Everyone can be A Center for Global Nonkilling
an article by Tony Dominski

The First Global Nonkilling Leadership Forum was convened in Honolulu, Hawaii, November 1-4, 2007. The meeting was organized by the nonprofit Center for Global Nonviolence and exemplified the Center's motto: "Everyone can be a center for global nonkilling."

Over 30 participants from 20 countries of Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, North America, and the Pacific attended.

Forum Co-chairs were Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire and Dr. Balwant (Bill) Bhaneja, University of Ottawa. The Forum was co-sponsored by the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace, University of Hawaii, and the Mu Ryang Sa Buddhist Temple of Hawaii.

The participants called upon the UN General Assembly and educators to include the right not to be killed, and the responsibility not to kill others, as part of universal human rights education. The conference also explored development of affiliates of the Center for Global Nonviolence in Haiti, Nigeria, and Great Lakes Africa (DR Congo, Burundi, Rwanda).

The meeting arose from reader responses to Glenn Paige's book "Nonkilling Global Political Science" (Gandhi Media Centre, Xlibris 2002, 2007). The book advances the thesis that it is possible for humans to stop killing each other. This thesis is supported by the conclusion of the World Health Organization WHO, World Report on Violence and Health (2002) that human violence is a preventable disease.

Paige's book was reviewed twice by CPNN, once by myself and once by Bill Bhaneja, who was one of the conference co-chairs It is being translated into 26 languages with 13 already published.

DISCUSSION

Question(s) related to this article:

Are nonkilling societies possible?
If yes, what should we be doing? If not, what will happen to us?

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NON-VIOLENCE

Latest reader comment:

I wanted to pass on some good news found in Christian Science Monitor, 1/12/07: "The number of conflicts in Africa has dropped to just five in 2005, from a peak of 16 in 2002."
Ann McLaughlin, Director, NGOabroad

This report was posted on December 18, 2007. The moderator is CPNN Administrator.

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