WEBINAR #3 "PEACE EFFORTS IN COLOMBIA: CURRENT CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES"

IFOR-International Fellowship of Reconciliation, together with FOR Peace Presence and FOR Austria, is pleased to invite you to the

WEBINAR #3 of the ANNIVERSARY WEBINAR SERIES

“20 YEARS OF INTERNATIONAL ACCOMPANIMENT IN COLOMBIA”

May 7th 2022 at 5pm CEST on Zoom

International Fellowship of Reconciliation - IFOR, together with its branch IFOR Austria - VersöhnungsbundPeace Presence and its affiliate Peace Presence, is pleased to invite you to the webinar #3 "Peace efforts in Colombia: current challenges and opportunities" of the ANNIVERSARY WEBINAR SERIES.

The webinar is scheduled for May 7th 2022 at 5pm CEST.

This webinar #3 will focus on ongoing peace work highlighting challenges and opportunities and will present specific peace building experiences such as the peace community peace Comunidad De Paz San José De Apartadó and the humanitarian space Espacio Humanitario Puente Nayero and other local experiences with the participation of IFOR Swedish branch Kristna Fredsrörelsen, Swefor.

Our main speakers will be:

- Jose Roviro Lopez, Peace Community of San Jose de Apartado

- Nhora Isabel Castillo, Humanitarian Space Puente Nayero, Buenaventura

- Henry Alberto David, Life and Work Community La Balsita, Dabeiba

- Miriam Heins, SweFOR Choco Office Coordinator

- Irmgard Ehrenberger, FOR Austria

Moderators: Zaira Zafarana (IFOR), Manuel Müller (FOR PP), Michaela Soellinger (FOR Austria)

The webinar will provide more information on how to support such peace efforts and partner with local actors

Participating individuals and organizations will have the possibility to raise questions and engage in a direct exchange to explore opportunities to get involved and contribute to peace efforts in Colombia.

Register at bit.ly/20FORPP and participate!

The webinar will be in English and Spanish.

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Click here to read about webinar #1

Click here to read about webinar #2

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IFOR-International Fellowship of Reconciliation, 

junto con FOR Peace Presence y FOR Austria, se alegra de invitarle al 

WEBINAR #3 de la SERIE DE WEBINARIOS DEL ANIVERSARIO

Descarga el flyer aquí

"20 AÑOS DE ACOMPAÑAMIENTO INTERNACIONAL EN COLOMBIA"

7 de mayo de 2022 a las 5pm CEST en Zoom

International Fellowship of Reconciliation - IFOR, junto con su rama IFOR Austria - VersöhnungsbundPeace Presence y su afiliado FOR Peace Presence, se complace en invitarle al webinar #3 "Esfuerzos de paz en Colombia: retos y oportunidades actuales" de la SERIE DE WEBINARIOS ANIVERSARIOS.
El webinar está programado para el 7 de mayo de 2022 a las 5pm CEST.
Este webinar #3 se centrará en el trabajo de paz actual destacando los retos y oportunidades y presentará experiencias específicas de construcción de paz como la comunidad de paz Comunidad De Paz San José De Apartadó y el espacio humanitario Espacio Humanitario Puente Nayero y otras experiencias locales con la participación de la rama sueca de IFOR Kristna Fredsrörelsen, Swefor.

Nuestros principales ponentes serán:
- José Roviro López, Comunidad de Paz de San José de Apartadó
- Nhora Isabel Castillo, Espacio Humanitario Puente Nayero, Buenaventura
- Henry Alberto David, Comunidad de Vida y Trabajo La Balsita, Dabeiba
- Miriam Heins, Coordinadora de la Oficina de SweFOR, Chocó
- Irmgard Ehrenberger, FOR Austria

Moderadores: Zaira Zafarana (IFOR), Manuel Müller (FOR PP), Michaela Soellinger (FOR Austria)

El seminario web proporcionará más información sobre cómo apoyar estos esfuerzos de paz y asociarse con los actores locales.
Las personas y organizaciones participantes tendrán la posibilidad de plantear preguntas y participar en un intercambio directo para explorar las oportunidades de involucrarse y contribuir a los esfuerzos de paz en Colombia.
Inscríbete en bit.ly/20FORPP ¡y participa!
El webinario será en inglés y español.

Comparte en Facebook aquí

Haga clic aquí para leer sobre el seminario web nº 1
Haga clic aquí para leer sobre el seminario web nº 2

Acharya K K Chandy Commemoration

On April 20th IFOR's Indian branch has run a special program titled "Acharya K K Chandy Commemorative meeting" on ecumenism gathering the denominational heads of the Orthodox Church, Marthoma Church, Jacobite Church, Church of South India and the Catholic Church which represents more than sixty one hundred thousand members in Kerala alone.

The book "Psychological, Social and Spiritual Well being- Key to a violence free society- A possible impossibility", edited by Suseela Mathew -member of FOR India- has been also released and presented during the event.

This program was also about the need to use our resources for #Ahimsa, against violence of any kind.

Ukraine and the political decisions which lead to destruction and despair were discussed. Churches could ask its members to pray and give support for sustainable peace and guarantee of human rights to people everywhere.

Watch the special program here ( some parts are in English as well)

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Recap of IFOR participation in the 49th UN Human Rights Council

The International Secretariat is pleased to present a summary of IFOR's recent involvement at the UN, in particular at the Human Rights Council. 

The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe and for addressing situations of human rights violations and make recommendations on them. The Council is made up of 47 United Nations Member States which are elected by the UN General Assembly and meets three times a year at the UN Office in Geneva. 

The  49th  session of the UN Human Rights Council has just concluded its working meetings. The session started on  February 28th and ended on  April 1st and the participation of the member States and civil society representatives has been hybrid mode. 

The session was characterized by an urgent debate on the situation in Ukraine; the issue of the war moved by Russia on Ukraine has been part of the following working session debates.

What follows is a list of the oral statements delivered or co-sponsored by IFOR during the session. At this session IFOR addressed issues such as the resistance to war, the right to conscientious objection, nuclear disarmament, peace negotiations, nonviolent action and presented cases referring to the specific issues in Ukraine, Eritrea, Colombia, Greece, Turkey, Western Sahara… IFOR has also taken the floor to speak about the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó on its 25th anniversary, highlighting specific struggles and violations of human rights it is currently facing.

*On April 7th 2022 the UN General Assembly has voted to suspend Russian UN HRC membership as a response to Russia invasion of and alleged rights abuses in Ukraine

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IFOR joins "Appeal for Peace in Ukraine" at the UN

Click on the image for more information and to read the underived statement

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IFOR takes the floor at the UN Human Rights Council on war resisters and nuclear threat

Click on the image for more information and to read the original statement

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IFOR joins statement at the UN on Western Sahara

Click on the image for more information and to read the original statement

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IFOR addresses the UN Human Rights Council on the right to refuse to kill

Click on the image for more information and to read the original statement

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IFOR speaks at the UN about the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó on its 25th anniversary

Click on the image for more information and to read the original statement

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IFOR raises concern at the UN over forced conscription in Eritrea

Click on the image for more information and to read the original statement

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IFOR speaks at the UN calling on Greece to comply with conscientious objection international standards

Click on the image for more information and to read the original statement

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"WAR SHOULD BE ABOLISHED!" IFOR speaks up at the UN on the right to conscientious objection in wartime

Click on the image for more information and to read the original statement

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IFOR speaks at the UN on the fundamental rights of the people of Western Sahara

Click on the image for more information and to read the original statement

IFOR has also submitted a written statement to the 49th UN Human Rights Council concerning the Peace Community of San Joseé de Apartado and human rights violations.

You can read here this report "Colombia: New Threats Against The Peace Community Of San Jose De Apartado On Its 25th Anniversary", which has been received by the Secretary-General and has been circulated in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31, and registered officially on the UN website as A/HRC/49/NGO/239 .

You can read more about the 25th anniversary of the Peace Community here.

For information on IFOR's work at the UN you can contact its coordinator at zaira.zafarana@ifor.org

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IFOR joins international appeal to decrease military tensions on the Korean Peninsula

The International Fellowship of Reconciliation joined 355 U.S.A., South Korean, and international organizations in a statement calling for the Biden and Moon administrations to suspend the combined US-ROK military exercises.

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More Than 350 US, South Korean, and International Civil Society Groups Call for Suspending US-ROK Military Exercises and Decreasing Military Tensions on the Korean Peninsula

We, civil society groups in the United States, South Korea, and around the world, urge the governments of the ROK (Republic of Korea, aka South Korea) and the United States to suspend the combined military exercises and to instead actively pursue a path to peace. We are deeply concerned about the recent increase in military tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The ROK, the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, aka North Korea) and the United States should take steps toward sincere dialogue and cooperation, not military actions.

Without a peaceful resolution to the Korean War, we have witnessed increasing militarization on the Korean Peninsula for seven decades. The US-ROK combined military exercises, which prepare for an all-out war with North Korea, have developed into large-scale exercises that mobilize considerable weapons, equipment and US troops on the Korean Peninsula. In recent years, these war drills have been based on operation plans that reportedly include preemptive strikes and “decapitation measures” against the North Korean leadership. They also have involved the use of B-2 and B-52H bombers, which are designed to drop nuclear bombs, and nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines. While the United States and South Korea have called them defensive in nature, these military exercises have long been a trigger point for heightened military and political tensions on the Korean Peninsula due to their scale and provocative nature.

Efforts toward reconciliation and cooperation at the governmental and civilian levels between the two Koreas and the US and North Korea have failed to build trust due to the vicious cycle of military provocations. While the leaders agreed on the peaceful future of the Korean Peninsula at the inter-Korean summits and the first US-DPRK summit in 2018, the US and the ROK then resumed the suspended US-ROK combined military exercises after no deal was reached at the US-DPRK summit in Hanoi in early 2019, and the US imposed additional sanctions against North Korea. North Korea, condemning the US hostile policy and military threat, resumed missile tests and recently ended its self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and ICBM tests. Without further efforts to implement the agreements between the leaders, including establishing new relations, resumed military actions could have disastrous consequences.

We want peace talks, not war drills and military confrontation. In particular, we urge the Biden administration to resolve the root cause of the conflict between the United States and North Korea — the unresolved Korean War. Continuing to rely on isolation, pressure, and threats to force North Korea’s unilateral denuclearization is a recipe for failure. Now more than ever, the US has a responsibility to pursue peace and show that responsible nations resolve differences through diplomacy, not by increasing tensions and relying on military escalation. We urge the Moon administration to uphold the commitments made in the Panmunjom Agreement, in which the leaders of the two Koreas agreed to defuse military tensions and eliminate the risk of war on the Korean Peninsula, and suspend the upcoming US-ROK joint war drills.

Suspending these costly and highly provocative military exercises will be a crucial step toward restarting genuine diplomacy with North Korea. It will allow all parties to address other intractable global issues facing our nations today, such as the climate crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, nuclear weapons, and war. Now is the time to change direction from military confrontation and pressure toward cooperation, reconciliation, and peace.

Read here the complete text with all signatures which has been released on April 5th 2022.

Multilateralism and peace negotiations

We expect a genuine commitment to multilateralism and respect for fundamental international norms to be practised in a tangible way to achieve effective peace.
Weapons lead to war and increase it. Armed peace is not #peace.
International community should support peace negotiations and stop the war and let the UN to preside over the peace process.
!*! Urgent steps towards peace
In efforts to end the war in Ukraine, Secretary-General António Guterres has written separate letters to the leaders of #Russia and #Ukraine to request meetings with them in their respective capitals
Read more here https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/04/1116562
On Tuesday, 26 April, the UN Secretary-General will have a working meeting and lunch with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and will be received by President Putin in Moscow.
Mr. Guterres will also travel to Ukraine and he will have a working meeting with Foreign Minister Minister Dmytro Kuleba and will be received by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 28 April.
Read more here https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/04/1116742

"WAR SHOULD BE ABOLISHED!" IFOR speaks up at the UN on the right to conscientious objection in wartime

The International Fellowship of Reconciliation participated in the Interactive dialogue which took place at the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council on the occasion of the oral update of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Madam Michelle Bachelet, regarding the situation of human rights in Ukraine.

The High Commissioner presented the dramatic situation following Russia's military aggression with the bombing of many civilian targets such as schools, residential areas and hospitals.

Many member states took the floor to condemn the military aggression of Russia and several NGOs spoke about the concerning local situation.

IFOR addressed the plenary expressing its solidarity to the people of Ukraine; additionally it deplored war which is never a conflict resolution and called on the member states to pursue a diplomatic way to peace negotiations.

IFOR stated its concern for those who refuse to kill and are compelled not to leave to ensure total mobilization in the country. It also referred to some cases of pacifists stranded at the border and highlighted that the right to conscientious objection is a non-derogable right.

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Human Rights Council, 49th session 

Geneva, 30th March 2022 

Item 10: Interactive dialogue on the oral update of the High Commissioner on Ukraine Oral statement delivered by the International Fellowship of Reconciliation. 

Mr. President,  

International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) thanks the High Commissioner and her office for the oral presentation on Ukraine. 

We stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine at this dramatic time of armed conflict. 

War should be abolished because it is never a conflict resolution, neither in Ukraine neither in other  countries. Member States should pursue with all efforts a diplomatic way to peace negotiations. 

As stated several times, freedom of thought, conscience and religion is a non-derogable right and, as is  freedom of expression, it continues to apply in situations of armed conflict. 

IFOR is concerned about the violation of the right to conscientious objection in Ukraine where males  18/60 years old are currently compelled not to leave the country in order to enforce total military  mobilization.1 Summons to mandatory military service are handed over to men trying to cross border2.  The order was enacted not by the law but by letters of Administration of the State Border Guard  Service.3 

It results that the above prohibition has no exceptions for conscientious objectors to military service.  Sasha and Nikita, for instance, are two young pacifists who don't want to fight and are now stranded in  Lviv as internally displaced persons.4 

Likewise, we have been informed that exception for leaders of churches and religious organizations was  not included in the Ukrainian Law "On mobilization training and mobilization".5 

Furthermore, we heard news that the Ukrainian military attempts to recruit foreign nationals6trying to  leave the country and rejected at the border due to racism and discrimination.7 

IFOR joins the UNHCR calls to Ukraine for “compassionate and humane” approach to the enforcement  of martial law.8 

Thank you. 

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You can have a look at the complete statement here.

Vous pouvez consulter la déclaration complète ici.

Puedes ver el comunicado completo aquí.

You can watch here the interactive dialogue and the delivery of IFOR statement by its Main representative at the UN.

IFOR speaks at the UN calling on Greece to comply with conscientious objection international standards

The International Fellowship of Reconciliation is participating in the 49th session of the UN HUman Rights Council.

On March 23rd the plenary addressed item 6 which is pertaining to the Universal Periodic Reviews. During the meeting the Council adopted the outcomes concerning the Country reviews which took place during the 39th session of the UPR.

IFOR had previously submitted some reports for the 39th UPR, including one on Greece and has therefore taken the floor in the plenary to comment the outcome of Greece review and highlight the urgency for Greece to comply with consicnetious objection international standards.

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Human Rights Council, 49th Session 

Geneva, 23rd March 2022 

Item 6: UPR adoption Greece 

Oral statement delivered by the International Fellowship of Reconciliation. 

Mr President, 

IFOR welcomes Greece’s acceptance1of the recommendation to “Revise its national legislation with a  view to recognizing the right to conscientious objection to military service, envisaging an alternative  service to military service to which all conscientious objectors have access to and that is not punitive or  discriminatory in its nature, cost or duration.”2 

We call on Greece to also implement the decision of the Human Rights Committee in the Petromelidis v.  Greece case.3 

IFOR is concerned that the State did not accept4the recommendation to “consider amending the legislation  in order for conscientious objectors to be able to perform alternative civilian service in their place of  residence”.5In 2019, Greece had reassured the UN [that “With the new legal framework, they can request  service in another authority, including close to their place of residence, after five (5) months…”].6 

However, we have been informed that such applications are rejected on the ground that it is not permitted  by the legislation.  

Furthermore, there is a critical decrease of the number of accepted applications for conscientious objector  status, especially those citing ideological grounds. Since 2020, out of 22 applications on ideological  grounds only 6 were approved [and 16 were rejected], which means 27%, the lowest in many years. While  the percentage of accepted applications on religious grounds is about 97%. This indicates a  “discrimination on the basis of different grounds of objection to service”, as highlighted by the Human  Rights Committee [in its concluding observations] in 2015.  

The pending cases at the Council of State, of rejected applicants Charis Vasileiou and Nikolas Stefanidis are another example of the urgent need for Greece to comply with the international standards.7 

Thank you. 

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You can download here the complete text of the statement.

You can watch the delivery of IFOR statement by the Main representative in all the UN languages, here.

25th anniversary of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó

“Let us all support each other, rescuing the values of humanity;

Let us all go forward, with affection and much love, with your and our loved ones, and all humanity;

All peasants farmers, let’s strengthen the peace community of peace, the peoples’ rights and freedom;”

On the 23rd of March 2022 in the Peace Community of San Joséde Apartadó, Peace Community members, former and current international, national accompaniers and friends who have been arriving at the main settlement of the Peace Community are woken up by the Peace Community’s hymn.

After the multifaceted “community” receives food at the Peace Community’s restaurant, members of five different embassies join the community. Without bodyguards, no arms nearby, accompanied by the Peace Community, international accompaniment groups, and guests, abiding to one of the Peace Community’s non-violent principles. No to armed protection, yes to community as protection.

Together, the group marches towards la Roncona, a piece of land the Peace Community has been working on since the beginnings. “For us, this is not just a piece of land, it has provided us with food, shelter, when we had to leave our land. It means live to us”, Peace Community members remember. The embassies and accompaniers plant trees, plant life at the Roncona.

The next stop is at the community’s cacao storage, where the declaration from 1997 is read. Community work and zero tolerance to human rights violations, resistance to impunity, have been two crucial principles of the Peace Community, which contributed to autonomy and international protection measures.

At the final stop under the palm roof of the Peace Community’s meeting place, experiences are shared, difficulties about surviving amidst continuing violence on a personal and a communal level. The Peace Community counts more than 300 members being assassinated and countless human rights violations have been reported. 25 years after its declaration, the Peace Community continues its nonviolent struggle, and is a vivid example that alternatives to violence are possible.

Michaela Sollinger

FOR Austria y FOR Peace Presence

Proyecto Colombia

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INSIGHTS

The International Fellowship of Reconciliation collaborates with the Peace Community and FOR Peace Presence to advocate for their rights and support their nonviolent resistance.

The joint collaboration has produced as well a written statement which has been submitted by IFOR to the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

This document, "Colombia: New Threats Against The Peace Community Of San Jose De Apartado On Its 25th Anniversary", has been received by the Secretary-General and has been circulated in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31. It has been registered officially on the UN website as A/HRC/49/NGO/239 and is available here.

Read here the dedicated oral statement that IFOR delivered at the UN Human Rights Council on the occasion of the Peace Community anniversary.

IFOR speaks at the UN on the fundamental rights of the people of Western Sahara

During the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council, the International Fellowship of Reconciliation took the floor in the plenary of the Council to address the issue of the violations of fundamental rights in Western Sahara.

In particular, IFOR referred to the right to self-determination of the people of Western Sahara and to the military occupation by the Kingdom of Morocco and consequent lasting violation of human rights in the region.

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Mr. President,
With reference to the report on the Conclusions and Recommendations of the Special Procedures (A/HRC/49/26), IFOR would like to highlight the importance of the seven themes that have been recurring in the reports presented by the Special Procedures during the year 2021.
Among these, we pay particular attention to the Prevention of human rights violations, security and peace building, as well as to new technologies in the context of the illegal military occupation of the Non-Self-Governing Territory of Western Sahara by the Kingdom of Morocco.
There can be no peace in Western Sahara without respect for the fundamental rights of peoples, starting with the right to self-determination, enshrined in General Assembly resolution 1514 on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples and reaffirmed by the International Court of Justice in its 1975 Advisory Opinion.
IFOR calls on the Council to implement without delay operational paragraph 5 of General Assembly resolution 76/152 and to pay particular attention to the violation of the right to self-determination resulting from the aggression and military occupation of Western Sahara by the Kingdom of Morocco.

Click here to read the original statement in French

Learn more about the Western Sahara case.

IFOR submission for the UN OHCHR quadrennial report on conscientious objection to military service

The International Fellowship of Reconciliation submitted a report on conscientious objection to military service to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, answering to the call for inputs for the preparation of the OHCHR quadrennial analytical report on this topic which will be presented at the 50th session of the UN Human Rights Council in June 2022. The OHCHR report aims to provide information on new developments, best practices and remaining challenges regarding conscientious objection to military service since 2017

INTRODUCTION

The International Fellowship of Reconciliation welcomes the opportunity to submit input for the quadrennial report of the OHCHR on the right to conscientious objection to military service and expresses its appreciation for this important work.

This contribution is based on IFOR's research and report compilation work on the right to conscientious objection to military service, and largely on the work undertaken for UN State Reviews within the Universal Periodic Review process of the Human Rights Council and within the Human Rights Committee.

Following an overview of main aspects concerning the right to conscientious objection, since the last quadrennial Report, this submission provides a compendium of some country-based analyses on the right to conscientious objection and related issues with presentation of local developments, good practices and remaining challenges.

The right to conscientious objection to military service is directly linked to the right to life and the main purpose of the United Nations “to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace“.

Additionally, IFOR would like to emphasize the importance of the collective effort within the UN system and particularly at the Human Rights Council regarding the right to conscientious objection to military service. During the 36th session of the Council, following the presentation of the last OHCHR thematic report, Resolution A/HRC/36/L.20 on conscientious objection was adopted without a vote.

It is also important to encourage attention to this right during regular state review procedures, then to invite member states to accept recommendations on this issue and to provide assistance in efforts to fully implement this human right.

OVERVIEW

The right to conscientious objection to military service is a human right inherent to the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and "it entitles any individual to an exemption from compulsory military service if this cannot be reconciled with that individual’s religion or belief".

In this overview a number of main issues related to the right to conscientious objection are listed -accompanied with some cases-, highlighting developments, good practices and remaining challenges. These issues will then be detailed in the section dedicated to the country-based analyses.

Read the complete report submitted by IFOR here

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OHCHR quadrennial report on conscientious objection to military service

In its resolution 20/2 adopted on 16 July 2012, the Human Rights Council requested the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights “to prepare, in consultation with all States, relevant United Nations agencies, programmes and funds, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and national human rights institutions, a quadrennial analytical report on conscientious objection to military service, in particular on new developments, best practices and remaining challenges.”

The previous quadrennial analytical report was published on May 1st 2017 and presented to the 35th session of the UN Human Rights Council. You can read here the OHCHR report A/HRC/35/4 and contributions previously submitted

On May 25th 2019 the OHCHR published a new report on approaches and challenges for obtaining the status of conscientious objector to military service which was then presented to the 41st session of the UN Human Rights Council.

You can read here the report A/HRC/41/23