Working closely with the IFOR members in the Netherlands and Belgium, the International Secretariat launched a new project to support the efforts of its members to encourage reconciliation in their societies by challenging racism, xenophobia, and other forms of discrimination and social alienation. The project seeks to promote nonviolence as a means of addressing the structural violence that these social ills represent. The name of the project is inspired by the phrase “Beloved Community” made popular by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who was a member of IFOR’s branch in the United States.
On Thursday, September 10, 2015 The German Branch of IFOR sent the following appeal in response to the refugee situation confronting Germany and other European countries to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, German President Joachim Gauck, the group chairmen of the Bundestag as well as the prime ministers of the federal states and the Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration:
The national council of the branch of IFOR in the Republic of Congo, Movement International de l Reconciliation Congo (MIR Congo) was held from 17 to 23 August 2015, the Séminaire Saint Gabriel de Dolisie. It coincided with the organization of the 5th Edition of the '' National Meeting of Initiatives of Peace '' under the theme: "Dare to dialogue and build peace among people and nations through non-violence and reconciliation." The following statement was released following the meeting :
The 70th anniversary of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was marked in Austria by various commemoration events, in two of which FOR Austria was actively involved. In the evening of August 6th the annual Hiroshima day event, co-organised by the Hiroshima Group Vienna, the Vienna Peace Office and the Austrian sections of ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons), IPPNW (International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War) and IFOR (International Fellowship of Reconciliation), took place in front of St. Stephan’s Cathedral in the centre of Vienna. It included symbolic non-violent actions (“dismantling” of a nuclear weapon, Target X/Die-in and circle of silence, “decontamination” of passers-by by the Austrian Red Cross), information stalls, peace songs and a lantern parade in commemoration of the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The Fellowship of Reconciliation Peace Presence, an organization founded and supported by branches of IFOR, is dedicated to providing safety, political visibility and solidarity to communities and individuals in Colombia who are working to promote human rights, peace and justice has released it's first ever annual report as a new independent organization.
Rev. Anthony Grimes, a member of the National Council of IFOR's branch in the United States witnessed a police altercation while in Amsterdam for a project sponsored by Kerk en Vrede and the IFOR Secretariat. IFOR International Coordinator, Lucas Johnson, also witnessed the incident. Rev. Grimes video received over 168,000 views and stirred controversy in the Netherlands. IFOR and Kerk en Vrede release the following statement in response to the controversy:
Amid escalating violence in Burundi, the IFOR Secretariat remains in contact with our members in Burundi. Expressions of concern from throughout the IFOR community continue to come and we continue to seek ways to support efforts to de-escalate the conflict and bring the violence and threats of violence to an end. Our sisters and brothers in Burundi remain in the thoughts and prayers of the IFOR community.
Nepal has suffered a second earthquake while still recovering from an earlier earthquake that had already claimed many lives and injured thousands. Members of IFOR, several of whom are still recovering from other disasters express their condolences for the loss of life and express solidarity with IFOR's branch in Nepal: Bikalpa Gyan Tatha Bikas Kendra, in Mahankalphant, Kathmandu.
Bikalpa Gyan Tatha Kendra is engaged in relief work trying to support victims of the earthquake. Their efforts include attempts to address the physical and psychological wellbeing of children many of whom are now sleeping in tents after the destruction. More information about Bikalpa's activities can be found on their Bikalpa Earthquake Relief Facebook Page.
Representatives of the European branches of the IFOR gathered in Bremen, Germany April 17-19, 2015. Representatives were from Branches and Affiliates in Austria, Belgium, England, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Wales.
They were joined by Junior Nzita Nsuami from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), who was forcibly recruited at the age of 10 by the rebels seeking to overthrow the Mobutu dictatorship and fought in the DRC itself and Angolafor the next 12 years before finally passing through a demobilization and reintentegration programme sponsored by the international community. He subsequently committed himself to the cause of helping those who as child soldierspassed through similar traumatic experiences; he has now been appointed a UN goodwill ambassador on the subject of child soldiers.
On the eve of the 2015 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference at the United Nations thousands will mobilize in New York City and in other cities around the world to declare their support for a nuclear free world. The Peace and Planet Conference will be held on April 24-25 and will feature Reverend Osagyefo Sekou, a Fellow of IFOR’s branch in the United States.
On April 26, There will be an interfaith convocation ahead of the mass mobilization. The service is being coordinated by IFOR’s Representative to the United Nations, Mark Johnson. Several members of IFOR will be among those contributing to the service. The Convocation will be held in Tillman Chapel, Church Center at the United Nations, 777 First Avenue, New York, New York. The Service will begin at 10:30 AM. All are welcome to attend. More information about the service can be found on the Peace and Planet website.