Peace
Summits

London 2005 – First People’s Summit for Departments of Peace

The purpose of the Summit was to strengthen and grow the international movement for government departments of peace and ministries for peace. Forty representatives from 12 countries came together for the two-day Summit, which was preceded by two days of training on the latest concepts and practices in peacebuilding and conflict transformation around the world.

The group agreed to form an international initiative for departments of peace by coordinating efforts, sharing information, and encouraging expansion to and inclusion of similar efforts in other countries. It was also agreed to proceed with planning for the Victoria Summit in June 2006, with several countries lining up to host future Summits.

From the 16th to the 19th of October, civil society and political representatives from eleven countries met in London to lay out their vision for the establishment of Departments of Peace in their governments.

“It’s very sad that conflicts continue to exist in communities when we more or less know how 99% of them could have been avoided,” said one of the conference participants.

The countries represented at the conference were Australia, Canada, Israel, the occupied Palestinian territories, Italy, Japan, Spain, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States and Jordan.

Prominent supporters of the conference include US Representative Dennis Kucinich, Marianne Williamson, Hon. Oryem Henry Okello, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs/International Affairs of Uganda. John McDonnell – MP of the UK, Senator Lyn Allison – Leader of the Australian Democrats, Senator Natasha Stott Despoja – Foreign Affairs spokesperson for the Australian Democrats and the Hon. Dr. Arthur Chesterfield-Evans MLC.- NSW Leader of the Australian Democrats.

The conference concluded with the launch of an international initiative that will support country-level working groups to establish Departments of Peace.

The Summit was organized and sponsored by The UK based ministry for peace (mfp), whose motto is “Putting Power into Peace – Peace into Power”. mfp was launched in the House of Commons on 1st July 2003, and in October the same year Labour MP John McDonnell introduced a Ten-Minute Rule Bill for the creation of a Ministry for Peace in government. The Bill was passed unopposed but fell due to lack of time at the end of the Parliamentary session. mfp has since its launch held sixteen public meetings; it is managed by a National Coordinating Committee and has an increasing membership throughout the country. In its Manifesto for Peace mfp identifies three main aspects of violence: direct violence is the physical or verbal violence most people recognize; structural violence refers to political, social and economic structures that repress, harm or kill (dictatorship, racial discrimination, poverty..); cultural violence is the type of violence normalized by religions or ideologies.

The Canadian Working Group for a Federal Department of Peace, also founded in 2003, is gaining increasing support from prominent Canadian leaders, academics and NGOs as well as from the rank-and-file of Canadians throughout the country. The main aim of such a department would be to work for the implementation of the UN Declaration and Programme of Action for a Culture of Peace.

The Peace Alliance Foundation, USA aims ‘to reveal and foster an expanded awareness of humanity’s interconnectedness manifesting our culture of peace’. Thousands of citizens in 43 states with over 230 congressional district team leaders are working together to build support for a federal cabinet-level Department of Peace, which would serve to strengthen and support non-violent solutions to domestic and international conflicts by addressing the underlying root causes of violence in society. It would also work towards the establishment of a national peace academy.

As a result of the first Summit The International People’s Initiative for Department’s of Peace has been established.

Canada 2006 – Second Global Summit for Ministries & Departments of Peace

Sixty people from 18 countries on five continents, came together in Victoria, Canada, June 19-22, 2006, for the Second People’s Summit for Ministries and Departments of Peace.

The Summit included training in principles and practices of peacebuilding and conflict transformation and nonviolent communication, discussions about how to connect with the growing global network of peace organizations and how to involve youth integrally and effectively in the movement, establishment of the Global Alliance for Ministries and Departments of Peace, and formation of five working groups to expand the global network for and conversation about ministries and departments of peace.

Government and civil society delegates attended the Summit from Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Italy, Japan, Liberia, Nepal, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Palestine, the Philippines, Romania, the Solomon Islands, Spain, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Delegates from Cameroon, Congo, and Sri Lanka were unable to attend due to logistical constraints.

They came by plane, bus, car, ferry, and on foot. Sixty men and women, representing diverse cultures, nations, ages, and languages, traveled to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, for the Second People’s Summit for Ministries and Departments of Peace held June 19-22, 2006. Speaking with one voice they called on countries around the world to establish government structures whose goal is to work hand-in-hand with civil society – reflecting, building, and sustaining a culture of peace.

Government and civil society delegates from Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Italy, Japan, Liberia, Nepal, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Palestine, the Philippines, Romania, the Solomon Islands, Spain, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and the United States gathered at Victoria’s Royal Roads University to give birth to the Global Alliance for Ministries and Departments of Peace and to pose an effective global and national architecture for peace. Delegates from Cameroon, Congo, and Sri Lanka were unable to attend due to logistical constraints.

In forming the Global Alliance, the Summit plenary established an inter- generational steering committee and five working groups (communications, networking, youth, research and field operations, and finance) to develop and carry out a plan of work up to the next Summit in 2007, which will be hosted by Japan. In its formal Summit Communiqué the Global Alliance affirmed its commitment to partner and cooperate with governments and civil society organisations nationally and globally in promoting peace by peaceful means and recognised the governments of the Philippines and the Solomon Islands, which have already established secretariats and departments for peacebuilding, conflict transformation, and reconciliation, as pioneers and examples to the world.

Following the Summit, delegates travelled together to Vancouver to attend the first World Peace Forum, where the Global Alliance for Ministries and Departments of Peace presented a half-day program on “Creating National Departments of Peace.”

First World Peace Forum – Canada 2006

The Global Alliance for Ministries and Departments of Peace, which the MFPA participates in, presented a program on June 25, 2006, to a standing-room-only crowd at the First World Peace Forum in Vancouver, Canada. This program was open to the public and included a panel, moderated by Marianne Williamson, of government leaders from around the world discussing the importance of and what it will take to establish ministries and departments of peace. The panel was followed by five parallel workshops on related topics.