Opinion Editorials, October 2007
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Third People's Summit for Ministries and Departments of Peace Held in Tokyo, September 21-26, 2007
By Patty Kuderer
Peace Alliance, October 9, 2007
GLOBAL SUMMIT ON PEACE AIMS TO MAKE VIOLENCE HISTORY
About 50 delegates from 20 countries and 6 continents – many from developing nations attending for the first time - traveled to Kisarazu and Tokyo, Japan for the Third People’s Summit for Ministries and Departments of Peace held September 21 – 26. About half the delegates also participated in a post-Summit public outreach tour to Kyoto, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Okinawa. Speaking with one voice while representing diverse cultures, nations, ages and languages, these citizen activists called on countries around the world to establish government structures to work hand-in-hand with private organizations to prevent violence. The delegates also called upon existing governments to make violence prevention and nonviolent conflict resolution a national priority.
The Summit opened on September 21, the International Day of Peace, with a Celebration Concert that highlighted Japan’s peace constitution. In her opening remarks, Dot Maver, Executive Director of The Peace Alliance and one of 6 U.S. delegates attending the summit, told the crowd that Japan is one of just two countries with a peace constitution. Maver continued, “ Japan is one of only seven countries out of 192 since the end of WWII that has not gone to war. I wish every country had an Article 9.” Article 9 of Japan’s Constitution renounces war and disallows a Japanese standing army outside its borders.
The enormously successful Summit included inspirational speeches, reports from each country on the status of their respective campaigns to create departments or ministries of peace, and practical trainings in grassroots organizing, peace-building, nonviolent communication and mobilizing youth. Following the Summit, the delegates attended a Congressional Briefing and Press Conference in Japan’s Diet (Parliament). Six members of both the upper and lower houses of the Diet attended along with journalists from two Japanese news organizations. One of the parliamentarians present was Senator Shokichi Kina of Okinawa who told the U.S. delegation that, “The United States gave Japan peace, economy and politics. Japan has returned economy and politics to the U.S. but not peace yet. It is now time to return peace to the U.S.”
Attending the Summit were government and civil society delegates from Australia, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Chad, Congo, Costa Rica, India, Israel, Italy, Japan (host), Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, United Kingdom, and the United States.
Delegates from Cameroon, Ghana, Iraq and Sierra Leone were denied visas by the Japanese government and thus unable to attend.
Please visit www.thepeacealliance.org, for more information on the Summit, The Peace Alliance, and the campaign to create a US Department of Peace.
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Contact: Patty Kuderer, Communications Director, 206.910.2422, press@thepeacealliance.org
The Peace
Alliance
http://www.thepeacealliance.org/
PO Box 70095
Rochester Hills, MI 48307-0002
USA
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