OMNI
CELEBRATES
UN INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE, Friday, September 21, 2018, NEWSLETTER #7.
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by Dick Bennett for a Culture of Peace, Justice, and Ecology.
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Contents
UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL DAY
OF PEACE FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 21, 2018
Background, Events, Resources
ORIGIN OF UN DAY OF PEACE
UN Resolution Designating September 21, 2018
World Council of Churches Resolution
ANTI-WAR ACTIONS FOR PEACE TODAY
Prevent War with North Korea: Veterans for
Peace
End War in Afghanistan: Roots Action
INTERNATIONAL PEACE PLACES
Yoko Ono’s Lennon’s Lights in Iceland
Dr. Ali’s book, Peace Parks: Conservation and Conflict
Resolution (MIT Press, September, 2007),
Resolution (MIT Press, September, 2007),
TWO BOOKS ON 20th
CENTURY PEACEMAKERS
Beller and Chase, Great Peacemakers from Around the World
DeBenedetti, Peace Heroes in 20th Century America
INDIVIDUAL PEACEMAKERS
Lanza del Vasto
Salem Ali
Mairead Maguire
International Day of Peace 21
September - the United Nations, Google Search 9-21-18 www.un.org/en/events/peaceday/
Each year the International Day of Peace is observed
around the world on 21
... 2018 Theme: “The Right to Peace - The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights ...
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UNIFIL
Commemorates International Day of Peace | UN ...
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International
Peace Day celebration at UNOCI (United ...
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Events.
On 21 September 2018, from 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., the ...
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Each
year the International Day of Peace is observed around the ...
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https://internationaldayofpeace.org/
TOGETHER: A global campaign to change
perceptions and attitudes towards refugees and migrants ...2018 Peace Day Theme: ...
Established in 1981 by unanimous United Nations resolution, Peace Dayprovides a globally shared date for ...
Top
stories
History
about September 21 as a Global Peace Day
History about September 21 as a
Global Peace Day
September
21 is lifted up as a day when communities are called to turn away from
participation in violence and toward what they can do for peace. Each
year on September 21, the United Nations’ International Day of Peace takes place
in parallel with the World Council of Churches’ International Day of Prayer for
Peace.
The United Nations
International Day of Peace
In 1981
the United Nations General Assembly passed resolution 36/67 declaring an
International Day of Peace. In 2001, the United Nations General Assembly
adopted a new resolution 55/282 declaring 21 September of each year as the
International Day of Peace. The intention of the resolution is to have the
entire world observe a day of peace and nonviolence. September 21 is held
as a day on which armed conflict is meant to be stilled, a day for combatants
to observe ceasefires, a day on which all people are invited to commit or
reaffirm their commitment to non-violence and the peaceful resolution of
disputes.
Read
more on the International Day of Peace: International Day of Peace
The
World Council of Churches’ International Day of Prayer for Peace
Since 2004, the World Council of Churches has joined the United
Nations in marking September 21 as a day of prayer for peace, the International
Day of Prayer for Peace.
In their meeting on May 18, 2004, United Nations Secretary
General Kofi Annan and World Council of Churches General Secretary Rev. Dr.
Samuel Kobia. Expressing appreciation that the UN General Assembly has
designated 21 September as an International Day of Peace, Kobia shared with
Annan his intention to propose to the WCC governing bodies that they invite
member churches to mark that day with special prayer services. “As a day of
prayer for peace, the invitation could also reach people of other faiths,”
Kobia stressed. Annan warmly welcomed the proposal, saying that it responds to
his hope that the International Day of Peace will encourage people in different
contexts to reflect together on what they can do for peace.
Prevent War with N. Korea
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Veterans for Peace Weekly e-News, 9-20-18
We know that the UN has
presented challenges towards achieving a JUST peace. However, as veterans we
know that peace is not achieved in the moments before a conflict, and the
price of "peace" after war are countless lives lost, survivors
scarred, civil society in tatters and resources wasted. A JUST peace is found
by building communities that meet human needs. We are all too familiar that
injustices felt through poverty, racial inequality, religious bigotry,
collapsing inner cities and infrastructures, lack of universal health care,
climate change and quality education contribute to war and insecurity.
If we want to abolish
war we must help our fellow citizens here at home see the same connections. We need to understand that dropping more
bombs, killing innocent civilians and resorting to military solutions is
robbing the world's children of health care, education and meaningful jobs to
build a safer and more secure future. We believe that as people see and
understand this connection, they will stand up with us against war. We can
then work together to put in place the building blocks necessary to build a
sustainable and peaceful future.
To that end, we call
upon our members, fellow veterans, supporters and greater communities to move
beyond talk of ending conflict, and instead adopt and implement practices that build peace at home and
abroad.
Read our entire statement and check out our action page
Great article detailing
the work of the Korea Peace Network, a coalition that Veterans For Peace is a
member.
"Amid the clamor
and saber-rattling, however, a steady, persistent grassroots peace movement
is working hard to counter the negativity. By influencing stakeholders b ehind
the scenes, building new coalitions and reframing the narrative to promote
negotiation as a difficult but worthwhile process, this movement has risen
above [Trump’s threat of] “fire and fury” to chart the way toward lasting
peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Among the most important
developments for the peace movement in the last year is the formation of broad coalitions. According to
international scholar-activist Simone Chun, 2018 marked “the first time we
saw a formidable, sustaining coalition with major American peace activists and
the Korean activist communities.”
These coalitions have
allowed actors to coordinate strategically in pushing for clear goals, like a formal
declaration ending the Korean War and sustained diplomacy on a path to peace.
These coalitions have also been key in elevating a range of voices,
particularly those of Koreans, women and people of color, who have often been
marginalized from the mainstream policy debates in Washington D.C."
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New Peace In Our Times
Available for Order
A note from the PIOT team:
We’re very excited about
the fall issue of Peace in Our Times. Two great lead stories that you can see
on the front page – one by Vietnam veteran and wilderness advocate Doug Peacock
on the de-listing of grizzlies from the Endangered Species Act and what that
means not only for the grizzles, but also for the threats to our land and
water. In ‘Why I’m going to Ireland ...’ David Swanson writes brilliantly about
the importance of the upcoming global conference in Dublin against U.S./NATO
military bases. This issue is filled with compelling, well-written articles and
dramatic pictures about the urgent state of affairs in the United States and
the world.
Articles include
· Chris Wright on the wave
of young socialists winning Democratic primaries
· Jane Regan on immigration
and its root causes
· Howard Machtinger on why
combatting white privilege is in everyone's interest
· Col. Ann Wright on the
Israeli attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla
· Daniel Borgstrom on why no
one, including John McCain, should be called a war hero
· Kathie Ragsdale on a
federal suit challenging U.S. corruption in Iraq
Plus pieces by Alice
Kurima Newberry, Gideon Levy, Marjorie Cohn, Dave Zirin, Denny Riley, Brittany
Ramos DeBarros, Miko Peled, Ellen Barfield, and others.
To be sure you don’t miss
out on this very important issue please place your order before September 21.
Those of you with annual subscriptions please check to see that it has not run
out.
END THE
WAR IN AFGHANISTAN
This Day
of Peace let's end a war
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INTERNATIONAL PEACE
PLACES
YOKO ONO’S “IMAGINE
PEACE” TOWER
The annual
lighting of IMAGINE PEACE TOWER will take place in the evening at 8pm local
time on the island of Viðey in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Yoko Ono
invites people all over the world to join her in spirit when she lights IMAGINE
PEACE TOWER in honour of all the activists of the world; past, present and
future.
She asks
everyone to join together and let the power of light become a collective
expression of the desire for peace and harmony on the planet.
https://visitreykjavik.is/yoko-ono-will-pay-her-annual-visit-iceland-october-illuminate...
Yoko will be paying her
annual visit to Iceland this October, to signal the illumination of Imagine Peace Tower in memory of John
Lennon on Monday 9th October ...
DR. SALIM ALI, Peace Parks:
Conservation and Conflict Resolution
(MIT Press, September, 2007).
Saleem
H. Ali, Julia Marton-LaFevre
Peace Parks:
Conservation and Conflict Resolution
Publication
Date: August 24, 2007 | Series: Global Environmental Accord: Strategies for
Sustainability and Institutional Innovation
Although the
2004 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to a Kenyan environmentalist, few have
considered whether environmental
conservation can contribute to peace-building in conflict zones. Peace Parks
explores this question, examining the ways in which environmental
cooperation in multijurisdictional conservation areas may help resolve
political and territorial conflicts. Its analyses and case studies of
transboundary peace parks focus on how the sharing of physical space and
management responsibilities can build and sustain peace among countries. The
book examines the roles played by governments, the military, civil society,
scientists, and conservationists, and their effects on both the ecological
management and the potential for peace-building in these areas. Following a
historical and theoretical overview that explores economic, political, and
social theories that support the concept of peace parks and discussion of
bioregional management for science and economic development, the book presents
case studies of existing parks and proposals for future parks. After describing
such real-life examples as the Selous-Niassa Wildlife Corridor in Africa and
the Emerald Triangle conservation zone in Indochina, the book looks to the
future, exploring the peace-building potential of envisioned parks in
security-intensive spots including the U.S.-Mexican border, the demilitarized
zone between North and South Korea, and the Mesopotamian marshlands between
Iraq and Iran. With contributors from a variety of disciplines and diverse
geographic regions, Peace Parks is not only a groundbreaking book in
International Relations but a valuable resource for policy makers and
environmentalists. .Saleem H. Ali is
Associate Professor of Environmental Planning at the Rubenstein School of
Natural Resources at the University of Vermont and holds adjunct faculty
appointments at Brown University and the United Nations mandated University for
Peace.
2
BOOKS ON INTERNATIONAL PEACE LEADERS
Great Peacemakers: True Stories from Around the World
Ken
Beller, Heather Chase. LTS P, 2008.
Book Review By
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat in Spirituality
and Practice.
Conflict, war
and violence are the norm in today's world. But, fortunately, there are also
peacemakers around who offer another path, one that brings meaning and
transformation and hope to a weary planet. Ken Beller and Heather Case spent
five years researching and writing this inspiring and salutary resource, which
presents the true stories of 20 peacemakers. The book is organized into five
sections:
Choosing
Nonviolence
• Henry David
Thoreau: Living Deliberately
• Mahatma
Gandhi: Nonviolent Resistance
• Martin Luther
King, Jr.: Daring to Dream
• Anderson Sa:
An Instrument of Change
Living Peace
• Mother
Teresa: Love in Action
• Thich Nhat
Hanh: Being Peace
• Colman
McCarthy: Teaching Peace
• Oscar Arias:
"Us" Refers to All of Humankind
Honoring
Diversity
• Bruno Hussar:
Interfaith Harmony
• Desmond Tutu:
All Belong
• Riane Eisler:
Partnership, Not Domination
• The Dalai
Lama: Universal Compassion
Valuing All
Life
• Henry Salt:
The Creed of Kinship
• Albert
Schweitzer: Reverence for Life
• Astrid
Lindgren: A Voice for the Voiceless
• Jane Goodall:
Realizing Our Humanity
Caring for the
Planet
• Rachel
Carson: The Balance of Nature
• David Suzuki:
Redefining Progress
• Nader
Khalili: Sustainable Community
• Wangari
Maathai: Planting Seeds of Peace
This is an
invaluable resource for youth who need many more models of the different ways
to bring peace into our world of savagery. Each biographies concludes with a
section of quotations from the peacemaker. We highly recommend Great
Peacemakers and hope that it will find its way into religious libraries of all
types.
Beller, Ken and
Heather Chase. Great Peacemakers: True
Stories from Around the World. Rev.
Peace and Change by Stephanie Van Hook (July 2010): “a truly educational and commendable piece
for the shelves of time.”
In the book, Peace Heroes in Twentieth Century America,
the editor, Dr. Charles DeBenedetti,
lauded individuals "of conscience and purpose who decided to act at the
risk of being wrong for what they believed was the greater good in living
peace." These peace heroes were persons of hope who aspired not to power
but to purpose. Borrowing a phrase, Dr. DeBenedetti described them as
progenitors of "the party of humanity," an association of leaders who
would move beyond nationalistic concerns and consider the well-being of the whole
human family. These leaders would "depict and communicate accurately the
nature and gravity of the global crisis, propose possible solutions, promulgate
an inclusive sense of human solidarity, and, most of all, inspire a sense of
hope that humankind might yet prevail."
...For me and
for many others, Charles DeBenedetti was himself a contemporary peace hero. As
a professor of history at the University of Toledo in Ohio and author of three
books, he combined extensive research with dedicated classroom teaching in his effort
to further the cause of peace. His search for grassroots solutions moved him to
help found the Interfaith Justice and Peace Center in Toledo, which continues
to be a powerful influence for good in our area. His passion for peace thrust
him out of the classroom into the world of marches, rallies and protests where
he acted with both courage and intelligence. Throughout his all too brief
academic career, he spoke out against the dangers of nationalism while finding
his own natural home in "the party of humanity." Upon his death, the
amazing outpouring of tributes testified in a graphic way to the sense of hope
that he often inspired in others. Using his own criteria, we can count him
among our local peace heroes....
Excerpted from Spirituality in Action, by Fr. James J.
Bacik (Sheed and Ward, 1997), pp. 195-198.
INDIVIDUAL
PEACE LEADERS PAST AND PRESENT
Lanza del Vasto
From Wikipedia,
the free encyclopedia
Born Giuseppe Giovanni Luigi Enrico Lanza di
Trabia
29 September
1901
San Vito dei Normanni,
Italy
Died January 5, 1981
Elche de la
Sierra, Spain
Occupation Philosopher, poet, artist, and nonviolent
activist.
Lanza del
Vasto, (Giuseppe Giovanni Luigi Enrico Lanza di Trabia), (September 29, 1901 –
January 5, 1981) was a philosopher, poet, artist, catholic and nonviolent
activist.
He was born in
San Vito dei Normanni, Italy and died in Elche de la Sierra, Spain.
A western
disciple of Mohandas K. Gandhi, he worked for inter-religious dialogue,
spiritual renewal, ecological activism and nonviolence.
Meeting Gandhi
In December
1936, Lanza went to India, joining the movement for Indian independence led by
Gandhi. He knew of Gandhi through a book by Romain Rolland. He spent six months
with the Mahatma, then in June 1937, went to the source of the Ganges river in
the Himalayas, a famous pilgrimage site. There he saw a vision who told him
"Go back and found!"
He left then
India and went back to Europe. In 1938, he went to Palestine, then in the midst
of civil war, to Jerusalem and Bethlehem, "between two lines of
tanks".
He came back to
Paris at the time when the Second World War started. He wrote some poetry books
and in 1943 he published the story of his trip to India, Return to the Source,
which became a huge success.
[edit]
Foundation of the Ark
He founded the
Community of the Ark in 1948 which first met a lot of difficulties. In 1954, he
went back to India to participate in nonviolent anti-feudal struggles with
Vinoba Bhave.
In 1962 the
Community of the Ark settled in Haut-Languedoc, in the south of France, at the
Borie Noble, near Lodève, in a deserted village. After numbering over a hundred
members in the 1970s and 1980s, some communities were closed in the 1990s due
to conflicts, ageing population (under thirty members) and a lack of interest in
its work and lifestyle. Since 2000, groups are present in few regions of
France, in Belgium, Spain, Italy, Equator and Canada.[1]
[edit]
Nonviolent struggles
In 1957, during
the Algerian War, del Vasto started with other known people (General de Bollardière,
François Mauriac, Robert Barrat, etc.) a movement of protest against torture.
He fasted for 21 days. In 1958, he demonstrated against the nuclear power plant
in Marcoule, France, which produced plutonium for nuclear weapons.
In 1963, he
fasted for 40 days in Rome during the Second Vatican Council, asking Pope John
XXIII to stand against war - "Pour demander au Pape de prendre position
contre la guerre."
In 1965 he was
at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Argentina, talking about no-violence
during weeks with the students.
In 1972, he
supported the farmers of the Larzac plateau against the extension of a military
base while fasting for 15 days. In 1974 a community of the Ark settled in the
Larzac in a farmhouse bought by the army.
In 1976, he
participated to the demonstrations against the building of the fast breeder
reactor Superphénix at Creys-Malville, Isère (France).
Máiread Maguire, née Máiread Corrigan, also called
(from 1981) Máiread Corrigan Maguire
(born Jan. 27, 1944, Belfast, N.Ire.), Northern Irish peace activist
who, with Betty Williams and Ciaran McKeown, founded the Peace People, a
grassroots movement of both Roman Catholic and Protestant citizens dedicated to
ending the sectarian strife in Northern Ireland. For their work, Maguire and
Williams shared the 1976 Nobel Prize for Peace.
Although
Maguire from a young age earned her living as a secretary, she also was from
her youth a member of the Legion of Mary, a lay Catholic welfare organization,
and through it she became deeply involved in voluntary social work among
children and teenagers in various Catholic neighbourhoods of Belfast. She was
stirred to act against the growing violence in Northern Ireland after
witnessing in August 1976 an incident in which a car being driven by an Irish
Republican Army(IRA) terrorist went out of control when the IRA man was shot by
British troops. The car struck and killed three children of Maguire’s sister.
Williams was also a witness. Within days each woman had publicly denounced the
violence and called for mass opposition to it. Marches of Catholic and
Protestant women, numbering in the thousands, were organized, and shortly
afterward the Peace People was founded based on the conviction that genuine
reconciliation and prevention of future violence were possible, primarily
through the integration of schools, residential areas, and athletic clubs. The
organization published a biweekly paper, Peace by Peace, and provided for
families of prisoners a bus service to and from Belfast’s jails.
Although Williams
broke away from the Peace People in 1980, Maguire remained an active member and
later served as the group’s honorary president. In 2006 Maguire joined Williams
and fellow Nobel Peace Prize winners Shirin Ebadi, Jody Williams, Wangari
Maathai, and Rigoberta Menchú to found the Nobel Women’s Initiative. Maguire
was also active in various Palestinian causes—notably efforts to end the
Israeli government’s blockade of the Gaza Strip—and she was deported from
Israel on several occasions.
Saleem H. Ali
"Ideals
are like the stars, we may never reach them
But like the
mariners of the sea we chart our course by them"
(Carl Schurtz)
Saleem H. Ali
is Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Vermont's Rubenstein
School of Environment and Natural Resources and the founding Director of the
Institute for Environmental Diplomacy and Security at UVM's James Jeffords
Center for Policy Research. Currently he is on leave from UVM and serving as
the Director of the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining at the
University of Queensland, Australia where he is also affiliated with the Rotary
Peace Studies Centre. He is also on the visiting faculty for the United Nations
mandated University for Peace (Costa Rica).Dr. Ali's research focuses on the
causes and consequences of environmental conflicts and how ecological factors
can promote peace. Much of
his empirical research has focused on environmental conflicts in the mineral
sector. His most recent book is titled Treasures
of the Earth: Need, Greed and a Sustainable Future (Yale University Press).
Dr. Ali is also
involved in numerous nonprofit organizations to promote environmental
peace-building and serves on the board
of The DMZ
Forum for Peace and Nature Conservation
and International Peace Park
Expeditions in the United States and on the board of governors for
LEAD-Pakistan. He has also
been involved in promoting environmental education in madrassahs (Islamic
religious schools) and using techniques from environmental planning to study
the rise of these institutions in his ethnic homeland -- Pakistan, leading to a
sole-authored book published in January 2009 by Oxford University Press titled Islam and Education: Conflict and Conformity
in Pakistan's Madrassahs.
Among his
earlier works, is the acclaimed comparative case-based research book Mining, the Environment and Indigenous
Development Conflicts. Volumes where he has served as editor include Earth
Matters: Indigenous Peoples, The Extractive Industries and Corporate Social
Responsibility (edited with Ciaran O'Fairchellaegh) and the widely
acclaimed volume Peace Parks:
Conservation and Conflict Resolution
(MIT Press, September, 2007), which has received cover endorsements from
environmental scientists E.O. Wilson, George Schaller and UNEP executive director Achim Steiner, and a
foreword by IUCN Director General Julia Marton-Lefevre.
The World
Economic Forum chose him as a "Young Global Leader" in 2011. He has
also been selected by the National Geographic Society as an "emerging
explorer" and was profiled in "Forbes magazine" in September,
2009 as "The Alchemist."
Dr. Ali is a
member of the World Commission on
Protected Areas and the IUCN Taskforce on Transboundary Conservation.
Some of his
current research on environmental health perception in mining areas and social
responsibility in the mining sector is supported by the Tiffany &Co.
Foundation . The latest Tiffany-funded project pertains to the Sustainability
of Pearl Farming in small-island states.
Prior to
embarking on an academic career, Dr. Ali worked as an environmental health and
safety professional at General Electric
(based at GE headquarters in Fairfield, CT, and at silicone resin
manufacturing sites in New York). He has served as a consultant for the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Health
Canada as an Associate at the Boston-based consulting firm Industrial Economics
Inc. Pro bono projects include a mining impact prospectus for the Crowe Tribe
of Montana and research assistance to
Cultural Survival (an indigenous
rights NGO).
He is also a
professional mediator and has conducted workshops on consensus-building for
private and public interests, as well as peer review of research publications
for the World Bank, the International Institute for Sustainable Development,
The Woodrow Wilson Center, the Journal of Environmental Management, the Journal
of Environmental Planning and Management, the Natural Resources Forum and Yale
University Press.
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