They had to listen! Lobbying for a culture of peace at the UN
an article by Josefina Lofgren

Who would have thought that the UN could be a place where young people from non-governmental organisations could make their voices heard and their work be spoken highly of in the General Assembly?

Traditionally believed (and perhaps correctly so) to be an immovable bureaucracy where change is slow to happen, 7 young people stirred up the culture of peace debate at the United Nations in October 2005. Feeling that key countries and institutions at the UN had not understood the full extent of the global civil society movement, it was time to put the UN spotlight on the rich plethora of activities going on around the globe.

Visiting 48 Permanent Missions, meeting the President of the General Assembly and lobbying anyone who is anyone at the UN resulted in publicity, recognition and change! Specifically, the following outcomes were a direct result of two weeks of lobbying:

• A General Assembly Resolution on the Culture of Peace was amended to clearly recognise the important role played by civil society and acknowledging the mid-decade report in particular.

• The 2005 Mid-Decade World Civil Society Report, containing contributions from over 700 organisations in 100 countries, was submitted to the Secretary General to be published as a UN document.

• Several countries made statements on behalf of youth and the mid-decade report when the culture of peace was discussed in the General Assembly on October 20th, including the lead culture of peace country Bangladesh, as well as the European Union.

The activities and results achieved are proof that the actions undertaken by individuals can have a real impact on global processes. We, the youth, are proud to be part of the global movement for a culture of peace and invite others to take initiative, inspire and be inspired and never, never, take no for an answer!

For more information, see http://www.decade-culture-of-peace.org/youth.html.

DISCUSSION

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What is the United Nations doing for a culture of peace?


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GLOBAL MOVEMENT FOR A CULTURE OF PEACE

Latest reader comment:

The theme that development cannot be divorced from peace and democracy has been taken up most eloquently by Wangari Maathai, the 2004 Nobel Peace Laureate from Kenya.  See her remarks as summarized in the CPNN report on her speech on December 20 at the UN.  It is a very different approach than taken by the UN experts as quoted above.

This report was posted on October 30, 2005. The moderator is CPNN Administrator.

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