Global Integration Update -- December 2016
Common Ground for the Common Good
Peace and Security
Uniting for a Safer World
Resources from Geneva Peace Week
Please forward to your colleagues and networks.
Aleppo, Syria
"Aleppo is [wasted and doomed.] Thanks everyone."
Source IRIN 2016
Overview
In this Update we share several resources that we have gleaned from the recent Geneva Peace Week 2016. This special week in November was an amazing opportunity for learning and networking, with over 50 events realted to peace and security. It helped to unite the many colleagues and organizations working to make the world a safer place.
Even if peace and security are not your areas of focus, we encourage you to take the time to connect with some of the materials below. We think that the materials from this rapidly developing sector can inform your work and your understanding of the global context.
We finish with some personal reflections on the Trio Gathering in our home following Geneva Peace Week. This was an informal time for colleagues to discuss the week’s events regarding peace-security issues, and to do so for mutual learning and mutual support. Several additional resources gleaned from the Trio event are listed.
For more ideas on tracking with GI areas, see the GI Updates ( Gobal Grids--New Strategies for Staying Informed, Oct/2016) and Staying Current—Navigating the News, Dec/2015).
Actively integrating our lives with global realities
by connecting relationally and contributing relevantly
on behalf of human wellbeing and the issues facing humanity,
in light of our integrity and core values (e.g., ethical, humanitarian, faith-based).
We the peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, And for these ends to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours, and to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples, have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish these aims. Preamble, United Nations Charter (1945)
Resources for Peace and Security
Geneva Peace Week
Watch the one minute overview HERE
Background
Why Geneva Peace Week? Geneva is home to a large number of international organizations, including more than 40 United Nations entities, a thriving community of non-governmental organizations and renowned academic and research institutions. Together, all these actors work for peace, rights and well-being, touching the lives of individuals across the world. Geneva Peace Week offers an opportunity to connect and highlight the work of these actors and to expand the space for dialogue about building peace and resolving conflict.
What is Geneva Peace Week? The 3rd Geneva Peace Week [was] held from 7 to 11 November 2016 and is a collective action initiative facilitated by the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), the Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies, and the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform with the support of Switzerland. By synchronizing meetings on different topics related to the promotion of peace during one week, Geneva Peace Week maximizes synergies between organizations in Geneva, focused on the cross-cutting nature of peace.
Geneva Peace Week underlines that each and every person, actor and institution has a role to play in building peace and resolving conflict. It also highlights that peace promotion occurs in many different contexts and cuts across disciplines and sectors. In this sense, Geneva Peace Week highlights the importance of working outside the silos, that all-too-often characterize the international community, to enable more creative responses.” (quote from the website, United Nations Office at Geneva)
Events and Materials
Below is a list with links for the 11 events that we attended during Geneva Peace Week. After each event is a list with links for some of the major materials/organizations that were highlighted or mentioned. Link HERE for the program.
One suggestion to set the stage for the materials from Geneva Peace Week: you might want to watch the film trailer (2 minutes) for Pray the Devil Back to Hell. It documents the women’s peace movement in Liberia. We have found this film to be helpful as a positive example of how a diverse group of people can courageously and resolutely unite to make their world safer—by stopping a war.
1. Peace, exactly: How do we measure peace?
--Global Peace Index 2016 and the Positive Peace Report 2015, Institute of Economics and Peace
- -DME for Peace i s a “global community of practitioners, evaluators and academics that share best and emerging practices on how to design, monitor and evaluate peacebuilding programs. Through greater collaboration and transparency, we hope to increase the effectiveness of the peacebuilding field.” (quote from website) Short video overview HERE.
--Methodologies in Peacebuilding Evaluations: Challenges and Testing New Approaches, Thania Paffenholtz, Evaluation Connections, European Evaluation Society, Aug 2016, pp. 8-9
--Civil Society in Peace Processes at a Glance, Inclusive Peace and Transition Initiative April 2016
--Understanding African Armies, ISSUE, Institute for Security Studies, European Union, April 2016
2. Teaching peace and building resilience in young children through play
--Early Childhood Peace Consortium
- -Leckman, Panter-Brick, and Salah, Eds. - book: Pathways to Peace: The Transformative Power of Children and Families (2014)
--World Organization for Early Childhood Education (OMEP) - Play and Resilience Project
3. Film and debate: Yemeniettes (documentary)
More information on the film HERE
4. Development and conflict prevention
(research in progress by World Bank and four UN agencies)
-- World Development Report 2011: Conflict, Security, and Development, World Bank, 2011
5. Consultations on the high level review of UN sanctions
-- High Level Review of UN Sanctions website and the Compendium (Nov 2015)
On the road to/from Mosul and surrounding area. Photos above and below Tom Westcott/zIRIN
"Part of an in-depth IRIN series exploring how Iraq's problems of displacement and sectarian division threaten to undermine longer-term peace and stability."
6. When peace agreements fail to secure peace: Learning from Yemen, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka
--UN Security Council resolution on youth, peace, and security, Resolution 2250 (2015)
--UN resolutions on women, peace and security (list, overview, and links)
7. Neuroscience and mediation
--Courses, Research Projects: Trauma and Peacebuilding Course; Neuroscience and Peacebuilding Project (see Alliance for Peacebuilding)
8. Inequality and sustainable peace: Converging perspectives on human rights and peacebuilding
9. The human right to peace
--Human Right to Peace (proposal to the UN by civil society), Spanish Society for International Human Rights Law, March 2016; Note that some background to this topic is on the UN Human Rights website.
-- Santiago Declaration on the Human Right to Peace (2010)
10. Moving the military money: to climate, development, humanitarian action...and peacemaking
--International Peace Bureau (IPB). Founded in 1891, it is "a global network of peace groups, with 300 member organisations in 70 countries, with an office based in Geneva."
--Move the Nuclear Weapons Money: A Handbook for Civil Society and Legislators(2016, IPB)
SIPRI - Stockholm International Peace Research Institute is "an independent international institute dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament. Established in 1966, SIPRI provides data, analysis and recommendations, based on open sources."
11. Political engagement with non-state armed groups: dilemmas, challenges and techniques
--Understanding a New Generation of Non-State Armed Group, by UN System Staff College (UNSSC) and the Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF) is the result of the 2014 Dialogue Series, a seminar for Deputy Special Representatives of the Secretary-General (DSRSGs) in June 2015.
-- Fragile States Index 2016, Fund for Peace
--States of Fragility report, OECD, 2015
Personal Reflections
Humanity Aches for Sustainable Peace
Trio Gatherings--Geneva
Beneath the surface of everyone’s life, especially the more mature, is an ache that will not go away. It can be ignored, disguised, mislabeled, or submerged by a torrent of activity, but it will not disappear. And for good reason. We were designed to enjoy a better world than this. And until that better world comes along, we will groan for what we do not have.An aching soul is evidence not of neurosis or spiritual immaturity, but of realism. Larry Crabb, Inside Out (1988, Introduction, p. 14)
How did we even begin to process all the presentations, interactions, and materials from Geneva Peace Week? Well, we started right away—actually the day after. We held a Trio Gathering at our home to reflect on the week’s events and continue the discussions.
Trio Gatherings provide a relaxed place where colleagues can interact on important topics for mutual learning and support. They are informal and not sponsored by any organization/group. The gatherings are part of our commitment to encourage “global integration”—connecting and contributing relevantly on behalf of the major issues facing humanity and in light of our core values. This was our 15th Trio event over the past three years. We serve as the conveners and hosts.
Our Trio topic was “ Global Citizenship and Sustainable Peace. ” Overall we found our discussion to be stimulating and sobering, hopeful and perplexing as we delved into peace efforts and the armed conflicts in the world, and what creates, reinforces, and abates conflicts. It is just so hard for example, to fathom how many millions and millions of people in our world, and across human history, have been victims of conflict, violence, etc. suffering crippling physical and psychological traumas, and paying the ultimate price with their lost lives. Humanity aches across the ages for sustainable peace.
The Geneva Peace Week and the Trio Gathering touched us deeply. They stirred up existential reminders of our own precarious vulnerability, including death, anxiety, and guilt, yet also a determination to pursue justice, hope, good-over-evil, and find inspiration as well as meaning/purpose through both our faith and the courageous examples of fellow humans.
We are also reminded just how vast, expanding, and strategic is the peace and security sector. We want to keep learning more (at some point hopefully finding a grid to help navigate it better), work together more with colleagues in this sector, include peace and security issues more into our own work, and carefully consider how our world view and skills can help support sustainable peace for all. As described in the opening quote in this section, we believe that humanity's aches--all of our aching souls for peace--point us to something beyond and better.
Some Resources from Trio 15
-- Global Terrorism Indext 2016, Instutte for Economics and Peace, 2016
-- White Paper on Peacebuilding, Geneva Peacebuilding Platform, 2015
-- Global Geneva (newly launched magazine, Edward Girardet editor; see Yazidis: Life after Genocide)
-- Special Issue on Peace Psychology, Oct 2013, American Psychologist
-- Peace Psychology for a Peaceful World, Dan Christie, American Psychologist, Sept 2008
-- Confronting Trauma: A Primer for Global Action, Rolf Carriere, UNITAR et al, 2016
-- NGOs aren't just mute. They're being gagged, The Guardian, Nov. 4, 2106
-- Advancing Early Childhood Development: from Science to Scale, The Lancet, Oct 5, 2016
-- Nonviolent Peaceforce is “a global non-profit organization. We protect civilians in violent conflicts through unarmed strategies. We build peace side by side with local communities. We advocate for the wider adoption of these approaches to safeguard human lives and dignity.” (quote from website)
-- International Peace Institute
-- Understanding the Climate-Conflict Nexus from a Humanitarian Perspective, UN OCHA, May 2016
-- Peacebuilding and Institutions Building, Sarah Hearn, Center for Policy Research, UN University/NYU, Feb 2015
Background Note on the Trio 2016 Gatherings
The Trio Gatherings this year (2016) focus on what it means to be global citizens. Global citizenship emphasizes our common identity and shared responsibility as humans. The four Trio topics and main materials are: educating global citizens ( Gyeongju Action Plan: Education for Global Citizenship, UN Department of Public Information/NGO); eradicating poverty as global citizens ( Poverty Inc., film); global citizenship and sustainable peace (materials from Geneva Peace Week); and Living in Integrity as Global Citizens (readings on integrity/corruption/courage in view of International Anti-Corruption Day on 9 December and International Human Rights Day on 10 December).
(includes a translation tool into several languages)
Member Care Associates Inc. (MCA) is a non-profit organisation working internationally from Geneva and the USA. MCA's involvement in Global Integration focuses on the wellbeing and effectiveness of personnel and their organizations in the mission, humanitarian, and development sectors as well as global mental health, all with a view towards supporting sustainable development for all people and the planet. Our services include consultation, training, research, developing resources, and publications.
Actively integrating our lives with global realities
by connecting relationally and contributing relevantly
on behalf of human wellbeing and the issues facing humanity,
in light of our integrity and core values (e.g., ethical, humanitarian, faith-based).
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The GI Updates are designed to help shape and support the emerging diversity of global integrators who as learners-practitioners are committed to the "common ground for the common good." The image at the top of theUpdate (global pearl) is a cover detail form Global Member Care (volume 2): Crossing Sectors for Serving Humanity (2013). William Carey Library.
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