Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza

Israel has declared a unilateral ceasefire in its war against Hamas in Gaza. Israel began air attacks on Gaza on December 27 in response to rockets fired by Hamas into southern Israel and the breakdown of a six-month ceasefire. On January 4, Israeli tanks entered the Palestinian territory.

More than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed and about 5,300 people were wounded in 22 days of attacks. Nearly half of the wounded are women or children, according to a Gaza Health Ministry statement.

Thirteen Israelis have been killed, including three civilians.

Refugee Rights

Unjustly exiled from their home country, refugees are persons forced to migrate to a new country for security and protection. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (the UN refugee agency) legally defines refugees as “people who are outside their countries because of a well-founded fear of persecution based on their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or social group.”

The UNHCR reports that there are 20.8 million refugees and other people in need of protection worldwide. Out of that large number, nine million children are refugees.

Children Rights

“The child, for the full and harmonious development of his or her personality, should grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding. The child should be fully prepared to live an individual life in society…in the spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality and solidarity.”-from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Every child has a right to their childhood – a hopeful existence free of exploitation, violence, neglect, and extreme poverty. Children need education, health services, consistent support systems as well as love, hope and encouragement; all these things and more are required in order to experience childhood to the fullest, and to eventually develop into healthy, capable adults.

Human Rights & Equity

Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms entitled to any person, regardless of economic status, nationality, jurisdiction, age, ability, ethnicity, sex, and sexuality. These basic rights are the right to life, freedom, equality, justice, and freedom of thought and expression.

In 1948, the world community spoke through the United Nations by establishing a framework for human rights awareness and protection with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). This was the first time that the protection of human rights was officially declared an international responsibility. Since then, human rights education and awareness has taken root in countries all over the world.

Youth Violence

“Violence is anything that denies human integrity and leads to hopelessness and helplessness.” (Marin Luther King Jr.)

Interpersonal violence perpetrated by youth is a problem in every society. Youth violence can take many forms: bullying, gender and racial harassment, sexual assault/rape, gang violence, gun use, and ‘hate’ crimes. Some blame the mass media, particularly music, sports and video games, for glorifying violence and desensitizing its viewers; while others its our structural culture of violence, war and instability. Youth violence is disturbing because it can cause a lot of psychological damage to a person’s sense of self at a critical identity-forming time in one’s life. And youth who exhibit violent behaviors early will likely continue to act in destructive ways over the course of their adult life.

Peace Building

We can all contribute to creating a culture of peace. Building peace requires following through on the principles of good communication: be clear when stating your position; aim to resolve differences by treating others with respect; listen, don’t argue angrily or fight; be open to different viewpoints and alternatives; and finally be optimistic that good will come out of a non-violent approach. Peacebuilding happens at the international level but also at the grassroots level.
At an international level, peace-building refers to both nonviolent conflict resolution and the process of creating and sustaining peace after violent conflict, by providing an alternative to violence and conflict through communication, problem-solving and preventative measures. It is the work that must be done before during and after conflict and involves collaborating with knowledgeable organizations to equip people with tools that can help them avoid and leave conflict situations.

Good Governance

Let us dismiss hypocrisy and enhance democracy
By changing the process
to measure our country’s progress-
Poem "Young People, Take Charge" by TakingITGlobal member
Exercising power and decision-making for a group of people is called governance. It happens everywhere – from urban centres to rural villages – and the well-being of a community depends on the choices made by people granted this authority. Because of the diversity of organizational structures around the world, people such as land lords, heads of associations, cooperatives, NGOs, religious leaders, political parties and of course, government are all actors granted the power to govern.

Arms Control

While the causes of many international conflicts are multifaceted and complex, there can be no denying the role of arms in international security. Ironically, the ending of one conflict often means the creation of a new one as the proliferation of weapons - such as used guns, grenades and tanks - are sold at low cost to guerrillas and armies in other countries. The subject of arms control has taken centre stage recently because of its impact on the international terrorism. While peace advocates have been dialoguing about nonproliferation and a greater emphasis on human rights, this has often taken a back seat to seemingly more pressing issues.

Peace, Conflict & Governance

The greatest challenge that the human race has ever faced still remains: to live in a world free of the threat of violence. Violence is not restricted to times of war; it exists everywhere: in homes, schools and communities. Where there is injustice, there is conflict.

Conflict is generally classified in terms of both violent and nonviolent conflict. Violent conflict is generally associated as the use of force as a means to an end, while nonviolent conflict usually involves peaceful negotiation between conflicting groups or even mediation by an external (outside) group in order to work toward a compatible goal or resolution. Over time, nonviolent conflicts can erupt into direct force if a reasonable compromise is not reached.

SDPI Governance Program

Governance

Introduction
The program on governance is designed to fill the gap in research on governance by providing independent scholarly advice to decision makers on how to address the current crisis in governance and contributing to intellectual debate on the topic.
There appears to be a general agreement that Pakistan faces a multi-faceted crisis of governance. The weakening of the managerial capacity of the state has resulted in environmental degradation, law and order problems, human rights violations, poor and inadequate delivery of social and economic services, and a lower than potential rate of economic growth. The problem is much more general and not unique to Pakistan.
The positive vote for devolution in Scotland and Wales in the Britain is the latest case of this trend. The adoption of this principle involves decentralization of the state and devolution of power to the local level.
The National Conservation Strategy aptly describes the crisis of governance in terms of the institutional capacity of the state to meet the needs of the people. It states: "State institutions are sectorally organized, in line with general arrangements for administration and development. The ministries and attached line departments are not oriented towards joint facilitation of local development and have limited capacities for dealing with environmental impacts, most of which are cross-sectoral." The description fits all aspects of public life, from law and order to delivery of social and economic services.

Initiatives:

• Project on Local Government
• Landed Power and Local Government Elections
• Using Theatre as a Research tool: Troubleshooting the Devolution Plan
• Analyzing the Effectiveness of the Devolution Plan
• An Analysis of Access of the Marginalised to the Judiciary

Sustainable Development Policy Institute

Brief History

SDPI was founded in August 1992 on the recommendation of the Pakistan National Conservation Strategy (NCS), also called Pakistan’s Agenda 21. The NCS placed Pakistan’s socio-economic development within the context of a national environmental plan. This highly acclaimed document, approved by the Federal Cabinet in March 1992, outlined the need for an independent non-profit organization to serve as a source of expertise for policy analysis and development, policy intervention, and policy and program advisory services. SDPI is registered under the Societies Registration Act, XXI of 1860.

MandateTo

• Conduct policy advice, policy oriented research and advocacy from a broad multi-disciplinary perspective.
• Promote the implementation of policies, programs, laws and regulations based on sustainable development.
• Strengthen civil society and facilitate civil society-government interaction through collaboration with other organizations and activist networks.
• Disseminate research findings and public education through the media, conferences, seminars, lectures, publications and curricula development.
• Contribute to building up national research capacity and infrastructure.

Sustainable Development Policy Institute

The Sustainable Development Policy Institute provides the global sustainable development community with representation from Pakistan as well as South Asia as a whole.

The Institute's mission is:

To catalyse the transition towards sustainable development, defined as the enhancement of peace, social justice and well-being, within and across generations.

Need For Peace

It is the obligation of thinking people on this planet to weigh the implications of a future without co-existence, to ponder the underlying causes of today's conflicts, to encourage efforts aimed at addressing these complexities and to promote similar thoughtful consideration by others.

Humanity arrives together at the beginning of this new millennium in an age where the knowledge of weapons of mass destruction is but a click away. And we live in a world where terrorism is viewed by some as a legitimate response to the perceived economic and cultural assaults they face.
Everyone... every women, every man... all people of all faiths and all races must find a way to embrace each other's differences, and search for compromise and a way to co-exist. The alternative is an unthinkable future for our children..

Peace Corps

The Peace Corps traces its roots and mission to 1960, when then Senator John F. Kennedy challenged students at the University of Michigan to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries. From that inspiration grew an agency of the federal government devoted to world peace and friendship.
Since that time, more than 195,000 Peace Corps Volunteers have served in 139 host countries to work on issues ranging from AIDS education to information technology and environmental preservation.
Today's Peace Corps is more vital than ever, working in emerging and essential areas such as information technology and business development, and committing more than 1,000 new Volunteers as a part of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Peace Corps Volunteers continue to help countless individuals who want to build a better life for themselves, their children, and their communities.
There's quite a bit to learn about the Peace Corps—explore the following sections to get to know its mission, history, and current endeavors in depth.

Women War Peace

Background

The Security Council noted the 'need to consolidate data on the impact of armed conflict on women and girls' in its October 2000 resolution on Women, Peace and Security.
To try to address the lack of consolidated and accessible information, UNIFEM has created this portal, which is very much a work in progress. We have only begun to create a centralized repository of information from a wide variety of sources, with links to reports and data from the UN system, and also from experts, academics, NGOs and media sources. And we have only begun to do this with resources in English.

Purpose

Our inital aim is to track progress on the implementation of resolution 1325, and ultimately to provide information to encourage researchers, policy makers, analysts and NGOs so they can routinely include, seek and contribute more information and analysis on women, war and peace.
Through this portal, UNIFEM strives to provide access to the information and analysis that is currently available on the impact of armed conflict on women and women's role in peace-building. We do our best to ascertain the legitimacy of the sources of that information and analysis. Where there are conflicting perspectives, we strive to present a variety thereof so that users can make their own judgement regarding the accuracy of the information.
The absence of formal approaches to collecting and analyzing information on women in conflict in response to resolution 1325 means that gender issues are not systematically addressed in political and preventive actions and post-conflict peace building. This is reflected, for example, in Security Council discussions and in reports of the Secretary General where attention to specific gender issues in individual countries is still lacking. This is not due to deliberate neglect, but to the enormity of the gender mainstreaming task that the United Nations has set for itself.The information presented on the portal is broadly divided into two areas: Issue Briefs and Country Profiles. The content of the portal is also supported by a robust 1325 Toolbox which contains commentary, tools, and analysis related to SC resolution 1325 from 2000 to today.

International Day of Peace, September 21
The International Day of Peace ("Peace Day") provides an opportunity for individuals, organizations and nations to create practical acts of peace on a shared date. It was established by a United Nations resolution in 1981 to coincide with the opening of the General Assembly. The first Peace Day was celebrated in September 1982.
In 2002 the General Assembly officially declared September 21 as the permanent date for the International Day of Peace.
By creating the International Day of Peace, the UN devoted itself to worldwide peace and encouraged all of mankind to work in cooperation for this goal. During the discussion of the U.N. Resolution that established the International Day of Peace, it was suggested that:
"Peace Day should be devoted to commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples…This day will serve as a reminder to all peoples that our organization, with all its limitations, is a living instrument in the service of peace and should serve all of us here within the organization as a constantly pealing bell reminding us that our permanent commitment, above all interests or differences of any kind, is to peace."
Since its inception, Peace Day has marked our personal and planetary progress toward peace. It has grown to include millions of people in all parts of the world, and each year events are organized to commemorate and celebrate this day. Events range in scale from private gatherings to public concerts and forums where hundreds of thousands of people participate.
Anyone, anywhere can celebrate Peace Day. It can be as simple as lighting a candle at noon, or just sitting in silent meditation. Or it can involve getting your co-workers, organization, community or government engaged in a large event. The impact if millions of people in all parts of the world, coming together for one day of peace, is immense.International Day of Peace is also a Day of Ceasefire – personal or political. Take this opportunity to make peace in your own relationships as well as impact the larger conflicts of our time. Imagine what a whole Day of Ceasefire would mean to humankind.

Internation Peace Day

The United Nations' International Day of Peace - marked every year on September 21 - is a global holiday when individuals, communities, nations and governments highlight efforts to end conflict and promote peace.
Established by U.N. resolution in 1982, "Peace Day" has grown to include millions of people around the world who participate in all kinds of events, large and small.
For 2008, this new Web site makes it easy to find and promote Peace Day events anywhere in the world. Just click on "Participate!" to locate an event or post information. And explore the rest of the site to learn more about Peace Day and how to get involved.
May Peace Prevail On Earth!