No. 27
2017.07
Monthly Newsletter of Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light
HWPL NEWS
˙ The Emergence and Meaning of ‘Governance’
˙ The Legislate Peace Campaign Around the World
˙ The HWPL Myanmar Religious Peace Camp
˙ UN Endorsed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons ˙ Everyone has the Ability and the Responsibility to Change the World for the Better ˙ Companion of HWPL: Ivo Josipović
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light
The Emergence and Meaning of ‘Governance’ Goals 16 & 17, the last two goals of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), are to ensure ‘Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions’ and ‘Partnerships for the Goals’. To establish sustainable development, it is necessary to build a responsible political and legal system at a national level. However, at an international level, cooperation and partnership among various stakeholders to affirm their commitment and realize their goals are also needed. In the United Nations' discourse on sustainable development, this cooperation is called ‘Good Governance’. Academic circles are also now more accepting of the paradigm of Governance as it follows along with the changes of the times. Governance discourse is spreading from traditional States to autonomous regions, and various systems and policy experiments are currently being promoted. Governance is emerging as a new paradigm that goes beyond technical and instrumental changes to the extent that governmental institutions need to cooperate with civil society actors.
Expanding Governance for Peace through Global Governance There are many cases of promoting governance for the peaceful resolution of wars and conflicts and, among those instances, the achievements of peace parks for mitigating armed conflicts and conserving border areas are particularly noteworthy. Including the German Grünes Band, the peace parks along the borders of Ecuador-Peru, Finland-Russia, and South Africa-Zimbabwe-Mozambique (Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park) are good examples of successful cases. Even Nelson Mandela, a symbol of South Africa's democratization as well as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, strongly advocated for the establishment of Peace Parks. In particular, Grünes Band, which was founded by NGOs led by the Bayerin Office (BN) of the German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) on December 9th, a month after the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, is a key historic example of the value of peace parks. At that time, the East and West Germany border areas were the most heavily armed and were at the forefront of the Iron Curtain division of the Cold War between the East and West.
©Metilsteiner
In the early days following the reunification, there was a high risk of damage due to the lack of awareness of the ecological value of Grünes Band as well as the faulty, unreasonable system. However, with NGOs leading the way, the formation of the conservation system in Grünes Band and improved policy development were advanced. After the reunification, BUND and other NGOs related to environmental protection quickly launched the Grünes Band conservation project even in the absence of government interest in the ecological and historical value of the border area.
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The Emergence and Meaning of ‘Governance’ It can be seen from that time that governments and civil society actors worked together for peaceful achievements through ‘Governance’ in order to preserve and utilize conservation as a national imperative to establish an ecological network and sustainable regional development resources beginning from the early 2000s. The concept, as well as the conservation activities, of the German Grünes Band expanded to the entire trench of the former Iron Curtain, thus leading to the opening of the European Green Belt cooperation project in 2004.
Establishment of Mindanao Peace Monument & Peace Day through the Cooperation of the Philippines Government Mindanao Island, Philippines, which had suffered from a bloody 40-year conflict, encountered the acknowledgement of a Peace Agreement, which was led by the Governor of Maguindanao, religious leaders, and youth groups, including an NGO, to cease all armed conflicts and bring about peaceful coexistence on the island in January 2014. In May 2015, the Peace Monument was built in a local park to convey the value and meaning of the Peace Agreement to the citizens. In addition, Governor Esmael Mangudadatu established the peace monument on that month of May and appointed January 24th of each year as "Peace Day" and to also commemorate the Mindanao Peace Agreement Day initiated by HWPL. This case in which people in politics, civic groups, faith-based organizations, and young people united to create a culture of peace has developed into an exemplary example of Good Governance.
HWPL is an NGO that establishes memorial days, monuments and parks, and spreads a culture of peace through building museums and exhibitions, all with the theme of peace, in various cities and countries, such as New York, Vermont and Los Angeles in America, Ecuador, El Salvador, South Africa, China, India and many others. It has also been developing the institutionalization of the propagation of the culture of peace along with governmental officials and representatives worldwide. HWPL will now focus on establishing 'Collaborative Governance' as the central agenda of the 3rd Annual Commemoration of the September 18th World Alliance of Religions' Peace (WARP) Summit and will continue to promote Government-Civil Society cooperation through peace education, interfaith harmony, and establishing a press network for peace to provide a platform for policy and institutional development.
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Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light
Traveling Across
Five Oceans and Six Continents The Legislate Peace Campaign Around the World
United Kingdom
Belarus Ukraine
Lebanon Iraq Morocco Palestine
India
Beijing, China Seoul, Korea Thailand
Philippines
South Sudan
South Africa
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Australia
Washington, D.C. Los Angeles El Salvador
New Zealand
Los Angeles JULY 2017 HWPL NEWS 5
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light
Insight into the Legislate Peace Campaign Delhi, India "When individual, social, and international peace activities are working together as an organism, the world can achieve peace truly. I thought that the DPCW, an international work of HWPL should be introduced to more and more people. If each article can be applied and legally-binding, world peace can be realized. In addition, the students asked many questions about the values of peace and various peace movements to the seniors who have already been working for peace in India." Dr. Yuthika Mishra Professor in Vivekananda College and Vice president of Ujjawal Women's Association (UWA)
Sydney, Australia "As the HWPL Ambassador in Australia, I believe that we as global multicultural citizens don't really have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of CHANGE, but small actions like the IPYG Peace Walk relay can act to collect from a single DPCW legislation campaign signature fastly-multiplied by millions of people to transform this world by the Cessation of War!
Ms. Marilie Bomediano Radio Producer&Broadcaster of Radio Rizal 100.9 FM 2BACR
Here in Sydney the IPYG young generation has mightily orchestrated the walk with fun-games and open talks and they shouted "WE WANT PEACE" along Belmore Park & walkways with placards & face-painted multicultural spirits walking around Sydney CBD in chilly winter. "Article 8 Foster Religious Freedom, Article 9 Promote Peaceful Coexistence amongst religious & ethnic groups and Article 10 Spread A Culture of Peace" of the DPCW can be heard globally...so we must always actively advocate peace in walks, peace forums and dialogues of faith!"
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Legislate Peace Campaign 2017 at A Glance
Period Participants
6 months ( January ~ June 2017 ) 69,789 people from 178 events across 52 countries • 3 countries from CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) • 4 countries from America
Number of Participating Countries
• 17 countries from Asia • 14 countries from Africa • 2 countries from Oceania • 8 countries from Europe • 4 countries from the Middle East • DPCW Advocacy Conferences • Discussions on collaboration
Event Categories
between civil society and government • Discussions on the role of young leaders in peace-builing process • Peace forums for the local representatives
Since it was first launched in 2016, the Legislate Peace Campaign has gained greater momentum among youth and women leaders, directors of NGOs, and schools. What began as simply a peace walk and events for collecting signatures of support (Sign Your Support) at the early stage of the campaign soon developed into a wide range of fun peacebuilding events such as the Origami Peace Dove campaign, the Peace Concert and the Peace Art Contest. As the days go on, the Legislate Peace Campaign advances its goal with better tools in hand, but the key message, that is peace, remains the same for all of its events. However, the Legislate Peace Campaign needs a stronger partnership from government officials to establish its ground as a sustainable peacebuilding activity. HWPL will continue to strengthen the peace network by emphasizing the role of collaborative governance in every nation. This year, the 3rd Annual Commemoration of the September 18th WARP Summit will play a key role in organizing peace-building processes and bridging the gaps between governments, civil societies, and intergovernmental organizations such as the UN.
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Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light
Small but Incredible Miracle! Laughter Shared by Four Religious Bodies amid the HWPL Myanmar Religious Peace Camp
When Where
26 – 27 May 2017 Sagaing, Mandalay in Myanmar
Participants
Religious leaders and youth representing 4 various faiths including Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism
Purpose
To understand and promote the importance of interfaith harmony To learn the true religious believers’ attitudes
As a consequence of the rising globalization movement, many significant discrepancies have appeared between the borders and distribution of religious faiths. In regard to this phenomenon, a renowned political scientist Samuel Huntington foretold, “Conflicts in 21st century would not be caused by economic or ideological factors but by cultural and religious identities” in his clash of civilizations theory. Ironically, world religious leaders who should be at the forefront in promoting peace have provided the very sources for many conflicts. It is now rare to find anyone walking the true life of faith. While the international society pays close attention to the issue of how to bring interfaith harmony, the HWPL Religious Peace Camp in Myanmar located in South East Asia was held for two days, 26th ~27th of May, and was primarily participated by youth with the sincerest heart for peace. The Religious Peace Camp invited people of different faiths to share and understand each other’s faith to promote interfaith harmony. A set of curriculums was also designed to help them understand the fundamental aspects of each religion based on discussions and experience. Most notably, the Religious Peace Camp at Sagaing, Mandalay was spontaneously organized by four different religious bodies to spread a culture of peace in a country where a vast majority of the people (approximately 90%) are Buddhists. 8 JULY 2017 HWPL NEWS
Among the participants were Ven. Zawtika, Principal of University of Global Peace, U Soe Nay Oo, Imam of Myoma Mosque, The Rt. Rev. David Nyi Nyi Naing, Bishop of Anglican Church Diocese of Mandalay, Archdeacon Joseph Yin Oo and U Ramachandra das, Preacher of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and congregation members of each religion. Over 100 people coming from all different kinds of faiths in Myanmar gathered under the name of peace, creating this small, yet incredible, miracle.
People of four different religious bodies opened up their worship places for all other participants to visit for the first time in their lives. After a brief introduction of the religious leaders, participants openly discussed and experienced perspectives on different faiths. Besides the participatory learning, keynote speeches, a quiz contest, and a Q&A session also gave participants platforms to freely ask about different faiths. During a group discussion on ‘How we can Achieve Interfaith Harmony’, participants shared what each scripture records in regard to preventing violent acts and achieving peace. For many, the HWPL Religious Peace Camp served as a platform to deeply recognize the important role religion plays in the peace-building process and also ease the tensions between Buddhist and Islam sects. The camp, which provided a platform to promote interfaith harmony, will continue its momentum elsewhere in Myanmar in the second half of this year.
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Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light
UN Endorsed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Time for Governments and Civil Societies to Push Further A new international treaty aimed at eliminating all nuclear weapons and prohibiting their development was adopted by the United Nations on 7 July 2017. However, all major nations recognized as “Nuclear-Weapons States (NWS)”, including the United States, boycotted this movement. The adoption of this treaty marked the first important and meaningful step towards a nuclear-free world, but there still remains a long process to resolve the problems emphasized by the NWS’ bread-and-butter theory of security. The new treaty, different from the previous Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), clearly asserts that countries are “never under any circumstances to develop, test, produce, manufacture, otherwise acquire, possess or stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices”, and bans any transfer or use of nuclear weapons or nuclear explosive devices. Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty
Treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons
1963 Adoption of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty The Eighteen Nation Disarmament Committee (ENDC) 1968.7.1 Three of the five NWS: the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States joined 1970.3.5 The Effectuation of the Treaty
2016.10 Approved by 123 UN Member States 2017.3 First Negotiations in New York 2017.5.22 Official Submission 2017.6.15 2nd Meeting (Supported by more than 130 countries) 2017.7.7 Adoption of the Treaty
1. Composed of a preamble and 11 Articles 2. Non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, reduction of nuclear arms, peaceful use of nuclear Key technology Articles 3. In no case shall nuclear weapons be manufac& tured, procured, managed or transferred (Only Contents the transfer and assistance in development of nuclear weapons were prohibited in NWS)
1. The content of the new Treaty that no country should possess nuclear weapons 2. It shall prohibit all activities related to nuclear weapons (development, experimentation, production, manufacture, acquisition, retention, stockpiling, etc.) or nuclear explosive devices. 3. Including content that requires complete disposal of existing nuclear weapons
1. Recognition of the unequal treaty of justifying NWS 2. In fact, the number of informal NWS (India, Pakistan, North Korea, etc.) increased and the security issues remain unresolved.
1. Nuclear disarmament pressure on existing NWS is expected to increase 2. Actual NWS stayed out of the negotiations, thus questions about the effectiveness are raised.
History
Result
“This is a very clear statement that the international community wants to move to a completely different security paradigm that does not include nuclear weapons” said Ambassador Elayne Whyte Gomez of Costa Rica and President of the conference that negotiated the treaty. In a released joint statement the United States, Britain and France said that they “do not intend to sign, ratify or 10 JULY 2017 HWPL NEWS
UN Endorsed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons ever become party to it”. The statement said a treaty that “does not address the security concerns that continue to make nuclear deterrence necessary cannot result in the elimination of a single nuclear weapon and will not enhance any country’s security, nor international peace and security”. The rising concern about North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles was mentioned as well, arguing that prohibiting Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions should be the first step towards the elimination of nuclear arms.
[Results of the voting on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons] Not Joined 35.75%
Against 0.5%
Abstained 0.5% In favour 63.21%
A total of 193 members registered in the UN -In favour: 122 -Against: 1 (Netherlands) -Not joined: 69 -Abstained: 1 (Singapore) Could not the gradual reduction of the use of nuclear weapons lead to more participation of NWS in the ‘Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons’?
It has been quite convincing, from one perspective, that possessing nuclear weapons could prevent war, but the reasoning that the weapons would lead to more damage and the destruction of humanity is just as valid. The following discussion should’ve been considered in order to gather opinions of the pros and cons during the adoption of the treaty for the elimination of nuclear weapons. - A gradual solution to the realistic problems of how to deal with military threats without nuclear weapons - The necessity of broad discussion at the international level on the value of nuclear energy as an alternative energy resource from the discourse of security, the economy and the environment (fundamental review of nuclear energy as resource) Such discussions will enable us to seek gradual peace settlement through cooperation between governments and NGOs as well as civic organizations. NGOs such as Mayor for Peace are working to improve the awareness of civil society related to the elimination of nuclear weapons, to communicate the needs of civil society within each country and to urge governments to make substantive negotiations for the conclusion of the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. In addition, Thore Vestby, Vice President of Mayors for Peace, will emphasize ‘the necessity of cooperation between government and civil society for actualization of peace’ at the International Law Peace Committee Forum in the 3rd Annual Commemoration of the WARP Summit, hosted by HWPL, on September 17th. Through the Summit, government officials and civic groups will expand the cases of the application and practice of the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW) and advocate for its development into a legally binding instrument. With the adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, expectations on what Vestby will deliver at the Summit are rising. JULY 2017 HWPL NEWS 11
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light
Everyone has the Ability and the Responsibility to Change the World for the Better 7.18 Nelson Mandela International Day In November 2009, the UN General Assembly declared the 18th of July "Nelson Mandela International Day" in recognition of the former South African President’s contribution to the culture of peace and freedom. Everyone has the ability and the responsibility to change the world for the better, and Mandela Day is an occasion for everyone to take action and inspire change. Nelson Mandela was the first black president of South Africa. He spent 27 years in prison for trying to overthrow the pro-apartheid government. After he left prison, he worked to achieve human rights and a better future for everyone in South Africa.
Nelson Mandela
It is easy to break down and destroy. The heroes are those who make peace and build.
Uncompromising Stand Against Injustice and Passion towards Peace In 1952, at the age of 34, Nelson Mandela opened a legal consultation office. He then began leading the anti-apartheid movement to protect the rights of black South Africans, and it was at that time when he stood before the court for the charges of leading a pan-national resistance movement. Despite the fact that the movement aimed to secure the rights of systemically oppressed black South Africans, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for inciting a rebellion. Imprisoned on Robben Island, he was forced to do hard labor and was frequently assaulted and racially discriminated against by both white inmates and guards. In this deep trench of despair where his human rights were consistently violated, he did not give up fighting for what was right. He actively worked to resolve this issue by delivering letters to lawyers which described the brutal reality of the human rights violations occurring inside the prison. When the government of South Africa offered to release him with the condition that he
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refrained from any involvement with the anti-government movement, he chose to stand firm against the injustice rather than being released. His strong mindset for peace led to many human rights movements inside the prisons. For his devoted actions, he was awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding in India in 1979, the Bruno Kreisky Award for merit in the field of human rights in 1981, the Simon Bolivar International Prize by UNESCO in 1983, and around a hundred other internationally recognized awards. At the peak of the bloody civil war and conflict due to Apartheid hatred, Nelson Mandela offered ‘dialogue and negotiation’ with the Apartheid government after he was released from prison, having already served 27 years. Upon his release, Nelson Mandela built the framework for the coexistence of black and white South Africans in harmony under the principles of ‘reconciliation and forgiveness’.
Courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace.
His strong stance towards peace greatly contributed to ending racial discrimination on a systemic level and advancing South Africa’s democratic system, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
His Political Career to Advance Human Rights Conditions in South Africa 1991 | The African National Congress (ANC)’s July 1991 National Conference was held in Durban for the first time in 30 years. At the conference, Mandela was unanimously elected as ANC President. Afterwards, he adopted a pragmatic line and negotiated with President de Klerk and his government to put an end to the 350 years of racial conflicts. At that time, the Population Registration Act, apartheid and other racially discriminatory acts were abolished. 1994 | For the first time in the history of the Republic of South Africa, a free national election that guaranteed the participation of black South Africans took place. The ANC won a sweeping victory, taking 63% of the vote, which assured Mandela’s election as president and he was to be inaugurated on May 10th. This historic moment marks a practical end to the 46 years of apartheid. 1997 | As president of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), he imposed regulations against Swaziland and Zambia due to their refusal to adopt democratic governments. 2002 | Recognized for his leading role in the human rights movement and the abolishment of apartheid, he was awarded the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Freedom Medal and other presidential freedom medals.
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Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light
Companion of HWPL: Ivo Josipović Professor of Law Department, University of Zagreb / Former President of the Republic of Croatia
Ivo Josipović was elected President of the Republic of Croatia in 2010, winning with a strong majority of around 60 percent of the vote. However, his commitment towards achieving peace and protecting human rights within society began even before his appointment as president. Josipović has been a lifelong advocate for justice and human rights and participated in a number of national and international law campaigns, paving the way for the advancement of human rights both in Croatia and beyond. Also, in the very year of his election, he engaged as a spokesman for “Living Life without Violence,” a nationwide advocacy campaign against domestic violence organized by the Croatian Ministry
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of Interior with support from the United Nations in Croatia. After its initial launch in 2010, this campaign continued to grow in influence and even went on to win the European Crime Prevention Award in 2013. As a companion of HWPL, Ivo Josipović also participated in the 2nd Annual Commemoration of September 18th WARP Summit back in 2016. back in September of 2016. There he encouraged and challenged the crowd with a rousing speech regarding the current state of peace in the international community. His speech was filled with a deep sadness regarding the fact that the history of the world is one of war, and he stated that even in the modern era “people are killed all around the globe in undeclared wars
Companion of HWPL: Ivo Josipović Professor of Law Department, University of Zagreb / Former President of the Republic of Croatia
Reference: OSCE (http://www.osce.org/serbia/10549)
and acts of terrorism”. However, his address to the crowd was not one without a shining light of hope as he expressed his firm belief at the end that “in the predictable future, global peace will come. Light will win against darkness.” Ivo Josipović called on all those in attendance at the WARP Summit, as well as all citizens within the global community, to start taking action to bring about the world of peace that can be passed on as a legacy to future generations. He mentioned how everyone has a role they can play in the movement for peace, and only when everyone stands up and unites together with a sincere heart for peace can it finally be achieved.
To this day, he continues on the path towards peace and is working with an unbreakable spirit for the protection of human rights and a world of peace. As mentioned in his speech at the WARP Summit, there is a battle currently raging between the two sides of human nature, between darkness and light, and the result is still uncertain. For this reason, Ivo Josipović continues to do his part to shine the light of hope and peace within the world and challenges others to do the same.
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2017.07
Monthly Newsletter of Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light
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