Alerts & Actions!

STATEMENT ON THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
by Michel Monod

In the name of my organisation, The International Fellowship of Reconciliation, I congratulate the Advisory Committee for the election of a group of Experts to examine the possibility of a right to peace. Peace is not only absence of war it is access of the whole population to the well being. Peace is the realisation of all the fundamental rights.

FOR USA: Colombia Report
U.S. Aid to Colombia Contravenes Human Rights Intentions: New Report Shows Dramatic Ties to Extrajudicial Killings

A detailed report released today by the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR USA) describes how U.S. funding to the Colombian military has been supporting army units whose members have killed hundreds of civilians.

Drawing on extensive data from the Colombian Attorney General’s and Inspector General’s offices, 20 human rights organizations, the U.S. State Department, and the Colombian military, the report shows that billions of dollars provided under the rubric of Plan Colombia have abrogated U.S. human rights law and contributed to the killing of thousands of civilians by the Colombian Army.

Tell Congress Stop the War!
Fellowship of Reconciliation USA

National Call-in Days:  July 26-27-28!
Time to Vote "No" on War in Afghanistan!!

Dear Friends: The US House of Representatives will be voting again this week on the White House request for $33.5 billion of new funding for the war in Afghanistan. Fellowship of Reconciliation USA is joining with organizations in America to call upon Congressional Representatives to vote against the White House request for $33.5 billion in new funds for the war in Afghanistan.

Congressional Switchboard: 1-888-493-5443 toll-free.  Please call right away!

Cymdeithas y Cymod Drones Protest
Fellowship of Reconciliation in Wales

Members of the Fellowship of Reconciliation in Wales held a meeting outside the  Drones centre at Parc Aberporth  last  Saturday 26 . The meeting will be led by the President of the Fellowship the reverend Guto Prys ap Gwynfor .Also taking part in the service of repentance were Dr.Robin Gwyndaf and Eirian James. [Photo] [Cambrian News article]

PRESS STATEMENT OF THE GERMAN FOR BRANCH
June 1, 2010

On the capture of the Free-Gaza Flotilla
The German branch of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation is a member of the German Coordinating Committee for Palestine and Israel, one of the organizations supporting the attacked freedom fleet. One of the participants in the fleet is Nobel laureate and IFOR member Mairead Corrigan-Maguire, with whom we feel a strong bond.

[Full statement] [German] [Mairead McGuire update]

Pronunciamiento de SERPAJ AL frente al estado de excepción en Paraguay
SERPAJ América Latina

El Servicio Paz y Justicia en América Latina, a través de su Presidente Internacional y de su Coordinación Latinoamericana manifiestan su más profunda consternación ante la decisión del Poder Ejecutivo de declarar estado de excepción en los departamentos de San Pedro, Concepción, Amambay, Presidente Hayes y Alto Paraguay.

13th International Conference on War Tax Resistance and Peace Tax Campaigns
by Jorgen Andersen

I suppose that you agree that persons who cannot participate in wars for severe conscience reasons may be let off military service. But what if the same persons refuse to pay that part of their taxes which goes to military purposes? If this paradox interests you, maybe you should attend this conference: www.peacetaxconference.org.

The 13th International Conference on War Tax Resistance and Peace Tax Campaigns will take place at Skiringssal College (near Sandefjord, Norway) July 2-4 2010.

News & Reports!

IFOR in Action™
The IFOR International Secretariat produces a quarterly eZine (online magazine) under the name IFOR in Action™. Available both in English and French, the publication features articles and reports of IFOR Branches, Groups and Affiliates from around the world.

IFOR in Action™ is FREE and easily read online in a Web browser or downloaded as a PDF and read offline. To subscribe, please contact IFOR Communications Officer and Editor Stan Morris .

Report on the Decade for a Culture of Peace
Decade for a Culture of Peace Youth Team

Final Civil Society Report on the United Nations International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010)

"The adoption in 1999 by the United Nations General Assembly of the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace was a watershed event. Nine months of negotiations,
which I had the honor to chair, led to the adoption of this historic, norm-setting document now considered one of the most significant and enduring legacies of the United Nations."
— Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury

DEFENCE ET PROMOTION DE DROIT DES ELEVES, ENSEIGNANTS ET PARENTS EN RD CONGO
PAR DAUPHINS  MUNZIHIRWA KATALIKO

Depuis l’année  scolaire 1993-1994  jusqu’aujourd’hui,  l’éducation en RD Congo est rongée par un mal profond et une injustice incommensurable liés à la prise en charge  des enseignants par les parents des élevés et l’abandon total de l’Etat de ses responsabilités.

Comment on Special Address to the Nation by the ROK President regarding the Cheonan Naval Warship
submitted by Gyung Lan Jung

May 24th, 2010
International Women’s day for Peace & Disarmament
Women Making Peace

A series of events regarding the sinking of the Cheonan naval warship shows that peace and security on the Korean Peninsula is facing a serious threat even about 60 years after the Korean War. [Full statement]

Draft minutes of a meeting of the European FOR branches held at Leuenberg, Switzerland from 9-11th April 2010
by Henk Blom, David Mumford, and John Schot

EuFOR group photo taken in Leuenberg, Switzerland; image by Henk Blom, Mennonite World Work.

More photos by Henk Blom: 1, 2, 3

An annual European meeting is not mentioned in our IFOR Constitution, yet it has eventually developed into a symbol for the liveliness of our internationality. More and more BGA’s see these meetings as obligation and send their representatives to it. There seems to be a need for exchange and information and the personal experience of our internationality.

Read a Special Report by IFOR's UN Representative John Kim
Civil Society Urges Nuclear Disarmament to the NPT Review Conference

The highlight of the NGO participation in the 2010 NPT Review Conference occurred when the NGO Statement was presented to the Review Conference in the afternoon of May 7. I was fortunate to attend the meeting along with Dr. Mark Johnson, the Executive Director of FOR-US, and two representatives from FOR-Germany: Dr. Koller Elke and Mr. Rolf Heidorn.

Jan de Boer , Embassy of the Netherlands, visits STAR Pakistan
by Tasawar Younis Gill, Executive Director

I am sending some photos of Jan de Boer from the Netherlands Embassy; he visited our Organization in Faisalabadon 3rd Feb, 2010. Mr. de Boer appreciated our Inter-Faith and Peace activities, of which we are doing to create good relation among the people of different faiths for unity and development.

Photos of De Boer visit: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Reijiro Shito of FOR Japan (JFOR) visits US
by Stan Morris, IFOR

Last Thursday (27 April) I met with Reijiro Shito, a member of FOR Japan (JFOR) for over 50 years. This was by invitation of Ethan Vesely-Flad, who had arranged for Mr. Shito's travel from Japan and wasn't able to greet him when he arrived at FOR USA's headquarters in New York. Mr. Shito, now 82 years old and merely a student when "the bombs" were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, wanted to take part in the NPT peace actions that took place in NYC on April 30-May 2, 2010.

See Article 9 poster [English] [French]

IFOR News is an initiative of Stan Morris, IFOR Communications Officer. All IFOR members are encouraged to submit alerts, articles and reports to IFOR News. Learn more about Stan Morris and international volunteerism here.

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