Since 1995, the Peace Council has...
Diplomacy & International Advocacy...
- Participated in the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. This included lobbying governments to support a land-mine ban treaty. The Peace Council also organized international days of prayer, and interfaith services at meetings of NGOs and diplomats negotiating a land mine ban treaty, including the service in Ottawa to celebrate the signing of the treaty in December, 1997.
- Worked with the Korea Asia Pacific Peace Committee (the de-facto foreign ministry of the DPRK) and with NGOs in the Republic of Korea (South Korea) to expand dialogue between North and South Korea, and the United States.
- With the Korea Peace Forum, co-sponsored annual conferences of diplomats, scholars, parliamentarians, and NGO leaders, to secure consensus on constructive policy recommendations to the South Korean and United States governments on Korean peninsular security. In 2007 the Peace Council helped break ground for the World Peace Bell Park in Hwacheon County, South Korea, near the Demilitarized Zone.
- Sent diplomatic message-carriers to the DPRK, and brought North Korean officials to the US for off-the-record dialogues with their US counterparts.
- Issued a strongly-worded public statement opposing the United States' war with Iraq. (This is one of very few declarations by the Peace Councilors, who prefer to demonstrate interfaith cooperation through action rather than words.)
Conflict Resolution, Disarmament, & Peace-making...
- Participated in and supported peace walks by Buddhist monks and nuns through combat zones in Cambodia in 1996, 1997, and 1998. These walks obtained cease-fires between Khmer Rouge and government forces.
- Organized an international appeal by Muslim organizations to returning Kosevar refugees to respect Christian shrines and places of worship in Kosovo. The appeal was disseminated to Balkan news media and to governments, military units, and civil society in the region.
– Contributed to the work of Sudanese Women's Voice for Peace and the Maryknoll Contemplative Community in Nairobi, Kenya to rehabilitate former child-soldiers, victims of the long civil war in the Sudan.
- Suppported efforts by moderate Palestinians and Israelis to promote alternative agendas for a peaceful resolution to Israeli-Palestinian violence.
- Through its support organization, the Khane Khane Foundation, provided grants to local grass-roots groups working for weapons-reduction and peacemaking in Cambodia and for increased environmental awareness in Thailand. Funds also supported mine awareness training in remote areas of Myanmar (Burma), and conflict-resolution training for leaders of warring factions in northeast Myanmar.
- Met with local peacemakers and groups promoting reconciliation in Northern Ireland.
Human Rights...
- Went twice to Mexico, working with Bishop Samuel Ruiz García to support peace and human rights and conflict resolution in Chiapas. This was done through personal accompaniment and presence with endangered human rights workers in the field, through media stories and features (television and print) within Mexico, and through intervention (by letter and in person) with Mexican government officials.
- Helped secure the release of prisoners of conscience and persons unjustly charged with civil crimes in Mexico.
- In collaboration with the Center for Health and Social Policy, organized the first ever conversation between religious leaders and leaders of international women's organizations, to promote religious support for women's human rights. The Chiang Mai Declaration that resulted from this dialogue has been widely cited and is intended to serve as a catalyst for regional and national dialogue between women's non-governmental organizations and religious groups.
- Supported ongoing human rights monitoring and intervention in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, with subsidies for the administrative and operating expenses for humanitarian, civil rights, and human rights work by the Dominican Mission to Ocosingo and the Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas.
- Intervened to stop Israeli demolitions of Palestinian homes in the West Bank by providing international observers at the first trial in an Israeli Military Court of a Palestinian charged with "illegal building." This intervention helped Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations make Israelis aware of how Israeli policies on home-building are a serious obstacle to peace in the region.
- Provided grants-in-aid to support the restoration of the rights of women to receive full ordination as Buddhist monastics in Southeast Asia, especially Thailand and Cambodia. For example, grants supported travel by Cambodian women candidates to travel to Thailand for religious training.
- Provided grants-in-aid to a non-governmental organization assisting refugee women and their families on the Thai-Burma (Myanmar) border in northern Thailand.
Humanitarian Aid...
- Provided initial funding and ongoing support for the Home of Peace and Love, a shelter for victims of prostitution and rape near Bangkok, Thailand.
- Provided micro-loans to indigenous communities in Chiapas to start bread-baking, weaving, and irrigation cooperatives in dozens of villages and refugee camps. Other programs include: grass-roots training in conflict mediation, community-based emergency and disaster preparedness, training for community organizers, and medical clinics and certification classes for rural health-care workers. The Peace Council also supports Melel Xojobal, an organization that provides day-care and elementary schooling for Indian children whose families have migrated to the city of San Cristóbal de las Casas.
- Provided humanitarian aid to North Korea—medicines and medical supplies—to hospitals in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK).
- The Khane Khane Foundation funded the Dhammayietra Peacemakers Program, to provide adult literacy, prisoner advocacy, and AIDS awareness programs in Cambodia.
More about the Peace Council: About the Peace Council....and more about its methods: Making Peace
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Page Published: 07/17/2002 · Page Last Modified: Tuesday, April 29, 2008
©2003 International Committee for the Peace Council
