United Nations, and the peoples of the world have been engaged for many years. It is an ongoing process that is hampered by too many obstacles that continue to resist the movement toward a true and lasting peace for all people. (…) "We all know how hard it is to settle differences between parties when ancient hatreds and serious problems which admit of no easy solution create an atmosphere of anger and exasperation. But no less dangerous for the future of peace would be the inability to confront intelligently the problems posed by a new social configuration resulting in many countries from accelerated migration and the unprecedented situation of people of different cultures and civilizations living side by side." (Pope John Paul II, Message for the Celebration of the World Day of Peace, 1 January 2001). (…) In this light, the world must recognize that there is hope. Building a culture of peace is not preposterous, nor a utopian dream. It is, rather, an attainable reality which, even though just beyond our realization, is still a worthy and reachable goal. (…) Archbishop Renato MARTINO, permanent observer of the Holy See to the UN TRAVELLERS TOURING THE WORLD FOR PEACE STOP IN JORDAN - By Dina Al Wakeel - The Jordan Times - In the name of peace, racial harmony and non-violence, two travellers are touring the globe on foot with the support of the United Nations to meet young people from around the world. Now in Jordan, Debasis De, a 40-year-old Indian, along with his Romanian partner, 21-year old Florentina Grosu, are planning to tour the region and visit schools, colleges and universities affiliated with UNESCO. “Our trips are guided by non-violence. Young people need to be more determined, and less affected by hatred,” De told The Jordan Times on Saturday. De, a former maths teacher from Calcutta, launched his walks in 1991 and has so far visited over 75 countries and 3,000 schools, mostly in European and Middle Eastern countries. He was joined by Grosu in 2000. “We like Jordan for being a neutral country that enjoys good relations with all countries. We have visited a refugee camp and plan to tour some schools in Amman and other governorates,” said Grosu. The travellers' next destinations include Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Palestine. “Jordan will be our transit point... and we will come back here after visiting Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine,” noted De. According to De, the UNDP has been assisting him and his partner for the past 10 years, providing them with places to stay, food and other facilities. The pair also hope to visit Somalia, Ethiopia and Afghanistan. “Japan will be our last destination in the year 2014, [and] we want to end our long trip in Hiroshima. Then we will go back to India,” concluded De, who has not been back to his country since beginning his world tour. Debasis DE and Florentina GROSU (India & Romania) UNESCO GENERAL CONFERENCE AFFIRMS THAT NO MOTIVES CAN JUSTIFY ACTS OF TERRORISM - UNESCO’s General Conference, convened in Paris for its 31st session, today adopted by acclamation a resolution on terrorism expressing its "sorrow and indignation at the tragic events of 11 September 2001 in the United States of America" and affirming that "acts of terrorism can never be justified whatever the motives". The full text of the resolution is available on : www.unesco.org/confgen/press_rel/201001_terrorism.shtml UNESCO - General conference - 31st session NO HAY NEUTRALIDAD POSIBLE - El Pais - Un esfuerzo global más decidido y contundente para combatir con éxito el terrorismo en el mundo, pidió el canciller Guillermo Fernández de Soto, ante la sesión plenaria de la XXI Conferencia General de la Unesco en París. En su intervención, Fernández de Soto recordó que Colombia, como miembro del Consejo de Seguridad de Naciones Unidas, ha apoyado las acciones dirigidas a enfrentar este fenómeno. “Ante el terrorismo no hay neutralidad posible”, dijo el Canciller y advirtió ante los participantes en la Conferencia que no se pueden cometer errores en esta guerra, por lo que “uno de los mayores desafíos es lograr que las acciones a favor de la seguridad no pongan en peligro las libertades individuales ni los derechos fundamentales”. Fernández de Soto aseguró que una de las manifestaciones más preocupantes de este fenómeno es el vínculo con otras actividades criminales como el contrabando de armas, las drogas ilícitas y el lavado de dinero . Señaló ante el foro de ciencia y cultura de la Unesco que “no podemos caer en la trampa de quienes quieren presentar el terrorismo como un choque de civilizaciones”. Guillermo Fernández de SOTO, Minister of foreign Affairs (Colombia) AFGHANISTAN: U.N. Committee Examines Women's Role In Peace Process The U.N. Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee yesterday opened a debate on the advancement of women, with some of the discussions focusing on women in Afghanistan and whether they will be allowed to take a significant role in peace and reconstruction processes in their country. Angela King, special adviser to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan on gender issues and the advancement of women, said that including women in decision-making processes, especially peace negotiations, is more important now than ever because of the need to recognize that women are affected by gender-based violence as a result of armed conflict. King said that the situation of women in Afghanistan provides one of the most visible and tragic examples of this phenomenon, adding that when peace talks begin in the country, women should be involved. King also warned that the current crisis in Afghanistan serves as a powerful reminder of the consequences of excluding women from decision-making. A representative from Russia told the committee that the Taliban regime is a symbol of the grossest violation of women's dignity and one that places all Afghan women at risk. A delegate from China added that any military action against Afghanistan should take care to avoid harming innocent civilians, especially women and children, and that the cause of women will only be successfully advanced when conflicts and terrorism have been eliminated. When asked by country representatives about the status of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, King said a high-level brainstorming session will be held in December with a focus on the role of women in peace-building and in the reconstruction of post-conflict societies. Those expected to attend include committee delegates, concerned members of the international community and nongovernmental organization representatives (U.N. release, Oct. 17). Links: Resolution 1325 - for more information - U.N. release, Oct. 17 - http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2001/gashc3637.doc.htm UN Wire TEACH-IN - TRANSCENDING THE SPIRAL OF VIOLENCE - Education for a Culture of Peace: Lessons from September 11th & Beyond - By Toh Swee-Hin - 2001 is the first year of the United Nations’ International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the World, a campaign to encourage all nations and peoples to build a more peaceful, compassionate, just and sustainable world. Tragically, it is also the year marked by the violent September 11th attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon which constitute a crime against humanity, a gross violation of the basic rights of thousands of human beings. As preparations forge ahead for military retaliation by the United States and allied governments, millions more, already living in desperate conditions in war-torn Afghanistan, will suffer amidst the growing tide of refugees. As the United Nations warns, a great humanitarian disaster is already underway. (…) Amidst this complexity of emotions, reactions, analyses, strategic planning, advocacy and lobbying for the minds and hearts of citizens, all educators face major responsibilities and challenges. Foremost is the task of creating respectful spaces where dialogue can equitably occur among a range of perspectives or worldviews. Regrettably, much of mainstream media has not opted to foster such dialogue. Second, it is crucial for education about “September 11th and beyond” to help overcome feelings of despair and powerlessness, and empower everyone to act to transform the crisis. In my view, it means education that diverts nations, leaders and citizens from pursuing a culture of violence and war towards building a culture of peace and nonviolence. (…) Education for a culture of peace also focuses centrally on the role played by media in reporting the attacks and subsequent events. Over the past three weeks, it is clear that, apart from the space given for grieving and empathy, significant sections of mainstream media have opted to directly or indirectly support feelings and policies based on vengeance, armed retaliation, ultra-patriotism and intolerance against a demonized “other.” Educators hence need to help learners and citizens demystify such dominant media presentations, and to seek alternative sources of “truth” and perspectives that have not been invited into mainstream media space. (…) A final reflection brings me to the space of our inner being, where profoundly complex and challenging issues of spirituality are nurtured. As thinkers and practitioners of many faiths and spiritual beliefs constantly remind us, we need to struggle to cultivate values of peacefulness, non-violence, justice and compassion. Not only would these values help promote intercultural and inter-civilizational understanding and respect, they also integrally link with life-world issues like consumerism, materialism and power. As we rethink the root causes of conflicts and violence worldwide, we are challenged to deeply transform excessively consumerist lifestyles that fuel policies and structures of inequity and human rights violations. In sum, are we willing to live gently with billions of human beings and also planet earth in an authentic spirit of nonviolence, solidarity, justice, sustainability and compassion? - Toh Swee-Hin is a professor in international, intercultural and global education, University of Alberta. In 2001, he was awarded the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education. Toh Swee-Hin, Professor (USA) Toh SWEE-HIN, Professor (Canada) 31ème SESSION DE LA CONFERENCE GENERALE DE L'UNESCO - Discours de M.Koïchiro Matsuura, Directeur général de l’Organisation des Nations Unies pour l’éducation, la science et la culture (UNESCO), à l'occasion de l'ouverture du débat de politique générale - - "Il y a plus de cinquante ans, des hommes se réveillaient sur les décombres… Plus jamais ça, avaient-ils dit. Notre Organisation est née de leur détermination à dépasser la logique de guerre en créant les conditions d’un dialogue confiant entre les peuples. Le message de notre Acte constitutif nous est apparu d’une cruelle actualité, le 11 septembre dernier, quand la violence et le fanatisme aveugles ont atteint un nouveau seuil dans l’intolérable. Depuis un peu plus d’un mois, partout dans le monde, on s’interroge, on tente d’avancer des explications. Pour certains, nous assisterions au premier acte d’une tragédie déjà écrite, le « clash des civilisations », conclusion inéluctable d’un long processus historique. D’autres, atteints de myopie, érigent l’amalgame en mode de pensée : terrorisme et Islam seraient pour eux indissociables. Il y a également ceux qui cherchent à établir une hiérarchie entre les différentes cultures et les différentes religions. Beaucoup, et c’est sans doute le plus grand nombre, désespèrent des promesses que semblait porter le nouveau millénaire. Autant d’hypothèses fallacieuses ou désespérées, qu’il nous faut condamner ou rejeter. En créant les Nations Unies, la communauté internationale nous a donné une raison d’espérer. Elle s’est en effet dotée d’un lieu pour débattre, collectivement, des moyens d’agir, et de textes juridiques, à portée universelle, qui lui permettent de faire face à des actes qui, s’ils restaient impunis, créeraient les conditions d’un nouvel embrasement généralisé. Au sein de ce système, l’UNESCO a un rôle important à jouer, même si son action ne s’inscrit pas dans le court terme. En effet, pour être durablement efficaces, les indispensables initiatives politiques, diplomatiques, sécuritaires et financières qui sont en train d’être prises par la communauté internationale doivent être complétées par d’autres, à dimension « culturelle ». De la même manière qu’il faut s’appliquer à tarir les sources de financement de ce nouveau terrorisme international, et à démanteler ses réseaux actifs, il faut combattre les alibis culturels et idéologiques dont il se pare pour trouver des soutiens et développer son implantation. Il est faux et même dangereux de considérer l’exclusion, la discrimination, la pauvreté comme les racines du terrorisme. Il faut cependant bien constater que ces fléaux servent de prétexte à ceux qui recherchent des fantassins pour la guerre personnelle qu’ils mènent contre l’humanité. Raison de plus pour redoubler d’efforts, et tenter d’y apporter une réponse à la fois cohérente et globale. L’Organisation des Nations Unies, et la constellation d’institutions qui lui sont attachées, constituent précisément le lieu où peut être forgée cette réponse cohérente et globale. Et c’est probablement le sens qu’il faut donner à l’octroi du prix Nobel de la paix conjointement aux Nations Unies et à son Secrétaire général « pour leur travail en faveur d’un monde mieux organisé et plus pacifique ». (…) Ces tragiques événements auront soudain placé les valeurs qui sont au coeur de la mission de l’UNESCO — la tolérance, le dialogue, le respect, la compréhension mutuels : en un mot la culture de la paix — au premier rang des priorités internationales. C’est bien le message qu’entendait porter l’Année du Dialogue des Civilisations que nous célébrons en 2001. Il n’en est que plus actuel. Nous devons redoubler d’efforts pour non seulement renforcer la connaissance et la compréhension de la diversité des cultures, mais aussi l’aptitude à accepter l’Autre, dans sa différence, et à l’accueillir dans une volonté de « vivre ensemble » qui est aujourd’hui ce dont nous avons le plus besoin. (…) Texte intégral : http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001238/123851m.pdf Koïchiro MATSUURA, Directeur Général de l'UNESCO Dear President Bush, Accept my condolences on the losses of so many lives and destruction of properties due to acts of terrorism by perverted and brainwashed minds. Nevertheless, being a global tragedy, myself being a peace promoter, I want to these suggestions. I believe not too late. 1. Refuse to be lured into war (that was the intention of the terrorists) - 2. Refuse to dance to the tune of war mongers - 3. Don't waste vital resources,human material and financial by going into these wars (that is the expectation of the enemies of America) - 4. Avoid losing a single innocent life - 5. Refuse to aggravate global tension and discord - 6. Don't give room for your enemies to rejoice - 7. Don't turn more women into widows and vice versa,don't turn more children into orphans and fatherless and motherless children - 8. Don't breed more refugees - 9. Don't become power drunk - 10. Don't further cause air, land and sea pollution - 11. Don't rub the world of PEACE - 12. Avoid losing the good image of America - 14. Don't committ the same crimes you are trying to stamp out - 15. Don't lose focus while stamping out terrorism - 16. Disinvest in war industries - 17. AVOID A WORLD WAR - 18. Divert war budgets to productive life giving ventures - 19. Do not be possessed by the spirit of pride and revenge - 20. Do not destroy civilisation - 21. Don't go into destruction spree - 22. Use sanctions against nations that are harbouring terrorists - 23. Use INTERPOL to apprehend terrorists - 24. Deal with them legally through the international court of justice - 25. Therare many nations,persons,groups pretending to be friends of America aiding and abetting terrorism and terrorist - 26.Operate under the umbrella of the United Nations organisation without losing the initiative - 27.Address the root causes of terrorism, immediate and farfetched - 28.Continue the massive campaign against violence,war and terrorism - 29. Support all peace promoting organisations like you have been supporting democratic organisations - 30. Spend the resources earmarked for war on reconstruction-save and preserve every single American life. Come to think of it, are we sure that the victims of bombings will want war? I welcome responses from everyone. BY KAYODE SOMOYE DEPT OF THEATRE ARTS UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN. Kayode SOMOYE, University of Ibadan (Nigeria) HUMAN LIFE IS SACRED - An Appeal to Restraint and a Call to Action in a Moment of Crisis by eight Nobel Peace Prize Laureates - We are greatly saddened by the tragic events which took place on Tuesday, September 11th , in New York and Washington, D.C. We cannot yet fathom the magnitude of what has happened, and yet we feel impelled to speak in light of what we fear may be an escalation of violence in response. We extend our deepest sympathies and heart_felt condolences to the families and friends of the victims and to the people of the United States. Our prayers accompany you in this difficult period of loss and mourning. The many acts of courage on the part of the rescue teams and the generosity of the citizens of your cities and towns are an inspiration to all of us. Respect for the sacredness and inviolability of human life is a principal article of faith in each of the major world religions. We are heartened by the spontaneous expressions of solidarity by millions of men and women of good will, from all backgrounds, on every continent, and by so many religious and political leaders through the world who have spoken out against this barbarous act of terrorism. There is nothing which can condone an act which has cost the lives of thousands of innocent people. The perpetrators of this deed must be sought out and brought to justice. At the same time, we know that administering justice to those responsible will not resolve the deeper questions of the causes of terrorism. In this regard, we are mindful that every day innocent victims suffer and die in many parts of the world, their only crime being born in a particular place, or into a particular religion, or with a certain skin colour. In this moment of crisis we are confronted by a challenge whose outcome may determine the future of this first century of the new millennium. The UN General Assembly has declared the first ten years of the 21st century to be the Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the World (2001_2010). We believe that the time has come to implement that decision. Many have compared the attack on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon to the attack on Pearl Harbour. But this is not 1941. In the past 60 years we have learnt many hard lessons about the downward spiral of violence and have been misled by false expectations about the ability of military power to solve problems. Sadly, our political leaders continue to take decisions which produce confrontation instead of negotiation. The result has been more death and destruction and an increasing sense of fear, anxiety, and hopelessness among us all. We therefore call upon the world community and especially upon the American people to take up the challenge which is presented to them in the midst of adversity. We recognise the need to respond quickly and decisively to these terrible acts of terrorism. Yet we appeal to the American government to refrain from military retaliation. Any actions taken must be guided by international law and fall within the bounds of the United Nations Charter. Furthermore we call upon the United Nations to organise in the very near future: An international conference on terrorism which will investigate its root causes, propose measures to address those causes, and provide international standards to ensure that security needs are met and that the perpetrators of such acts are brought to justice. An international day of commemoration for all the victims of terrorism with public manifestations of solidarity and programs for teaching peace education and the principles of nonviolence in schools and universities. Terrorism threatens the very principles to which our societies aspire and which are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The best response to those who would undermine democracy and the rule of law is to reaffirm those very values and institutions. In conclusion, we call upon the governments and peoples of the world to take concrete steps in developing a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence. The response of the United States and its allies should not be driven by a blind desire for vengeance, but rather a renewed determination to work for a peaceful and just world. The single great evil that must be opposed is not one group of people or another, but rather the fear and hatred that continue to find root in human hearts. Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Nobel Peace Prize 1976 - Betty Williams, Nobel Peace Prize 1976 - Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Nobel Peace Prize 1980 - Desmond Mpilo Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize 1984 - The 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso), Nobel Peace Prize 1989 - Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Nobel Peace Prize 1992 - Joseph Rotblat, Nobel Peace Prize 1995 - Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize 1997 - Appeal by 8 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates ALLOCUTION DE JACQUES CHIRAC à l'ouverture de la 31e conférence générale de l'Unesco - "A-t-on retenu toutes les leçons du XXe siècle ? Telle est la question que beaucoup se posent aujourd'hui. Avec la tragédie du 11 septembre dernier, c'est en effet une vision utopique du nouveau millénaire, comme temps de paix et de fin de l'histoire, qui a été touchée au cœur. D'aucuns avaient le sentiment que nous avions laissé derrière nous le siècle des deux guerres mondiales et de ses millions de morts, de la Shoah, du Goulag et de tant d'autres massacres. Malgré les conflits qui continuaient d'ensanglanter notre planète, le siècle naissant était accueilli avec espoir et confiance. Espoir d'un monde libre et pacifié, avec la chute du mur de Berlin et la fin de la guerre froide. Espoir d'un monde meilleur où les progrès de la science, les vertus de l'éducation, la rapidité des communications apporteraient davantage de prospérité, de justice, de bonheur. Confiance dans les avancées de la démocratie et l'affirmation des solidarités. La tragédie de New York, dont nous n'avons pas fini de mesurer les effets, est venue ébranler cet espoir et cette confiance. De plus en plus, nous entendons évoquer un choc des civilisations, qui marquerait le XXIe siècle, de même que le XIXe siècle a vu s'affronter les nationalités, et le XXe les idéologies. Un choc de civilisations, présent et à venir, qui serait plus radical, plus violent, plus passionnel, parce qu'il verrait s'affronter des cultures et des religions. Ce discours qui se nourrit de toutes les peurs, il s'agit d'abord de le réfuter. Car l'adopter, c'est tomber dans le piège que nous tendent les terroristes, qui veulent soulever les hommes, culture contre culture, religion contre religion. Et si, devant l'horreur, les pays se rassemblent pour châtier les coupables, pour endiguer le terrorisme, c'est un combat pour l'homme, pour l'homme contre la barbarie. A ce discours il s'agit surtout d'opposer une autre réalité, politique, morale, culturelle, une autre volonté : celle du respect, celle de l'échange, celle du dialogue de toutes les cultures, inséparable de l'affirmation claire et sans concession des valeurs qui nous font ce que nous sommes. (…) Texte intégral : http://www.lemonde.fr/rech_art/0,5987,233861,00.html Jacques CHIRAC, Président de la République (France) YOUTH DECLARATION ON TERRORISM AND WAR - The UNESCO Youth Forum of the 31st General Conference held in Paris, France on 12-14 October 2001- "We, the youth delegates from various countries, representing different regions, cultures, social and economic backgrounds gathered at the first International Youth Forum since the negative events of September 2001, have decided to express our voice, visions, hopes and dreams to encourage world leaders to: Follow our example and discuss common problems, challenges and disagreements through peaceful mechanisms such as the United Nations system, where each nation is assured their voice will be heard, Consider that we understand that there is no justification to killing innocent people, and that North-South dialogue, mutual understanding of religions and cultures, respect of other and eradication of illiteracy are ways to prevent terrorism and war, Demand that the current world order be revised by searching for practical ways to integrate the millions of people who lack access to resources, are not politically represented and are willing to participate in the social and economic development process, We therefore, as young leaders, representing over 90 countries, wish to build a future based on education for all, a culture of peace, scientific cooperation, respect of cultural diversity and call for a permanent dialogue among cultures and civilisations. " 135 young delegates from 90 UNESCO Member States THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE 2001- The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2001, in two equal portions, to the United Nations (U.N.) and to its Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world. For one hundred years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to strengthen organized cooperation between states. The end of the cold war has at last made it possible for the U.N. to perform more fully the part it was originally intended to play. Today the organization is at the forefront of efforts to achieve peace and security in the world, and of the international mobilization aimed at meeting the world's economic, social and environmental challenges. Kofi Annan has devoted almost his entire working life to the U.N. As Secretary-General, he has been pre-eminent in bringing new life to the organization. While clearly underlining the U.N.'s traditional responsibility for peace and security, he has also emphasized its obligations with regard to human rights. He has risen to such new challenges as HIV/AIDS and international terrorism, and brought about more efficient utilization of the U.N.'s modest resources. In an organization that can hardly become more than its members permit, he has made clear that sovereignty can not be a shield behind which member states conceal their violations. The U.N. has in its history achieved many successes, and suffered many setbacks. Through this first Peace Prize to the U.N. as such, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes in its centenary year to proclaim that the only negotiable route to global peace and cooperation goes by way of the United Nations. Norwegian Nobel Committee (Norway) (…) Our response to the despicable terrorism perpetrated against us must be multilateral and consistent with the rule of international law. We should urge the United Nations to convene a World Peace Conference of leaders of all nations to find solutions to the outstanding problems of war and other forms of violence. Unless these problems are solved we will never be able to eradicate terrorism. Our vulnerability demands that we hear from and respond to all who have grievances. We need justice under the law, but acts of vengeance will only make matters worse, leading to even greater threat. "The chain reaction of evil - hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars - must be broken," said Martin Luther King, Jr., "or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation." None of us wants to awaken to see the image of a mushroom cloud and know that one of our cities has been destroyed. The destruction of the World Trade Center should send powerful warning signals. The elimination of nuclear weapons can no longer be a back-burner issue. The danger of the use of nuclear weapons has actually increased in the wake of the terrorist threats. We must act to reduce and eliminate the nuclear arsenals of the world as if our very futures depended upon it because it is clear that they do. David Krieger, an attorney and political scientist, is President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. For further perspectives on the terrorist attacks and ideas on waging peace, visit the Foundation's web site at for more information may write to David Krieger at dkrieger@napf.org David KRIEGER, President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (USA) THE SHOCK OF TERRORIST CRIME IS UNITING THE WORLD - The terrorist attacks against the United States, resulting in the deaths of some 6,000 people from 80 countries, were acts of terrible evil which shocked the conscience of the entire world. But out of evil can come good. Paradoxically, these vicious assaults on our common humanity have had the effect of reaffirming our common humanity. The very heartlessness and callous indifference to the suffering and grief caused to thousands of innocent families has brought a heartfelt response from millions of ordinary people all around the world, in many different societies. The task now is to build on that wave of human solidarity - to ensure that the momentum is not lost, to develop a broad, comprehensive and above all sustained strategy to combat terrorism and eradicate it from our world. The shock of this crime has united the world. But if we are to prevent such crimes from being committed again, we must stay united as we seek to elimi-nate terrorism. In this struggle, there is simply no alternative to international cooperation. Terrorism will be defeated if the international community summons the will to unite in a broad coalition, or it will not be defeated at all. .The United Nations is uniquely positioned to serve as the forum for this coalition, and for the development of those steps that governments must now take, separately and together, to fight terrorism on a global scale. .The sight of people gathering in cities in every part of the world from every religion to mourn - and to express solidarity with the people of the United States - proves more eloquently than any words that terrorism is not an issue that divides humanity, but one that unites it. We are in a moral struggle to fight an evil that is anathema to all faiths. Every state and every people has a part to play. This was an attack on humanity, and humanity must respond to it as one. .The urgent business of the United Nations must now be to develop a long-term strategy, in order to ensure global legitimacy for the struggle ahead. The legitimacy that the United Nations conveys can ensure that the greatest number of states are able and willing to take the necessary and difficult steps - diplomatic, legal and political - that are needed to defeat terrorism. Some of the most difficult issues relate to the definition of terrorism. I understand and accept the need for legal precision. But let me say frankly that there is also a need for moral clarity. There can be no acceptance of those who would seek to justify the deliberate taking of innocent civilian life, regardless of cause or grievance. If there is one universal principle that all peoples can agree on, surely it is this .The targeting of innocent civilians is illegal, as well as morally unacceptable. And yet civilian populations are more and more often deliberately targeted. Indeed, civilians have become the principal victims of conflict, accounting for an estimated 75 percent of all casualties. It is hard to imagine how the tragedy of Sept. 11 could have been worse. Yet the truth is that a single attack involving a nuclear or biological weapon could have killed millions. .There is much we can do to help prevent future terrorist acts carried out with weapons of mass destruction. The greatest immediate danger arises from a nonstate group, or even an individual, acquiring and using a nuclear, biological or chemical weapon. .These excerpts have been adapted from the prepared text of an address by Secretary-General Annan to the UN General Assembly this Monday. http://www.iht.com/articles/34211.html Kofi ANNAN, Secretary-General of the UN UNIVERSITIES MUST WORK FOR PEACE AND EQUALITY - 'We have debated before what it means to be educated. Never before has it been central to our survival' . 11 September 2001 is a date that will be engraved upon our minds for the rest of our lives, not just because of the shock and the horror of human tragedy, not just because of the gross cruelty inflicted upon human beings by fellow human beings, but because it was the day on which the golden barricades of the First World were breached in a manner unimaginable to most of us. I use the word "barricades" advisedly. It is the word used by the Shell Group when they described two equally plausible scenarios for the future. The first scenario they dubbed "the story of barricades". Essentially, the biggest divide in the world is between rich and poor countries. The scenario planners saw this situation as basically unsustainable. The second scenario is entitled "the new frontiers story". This is where the liberalisation of economies continues and there is a shift in the centre of gravity in the world's economies. By the end of the scenario period the world is a very different place, largely due to the fact that "rich and poor alike have come to realise their economic, social and environmental interdependence." Political, social and economic theorists from all over the world are sounding alarm bells about a status quo that cannot be sustained. Social theorist Manuel Castells tells us that the most striking consequence of the new global network society is its corrosive effect on equality and social justice."Entire countries around the world and large segments of the population everywhere are gradually becoming excluded." Technology gives every indication of increasing this divide. In the global context we know that in India, for example, only one per cent of households has internet access while in Singapore access is close to 50 per cent. Right here in the UK, a Family Expenditure Survey last year shows not only the vast differences in access but that those differences relate to income and are growing. We are at an important turning point. If we keep our heads through this crucial time we are still in a very precarious state and it will take all of our collective and individual wills to do whatever it is that we are required to do to make a more peaceful and equitable world. It is one of the great ironies of our time that thanks to the spread of democracy, more people than ever before in human history have a chance to influence their governments while at the same time globalisation is eroding government's ability to act on their behalf. We have seen in Europe the helplessness of a large bloc to deal with tides of refugees and ethnic war. The reality is that none of us, on our own, can undertake all that is necessary to the task. Corporations, governments, international development agencies, institutions such as the United Nations, the fast-growing organs of civil society: all must be involved. Universities must involve themselves in this endeavour or forever abandon any pretence they may have to educating, in the words of the UNESCO declaration on Higher Education "for citizenship and active participation in society, with a worldwide vision, for endogenous capacity building, for the consolidation of human rights, sustainable development, democracy and peace, in a context of justice". The Association of Commonwealth Universities makes the point that "21st-century academic life is no longer pursued in seclusion (if it ever was) but must rather champion reason and imagination in engagement with the wider society and its concerns". What we do is reflected in what we teach and research. Derek Bok, former president of Harvard University, says: "Universities continue to do their least impressive work on the very subjects where society's need for greater knowledge is most acute - public education, poverty and blighted urban and rural communities, corruption, social work and human services, refugee issues, war, Aids orphans. We have debated before what it means to be educated, to be a global citizen. Never before have the answers been central to our very survival." The essential skills of learning communities include the need to aspire to be something different. We can either embrace the rich mosaic of our human cultures, races, religions, genders, or seek refuge within the familiar. It is a time for strong intellectual leadership, which affirms the ties that bind us as citizens of the same planet, and the ethics of a common humanity. This is an edited version of the first speech given to the Open University by the Vice-Chancellor designate. Brenda GOURLEY (United Kingdom) Dear Colleagues, Dear Friends , I am contacting you today to offer my profound condolences to you and to the American people. What took place in the US is nothing short of horrendous. It did hit deep and hard every human being of decency and civility in the world. The unspeakable act on civilians served but to demonstrate the inhumanity in those who committed it and those behind them. The innocent Children, men and women who lost their lives in this horrifying act are someone’s brothers, sisters, sons and fathers who went to work in hope to make ends meet or to somehow make the world a better place; either way, they anticipated nothing would happen to them in the process. They ended up paying the price for every human in the world to realize that humanity has not yet fully evolved. Their spirit will remain with us, however. America is known to be the melting pot of people from all races, creeds and backgrounds. So yes, we are all affected in one way or another. We are all faced with an enemy of a different kind. This is not an act of war; war is when one can determine the force against which one is fighting. As it stands, we are all fighting a disease of epidemic dimensions. In the Moslem and Arab world the greeting is “al-Salam Alaikum”, which means, “may peace be upon you”. It is appalling some people use Islam as a front for their action, which run contrary to the very spirit of Islam, and every religion and decent philosophy in the world. People in my country, Jordan, are in a state of shock. The consensus of opinion is; what happened there could happen anywhere. The sense of heartbreak is overshadowing. Please allow me to share with you, the grief, sadness and sorrow that you feel at the moment for the loss of the life of innocent people due to the un-human acts that was committed on the American soil. Let me also share you anger against those who have no respect and appreciation to human life or any of the civil values that ordinary human beings stands for. I got the chance to learn first hand about the American values and ethics, which I believe in, and cherish for times to come .So do not allow nobody to waiver your determination to uphold and defend them. Again I share the grief of everyone there. What had happened should bring people together in solidarity. All peace-loving nations are looking up to the US to achieve justice for all. Faisal Al-RFOUH (Jordan) POINT DE VUE - Regardons la réalité en face, par Susan Sontag. (LE MONDE). Pour une Américaine et New-Yorkaise épouvantée et triste, l'Amérique n'a jamais semblé être plus éloignée de la reconnaissance de la réalité qu'en face de la monstrueuse dose de réalité du mardi 11 septembre. Le fossé qui sépare ce qui s'est passé et ce qu'on doit en comprendre, d'une part, et la véritable duperie et les radotages satisfaits colportés par pratiquement tous les personnages de la vie publique américaine et les commentateurs de télévision, d'autre part, cette séparation est stupéfiante et déprimante. Les voix autorisées à suivre les événements semblent s'être associées dans une campagne destinée à infantiliser le public. Qui a reconnu qu'il ne s'agissait pas d'une "lâche" agression contre la "civilisation" ou la "liberté", ou l'"humanité", ou encore le "monde libre", mais d'une agression contre les Etats-Unis, la superpuissance mondiale autoproclamée, une agression qui est la conséquence de certaines actions et de certains intérêts américains ? Combien d'Américains sont au courant de la poursuite des bombardements américains en Irak ? Et puisque l'on emploie le mot "lâchement", ne devrait-on pas l'appliquer à ceux qui tuent hors du cadre des représailles, du haut du ciel, plutôt qu'à ceux qui acceptent de mourir pour en tuer d'autres ? Quant au courage - une vertu moralement neutre -, quoi qu'on puisse dire de ceux qui ont perpétré le massacre de mardi, ce n'étaient pas des lâches. Les dirigeants américains veulent absolument nous faire croire que tout va bien. L'Amérique n'a pas peur. Notre résolution n'est pas brisée. "Ils" seront pourchassés et punis (qui que soit ce "ils"). Nous avons un président-robot qui nous assure que l'Amérique a toujours la tête haute. Tout un éventail de personnages publics, violemment opposés à la politique menée à l'étranger par cette administration, se sent apparemment libre de ne rien dire d'autre que : nous sommes tous unis derrière le président Bush. On nous a affirmé que tout allait bien ou presque, même s'il s'agissait d'un jour qui resterait marqué par le sceau de l'infamie, et même si l'Amérique était maintenant en guerre. Pourtant, tout ne va pas bien. Et ce n'est pas Pearl Harbor. Il va falloir beaucoup réfléchir, peut-être le fait-on à Washington et ailleurs, sur le colossal échec de l'espionnage et du contre-espionnage américains, sur les choix possibles de la politique étrangère américaine, en particulier au Moyen-Orient, et sur ce qui constitue un programme de défense militaire intelligent. Mais ceux qui occupent des fonctions officielles, ceux qui y aspirent et ceux qui en ont occupé autrefois ont décidé - avec la complicité volontaire des principaux médias - qu'on ne demanderait pas au public de porter une trop grande part du fardeau de la réalité. Les platitudes satisfaites et unanimement applaudies du Congrès d'un parti soviétique semblaient méprisables. L'unanimité de la rhétorique moralisatrice, destinée à masquer la réalité, débitée par les responsables américains et les médias au cours de ces derniers jours, est indigne d'une démocratie adulte. Les responsables américains, et ceux qui voudraient le devenir, nous ont fait savoir qu'ils considèrent que leur tâche n'est qu'une manipulation : donner confiance et gérer la douleur. La politique, la politique d'une démocratie - qui entraîne des désaccords et qui encourage la sincérité - a été remplacée par la psychothérapie. Souffrons ensemble. Mais ne soyons pas stupides ensemble. Un peu de conscience historique peut nous aider à comprendre ce qui s'est exactement passé, et ce qui peut continuer à se passer. "Notre pays est fort", ne cesse- t-on de nous répéter. Pour ma part, cela ne me console pas vraiment. Qui peut douter que l'Amérique soit forte ? Mais l'Amérique ne doit pas être que cela. Susan Sontag est écrivain.Traduit de l'anglais (Etats-Unis) par Jean Guiloineau. Susan SONTAG, écrivain (USA) My husband, Craig Scott Amundson, of the U.S. Army lost his life in the line of duty at the Pentagon on Sept. 11 as the world looked on in horror and disbelief. Losing my 28-year-old husband and father of our two young children is a terrible and painful experience. His death is also part of an immense national loss and I am comforted by knowing so many share my grief. But because I have lost Craig as part of this historic tragedy, my anguish is compounded exponentially by fear that his death will be used to justify new violence against other innocent victims. I have heard angry rhetoric by some Americans, including many of our nation's leaders, who advise a heavy dose of revenge and punishment. To those leaders, I would like to make clear that my family and I take no comfort in your words of rage. If you choose to respond to this incomprehensible brutality by perpetuating violence against other innocent human beings, you may not do so in the name of justice for my husband. Your words and imminent acts of revenge only amplify our family's suffering, deny us the dignity of remembering our loved one in a way that would have made him proud, and mock his vision of America as a peacemaker in the world community. Craig would not have wanted a violent response to avenge his death. And I cannot see how good can come out of it. We cannot solve violence with violence. Mohandas Gandhi said, "An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind." We will no longer be able to see that we hold the light of liberty if we are blinded by vengeance, anger and fear. I ask our nation's leaders not to take the path that leads to more widespread hatreds--that make my husband's death just one more in an unending spiral of killing. I call on our national leaders to find the courage to respond to this incomprehensible tragedy by breaking the cycle of violence. I call on them to marshal this great nation's skills and resources to lead a worldwide dialogue on freedom from terror and hate. I do not know how to begin making a better world: I do believe it must be done, and I believe it is our leaders' responsibility to find a way. I urge them to take up this challenge and respond to our nation's and my personal tragedy with a new beginning that gives us hope for a peaceful global community. Amber Amundson is the wife of the late Craig Scott Amundson, an enlisted specialist in the Army. Amber AMUNDSON (USA) SEVEN STEPS TO IMPROVING U.S. AND GLOBAL SECURITY The terrorist attacks against the United States have shocked the world and left Americans feeling vulnerable and fearful of future attacks. The US has made a major military deployment to the Middle East and seems intent on military action against Osama bin Laden and possibly Afghanistan and other states that may harbor terrorists or be linked to these attacks. But the military is a blunt instrument that could easily increase the cycle of violence by causing the deaths of more innocent civilians. The US response to the attacks should adhere to three basic criteria: it should be legal, moral and thoughtful. a) It should be legal under both domestic and international law, sanctioned by the United Nations, and multilateral in scope. b) It should be moral in not taking more innocent lives. c) And it should be thoughtful in asking why this has happened and what can be done to decrease the cycle of violence. (…) This article is on TFF's site : www.transnational.org/pressinf/2001/ pf131_Krieger7Strat.html David KRIEGER, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, TFF Associate (USA) Statement of the American Sociological Association on Terrorist Attack, September 11, 2001. On behalf of the American Sociological Association (ASA), the ASA Council expresses its profound grief at the shocking terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, and great sadness on the enormous loss of life in these incidents and the crash of the hijacked jet in Pennsylvania last week. The Association leadership extends its most sincere sympathies to the victims and their families on their terrible losses and injuries in this great national tragedy. The ASA is also deeply grateful for the prodigious efforts of the rescue workers, civic leaders, and the many professionals who have brought their leadership, skills, and capacities to bear in responding to this great crisis. Enormous challenges and great uncertainties lie ahead-from how to unravel the events leading up to these criminal acts, how to respond to these and future threats, how to cope with the traumas and fears generated by these events, to how to ensure the peace and security of our society without surrendering basic liberties. Sociologists have made contributions in different areas that can add significantly to public understanding of these events and to healing communities and our nation. Sociological studies have examined hate crime, the effects of disasters on health, coping mechanisms in face of major threats, communal bereavement, predictors of violence, social movements and collective behavior that lead to violence - to name but a few of these areas. The contextual conditions in societies (in the U.S. and in other countries) leading to use of violence and terror have been examined from a social perspective. As citizens of this nation and of the world, sociologists are committed to contributing their knowledge and skills to ensure recovery from these destructive acts. Through its Public Information Office, the ASA provides information to journalists and others who seek information about sociological works and sociologists with expertise in specific areas. The Public Information Office also regularly posts such information on the newswires and on its homepage. American Sociological Association (USA) Dear Friends, Chers Amis, Queridos Amigos, Cari Amici, Liebe Freunde, Dorogiye Druzya, Qin Ai-de Peng-you men ! I urge to take a minute and go to : pour plus d'informations where you will find a thoughtful and level-headed petition to President Bush urging restraint in the aftermath of 11 September. If you wish, you can sign it and pass it on to others. Peace, Paix, Paz, Pace, Frieden, Mir, An Ding! Arthur GILLETTE (France) Chers amis de notre humanité, les évènements actuels obligent celles/ceux qui oeuvrent pour la paix à exprimer leurs convictions pour faire entendre leurs voix. (…) Exprimer un point de vue et le partager avec vous, engager un acte de communication, tisser avec des "partenaires" de paix, mener des actions coordonnées s'appuyant sur la richesse d'expression des réalisatrices/teurs de la paix et de pacification sont mes motivations de messagère du Manifeste 2000 pour une culture de la paix nommée par l'Unesco-ONU en novembre 2000. (…) Quand une société ne porte plus en elle de réponse sociale, politique et culturelle au questionnement de l'individu, c'est précisément vers l'individu en soi qu'il faut regarder. C'est à l'individu qu'il appartient de rechercher, d'affirmer et d'exprimer sa responsabilité au sein de la société. Face au désastre, il doit trouver en lui, en sa force intérieure, les ressources pour avoir le courage d'agir et de réveiller l'opinion publique: aller dans la rue, sur la place publique, s'engager avec des actes concrets et simples, s'exprimer pour les valeurs de la vie, du droit à l'humanité et le respect du droit de vivre. (…) En nous créant et recréant sans cesse individus responsables, en élevant notre vision du monde à cette conscience, c'est à contre-courant du désastre et de la destruction que nous agissons, que nous inscrivons notre message de vie et notre art de vivre. QUAND UNE SOCIÉTÉ NE PORTE PLUS EN ELLE L'ÉCLAIRAGE NÉCESSAIRE POUR ÉVEILLER L'INDIVIDU ... QUAND IL N'y A PLUS DE PROJECTEUR POUR ÉCLAIRER DU DEHORS LA SCÈNE ... C'EST EN SOI-MÊME, À L'INTÉRIEUR, QU'IL FAUT ALLUMER LA LUMIÈRE. MARIE ROBERT, créatrice, écrivaine et chorégraphe Marie ROBERT, Chamonix Mt Blanc (France) (…) Desde siempre vivimos en el contexto de la ley del más fuerte. 'Si quieres la paz, prepara la guerra', proclama un adagio especialmente perverso. Tendremos ahora que pasar de una cultura de predominio a una cultura de diálogo, de una cultura de imposición a una de relaciones 'fraternales', como reza el artículo primero de la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos. Tendremos, en suma, con el impulso espiritual que nos confiere el horror del 11 de septiembre y con la colaboración de todos los pueblos, que hacer posible la transición de una cultura de guerra a una cultura de paz y no violencia, empezando con nuestro comportamiento cotidiano, que constituye la suprema expresión de cultura. El pasado ya está escrito. Sólo podemos describirlo, y debemos hacerlo fidedignamente. Pero el porvenir sí que debemos escribirlo de forma diferente. El futuro podemos y debemos escribirlo todos juntos, inspirados en los grandes valores universales, en favor de la dignidad de toda la especie humana. Article paru le 24/09/01 dans El Pais (http://www.elpais.es/) Federico MAYOR ZARAGOZA, Pt Fundación Cultura y Paz (Espagne) UNITED NATIONS STAFF PLEDGE FOR PEACE AND PROGRESS AGAINST TERRORISM. 1. United Nations staff throughout the world are pledging for peace and progress, against terrorism. 2. At the time of writing this update, we are still receiving information on the initiatives taken in the various duty stations. 3. In New York and Washington, staff massively joined the prayer and remembrance day declared by President George Bush. 4. In Europe, staff massively followed the call of the European Union Ministers for Foreign Affairs for silence at 10.00 a.m. GMT on Friday, 14 September 2001. Responding in many instances to an invitation from both their Executive Head and their Staff Association or Union, they assembled at a highly symbolic place, for instance around the flagpole in WHO/EURO, Copenhagen, or the Peace Bell in Vienna. In Geneva, over 1,000 staff assembled at the main (Pregny) Gate and marched in silence to the Place des Nations. CERN staff observed the three-minute silence. In Rome, the staff associations called for three minutes of silence and hundreds of staff assembled in the lobby of FAO for the event. Many staff members then exited the building to observe a short ceremony in which the Mayor and the Director-General of FAO planted a tree and installed a plaque across from the FAO building. A similar ceremony, led by the Executive Director, was also held at WFP. In Paris, the staff gathered in the great hall of UNESCO at the invitation of the Director-General, Mr. Koïchiro Matsuura. 5. In India, the WHO staff members in SEARO observed a two-minute silence to express condolence for the innocent lives lost in terrorism activities. 6. The expressions of sympathy went to all innocent victims of terrorism throughout the world, past and present. They also come as an expression of support to the Organizations we serve. 7. United Nations staff underline the need for international community to comply strictly with the provisions of all international treaties in force against terrorism. United Nations staff also express a desire that world leaders should make every endeavour to reduce the tensions leading to and generated by the recent appalling events. 8. FICSA shares the view, expressed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan, that "no cause, whatever it may be, can be advanced through terror". And, as stated by the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr. Koïchiro Matsuura, "now, more than ever, is the time for us to reaffirm our commitment to the ideals and principles enshrined in our constitution. It is the time for us to put into practice, in our daily lives and behaviour, the values of tolerance, mutual understanding, dialogue and respect for human dignity". Federation of International Civil Servants Association / bulletin No. 46 / 2001 FIGHTING TERRORISM ON A GLOBAL FRONT BY KOFI A. ANNAN - EDITORIAL/OP-ED - The New York Times, September 21, 2001 - The terrorists who attacked the United States on Sept. 11 aimed at one nation but wounded an entire world. Rarely, if ever, has the world been as united as it was on that terrible day. It was a unity born of horror, of fear, of outrage and of profound sympathy with the American people. This unity also reflected the fact that the World Trade Center, in this uniquely international city, was home to men and women of every faith from some 60 nations. This was an attack on all humanity, and all humanity has a stake in defeating the forces behind it. As the United States decides what actions it will take in defense of its citizens, and as the world comes to terms with the full implications of this calamity, the unity of Sept. 11 will be invoked, and it will be tested. I have expressed to President Bush and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani - and to New Yorkers at services in churches, synagogues and mosques - the complete solidarity of the United Nations with Americans in their grief. In less than 48 hours, the Security Council and the General Assembly joined me in condemning the attacks and voted to support actions taken against those responsible and states that aid them. Of this solidarity, let no one be in doubt. Nor should anyone question the worldwide resolve to fight terrorism as long as is needed. The most eloquent global answer so far to last week's attacks has been the commitment of states from every faith and region to act firmly against terrorism. The international community is defined not only by what it is for, but by what and whom it is against. The United Nations must have the courage to recognize that just as there are common aims, there are common enemies. To defeat them, all nations must join forces in an effort encompassing every aspect of the open, free global system so wickedly exploited by the perpetrators of last week's atrocities. The United Nations is uniquely positioned to advance this effort. It provides the forum necessary for building a universal coalition and can ensure global legitimacy for the long-term response to terrorism. United Nations conventions already provide a legal framework for many of the steps that must be taken to eradicate terrorism - including the extradition and prosecution of offenders and the suppression of money laundering. These conventions must be implemented in full. Essential to the global response to terrorism is that it not fracture the unity of Sept. 11. While the world must recognize that there are enemies common to all societies, it must equally understand that they are not, are never, defined by religion or national descent. No people, no region and no religion should be targeted because of the unspeakable acts of individuals. As Mayor Giuliani said, "That is exactly what we are fighting here." To allow divisions between and within societies to be exacerbated by these acts would be to do the terrorists' work for them. Terrorism threatens every society. As the world takes action against it, we have all been reminded of the need to address the conditions that permit the growth of such hatred and depravity. We must confront violence, bigotry and hatred even more resolutely. The United Nations' work must continue as we address the ills of conflict, ignorance, poverty and disease. Doing so will not remove every source of hatred or prevent every act of violence. There are those who will hate and who will kill even if every injustice is ended. But if the world can show that it will carry on, that it will persevere in creating a stronger, more just, more benevolent and more genuine international community across all lines of religion and race, then terrorism will have failed. Kofi A. ANNAN, Secretary-General of the United Nations "There is the need for a universal convention to ban the harbouring of terrorist groups within a State. But in the first instance, all States should adhere to international treaties and fulfill commitments, even if they transcend national interests." Joseph ROTBLAT, Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs UN Environment Chief Urges World To Fight Root Causes Of Civil Unrest That Can Lead To Terrorism. Almaty, September 21, 2001 - The world must tackle international terrorism and tackle the forces of poverty, environmental degradation and hatred that give birth to intolerance that can lead to fundamentalism and terrorist acts. The message was delivered today by Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at a launch in Kazakhstan of a regional environmental action plan for Central Asia. "When people are denied access to clean water, soil, and air to meet their basic human needs, we see the rise of poverty, ill-health and a sense of hopelessness. Desperate people can resort to desperate solutions. They may care little about themselves and the people they hurt," he said. "I am not suggesting for a moment that poverty and environmental degradation are factors on their own. Intolerance also has its role. But it can fan the flames of hate and ignite a belief that terrorism is the only solution to a community's or nation's ills, "Mr Toepfer told reporters at a press conference in Almaty. UNEP's Executive Director, who was speaking 10 days after the atrocities in New York and Washington, stressed: "We must be determined and united in our efforts to bring those responsible to justice. What happened in the United States was a crime against humanity, an act of horrendous violence against all races and creeds. But we must also expose the forces that create poverty, intolerance, hatred and environmental degradation that can lead to an unstable world." He said the rise of globalization and its impacts on global trade patterns was also a key issue that the international community must face up to. "You cannot be for or against globalization. It is a simply a fact of the modern world. To ignore it you would have to be a hermit or someone, like Robinson Crusoe, who has been abandoned on a desert island. But we need a just and fair system that brings sustainable, economic benefits to rich and poor countries alike. Without this, the forces that forge civil unrest and in the extreme can give rise to terrorism will continue to flourish impoverishing everyone, " said Mr Toepfer. (…) . For further information: Please contact Tim Higham, Regional Information Officer, UNEP/ROAP, Bangkok, Thailand, tel: 288- 2127, email: higham.unescap@un.org; or (in Almaty) Surendra Shresta, Director, UNEP Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific, +732 7250 3711, mobile +661 837 9435; or Tore Brevik, Spokesman/Director, Communications and Public Information in Nairobi, on Tel: 254 2 623292, Fax: 254 2 623927, E-Mail: tore.brevik@unep.org UNEP New Release ROAP/01/19 Klaus TOEPFER, Executive Director of UNEP "In this the new millennium, the human family has an opportunity to move away from the old responses of 'an eye for an eye' and deal with their problems in a collective and civilised manner, befitted the great goodness that lives in every human heart." Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mairead Corrigan MAGUIRE (Northern Ireland) CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHTS TWO WEEKS AFTER SEPTEMBER 11 By Jan Oberg, TFF director & Jorgen Johansen, TFF associates PressInfo 129 and 130 is our contribution to questions we find essential now: Can something positive come out of the terrible events in New York and Washington on September 11? Can the innocent victims of many nationalities and walks of life be honoured by hard thinking about a more peaceful world? Can this particular violence teach us something about the civilisational necessity to reduce violence before it is too late? A comprehensive analysis in two parts. It addresses the issue of mourning and the need for asking Why? It offers perspectives of self-reflection for all in the West and not only the United States. It explains why counter-terrorism is likely to be even more ugly than what we have seen - and will do the U.S. itself more harm than good. It proposes a global dialogue aiming at reconciliation and a much deeper awareness of "the others". And it offers examples of concrete steps that the United States and the West must take to undermine terrorism politically. We shall be happy if you find any inspiration in these two PressInfos and invite YOUR constructive thoughts to tff@transnational.org. We fear a major war and bad times ahead. But we are not deterred from speaking up. Indeed, we must all think, speak and act constructively. Do not accept the argument that democracy must be reduced in the "war against terrorism." It must be deepend and broadened... You find these PressInfosa, together with other new materials, on TFF's site for more information The URLs of each PressInfo: www.transnational.org/pressinf/2001/ pf129_Construct_11sepA.html Jan OBERG, TFF director & Jorgen JOHANSEN, TFF associate (Sweden) "I believe violence will only increase the cycle of violence. But how do we deal with hatred and anger which are often the root causes of such senseless violence? This is a very difficult question..." Nobel Peace Prize Laureate The Dalai Lama (Tibet) "Now is the time for people of all races and creeds to stand united. Together we can - and must - overcome terrorism." Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Rt. Hon. John TRIMBLE (Northern Ireland) "There is no other country in the world with this extraordinary ethnic, cultural and religious diversity. And it is this diversity that has made America such a unique country, resilient, creative and rich. "We all know Islam does not advocate violence. All religions today call for tolerance, justice, and compassion. "We must resist the temptation to blame entire nations, religions, or peoples for the actions of a small number of political extremists. And if it develops that certain governments have supported the terrorist conspiracy, we should remember that these regimes hold power in their countries by terror and violence - they are not supported by the majority of their citizens or neighbors. "As we gather today, leaders and peoples of many different convictions, we are saying no to all forms of violence, intolerance and terrorism. In bringing the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice, we hope that we can, once more, bring down a network of terror, and that there will be no more innocent victims. The cycle of violence must end." Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. José RAMOS-HORTA ( East Timor) The terrorist attacks in the United States of America last week shook all of humanity. It starkly reminded us again of the depth to which we can sink in our inhumanity towards one another. It was a source of encouragement to note that almost the entire world responded with utter revulsion to such cowardly acts that cruelly and horrendously took the lives of so many innocent people merely going about their ordinary daily lives. Amidst the indescribable tragedy the overwhelming decency of human beings the world over found expression in the unreserved condemnation of those terrible deeds of cruelty. To that we wish to add our collective voice of condemnation of those acts and to express our deep felt sympathy to the American government, people and particularly those who lost family and friends. We share in their sense of loss and can only trust that they will take some sustenance from the knowledge that so many people all over the world mourn with them. The events of last week are also a renewed call to rid the world of the scourge of terrorism. Those acts emphasised that we are all vulnerable to terrorism. We hope that the culprits will be identified, apprehended and severely punished. This is a time that the world should stand together in pursuit of those objectives. Terrorism seeks to put itself above and outside of the law. Our steps against terrorism should studiously be within international law and the charter of our world body. We need wise leadership and statesmanship in this period of looming crisis. The actions taken should not deepen tensions and further divide the world for it is in those circumstances of strife and division that terrorism finds fertile ground. The recent history of our own country has taught that negotiation is the surest means of finding lasting solutions to even the most seemingly intractable political problems. In combating and seeking to eliminate terrorism we must address the root causes of problems around the world and find just solutions to them. In the Middle East, particularly, efforts at arriving at a just and peaceful settlement should be redoubled. If out of the tragic events of last week the world can find a renewed will to co-operate in finding just solutions to the problems that threaten the safety, security and well-being of us all, the highest tribute would have been paid to those who lost their lives. Nelson R Mandela, F W de Klerk, D M Tutu, South Africa 19 September 2001 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Nelson.R.MANDELA, F. W de KLERK, D.M TUTU (South Africa) Nobel Peace laureates turn to cyberspace ASSOCIATED PRESS in Singapore Nobel Peace Prize winners - from Mikhail Gorbachev to the Dalai Lama - voiced outrage, regret and sympathy on a Web site on Tuesday created for the laureates to discuss the United States terrorist attacks. Many of the laureates urged the United States not to retaliate violently. The Dalai Lama contributed a letter he wrote to US President George W. Bush urging the Americans to seek a non-violent response to the attacks. "I believe violence will only increase the cycle of violence," the spiritual leader wrote. "But how do we deal with hatred and anger which are often the root causes of such senseless violence? This is a very difficult question, especially when it concerns a nation and we have certain fixed conceptions of how to deal with such attacks." East Timor laureate Jose Ramos-Horta said on Tuesday that he and a Web site developer in California created the site and had been collecting responses from laureates for several days. Mr Ramos-Horta said many of the laureates were familiar with terrorism in their own countries and had meaningful things to say about the grisly attacks on civilians in Washington, DC, New York and Pennsylvania. He said the site was still being finished and that Internet service provider AOL had agreed to post it. He expected millions of people to read and contribute to discussion boards on the site. Costa Rica's former president, Oscar Arias, said hatred and violence was what the terrorists sought and expected. "I pray that the United States and its allies collectively pause and take a deep breath before responding to this violence in kind," Mr Arias wrote. "It is essential that justice be done, and it is equally vital that justice not be confused with revenge, for the two are wholly different." Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who shared the prize with Israeli leaders in 1995, was expected to contribute to the site, Mr Ramos-Horta said. Mairead Corrigan Maguire, who won the Nobel in 1976 for her peace efforts in Northern Ireland, urged no retaliation. "Retaliation would mean the further deaths of many more people," said Ms Maguire. "This would, in turn, add to an increasing sense of fear, anxiety and hopelessness being felt around the world." Other laureates who have contributed to the site are: Archbishop Desmond Tutu, East Timor Archbishop Filipe Ximenes Belo, South Africa's F.W. de Klerk, Northern Ireland's John Hume and David Trimble, Britain's Joseph Rotblat and Jody Williams of the United States. On the Net: The Peacemakers Speak: www.thecommunity.com/crisis/ Nobel Peace Prize laureates "In this era of globalization, there is nothing that happens in one country that does not affect the rest of the world. ... we pray that what we learn from this experience is used to improve the lot of mankind." Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop C F Ximenes Belo (East Timor) "The time will come to discuss problems such as the roots of fanaticism and violence and ways of dealing with them." Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mikhail GORBACHEV (Russian Federation) "It is essential that justice be done, and it is equally vital that justice not be confused with revenge, for the two are wholly different. "Let justice be done, yes, but let the United States remain committed to its fundamental values, admired and emulated the world over: respect for liberty and for life, especially of the innocent. "...let us call upon that God, that power which while being universal is known to each of us in a unique way, to give us the strength to stand firm against the darkness of hatred and violence that threatens us. Let us seek the light, and reach out in peace to our Muslim brothers and sisters. "I want to suggest that we also take this occasion to re-examine our global priorities and the values upon which they are based. Terrorism is one evil that should not exist in the world today, and there are many others, including poverty, illiteracy, preventable diseases, and environmental destruction. We have the resources- both material and spiritual - to eliminate many of these ills. Let us channel them according to the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable among us. Instead of building bunkers and shields that fail to protect us, let us build good will and harmony, human capacity and understanding, and in this way we shall build the world we want to live in. We must be the change we wish to see, as Gandhi once said, and not the darkness that we wish to leave behind." Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Oscar ARIAS (Costa Rica) In common with others around the world, we are returning to work. The new Home Page for more information is up and the Drum Beats and DB Classifieds [commencing with Son De Tambora and a Vacancy special] will return this Wednesday. We do so with very heavy hearts. Too many people in the Drum Beat network are suffering as they learn or await news of family, friends, colleagues and other loved ones. And we feel a high level of nervous anxiety and fear about the further death and destruction that now seems inevitable as the "response" is planned and carried out. So many ordinary people, doing such extraordinary things in their lives, have suffered and will suffer, outrageous pain. From all involved with The Communication Initiative our thoughts and support. You are in our hearts. The events of September 11, 2001 pose significant implications and challenges for Development. It is very hard to see how anything will continue as normal. Below are some initial thoughts. But, we are more interested in you contributing to a forum that will share your perspectives and ideas on: a. The IMPLICATIONS of September 11, 2001 and the resulting "response" How will this affect work across development issues [HIV/AIDS, Education, Micro-enterprise, Gender, Children, etc] and in the range of settings [Africa, South Asia, South-East Asia, The Pacific, Caribbean, Latin America, etc ] in which we all work. b. The COMMUNICATION CHALLENGES in communities and countries as the world enters a very uncertain, probably violent, phase. What can we all, as people with development experience and communication skills contribute in the coming months? What should be our role? Please contribute your views and perspectives to the Drum Beat Chat discussion forum at drumbeatchat@comminit.com If you are not part of this forum and wish to engage please 'subscribe' at for more information or just reply to this email and we will post your contribution and subscribe you to Drum Beat Chat. Address all contributions to drumbeatchat@comminit.com. Our primary interest is in your perspectives and ideas. The following rather random thoughts, related to both the questions above, are included as an initial contribution to this process. Please note that they are my personal views and questions. They do not reflect the views and opinions of the Partners or other C.I. staff. Warren FEEK, The Communication Initiative (USA) Bonjour, Devant la montée de la violence des attentats aux USA il devient urgent de réagir contre le piège tendu par les terroristes: une guerre de religion. J'en appelle à toute les personnes qui ont signé le "Manifeste 2000" d'agir par des actions pacifistes dans tous les pays. Je souhaite qu'une pétition soit mise sur pied pour éviter un affrontement et ramener la paix dans le coeur des hommes et des femmes du monde entier. Cultivons la paix mais pas la guerre. Merci pour votre soutient. Philippe RENAULT (France) MEDIA ADVICE. Broad-minded people base their views on many and different sources. There ARE other perspectives than those of mainstream U.S./Western media. "But it takes such a long time to find them..." is an argument of the past. TFF has done the job for you. At your fingertips: English-language dailies, weeklies, news services and radio stations in, say, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Egypt, Israel, Palestine, the Central Asian republics, Saudi Arabia, Syria...quite a selection from where bombs may soon fall. Watch the news and learn how editors, columnists and NGO representatives THERE see the world. It's TNN - TFF News Navigator for more information TNN also contains links to alternative AND mainstream media in the West. TFF, Lund, (Sweden) Dear Friends, In view of the outrageous tragedy and subsequent reactions and misunderstanding by groups of citizens, the media and some policy makers, it is important to stress that this is not a "clash of cultures" but the action of a limited number of fanatics misrepresenting their respective religions for political or other purposes. Islam teaches tolerance, peace and respect for others, especially "people of the book"--Christians and Jews--and the actions of fringe groups do not represent the Muslim people as a whole. A backlash has already been underway in the US, the UK and Ireland so it is important to reach the media, policy makers, educators and the civil society in your respective countries to emphasize the historical reality of Islam and its contribution to civilization. The comments of responsible leaders of the Muslim religion who have spoken out on this issue should be noted as part of international solidarity. Sheikh Mohammed Sayed TANTAWI--representative of the highest institution in Sunni Islam, of Al Azhar, Cairo, Egypt--"Attacking innocent people iss not courageous, it is stupid and will be punished on the day of judgement" ( International Herald Tribune, 15-16 September, 2001, taken from Reuters, AFP). Sheikh Mohammed Hussein FADLALLAH--(Lebanon) " It is inadmissable that innocents are killed to influence the course of politics......(in addresssing the American people he continued)..we are friends wishing to cooperate to establish political, economic and secure justice in the world. Muslims are not terrorists and do not believe in violence as a means to resolve world problems" (L'Orient le Jour, 14 Septembre 2001, Beirut, Lebanon. Sheikh Abdel Amir KABALAN--Vice-President of the High Shia Council, Lebanon, "Islam rejects violence against the innocent and ciivilians". (L'Orient le Jour, 14 Septembre 2001, Beirut, Lebanon) HIZBOLLAH, Lebanon, commented, "We regret every innocent death" and called on the US to condemn similar acts such as the bombing of Canaa in 1996. (Le Figaro, 17 Septembre 2001, Paris France.). Ayatollah Emami KASHANI, member of Iran's Assembly of Experts, condemned the terrorist attacks in an address at Tehran University. (International Herald Tribune, 15-16 Septembre 2001). Sheikh Dalil BOUBAKER, spokesman for the Muslims in Paris, Paris Mosque, condemned the attacks and appealed for tolerance and justice (television, Paris) In addition, all the Arab states and the Palestinian Authority have condemned the attacks (except Iraq) as well the Muslim states of Asia. Many have offered to cooperate in a global initiative to control terrorism. Anonymous, message forwarded by Phyllis KOTITE (France) NO LEGITIMACY FOR WARS OF RETALIATION AGAINST THE TERRORIST ATTACK. by Hisatake KATO. In terms of international law, there is no legitimacy for wars of retaliation against the recent terrorist attacks. 1. A conflict becomes recognized as a "war" from the perspective of international law not simply when military actions are taken, but when a sovereign state or a guerrilla group expresses its intention to wage a war. Therefore, the recent terrorist attacks would be recognized as crimes, not as a war. Thus, the recent incidents should be treated as crimes. 2. International law makes it clear that efforts for peaceful resolution should be made first to deal with any disputes. Since President Bush has not demonstrated efforts to resolve any possibility of future occurrences of the terrorist attacks in peaceful way, new military actions are not legitimate. 3. International law does not recognize the legitimacy of wars of retaliation. Therefore, even if the terrorist attack this time signifies a beginning of a war, retaliation cannot be allowed unless the terrorists continue their attacks. 4. In order for a war of retaliation against the recent terrorist attacks to be recognized as legitimately exercising the right of self-defense, it must be waged against existing and obvious illegal actions. Preventive self-defense is not accepted by either international law or domestic law. Therefore, a war of retaliation against the terrorist attacks is not accepted as a legitimate act of self-defense. 5. The principles of international law state that there is no obligation for one state to hand over criminals to another state unless an agreement to do so has been concluded between the two states. President Bush's argument that military force will be used if the criminals are not handed over is itself in violation of international law. For the reasons stated above, I conclude that a war of retaliation against the terrorist attacks is not legitimate under international law. September 19, 2001 Hisatake KATO, President of Tottori University of Environmental Studies kato@kankyo-u.ac.jp Hisatake KATO, President of Tottori University of Environmental Studies (Japan) The terrorist acts in the USA yesterday are just another reminder of the violence to which children around the world are exposed all too frequently. Aaron T. Ebata, Ph.D. from the Department of Human & Community Development at the University of Illinois Extension, offers this advice to those who care for young children... Yesterday's events will certainly be in news for quite some time, and many of our lives may be disrupted in different ways for a long time. As many of us watch the news and talk to others about the day's events, our children will certainly notice that something is going on. Parents may want to talk with older children about the day's events and what it might mean, but young children (under the age of 7 or 8) may be disturbed by witnessing scenes of destruction on television or by listening in on adult conversations. It may not be unusual if some young children react by being more clinging, seeming a bit more concerned, or having difficulty at bedtime. Although it might be important to allow older children to participate in viewing and talking about the news, it might be wise to limit young children's exposure to TV news. It is important that young children be reassured about their own safety and the safety of their parents and loved ones. Subtle changes in parent's moods and behaviors can have an affect on children especially if they witness reactions in their parents that they have not seen before. Be prepared to spend extra time with children if necessary, and continue normal routines and activities. Use the opportunity to explain how and why people are reacting the way they are. In the days that come, we may be witness to preparations for retaliation (or at least threats of retaliation). Certain groups of people may be identified as terrorists. It will be a challenge for all of us to remind ourselves and our children that we value peace. For more information and suggestions on how to talk with your children about the day's events and the events in the coming days, see: Talking to Kids About War AboutOurKids.org New York University Child Study Center for more information About Conflict and War The Learning Network for more information with Children about War - Pointers for Parents The Learning Network for more information with Kids about the News Children Now http://www.childrennow.org/television/twk-news.htm Aaron T. EBATA, University of Illinois Extension (USA) Dear Friends and Colleagues, MESSAGE OF CONDOLENCE The Board, Management and Staff of Afrihealth Information Projects, grief with you, the government and good people of the United States of America, over the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and the one in Pennsylvania. We also grief with, and extend our sympathy to, all those affected by this terrible tragedy and monumental act of inhumanity. We regard this as one terrorist act too many. We believe and affirm that it is despicable, condemnable, unwarranted, senseless, retrogressive and dastardly. We urge the international community to rise up in one accord, to condemn this evil, its perpetrators and their supporters, and to ensure that the world does not behold such a disaster any more. We pray the Almighty to grant the souls of the departed eternal repose; and to all those bereaved, the fortitude to bear these irreparable losses. Again, please accept our heartfelt condolence. Sincerely, Dr. Uzodinma A. Adirieje Executive Coordinator Afrihealth Information Projects MAILS: P.O. Box 4127, Oshodi, Lagos, Nigeria PHONE: 234-(0)90-414811, PHONE/FAX: 234-(0)1-4520333 E-MAILS: afrepton@hotmail.com, afrepton@yahoo.com OFFICE/COURIER: 56 Adetola Street, Aguda-Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria AFRIHEALTH – a commitment to maternal and child health, population and development. Dr. Uzodinma A. ADIRIEJE, Afrihealth Information Projects (Nigeria) Dialogue Webpage for Conflicts Worldwide Newsletter. An email newsletter reporting recent contributions and developments on the Dialogue Webpage for Conflicts Worldwide at for more information is a resource and service for all people interested in conflict and its prevention which aims to contribute to the improvement of mutual understanding between opposing sides of conflict throughout the world. Presented by the Japan Center for Preventive Diplomacy (JCPD) (URL for more information email jcpd@jfir.or.jp) and supported by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF). For inquiries, please contact Cameron Noble at jcpd@jfir.or.jp Cameron NOBLE, Japan Center for Preventive Diplomacy (Japan) BOMB THEM WITH BUTTER, BRIBE THEM WITH HOPE. A military response, particularly an attack on Afghanistan, is exactly what the terrorists want. It will strengthen and swell their small but fanatical ranks. Instead, bomb Afghanistan with butter, with rice, bread, clothing and medicine. It will cost less than conventional arms, poses no threat of US casualties and just might get the populace thinking that maybe the Taliban don't have the answers. After three years of drought and with starvation looming, let's offer the Afghani people the vision of a new future. One that includes full stomachs. Bomb them with information. Video players and cassettes of world leaders, particularly Islamic leaders, condemning terrorism. Carpet the country with magazines and newspapers showing the horror of terrorism committed by their "guest". Blitz them with laptop computers and DVD players filled with a perspective that is denied them by their government. Saturation bombing with hope will mean that some of it gets through. Send so much that the Taliban can't collect and hide it all. The Taliban are telling their people to prepare for Jihad. Instead, let's give the Afghani people their first good meal in years. Seeing your family fully fed and the prospect of stability in terms of food and a future is a powerful deterrent to martyrdom. All we ask in return is that they, as a people, agree to enter the civilized world. That includes handing over terrorists in their midst. In responding to terrorism we need to do something different. Something unexpected..something that addresses the root of the problem. We need to take away the well of despair, ignorance and brutality from which the Osama bin Laden's of the world water their gardens of terror. Please pass this along. It is important that we learn to think in NEW ways. If we continue attacking in the old ways we will get the same old results. Look at what has been happening the middle east for thousands of years to see what we can expect if we attack with bombs and military force. Do we want to live a life of fear as people in the middle east do? Anonymous (New Zealand) What follows is a petition that will be forwarded to President Bush, and other world leaders, urging them to avoid war as a response to the terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon this week. Please read it, sign below, and forward the link to as many people as possible, as quickly as possible. We must circulate this quickly if it is to have any effect at all, as the Congress of The United States has already passed a resolution supporting any military action President Bush deems appropriate. We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of the United States of America and of countries around the world, appeal to the President of The United States, George W. Bush; to the NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson; to the President of the European Union, Romano Prodi; and to all leaders internationally to use moderation and restraint in responding to the recent terrorist attacks against the United States. We implore the powers that be to use, wherever possible, international judicial institutions and international human rights law to bring to justice those responsible for the attacks, rather than the instruments of war, violence or destruction. Furthermore, we assert that the government of a nation must be presumed separate and distinct from any terrorist group that may operate within its borders, and therefore cannot be held unduly accountable for the latter's crimes. It follows that the government of a particular nation should not be condemned for the recent attack without compelling evidence of its cooperation and complicity with those individuals who actually committed the crimes in question. Innocent civilians living within any nation that may be found responsible, in part or in full, for the crimes recently perpetrated against the United States, must not bear any responsibility for the actions of their government, and must therefore be guaranteed safety and immunity from any military or judicial action taken against the state in which they reside. Lastly and most emphatically, we demand that there be no recourse to nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, or any weapons of indiscriminate destruction, and feel that it is our inalienable human right to live in a world free of such arms. http://home.uchicago.edu/~dhpicker/petition UNITED FOR LIFE Whatever their justification, we consider the terrorist acts which took place in New York Tuesday, September 11, 2001 to be totally unforgivable. Thousands of innocent people died, families were broken-up forever without even having had the chance to say good-by. To prevent other lives from being destroyed and that such tragic events do not occur again, we want our respective leaders to take the time to reflect and adopt non-violent sanctions. Violence will not settle the conflicts which currently prevail in the world. The military armament available to the majority of nations, one really runs to the catastrophe: if the United States retorts with bombs, one is likely neither more nor less to attend on line the beginning of a third world war. To escape the destruction, we must mobilize and push the leaders who hold our destiny in their hands to find positive and intelligent solutions not endangering the Earth. We thus ask you to imply yourselves in this entirely peaceful step for you, your family and the future generations. A first step in this direction is to make circulate this petition from one end of the planet to the other. We wish that all the countries be linked to adopt a non-violent solution able to overcome terrorism once and for all. It is a question of survival. And of dignity. noviolence55@hotmail.com TEACHING CHILDREN ABOUT UNDERSTANDING AND REVENGE In recent days we have received a wide range of comments on last weeks tragedy, but none hit a more responsive chord with us than the following statement from James Garbarino, PhD. James is Co-Director, Family Life Development Center at Cornell University and co-author with Claire Bedard, of Parents Under Siege: Why You Are The Solution, Not the Problem, in Your Child's Life (NY: The Free Press, 2001)... The September 11 attack on America means many things to America's children and youth. Much of the initial response by parents, educators, and mental health professionals has focused on coping with the trauma and the fear. But as the days pass and issues of retaliation become the focus of attention a whole new set of issues emerges. What will our response teach children about revenge and compassion? Tibet's Dali Lama is a world leader in teaching about compassion. One of his most important lessons is that "true compassion is not just an emotional response, but a firm commitment founded on reason." It is easy to feel sympathy of the victims of violence-- human decency demands it. But it is much more difficult to feel true compassion for our enemies-- unshakeable understanding of how violence and rage arise in human beings, understanding that endures the bad actions of those human beings. I learned this anew in the case of Nathanial Brazil, the 13 year old boy who shot and killed his teacher in Lake Worth, Florida, May 26, 2000. Before he committed the murder, most of us would have found it easy to feel sympathy for him because of the difficult circumstances of his life. But after his deadly act many people changed their emotional response from sympathy to rage-- and many wished he be executed, or at least imprisoned for life. One friend of the murdered teacher even said in public that he hoped the boy would be raped and tortured every day while he was in prison. This response reveals that the feeling people had for this boy was sentimentality not true compassion as the Dali Lama defines it. This is an important lesson to consider as our nation responds to the terrorist assault of September 11. It is quite one thing to talk in public about "bringing the perpetrators to justice" and quite another to speak of exacting our revenge. It is one thing to understand the origins of terrorism and quite another to portray the struggle as simply one of "evil versus good." Terrorists typically are caught up in their own scenarios of revenge and retaliation. Often they have experienced personal suffering or family loss, or historical victimization, and are seeking a way to give meaning to that suffering through acts of violent revenge. Mostly, they are individuals who are offered a political or ideological interpretation for their situation by their leaders. Sometimes these leaders are pathologically calculating and cold in their exploitation of their followers. Sometimes these leaders themselves are plotting revenge for what they have experienced as victims of political oppression. For them, the terrorist acts they commit are not "unprovoked assaults," but rather are their own, sometimes warped version of "bringing the perpetrators to justice." All this is not to excuse the terrorist. No one of good faith or sensitive heart could or would do so. But if we are to do more than continue to escalate the cycle of violence we must do more than feel outrage and practice more than retaliation. We must seek a deeper understanding-- of individual terrorists and of the causes they represent. We must not fear this understanding. We must not reject those who ask for understanding. We must remember the wisdom that teaches, "if you want peace work for justice." And remember what Ghandi taught when he said, "you must be the change you wish to see in the world." The coming days and weeks will teach children and youth a great deal about justice, compassion, and revenge. They will learn lessons from what our government does on our behalf. Our goal should be to teach them at least three lessons: First, compassion and understanding are founded in strength not weakness. Let us celebrate the helpers and those who speak and act for justice and due process rather than for blood revenge. Second, protecting the stigmatized from scape goating and "guilt by association" is an important goal of public institutions in a time of national crisis. In the wake of the first Pearl Harbor at the start of World War II we rounded up Japanese-Americans and detained them as suspected enemies of the state. We must guard against that mentality if it is indeed Arabs and Muslims who are to blame for the catastrophe of September 11. Third, understanding and compassion in the face of hate and fanaticism are virtues, not something to be afraid of. It is more than a matter of our good and their evil. Dehumanization is the enemy. Each individual has a story to tell, a human story. Even as we oppose, hunt for, and bring to justice the terrorists we should remember this. Perhaps we can even understand something about the conditions abroad that give rise to this fanatical hatred of America. Our kids are watching and listening. James GARBARINO, Family Life Development Center (USA) Aux amis et familles. Après la tragédie du 11 septembre, on a pensé qu'on devrait trouver un moyen de montrer au monde que nous sommes touchés par ce qui est arrivé. Allez sur le site pour plus d'informations / pour allumer une chandelle virtuelle en mémoire des victimes de cette attaque de terroristes. Sur ce site, cliquez sur le bouton qui dit "Click here to light a virtual candle". Le nombre de personnes qui ont clique, est indiqué a la droite de ce bouton. S.V.P faites suivre à toutes les personnes que vous connaissez. Merci Ginette LOIGNON (France) Yesterday I heard a lot of talk about "bombing Afghanistan back to the Stone Age." Ronn Owens, on KGO Talk Radio allowed that this would mean killing innocent people, people who had nothing to do with this atrocity, but "we're at war, we have to accept collateral damage," and he asked, "What else can we do? What is your suggestion?" Minutes later I heard a TV pundit discussing whether we "have the belly to do what must be done." And I thought about these issues especially hard because I am from Afghanistan, and even though I've lived here for 35 years I've never lost track of what's been going on over there. So I want to share a few thoughts with anyone who will listen. I speak as one who hates the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden. There is no doubt in my mind that these people were responsible for the atrocity in New York. I fervently wish to see those monsters punished. But the Taliban and Ben Laden are not Afghanistan. They're not even the government of Afghanistan. The Taliban are a cult of ignorant psychotics who captured Afghanistan in 1997 and have been holding the country in bondage ever since. Bin Laden is a political criminal with a master plan. When you think Taliban, think Nazis. When you think Bin Laden, think Hitler. And when you think "the people of Afghanistan" think "the Jews in the concentration camps." It's not only that the Afghan people had nothing to do with this atrocity. They were the first victims of the perpetrators. They would love for someone to eliminate the Taliban and clear out the rats nest of international thugs holed up in their country. I guarantee it. Some say, if that's the case, why don't the Afghans rise up and overthrow the Taliban themselves? The answer is, they're starved, exhausted, damaged, and incapacitated. A few years ago, the United Nations estimated that there are 500,000 disabled orphans in Afghanistan--a country with no economy, no food. Millions of Afghans are widows of the approximately two million men killed during the war with the Soviets. And the Taliban has been executing these women for being women and have buried some of their opponents alive in mass graves. The soil of Afghanistan is littered with land mines and almost all the farms have been destroyed . The Afghan people have tried to overthrow the Taliban. They haven't been able to. We come now to the question of bombing Afghanistan back to the Stone Age. Trouble with that scheme is, it's already been done. The Soviets took care of it. Make the Afghans suffer? They're already suffering. Level their houses? Done. Turn their schools into piles of rubble? Done. Eradicate their hospitals? Done. Destroy their infrastructure? There is no infrastructure. Cut them off from medicine and health care? Too late. Someone already did all that. New bombs would only land in the rubble of earlier bombs. Would they at least get the Taliban? Not likely. In today's Afghanistan, only the Taliban eat, only they have the means to move around. They'd slip away and hide. (They have already, I hear.) Maybe the bombs would get some of those disabled orphans, they don't move too fast, they don't even have wheelchairs. But flying over Kabul and dropping bombs wouldn't really be a strike against the criminals who did this horrific thing. Actually it would be making common cause with the Taliban--by raping once again the people they've been raping all this time. So what else can be done, then? Let me now speak with true fear and trembling. The only way to get Bin Laden is to go in there with ground troops. I think that when people speak of "having the belly to do what needs to be done" many of them are thinking in terms of having the belly to kill as many as needed. They are thinking about overcoming moral qualms about killing innocent people. But it's the belly to die not kill that's actually on the table. Americans will die in a land war to get Bin Laden. And not just because some Americans would die fighting their way through Afghanistan to Bin Laden's hideout. It's much bigger than that, folks. To get any troops to Afghanistan, we'd have to go through Pakistan. Would they let us? Not likely. The conquest of Pakistan would have to be first. Will other Muslim nations just stand by? You see where I'm going. The invasion approach is a flirtation with global war between Islam and the West. And that is Bin Laden's program. That's exactly what he wants and why he did this thing. Read his speeches and statements. It's all right there. At the moment, of course, "Islam" as such does not exist. There are Muslims and there are Muslim countries, but no such political entity as Islam. Bin Laden believes that if he can get a war started, he can constitute this entit and he'd be running it. He really believes Islam would beat the west. It might seem ridiculous, but he figures if he can polarize the world into Islam and the West, he's got a billion soldiers. If the West wreaks a holocaust in Muslim lands, that's a billion people with nothing left to lose, even better from Bin Laden's point of view. He's probably wrong about winning, in the end the west would probably overcome--whatever that would mean in such a war; but the war would last for years and millions would die, not just theirs but ours. Who has the belly for that? Bin Laden yes, but anyone else? I don't have a solution. But I do believe that suffering and poverty are the soil in which terrorism grows. Bin Laden and his cohorts want to bait us into creating more such soil, so they and their kind can flourish. We can't let him do that. That's my humble opinion. Tamim Ansary Tamim Ansary, Afghan (USA) Pour votre information, ma petite société a décidé de se jeter dans la bataille pour défendre la Paix suite à la journée la plus noire de l'Humanité, le 11/9/2001! Nous avons ouvert dans la nuit du 11 septembre 2001 le site pour plus d'informations gratuit et entièrement bénévole pour recevoir les témoignages du monde et de la base (le petit peuple de la terre), pour réconforter dans notre mesure le peuple Américain et brasser des idées autour de la Paix plutôt que la Guerre. Je pense que le site aura aussi un rôle d'exutoire. Sur le site, nous déclarons que ce site et le nom de domaine qui lui est attaché (la-paix.org) seront donnés à une ONG qui aura fait ses preuves et pour laquelle elle aura reçu un prix de l'UNESCO ou de l'ONU, qui seront les arbitres (En effet je suis bien trop petit pour juger de quoi que ce soi) J'espère que notre démarche sera approuvée et soutenue par votre organisation. Amitiés à vous et au peuple Américain Jean-Marc DUBIE, Président de COTATEL SA (France) Cher-es ami-es connu-es ou inconnu-es, La liste des objectifs prioritaires de la Décennie pour une culture de la non-violence, telle qu'elle a été établie en mars 2001 et que vous avez reçue comme moi, me semble comporter une sérieuse lacune. Elle ne prend presque pas en compte le fait que les toutes premières années de l'éducation des enfants, les plus décisives, sont assurées exclusivement ou presque par les parents (sans compter le rôle majeur que continuent à jouer les parents jusqu'à la majorité des enfants). Les parents ne sont en effet mentionnés que trois fois dans cette liste d'objectifs, toujours de façon marginale : une fois au titre de parents d'élèves, une fois au titre de personnes que l'on écoute, et enfin en tant qu'auteurs possibles de "violences familiales". Les parents n'y sont jamais considérés dans la globalité de leur rôle qui constitue pourtant, pendant disons les trois premières années de la vie des enfants, la quasi totalité de leur monde, leur cocon protecteur et malheureusement souvent agresseur. Il n'est jamais question non plus d'une réflexion sur les rapports entre parentalité et violence éducative ordinaire (le terme employé de "violences familiales" est beaucoup trop général et fait davanatage penser à la maltraitance caractérisée qu'à la violence éducative pratiquée par presque tous les parents). C'est, il me semble, une lacune dans la mesure où le premier contact des enfants avec la violence, au moment où leur cerveau se forme et où ils sont les plus malléables, s'effectue pour environ 90% des enfants du monde sous les coups plus ou moins violents infligés par leurs parents. Dans la mesure surtout où cette violence infligée aux enfants "pour leur bien" gardera chez la plupart des jeunes et des adultes qui l'auront subie une connotation positive ("j'ai été frappé et ça m'a fait beaucoup de bien"). Cette connotation rendra évidemment difficile pour eux une remise en question profonde des autres formes de violence et compromettra les chances d'une culture de la non-violence et de la paix. Il me semble donc important que soit ajoutée à la liste des objectifs de la Décennie une partie spécifique consacrée au rôle des parents, comme il y en a une sur l'enseignement, sur la société et sur les relations internationales. Elle pourrait être rédigée ainsi: L'éducation à la non-violence dans la parentalité. La relation parents-enfants dans les toutes premières années de la vie de l'enfant est la matrice de toutes les autres relations que l'enfant nouera plus tard avec ses semblables. Il est donc capital que cette relation soit aussi dénuée que possible de violence. Ce n'est pas le cas actuellement pour la plupart des enfants en raison de l'usage quasi universel des coups et de la violence comme méthode d'éducation. Pour cela, nous voulons : - rendre effective l'application de l'article 19 de la Convention relative aux droits de l'enfant qui fait un devoir à tous les États de protéger l'enfant "contre toute forme de violence", y compris celle infligée dans un but éducatif par les parents; - aider les personnes et les associations qui, dans chaque pays demandent l'interdiction des châtiments corporels à la maison comme à l'école; -faire connaître l'expérience des pays qui, certains depuis plus de vingt ans, ont mis en oeuvre cette interdiction; - encourager la création dans tous les pays de programmes d'aide aux parents pour leur permettre d'éduquer les enfants sans violence; - informer les jeunes couples au moment de leur mariage et/ou de la naissance de leurs enfants sur les dangers de la violence infligée aux enfants et sur les méthodes qui permettent d'éduquer les enfants sans violence; - introduire dans les programmes d'enseignement, à partir du collège ou du lycée, une réflexion sur la parentalité et notamment sur la manière d'éviter l'emploi de la violence à l'égard des enfants. Je ne pourrai pas être à Paris le 6 octobre. Merci donc, si vous les approuvez, de vous faire les porteurs de cette proposition. Comme l'a écrit Jean-Marie Muller, "l'éducation à la non-violence commence par la non-violence de l'éducation". Amicalement. Olivier Maurel. Olivier MAUREL, Le Pradet (France) NOTHING JUSTIFIES TERRORISM. / Palestine Media Center - PMC for more information Palestinian intellectuals have expressed their unequivocal condemnation of Tuesday's terrorist attacks against various cities in the United States. To assert their solidarity with the American People, they have signed a memorandum condemning the 11 September terrorist attack. Below is a transcript of the memorandum: There can be no name to the catastrophe that has hit Washington and New York City, except that of the madness of terrorism. This terrorism is neither a black science fiction movie nor is it the Day of Reckoning. It is terrorism that is country-less, colorless, and creed-less, no matter how much it might have enlisted the names of gods and deities and the agonies of man in order to justify the crime. There is no cause, not even a just cause that can make the killing of innocent civilians a legitimate act, no matter how long the list of accusations and the register of grievances. Terror does not pave the way for justice, but it is the shortest path to hell. We deplore this horrendous crime and condemn its planners and perpetrators with all the terms of denunciation and condemnation in the lexicon. Not only because this is a moral duty but as an expression of our commitment to our humanity and our faith that human values do not differentiate between one man and another. Our sympathy with the victims and their families and with the American people in these trying times is but an expression of our deep commitment to the oneness of human destiny. For a victim is a victim, and terrorism is terrorism, here and there, it knows no boundaries nor nationalities and does not lack the eloquence of crime. Nothing, nothing can justify this terrorism that kneads human flesh with iron cement and dust, and nothing can justify dividing the world into two camps that can never meet: one of absolute good and another of absolute evil; for civilization is the end result of what world societies have contributed towards the cultural heritage of the globe accumulating and interacting to reach the elevation and nobility of man. From this premise, the insistence of modern-day orientalism on indicating that terrorism resides in the very nature of Arab and Islamic cultures, does not contribute to the diagnosis of the enigma and thus solving it, in as much as it increases its complexity and puts it on the edge of a racist stance. Therefore, the American search to find reasons for the animosity shown to their politics (and not to the American people and its popular culture) should move away from the concept of the "conflict of cultures", and from the need to identify an ever-present enemy, to test "western supremacy". It should move away to a political arena, where the United States can meditate on the sincerity of its foreign policy and its success in the Middle East, where the great American values of freedom, democracy and human rights, have stopped their function in the Palestinians context, while at the same time freeing the Israeli occupation from answering to international law, and providing the Israeli behavior, which often reaches the scope of "state terrorism", with what it needs of justifications and rationalization. We know that the American wound is deep and we know that this tragic moment is a moment for solidarity and the sharing of pain, we also know that the horizons of the intellect can traverse the landscape of devastation. Terrorism has no location or boundaries, it does not reside in geography of its own, its homeland is disillusionment and despair. The best weapon to eradicate terrorism from the soul lies in the solidarity of the international world, in respecting the right of the people of the globe, or the global village, to live in harmony and in reducing the ever increasing gap between north and south, and the best and most effective way to defend freedom is that of realizing fully the meaning of justice. Security measures alone are not enough, for terrorism carries within its folds a multiplicity of nationalities and does not recognize boundaries. The world cannot be divided into two societies, one for the rebels and the other for the officers of the law. But then, nothing, nothing justifies Terrorism. Among the signatories: 1. Mahmoud Darwish 2. Hanan Ashrawi 3. Yasser Abed Rabbo 4. Akram Haniyeh 5. Mahmoud Shuqeir 6. Yehya Yakhlof 7. Abdel Latif Barghouthi 8. Husein Barghouthi 9. Izzat Ghazzawi 10. Hanna Nasser 11. Salim Tamari 12. Sari Nuseibeh 13. Zakarya Mohamed 14. Liyana Bader 15. Ali Al-Khalili 16. Said Zeidan 17. Fu'ad Mughrabi 18. Wasim Al-Kurdi 19. Islah Jad 20. Rima Hamami 21. Jamil Hilal 21. Faiha' Abdel Hadi 22. Hasan Khadher http://www.palestine-pmc.com (Palestine) A vous du Manifeste 2000 pour la paix, Je m'adresse à votre organisme qui a recueilli au-delà de 75 millions de signatures dans le monde, pour le Manifeste 2000 pour la Paix. Ce pourrait-il que vous envoyez une lettre à tous les chefs d'État signataires du Manifeste pour qu'ils interviennent auprès de Monsieur Bush et le Congrès américain afin qu'ils n'utilisent pas les armes contre les pays qui soutiennent les auteurs du terrorisme. Est-ce qu'il serait possible qu'on choisisse délibérément la lutte contre le terrorisme sans impliquer les populations de toutes les nations pour faire advenir la paix. L'histoire de l'humanité nous dit que les guerres n'ont fait que développer la vengeance et la violence dans les peuples. Cette culture dégrade l'humanité et ne permet pas à la société de grandir dans la compassion et l'unité. Je m'adresse à votre organisme parce que je sais que vous croyez à une autre culture et que vous avez tout en main pour entreprendre une action dans l'immédiat. Des chemins de justice oui, mais de paix doivent être choisis par les gouvernements pour sauver l'humanité. Merci de faire quelque chose pour améliorer le sort des populations de notre terre.Vous aurez des appuis dans toutes les classes de la population. Pour la paix sur terre, Huguette Laroche 1913 de Montfort, Jonquière, P.Qué. G7X 4T6 Canada Huguette LAROCHE, Québec (Canada) Political review: "We now have enemies". For generations which has never experienced war - which includes almost all MPs - Wednesday was a taste of the mortal dread wartime generations would have known. To turn on the television in the early hours that morning, to see the towers of the World Trade Centre burning and falling, the Pentagon in flames and hear, for too long, no word from the White House, was to wonder, what more? For several hours, time was the only friend. As time passed, and further targets did not materialise, it became a matter of grasping the scale of death and the terrible destruction already done. But for a few hours the lucky generations looked into the abyss that wartime societies had seen. The order of life had been shaken and in the lifetime of these generations it might never be taken for granted again. Throughout the world, politicians sensed the change, the peaceniks as much as the warriors. In Wellington, Green Party co-leader Rod Donald was uncharacteristically wary of comment. Inveterate anti-intelligence campaigner Nicky Hager could not be reached. National's defence spokesman Max Bradford began a speech to the Institute of International Affairs saying that he had ripped up his notes at 2 am. The morning's events were "incomprehensible by any historical or moral standard I know of", he said. "Pearl Harbor doesn't come close. There was at least a state of war throughout much of the world at that time. Things are different now. Terrorism knows no boundaries, respects no nation and regards civilians as part of their war. All in the name of a religious fervour I simply don't comprehend. Do you?" Ordinarily, Parliament would have paid its respects to the dead and adjourned on Wednesday. But for the likes of Act leader Richard Prebble, too much needed to be said. Paying his respects, he said: "The Americans believed yesterday their country was safe from this type of terrorism. Today tragically they know it is not. We should acknowledge what experts are telling us. The best protection against this type of terrorism is intelligence. "Let's have no more suggestions that we should abandon the SIS or the Government Intelligence Bureau or involvement in Waihopai. Intelligence is our best defence against terrorism." After each party leader had spoken on the tragedy, he led into questions. "Given the extraordinary nature of the terrorist attack in the United States, will the New Zealand Government be doing a comprehensive review of our total security, including defence, and if not, why not?" Acting PM Jim Anderton replied: "Government security agencies are always looking to learn from events and this is another one of those. I'm impressed with the way agencies have reacted to this." New Zealand First's Ron Mark weighed in: "Has the Prime Minister received any reports from Nicky Hager and his ilk that in light of the horrific terrorist attacks on the USA they will no longer be seeking to dismantle intelligence gathering facilities such as Waihopai, an essential facility in the never ending war against terrorism? Mr Anderton: "I think the events are too serious to be raising matters about a single individual." Act's Owen Jennings wanted to know whether the Government still intended to disband the combat wing of the Air Force. "If the advice to the Government was that risks to New Zealand were equivalent to the US we could review it," Mr Anderton replied. "But let me just say, the American Government has at its disposal the most up to date Air Force in the world. It did not stop civilian airliners crashing into their buildings and into their own defence headquarters. I don't see how the might of the New Zealand Air Force could have done better." Mr Bradford asked if the Alliance would be changing its policy towards the security services and the Waihopai base "given the fine words we've heard from the Acting Prime Minister this afternoon about ensuring we can meet the challenge of terrorism". The Greens' Keith Locke asked: "Does the Acting Prime Minister agree that one way to counter terrorism and improve security is to support initiatives such as Unesco's culture of peace programme, to ensure younger generations are committed to non-violence and international understanding?" Mr Anderton: "I am sure the whole world would benefit from a dose of international understanding." His heart was not in it. The fulcrum of politics on national security had changed and everyone but Mr Locke knew it. It is not just the pacifist left. There had been a strain of thinking on the right that resisted national security reasons for monitoring people's movements and communications. Well probably no more. The vision of aircraft being hurled into the World Trade Center will haunt every argument against intelligence gathering for the foreseeable future. "It is a new battlefield," said US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. But it should not be that new. Military planners have been talking for 10 years about new security threats that arise within states rather than between them. Many of us listened politely and suspected they were trying to justify their existence in the post Cold-war calm. They could paint frightful possibilities of mass terrorism by chemical, biological, even nuclear threats. It made for fairly gripping seminars, but maybe even the brass did not believe it. How else to explain that the US could be vulnerable to a multiple hijacking of aircraft by a group sophisticated enough to have its own pilots and able to coordinate movements with remarkable precision? Much heavier intelligence is only part of the likely response. President George W. Bush has warned of retaliation not just against those responsible for Wednesday's act, but against any country harbouring them. That principle will find overwhelming approval from New Zealand. The uncharacteristic attitude in this country since Anzus was undermined might have had its day. Helen Clark might never again ask who are our enemies. It is a stateless force, fanatical and capable, we now know, of planning death and civil destruction on a frightful scale. John ROUGHAN E-mail sent to the member of the US Congress : Respected Senator, It is with the greatest sadness that the people of the World watched the tragedy of the horrific events of Tuesday 11th September, 2001, in America. The day of this atrocity will remain in all our memories; it has moved many millions of people to tears of shock and sadness. We share in the American peoples' grief during this time of need, and send our condolences to all. VIOLENCE + VIOLENCE = MORE VIOLENCE And children, ALL our children do not wish any more violence and wars. USA, and ALL the countries of the World had agreed to proclaim this first Decade of the new millenium the “International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the World”. The resolution approved unanimously say : “Convinced that such a decade, at the beginning of the new millennium, would greatly assist the efforts of the international community to foster peace, harmony, all human rights, democracy and development throughout the world, Proclaims the period 2001-2010 as the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the World; Invites Member States to take the necessary steps to ensure that the practice of peace and nonviolence is taught at all levels in their respective societies, including in educational institutions; Calls upon the relevant United Nations bodies, in particular the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund, and invites non-governmental organizations, religious bodies and groups, educational institutions, artists and the media actively to support the Decade for the benefit of every child of the world; (55th plenary meeting - Resolution A/RES/53/25) We have accepted our responsibility to teach the practice of nonviolence to our children : violence don’t work. I am a “dreamer”, I know, “but I am not the only one”. We can teach our children only through our own attitude and commitment. Words don’t help so much. Please, for your own children and ALL the children - without any discrimination - accept to take - TODAY - the following COMMITMENT to TRY to practice nonviolence. Please do sign the short text bellow, already signed by 74 MILLIONS of people from all over the world (Cf. UNESCO Website). PERSONNAL COMMITMENT TO THE PRACTICE OF NONVIOLENCE ·Together we can transform the culture of war and violence into a culture of peace and nonviolence. This demands the participation of everyone. It gives young people and future generations values that can inspire them to shape a world of dignity and harmony, a world of justice, solidarity, liberty and prosperity. The culture of peace makes possible sustainable development, protection of the environment and the personal fulfilment of each human being. ·Recognising my share of responsibility for the future of humanity, especially for today's children and those of future generations, I pledge - in my daily life, in my family, my work, my community, my country and my region - to: 1.Respect the life and dignity of every person without discrimination or prejudice; 2.Practise active nonviolence, rejecting violence in all its forms: physical, sexual, psychological, economical and social, in particular towards the most deprived and vulnerable such as children and adolescents; 3.Share my time and material resources in a spirit of generosity to put an end to exclusion, injustice and political and economic oppression; 4.Defend freedom of expression and cultural diversity, giving preference always to dialogue and listening rather than fanaticism, defamation and the rejection of others; 5.Promote consumer behaviour that is responsible and development practices that respect all forms of life and preserve the balance of nature on the planet; 6.Contribute to the development of my community, with the full participation of women and respect for democratic principles, in order to create together new forms of solidarity. Name, date and Sign : ___________________________________ Send it as soon as possible to : nonviolence@vsnl.net , or fax it to : +33 3 44 86 39 07. Please, give copies of this letter to your fellow senators and to the medias. “Where have all our beloved one goes ?… What have we ever learned ?” May our God of Love bless and inspire you. With my deepest respect and gratitude, Pierre MARCHAND ·Human being, husband, father and grand-father, ·Founder of the foundation Appeal of the Nobel Peace Laureates for the Children ·Representative of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation to UNESCO ·Recipient of the US. Fellowship of Reconciliation Award for Peace 2000 ·Your brother. Pierre MARCHAND, Compiegne (France) Dear Brothers and Sisters, We at Peaceworkers are heartbroken by the tragedies that continue to unfold in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. The depth of the violence is incomprehensible. It is a time for us to draw our loved ones close. And, it a time for us to draw close to our hearts those not immediately in our circles and to keep those who have died close in our hearts and prayers. We also hold up the families and friends who either know their loved one has died or who wait in anguished limbo. We wish strength and endurance to those police, firefighters, rescue workers, medical personnel and public officials working to save lives. And, we ask each of us to draw close to those who will be scapegoated for these horrific acts. These acts were not carried out by an ethnic group, race of people or religion. Each of us individually and collectively, must be forthright in resisting any scapegoating or attempts to retaliate with violence. We also call upon the United States government not to respond with violence, thus escalating the spiral of violence. This is a time for deep reflection and grief. The horrible carnage reminds us that no amount of armaments can protect us from such violent attacks. It is a time to understand the unity of all people and to build our security based on that understanding. Instead of hundreds of billions for weapons of destruction which we manufacture for ourselves and sell around the world, we should allocate hundreds of billions of dollars for feeding the world's hungry, housing the homeless, healing the sick and helping heal the wounds of war and hatred around the world. The only real security is for the United States to become a real friend of all the world's people. Nonviolent Peaceforce tineka@nonviolentpeaceforce.org E-mail sent to the President of the USA : Respected President, Accept my deepest condoleance and sorrow for what had happen. To kill humand beings that had kill human beings in order to teach them - and our children all over the world - that to kill human beings is not good, do not seams to me the most appropriate way to avoid more violence and promote - in act - the respect of our sacred human life, each life. I pray that the teaching on nonviolence from Mahatma Gandhiji, and your great Martin Luther King Jr., may help you to discover a better way in this first year of the “International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the world”. May all this suffering make us all aware of the way to avoid such suffering again. May the Almighty God bless, and inspire you, and your governement. With my deepest respect, gratitude and love. Pierre MARCHAND ·Human being, husband, father and grand-father, ·Founder of the foundation Appeal of the Nobel Peace Laureates for the Children ·Representative of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation to UNESCO ·Recipient of the US. Fellowship of Reconciliation Award for Peace 2000 ·Your brother. Pierre MARCHAND, Compiegne (France) Suite aux événements dramatiques du 11 septembre survenues aux Etats Unis moi Gilbert Poirot "citoyen du monde libre" signataire de la charte "manifeste 2000" refuse que des Etats dits civilisés adoptent les mêmes méthodes que les terroristes contre des populations civiles dans n'importe quelle partie de la planète terre. Demande que l'UNESCO soit le porte parole pour la paix auprès des Etats qui sont prêt a appliquer la loi du talion contre les Peuples du monde Gilbert POIROT, Viller (France) “Yesterday’s terrible events have left us all in a state of shock. It was indeed with horror and grief that I learned, as you all did, of the terrorist attack, perpetrated in the United States of America. Bringing in its wake deliberate death and destruction on a scale surely unprecedented outside a period of war, this attack has inflicted huge suffering on the American people as a whole. This tragedy will forever leave its dark stain on the pages of human history. On behalf of UNESCO and in my own name, I sent a message yesterday to President Bush offering our heartfelt condolences and our solidarity with the American people. My voice joins that of Kofi Annan in expressing total condemnation of this attack, and in recalling our deepest conviction that no cause, whatever it may be, can be advanced through terror.” Koïchiro MATSUURA, Director-General of UNESCO (France) A Letter from His Holiness, XIVth Dalai Lama. Dear friends around the world; The events of this day cause every thinking person to stop their daily lives, whatever is going on in them, and to ponder deeply the larger questions of life. We search again for not only the meaning of life, but the purpose of our individual and collective experience as we have created it-and we look earnestly for ways in which we might recreate ourselves anew as a human species, so that we will never treat each other this way again. The hour has come for us to demonstrate at the highest level our most extraordinary thought about Who We Really Are. There are two possible responses to what has occurred today. The first comes from love, the second from fear. If we come from fear we may panic and do things-as individuals and as nations-that could only cause further damage. If we come from love we will find refuge and strength, even as we provide it to others. This is the moment of your ministry. This is the time of teaching. What you teach at this time, through your every word and action right now, will remain as indelible lessons in the hearts and minds of those whose lives you touch, both now, and for years to come. We will set the course for tomorrow, today. At this hour. In this moment. Let us seek not to pinpoint blame, but to pinpoint cause. Unless we take this time to look at the cause of our experience, we will never remove ourselves from the experiences it creates. Instead, we will forever live in fear of retribution from those within the human family who feel aggrieved, and, likewise, seek retribution from them. To us the reasons are clear. We have not learned the most basic human lessons. We have not remembered the most basic human truths. We have not understood the most basic spiritual wisdom. In short, we have not been listening to God, and because we have not, we watch ourselves do ungodly things. The message we hear from all sources of truth is clear: We are all one. That is a message the human race has largely ignored. Forgetting this truth is the only cause of hatred and war, and the way to remember is simple: Love, this and every moment. If we could love even those who have attacked us, and seek to understand why they have done so, what then would be our response? Yet if we meet negativity with negativity, rage with rage, attack with attack, what then will be the outcome? These are the questions that are placed before the human race today. They are questions that we have failed to answer for thousands of years. Failure to answer them now could eliminate the need to answer them at all. If we want the beauty of the world that we have co-created to be experienced by our children and our children's children, we will have to become spiritual activists right here, right now, and cause that to happen. We must choose to be at cause in the matter. So, talk with God today. Ask God for help, for counsel and advice, for insight and for strength and for inner peace and for deep wisdom. Ask God on this day to show us how to show up in the world in a way that will cause the world itself to change. And join all those people around the world who are praying right now, adding your Light to the Light that dispels all fear. That is the challenge that is placed before every thinking person today. Today the human soul asks the question: What can I do to preserve the beauty and the wonder of our world and to eliminate the anger and hatred-and the disparity that inevitably causes it - in that part of the world which I touch? Please seek to answer that question today, with all the magnificence that is You. What can you do TODAY...this very moment? A central teaching in most spiritual traditions is: What you wish to experience, provide for another. Look to see, now, what it is you wish to experience-in your own life, and in the world. Then see if there is another for whom you may be the source of that. If you wish to experience peace, provide peace for another. If you wish to know that you are safe, cause another to know that they are safe. If you wish to better understand seemingly incomprehensible things, help another to better understand. If you wish to heal your own sadness or anger, seek to heal the sadness or anger of another. Those others are waiting for you now. They are looking to you for guidance, for help, for courage, for strength, for understanding, and for assurance at this hour. Most of all, they are looking to you for love. My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness. Dalai Lama (Tibet) Excelentísimo Señor George W. Bush Presidente de los Estados Unidos de América Washington. Señor Presidente: Profundamente consternados e indignados por el alevoso ataque terrorista perpetrado este día en contra de importantes ciudades de los Estados Unidos, quiero expresarle el sentimiento de solidaridad del pueblo panameño, que siente como propias las perdidas de vidas humanas y los miles de heridos de este cobarde atentado. Afrentas como ésta a la democracia, a la razón y a la paz, sólo pueden servir de aliciente a seguir luchando con el arma de la verdad en contra de quienes pretenden imponer sus criterios mediante el uso de la fuerza, sin dar importancia alguna al derecho a la vida humana. En estos momentos de dolor, sabemos que esa gran nación sabrá sobreponerse y reclamar de quienes resulten culpables de semejante atrocidad la responsabilidad por sus actos. Sepa usted que Panamá está dispuesta a brindar toda la ayuda y colaboración que dentro de nuestras limitaciones podamos dar a su gobierno para aliviar los sufrimientos de quienes están sufriendo los efectos de esta tragedia. Acepte, Vuestra Excelencia, mi fraternal saludo y apoyo solidario. Mireya MOSCOSO, Presidenta de la República (Panamá) Greetings from India! I want to congratulate you for your efforts and success in collecting signatures for Manifesto2000. Here in my city of Pune, we did what we could do among the student community. I see Manifesto 2000 as a revolutionary step to dreaming and working for a better world. We assure you of our help in any other such action plans in future. Delia MARIA, Spicer college ( India) Message as a signatory of the Manifesto 2000 : "What you are doing is wonderful. I am proud that my name will be included with all the other supporters and activists for peace around the world. Silence is tolerance, we should not keep quiet. Thanks for everything again." Jessica RIDGE Merci pour l'initiative que vous avez lancée. J'adhère de tout mon coeur avec le mouvement et je souhaite y participer . Bien que je ne sois pas poète et ne prétendant nullement maîtriser les rouages de la langue française , je me permets de vous envoyer ce petit poème qui reflète les aspirations d'un jeune homme de 25 ans qui a vécu la tragédie qui a tourmenté son pays . Je dédie ce poème aux enfants du monde entier, à tous ceux qui rêvent de paix et de fraternite entre les hommes du monde entier. "Le temps d'un soir"/ Alors que le ciel est envoûté d'un voile noir/ Que mille constellations brillent dans le firmament/ Et alors que l'existence s'assombrit d'ombre/ Je me livre a mes stupides ferments.// Je rêve le temps d'un soir / Un monde sans défaite / rien que des victoires / D'un monde bienfait / D'un monde parfait.// Et voilà que je ne médite plus / Les couleurs se mélangent à ne former q'une teinte / Et dans le monde que j'ai élu / il n'y a plus de soupir , Il n'y a plus de plainte// Les païens sont les frères des fidèles/ les races ne portent pas de surnom./ Les éthnies et les cultes ne sont que des noms./ Dans mon monde on ne vénère pas un modèle.// J'ai banni les objets de guerre, / J'ai unifié les hymnes et les bannières./ J'ai aboli les visas et effacé les frontières/ le temps d'un soir.// Voilà que le jour se lève / Et me surprend dans mon rêve/ Et de peur de me décevoir / Je me couvre pour ne rien voir // J'attendrai l'autre soir / Lorsque les gouverneurs s'endormiront / Lorsque les voleurs de mon rêve se coucheront / Pour le reconstruire encore . Sanaa ZIRI ( France) Dear Friends, I have just completed a booklet and the details of how to bring TALK ZONES into elementary schools across the country. It is inexpensive and works! The goal is to create places in the classroom where students can learn how to "talk-out" their issues rather than shoot them out. I need names and the e-mails #s of people you know who are high-up in your school district, in politics, at newspapers, and in organizations which would be receptive to endorsing an interactive program which can help reduce violence in schools. Every school by September? Steve Albert PEOPLEism, Inc. Home of TALK ZONES Phone/Fax: 858-695-8888 E-mail: pplism@san.rr.com Steve ALBERT (USA) Culture brings people to love one another. And is that not the perfect way to reconcile – through intercultural events, through bringing people from various countries together, helping them know one another and understand that there is nothing wrong with people who differ from them as to religion, customs, language, and attitudes? Desislava DIMITROVA, student, (Bulgaria) - Balkan Youth Reconciliation Seminar I personally strongly believe that art and culture could perfectly replace the language that the politicians use to achieve the things that they have never achieved until now in our region. It was art and culture that helped us, the future of the Balkan peninsula, to see how similar we are, how well we can get along with each other. Though each of us was forced to be grown up with different views of nationalism, I am sure that everyone of us has changed a least a little bit inside. This change might not be enough but it is the beginning of what this region still needs. There are still some people in this world who care and share their love with us. Rovena Aliaj, student, (Bulgaria) - Balkan Youth Reconciliation Seminar. "At the Summit, the End is the Beginning". Today, the 1st of January, 2001, I chose a place that most represents the European Continent, the Eiffel Tower. From its height of 320 meters, I return to send my altruistic Message to humanity. I return to cry out so that it awakens those who are still pure in heart and to elevate my belief in Faith, Hope, and Peace, for all human beings. I request gender equality without any discrimination and, again, I invite everyone to form part of the "Circle of the Love" and to be united. For all the Women, Children all over the world, so that their illusions never die, so that every day is Better, so that we learn to offer our Love unconditionally. Let us wake up, give our hand, our hope, to help obtain these ideals. Everyone deserves an equal opportunity so that in this New Century there doesn't exist Women and Children who undergo in silence the violation of their Rights. I committed myself not to keep quiet, not to turn my back, but instead send this message on each 1st of January of this New Century on the different six Continents (on the 1st of january 2000, at the Aconcagua) for all the women and children from all over the World who suffer in the streets, in hospitals, in their homes, in their work, in their solitude... - For those who cannot speak, see, listen, walk, perceive, or express themselves. Victoria AMANNO, Eiffel Tower, Paris (France). El halcon y la paloma: Son dos aves encontradas/ con la guerra declarada/ una simvolisa la paz/ la otra la muerte macabra. /El halcon vuela muy alto/ va vigilando a sus presas/ siempre le toca el perder/ a la paloma que acecha./ Estos voladores tienen una mision/ devorar a los pacificos/ sin ninguna compasion. Cuanto halcones nos acechan/ para darnos el zarpazo/ cumpliendo la mision/ de al humano, hacerle daño./ En el Mundo hay mucho halcon/ dispuestos a devorar/ a esa legion de palomas/ que trabajan por la paz./ Cuando el halcon se dispone/ atacar a la paloma/ todo esta temblando/ pues la guerra, ya se asoma./ El dia que los halcones/ se junten con las palomas/ para firmar una paz/ en serio y no broma. Cuando saldra un cazador/ que cace a estos pelegrinos/ y los ponga a buen recaudo/ y despejar el camino./ El camino de la paz/ es un camino de rosas/, ne dejemos que el halcon/ con sus garras lo devore./ Halcones aves rapaces/ con sus garras afiladas/ van devorando palomas/ sin importarle a ellos nada. Ricardo Aranda MOHEDANO, Barcelona (España) My dream for the third millenium is based on fraternity. If we are to build a culture of peace and non-violence, it must be based on a sense of mutual respect and responsability, embracing all of society. Last year, people from Asia, Central and south America, Africa and Europe, all living in conditions of great hardship spent a week together discussing how to fight against extreme poverty. They gained enormous strength from being able to speak with others who understood their suffering and recognised their courage in surviving from one day to the next. Everyone must take responsability to create with others a society where no one is excluded. We can no longer ignore those who haven't made it. "We young people are the victims and the actors of violence. It is therefore up to us to be actors in peace". Caroline DAVIES, Fourth World Youth Movement (United Kingdom) Confiance! C'est mon rêve pour l'an 2000, il faut donner confiance aux jeunes, il faut nous donner le sentiment que chacun est respecté, que chacun a sa propre place dans la société. Et nous, les jeunes de différents milieux, nous devons avoir confiance en nous, les uns avec les autres. Il faut respecter l'opinion de chacun, respecter son histoire! Si nous nous respectons, nous pouvons vivre ensemble en paix, pas en violence. Si c'est possible, tous les jeunes du monde peuvent créer un avenir pour tous, pour nous, jeunes, nos familles, nos amis. Ca c'est mon rêve pour l'an 2000, un avenir qui est construit avec confiance. Comme ça nous pouvons vivre en paix. Theresia HOMBERG, Jeunesse Quart Monde (France) "Nous sommes persuadés que la paix est possible. Nous sommes convaincus que la jeunesse a un rôle important à jouer dans l'établissement et le maintient de la paix. Nous croyons que les jeunes peuvent parvenir à cette fin en forgeant dans chacun de leur pays une opinion publique garantissant la justice, la protection des droits de l'Homme, la tolérance et le respect mutuel." Extrait de la déclaration des "Marins de la paix" dans le cadre de la "Croisière pour la paix" à l'initiative de l'Organisation Mondiale du Mouvement Scout et déclarée "Action Phare de l'Année Internationale de la culture de la paix". Les Marins de la paix (28 jeunes européens et arabes) br> "La paix et la tolérance sont moins visibles que la guerre. A nous de les faire descendre dans la rue, en une fête qui devra être aussi jubilatoire et excitante que possible." (Jean Michel Jarre, 1995, à propos de son "concert pour la tolérance" Paris, Tour Eiffel) Jean Michel JARRE, Tour Eiffel, Paris (France) "… Les vraies valeurs [sont] celles de l'amour et du partage. La paix, c'est quelque chose qui commence en soi…" ( Céline Dion, nommée le 15 décembre dernier Artiste pour la paix de l'UNESCO, en dédiant cette distinction à ses parents qui "ont su transmettre à leur famille ces valeurs"). Céline DION, Artiste pour la paix de l'UNESCO Etre pas de la terre / pour écrire un message / au long du paysage // Etre marche de paix / rencontrer un visage / et sourire au voyage // Etre simplement soi / être son seul bagage / plénitude de rivage // Etre au coeur de la nuit / le puits des infinis / et engendrer des jours / la force de l'Amour // Aller de soi à l'autre / en un regard immense / et révêler l'apôtre / au cœur de la vivance // Etre sa différence / miroir de l'existence / et offrir le visage / d'un sourire en péage // Etre source de joie / danser selon la loi / qui relie la matière / au secret du mystère // Aller le cœur en fête / portée de rêve en tête / ancrer sur les sommets / le premier mois de paix//. Extrait de "Ma marche 2000 kilomètres pour cultiver la paix" (Poème n°1 sur 12 "Etre de paix"). Marie ROBERT, Artiste, Paris-Chamonix (France) Peace will bring love and joy / Peace will be a happy child's toy / Peace will bring the freedom they want / The life they need, the gift they want. / Peace is a symbol of togetherness / Peace will bring them happiness. / With peace around there will be no why. / Peace will let laughter fill the air / Peace will send softness everywhere. / So let's all wait for the day / When peace will be on its way. Faiza MAHMOOD, 17 years old (Pakistan) Pour pouvoir vivre en paix, il y a lieu d'écrire la plus longue phrase qui comporte les meilleures expressions de la liberté afin que l'on puisse naître, s'identifier, bercer, jouer, courir, tomber, souffrir, pleurer, se traiter, guérir, s'adapter, régénérer, rire, grandir, dormir, rêver, se lever, respirer, transpirer, se laver, s'habiller, déjeuner, sortir, bouger, marcher, monter, descendre, se déplacer, saluer, orienter, conduire, réfléchir, espérer, travailler, lire, écrire, enregistrer, parler, discuter, raconter, s'informer, former, transformer, voir, entendre, sentir, toucher, écouter, aspirer, inspirer, labourer, semer, planter, cultiver, cueuillir, récolter, mener, porter, se contrôler, s'accrocher, s'ateler, changer, penser, chercher, rechercher, trouver, causer, produire, combattre, exprimer, voter, rétablir, régner, estimer, poser, imposer, aimer, chanter, réjouir, danser, réciter, composer, marier, se marier, éduquer, publier, acheter, vendre, marchander, calculer, compter, gagner, s'enrichir, s'associer, participer, accueillir, honorer, savoir, connaître, s'estimer, pratiquer, voyager, émigrer, nager, sauter, se baigner, se rassasier, visionner, dessiner, gravir, peindre, lutter, libérer, allumer, parrier, prouver, èviter, pisser, péter, critiquer, manifester, protester, s'énerver, s'opposer, s'accalmer, pardonner, bénir, regretter, prier, se confesser, caresser, baiser, hésiter, contacter, concorder, réunir, s'intégrer, sauver, se débrouiller, défendre, se tromper, décrire, minimiser, justifier, publier, approuver, planifier, structurer, restructurer, débuter, finir, fimer, photographier, espérer, primer, recomposer, croire, consommer, surgir, oublier, fluter, traiter, s'instruire, additionner, admettre, demander, porter, insuffler, mander, couvrir, remettre, économiser, rassembler, rapprocher, s'alimenter, s'étendre, se reposer, vieillir et mourir en paix. Med ADJIMI, Setif (Algérie) MINISTERE DE LA PAIX. Le vocabulaire a sa raison d'être qui oriente le corps et les visées des cœurs / Dans la plupart des pays, pour protéger les frontières ou revendiquer des aires, le Ministre délégué s'estime très honoré d'une appelation affirmée : "Ministre des armèes, Ministre de la défense, parfois Ministre de la guerre…..!!" / A ces titres de pouvoir, nous revendiquons l'action d'un Ministère de la paix / Tel un vibrato, une pensée fugitive, l'obscurité d'un camaïeu / Au mépris des arrogances, toute déambulation dans les longues vallées, sur les mers turquoises, prés des pics argentés, garante de la vie, ton armée est ce cri / La paix n'a pas de prix, Ministère de la survie, sauvegarde des esprits, testament du cosmos appelé de nos vœux. Guy CREQUIE, Auteur, Vénissieux (France) S'il vous plait, destinez nous la paix…// La paix est si pure/ avec ses couleurs de l'azur/ la colombe est une nature/ qui ne souffre pas la torture// C'est cette bataille des terres/ qui nous fait tomber par terre./ Il faut s'en libérer/ nous, pauvres prisonniers.// Que tous les matins/ règne enfin le bien./ Cessons de nous entretuer/ apprenons à nous pardonner.// Tendons notre main/ pour se connaître enfin,/ et laissons approcher/ tous ceux qui veulent aimer. Elèves de Carrières sous Poissy (France) Il n'est pas de plus belle, de plus noble, de plus exaltante aventure que celle de la paix et de la solidarité. Ouvrons nos coeurs au coeur du monde. Soyons, ensemble, des millions d'êtres humains à répondre à l'appel des Nations Unies, de l'UNESCO, des Prix Nobel de la paix. Signez avec moi le Manifeste 2000 par internet. Un Manifeste pour la paix et la solidarité afin que naisse un monde meilleur pour tous. J'espère et je compte en chacun de vous. Merci pour la vie. Jean ILLEL, Artiste et poète pour la Paix (France) Message aux JEUNES en tant que Messagère du Manifeste 2000 : ANCREZ votre courage qui inspire la paix au cœur de la vie. La paix est une CREATION qui demande une incarnation pour devenir une réalité. CROYEZ en la paix, donnez-lui votre visage, votre vitalité, votre créativité. LAISSEZ SOURDRE sa source du plus profond de votre existence car elle est l'expression de la DIGNITE et du VRAI PROGRES de la conscience humaine. MARCHEZ avec elle, avec mon soutien et avec celui des millions de femmes, de mères de la MARCHE MONDIALE qui dans 155 pays, cette année, unissent leurs voix et leurs actions contre les violences et les misères. AYEZ CONFIANCE, avancez, l'avenir de la paix est en vous. Marie ROBERT, Artiste, Paris (France) My faith in people, better society and better tomorrow has returned to me. Meeting so many strangers – that are now my friends -, and listening some things that I never thought I will need , I feel filled with joy, happiness and knowledge. The Latin people have said: “in spe” which means “hope”, so I hope we will gather together again and we will use the chance to make our “better tomorrow”. “If you lose the most precious thing, you haven’t lost anything. But if you lose your hope, you have lost everything” –Thought of seven wise men. Dajana OGNJANOSKA, student, (Republic of Macedonia) - Youth Reconciliation Seminar All people especially young are close to each other in their thoughts, style of life, and even their emotional problems. We all have a common vision of future of the Balkan region. Young people are those that should build the burned bridges of friendship, cooperation, and tolerance. After meeting the people of the Balkans I found that there are two faces of the Balkans – one of the mass media reportage that is full of conflicts and problems, and another of communication and friendship of ordinary young people. I think that the second face of the Balkans in the future. Denitsa PRODONOVA, student, (Bulgaria) - Balkan Youth Reconciliation Seminar Life is too short to be wasted on wars and disputes – let us shift it to love and friendship… Let this be a wish, my personal favour to the world – let there be such seminars (Balkan Youth Reconciliation Seminar) in the future because there is a long queue of people behind me that need the same spiritual nourishment – the exact one that his seminar gave me… Bertan SELIM, student, (Republic of Macedonia) - Balkan Youth Reconciliation Seminar The youngsters today have strong demand to learn more about other nations, cultures, habits, to be part of theatre and dance workshops, to feel the atmosphere of teamwork while challenging their preconceived notions of space and relationship. Because this gives students who have been confronted to violence an opportunity to reconsider their position in society, to realise that each and everyone of them is able to contribute to peace and tolerance, to advance mutual understanding, cooperation and good will. Nina TODOROVA, student, (Bulgaria) - Balkan Youth Reconciliation Seminar At the international Peace Summer School - which has an official Culture of Peace project status -, we, 60 young adults from the Balkans, Northern Ireland, Israel, Palestine, South Africa as well as the Nordic Countries have worked on learning more about conflict resolution. We have had the opportunity to share our experiences with each other, learn new methods, forge new friendships and enhance our understanding both of the situation of our regions, as well as of young people in other conflict areas. Based on our experience from the international Peace Summer School and on our knowledge about UNESCO Culture of Peace project, the IYCP and the International Decade, we would like to recommend to UNESCO that the organization, in the follow-up of the IYCP does the following: support the creation of an international peace museum that will be self-supporting, donation of peace artifacts will provide the content and funds raised may be used to assist other peace projects; encourage and support young women to participate in democratic policy making and processes; support projects and programs dealing with culture of peace in rural areas; raise public awareness about UNESCO (and a culture of peace) to young people in such ways as adopting a shorter version of declarations of relevance to youth (e.g. Culture of Peace declaration and Programme of Action) which is user friendly. 60 youth leaders from around the world, International Peace Summer School (Norway) I feel that it is the duty of every responsible human being to repair the damage that we as a society have created in our world for generations! (…) Let us respect the fragility and allow nature to heal the wounds we have inflicted before we destroy ourselves! Let us all live in Wealth, Health, Harmony, Happiness & Peace for 2000 years and beyond!. So on behalf of all Australians I find it an honor to serve with such noble people in such important cause as Manifesto 2000! Richard A FLETCHER, (Australia) Sometimes the problems of the world seem insurmontable but it is the collective energy of individuals that lead to a greater chance. Never underestimate the importance of a personal initiative towards peace. Sister PRATIBA, Cape Town (South Africa) "Messages d'enfants collectés pour le Manifeste 2000": "Je m'engage à être aimable avec tous ceux qui sont autour de moi", "Pouvoir Connaître et Savoir être aimable avec assez de monde pas spécialement dans la France mais dans plusieurs pays dans le monde", "défendre les plus petits que soi", "Je voudrais jouer avec mon frère sans me bagarer", "ne plus je t'ai de papier" Enfants de 2 à 14 ans, ( France) La paix est comme un océan limpide./ Sa culture sont des petites gouttes d'eaux/ qui se mettent à bouger, à s' agiter/ à donner de leur temps./ Et n' oublions pas que ces gouttes d' eau / partent de l' océan, vont vers les nuages/ se transforment en pluie et retrouvent les oceans grâce aux rivières./ C'est pourquoi elles sont bien vivantes et sont réellement utiles/ En plus n' oublions pas que ce sont elles qui transforment la carcasse de/ voiture rouille en miettes et le bloc de pierre en petits caillous./ Alors Transformons nous en petites gouttes d' eaux qui attaquent la misère/ l' exclusion et la discrimination. / les petites gouttes peuvent rendre l'ocean limpide. Sébastien PETIOT, Messager du Manifeste 2000 (France) (…) avec mes étudiants nous sommes en train de terminer la rédaction d'un essai multimédia (cd-rom) sur la dette des Pays Tiers et sur les posssibilités d'aider les nations du Sud. Nous dedierons notre cd-rom au MANIFESTE 2000 POUR LA CULTURE DE LA PAIX lancé par l'UNESCO. Je vous informe que nous le présenterons à Reggio Emilia;Bologna et Castelnuovo Monti(region emilia romagna) par un séminaire qui aura lieu du 31 mai au 2 juin 2000. Le séminaire sera transmis par internet par le site Web de la Cité Université Carlo Cattaneo de Reggio Emilia. Mes étudiants m'ont demandé de vous aider en signant le Manifeste 2000. Antonio TORRENZANO, Bologna (Italie) As young people of Azerbaijan we are ready to participate and join all actions of UNESCO, like Manifesto 2000 , we are also preparing to issue a leaflet of Manifesto 2000 in Azerbaijanian language in order to attract all people here. Mahir SAFARLI, (Azerbaijan Republic) I have already started to act as a messenger of the Manifesto for the culture of peace among my colleagues within the cultural administration of my home town. (…) I translated the text in Finnish. So it has been available for public occasionally at the art museum of Rovaniemi. With my best wishes. Esa PELTONEN, Arctic Circle (Finland) I have not only signed the Manifesto but in fact I have proposed ( and it has been unanimously approved) that the Manifesto will be the preamble to our constitution, more over we are also planning a Culture of Peace day with hundreds of children from diverse cultural backgrounds to host a "What kind of world would you like to live in" day (…) Enrico del CASTEL, Ottawa (Canada) Ever since I was the Minister of Education, UNESCO has called my attention due to the excellent work it has been conducting in Brazil, especially in the last few years. I emphasize UNESCO's exceptionnal work for the Culture of Peace. If it is in men's and women's mind that wars were born, it is also in their minds that we should cultivate ideas of peace. This important statement can be found in UNESCO's Consititution and it is of utmost importance in Brazil, where violence has been growing at an astonishing speed. UNESCO's work in advertising a culture of peace, supported by a solid line of research on youth, violence and its aspirations, has been of fundamental help. Some aspects worth mentioning which emaphazise UNESCO's work in Brazil are, for example, pinpointing youth's worries and the causes of violence and highlighting successful experiences against violence, in order to stimulate the implementation of public policies directed towards children and youth. I refer now to the work conducted on the issue of violence in the media and in the Ethics Forum on the Internet. Both include, among their objectives calling our attention to the importance of using means of communication in a healthy manner. I propose that we follow and support UNESCO's work in our country, both through UNESCO's Parliamentary Friends, as well as by participating in activities related to education, science, culture, environment, and human rights, themes which are also part of the Congress' everyday life. Mr Jorge BORNHAUSER, former Minister of Education of Brazil Poème d'un Messager du Manifeste 2000: //DIALOGUE ENTRE LES CIVILISATIONS// Des cinq continents variés/…/La parole aisée entre nations n'est pas toujours réalité : Oblitérer avec patience et tact les différences mal appréhendées/ Gagner la confiance par l'écoute et le respect mutuel/ Unir les volontés pour de nobles desseins/ Être riche de complémentarité révélant notre universalité/…/ En finir avec : Les conflits armés/ La faim/ Les atteintes aux droits de l'homme/ Les agressions contre l'environnement/ L'absence d'accueil pour les réfugiés/ La dette des pays en développement/…/Les Etats membres de l'ONU sont appelés à développer le parlement de l'humanité/…/Peuples des Nations Unies/ Rayonne la perle dorée/Pénétre l'éclat de la sphère/…/ Le dialogue entre les civilisations/ A nous d'en faire l'actualité/D'accomplir notre destinée… Guy CREQUIE, Lyon (France) During a children's Peace Day camp :" Power comes not just from physical force but also from within and should be used to protect rather than harm" Sensei Mariel MAKAPAWA, Davao city (Philippines) The Crew of "Mir", the International Orbital Complex, has appealed to Presidents, Governments, Parliaments and all the people of goodwill across the world to join the Manifesto 2000 for the Culture of Peace and Non-violence and the International Action "For a century without wars". This message on behalf of Russian NGOs participating in the global movement for a Culture of Peace, was delivered soon after the 55th Anniversary of the Great Victory over Nazism in World WAR II. The crew of "MIR" ( Russia) En tant que signataire du Manifeste 2000 : //LES VŒUX LE PLUS CHER// Etoile du jour/ Jetée par la fenêtre/ Femme courageuse/ Courage des fleurs,/ jetée par la porte/ L'homme de toutes les couleurs/ oublié/ Oublié par le temps…temps de touttes les terres,/ Déformés par les hommes. /Pigeon de toutes les Libertés, / jeté…/ Jeté par sa plume/Le blanc de l'encre/ taché…!/ taché par les larmes d'un enfant/ De cet enfant qui se trouve…/ juste derrière vous/ Etoile du jour / Etoile du nuit/ Protège?/ Protège cet enfant ! Lynda KOUDACHE, Freha (Algeria) Le siècle des assasins/ On se souviendra de toi/ siècle du crime. De tes aveuglements/ de ta haine/ O peuple des humains/ mon peuple !/ On a brisé ton corps/ souillé ton âme./ Poème mon compagnon/ mêle ta voix au chant douloureux/ du poète solitaire./ Ils ont crevé les yeux/ à l'innocent/ couvert de fumée/ de cendres/ la terre et le ciel/ Ils ont assassiné la vie/ Et toi, toi siècle/ qui vient/ libére l'espérance./ Habille toi de lumière./ Ecris sur les portes / Paix, La Paix./ Accorde une manne/ d'amour/ à toute bouche./ Et toi, toi siècle/ qui vient/ enseigne nous/ la fraternité./ Pose en nos cœurs/ des visions nouvelles/ que mon peuple/ se réjouisse./ Ecoutez cieux/ Ecoutez terre/ le temps d'aimer/ est venu./ Dernier poème d'un siècle passé avec le souhait que le Manifeste 2000 soit mon plus haut chant Jean ILEL, Poète et Artiste pour l'UNESCO, Paris (France) En tant que signataire du Manifeste 2000 : "Défendre le droit au développement personnel comme condition préalable au respect de la vie et au développement de la communauté à laquelle j'appartiens et pour laquelle je travaille." Angela COMMISSO, Siderno, Calabre (Italie) Declaration on the Rights and Responsibilities of the Global Citizen. ///EndPiece /// Once upon a time, you were told: "Don't lie to yourself and don't lie to others","Believe in yourself otherwise no one else will", "Don't do to others what you wouldn't want others to do to you", Behind these words lies a deeper meaning. The interdependency of personal, community and universal values means that the success of the community depends upon a proactive individual. Awareness of self comes before awareness of one's surrounding, and therefore each individual must realise the potential impact of their actions upon the environment and accept the responsibilities that this implies. One has the right and the duty to stand up for one's beliefs while recognising the need to respect others and to reach compromise. "One person's freedom ends where another's begins." Each individual must strive for security and thus acquire a level of self-confidence to express empathy and to demonstrate solidarity. To achieve this level of unity, one must manifest motivation, educate future generations and impart trust, integrity, honesty and social justice. This will inspire the world of tomorrow to take action and to give a part of one's self. "I wondered why somebody didn't do something for Peace .…/ then, I realised that I am somebody." extracts from the declaration of the Global Citizenship, International School of Geneva (Suisse) International School of Geneva (Switzerland) En tant que signataire du Manifeste 2000 : "L'autre jour, j'ai demandé à ma fille, agée de trois ans, que signifiait la paix pour elle. J'ai trouvé sa réponse tellement significative que je me permets de la partager. La voici: ""La PAIX...Oui, Alexandre m'a fait tomber dans la piscine et mon copain Louis m'a sauvé..."" Fouzia FOUZIA, Paris (France) Message as signatory of the Manifesto 2000 : "Pursue justice and equity for all and, through my daily actions, to espouse the cause of tolerance and peace. May the 21st century be one in which no wars exist. This is not an impossible dream, even here in the Middle East. If humankind has a mind for peace, then peace will prevail." Martin, HADLOW, Amman (Jordanie) Message as signatory of the Manifesto 2000 : "...to cultivate harmony in all things, physical, mental or spiritual, to cultivate a love of beauty and of nature, and to teach these values to those who care to listen, especially children and young people" Ira GARDNER-SMITH, Ville-la-Grand ( France) En tant que signataire du Manifeste 2000 : "Viser constamment à davantage d'harmonie avec les autres, avec la nature, dans les moindres gestes de la vie quotidienne comme pour les grands choix de la vie" Françoise DONNAY, Jakarta ( Indonesie) En tant que signataire du Manifeste 2000 : "Essayer d'accueillir l'autre comme un membre de sa propre famille" Lydie PERDEREAU, Meudon (France) 16 September 2001 Palestine Media Center - PMC for more information Palestinian intellectuals have expressed their unequivocal condemnation of Tuesday's terrorist attacks against various cities in the United States. To assert their solidarity with the American People, they have signed a memorandum condemning the 11 September terrorist attack. Below is a transcript of the memorandum: There can be no name to the catastrophe that has hit Washington and New York City, except that of the madness of terrorism. This terrorism is neither a black science fiction movie nor is it the Day of Reckoning. It is terrorism that is country-less, colorless, and creed-less, no matter how much it might have enlisted the names of gods and deities and the agonies of man in order to justify the crime. There is no cause, not even a just cause that can make the killing of innocent civilians a legitimate act, no matter how long the list of accusations and the register of grievances. Terror does not pave the way for justice, but it is the shortest path to hell. We deplore this horrendous crime and condemn its planners and perpetrators with all the terms of denunciation and condemnation in the lexicon. Not only because this is a moral duty but as an expression of our commitment to our humanity and our faith that human values do not differentiate between one man and another. Our sympathy with the victims and their families and with the American people in these trying times is but an expression of our deep commitment to the oneness of human destiny. For a victim is a victim, and terrorism is terrorism, here and there, it knows no boundaries nor nationalities and does not lack the eloquence of crime. Nothing, nothing can justify this terrorism that kneads human flesh with iron cement and dust, and nothing can justify dividing the world into two camps that can never meet: one of absolute good and another of absolute evil; for civilization is the end result of what world societies have contributed towards the cultural heritage of the globe accumulating and interacting to reach the elevation and nobility of man. From this premise, the insistence of modern-day orientalism on indicating that terrorism resides in the very nature of Arab and Islamic cultures, does not contribute to the diagnosis of the enigma and thus solving it, in as much as it increases its complexity and puts it on the edge of a racist stance. Therefore, the American search to find reasons for the animosity shown to their politics (and not to the American people and its popular culture) should move away from the concept of the "conflict of cultures", and from the need to identify an ever-present enemy, to test "western supremacy". It should move away to a political arena, where the United States can meditate on the sincerity of its foreign policy and its success in the Middle East, where the great American values of freedom, democracy and human rights, have stopped their function in the Palestinians context, while at the same time freeing the Israeli occupation from answering to international law, and providing the Israeli behavior, which often reaches the scope of "state terrorism", with what it needs of justifications and rationalization. We know that the American wound is deep and we know that this tragic moment is a moment for solidarity and the sharing of pain, we also know that the horizons of the intellect can traverse the landscape of devastation. Terrorism has no location or boundaries, it does not reside in geography of its own, its homeland is disillusionment and despair. The best weapon to eradicate terrorism from the soul lies in the solidarity of the international world, in respecting the right of the people of the globe, or the global village, to live in harmony and in reducing the ever increasing gap between north and south, and the best and most effective way to defend freedom is that of realizing fully the meaning of justice. Security measures alone are not enough, for terrorism carries within its folds a multiplicity of nationalities and does not recognize boundaries. The world cannot be divided into two societies, one for the rebels and the other for the officers of the law. But then, nothing, nothing justifies Terrorism La Porte Parole - Office of the Spokeswoman