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Peace is Inevitable |
The first World Peace Forum assembled in Vancouver from June 23 to 28, 2006 to discuss "Cities and Communities: Working together to end war and build a peaceful, just and sustainable world."
Following is an excerpt from a speech by Mary-Wynne Ashford, a former President of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization,
“The theme of the World Peace Forum is Cities and communities working together for a peaceful sustainable world. For the past two years I have been working on a book of successful nonviolent interventions that have prevented or ended armed conflict. At the same time as I was writing the book I was also lecturing about nuclear weapons and the urgent need to abolish war. On the one hand, I was immersed in the violence and horror of war, and on the other hand I was reading hundreds of stories of people all over the world succeeding in turning around violent responses.
Finally I concluded that we are in a global social revolution that is now being described in academic journals but has not been picked up by the popular media. The Center for Human Security at University of British Columbia issued its report last year summarizing research [covering period from 1946-2003] that I found astounding, even though I have been working in this field for years. Since the end of the Cold War in 1992, the number of major wars and genocides in the world has decreased 80%, the number of smaller, internal wars has dropped by 40% and 100 wars have quietly ended. Sixty dictators have been toppled, all nonviolently except Rumania.
The Centre concluded that the world is becoming averse to war. They credit the United Nations, International Law and the increasing influence of civil society. Other research clearly shows that increasing the participation of women in government and the economic sector increases the likelihood that a state will choose diplomatic options instead of war to resolve conflicts. A 5% increase in the number of women elected to federal government means that a state is 5 times less likely to use war to address internal conflict. States with 40% women in the labor force are 30 times less likely to have internal war than those with only 10% women in the labor force.
Cities and communities are collaborating in creative and radical ways to change the very way we think about violence. Let me give an example: If you were mayor of Bogota Colombia, how would you reduce the violence in your impoverished, crowded city? Three successive mayors of Bogota committed to restoring the dignity of the poor where they lived and in the way they traveled. They began by giving priority to the 85% of people who did not have cars instead of the 15% who did. They provided beautiful, efficient mass transit, thousands of kilometers of cycling and walking paths, parks and beautiful spaces for people to gather outdoors. Mayor Mockus replaced the traffic police with pantomime artists directing traffic. He opened the city to women for three nights and asked the men to stay home with the children. 700,000 women went downtown to walk and mingle in cafes and clubs. Traffic slowed down, violence and murder dropped dramatically.
The voice of civil society is the conscience of our nations. It is stronger now than ever in history, and for the first time the idea of ending war is more than a utopian dream. It is time to shift our priorities to act for the common good. The New York Times said in February 2003, that there is once again a second superpower – the power of world public opinion. We are all part of that superpower and we have the opportunity and the responsibility to act now to change history.”
Contact: World Peace Forum
Website: www.worldpeaceforum.ca
Tel: 604 687 3223
Email: admin@worldpeaceforum.ca
Following is an excerpt from a speech by Mary-Wynne Ashford, a former President of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization,
“The theme of the World Peace Forum is Cities and communities working together for a peaceful sustainable world. For the past two years I have been working on a book of successful nonviolent interventions that have prevented or ended armed conflict. At the same time as I was writing the book I was also lecturing about nuclear weapons and the urgent need to abolish war. On the one hand, I was immersed in the violence and horror of war, and on the other hand I was reading hundreds of stories of people all over the world succeeding in turning around violent responses.
Finally I concluded that we are in a global social revolution that is now being described in academic journals but has not been picked up by the popular media. The Center for Human Security at University of British Columbia issued its report last year summarizing research [covering period from 1946-2003] that I found astounding, even though I have been working in this field for years. Since the end of the Cold War in 1992, the number of major wars and genocides in the world has decreased 80%, the number of smaller, internal wars has dropped by 40% and 100 wars have quietly ended. Sixty dictators have been toppled, all nonviolently except Rumania.
The Centre concluded that the world is becoming averse to war. They credit the United Nations, International Law and the increasing influence of civil society. Other research clearly shows that increasing the participation of women in government and the economic sector increases the likelihood that a state will choose diplomatic options instead of war to resolve conflicts. A 5% increase in the number of women elected to federal government means that a state is 5 times less likely to use war to address internal conflict. States with 40% women in the labor force are 30 times less likely to have internal war than those with only 10% women in the labor force.
Cities and communities are collaborating in creative and radical ways to change the very way we think about violence. Let me give an example: If you were mayor of Bogota Colombia, how would you reduce the violence in your impoverished, crowded city? Three successive mayors of Bogota committed to restoring the dignity of the poor where they lived and in the way they traveled. They began by giving priority to the 85% of people who did not have cars instead of the 15% who did. They provided beautiful, efficient mass transit, thousands of kilometers of cycling and walking paths, parks and beautiful spaces for people to gather outdoors. Mayor Mockus replaced the traffic police with pantomime artists directing traffic. He opened the city to women for three nights and asked the men to stay home with the children. 700,000 women went downtown to walk and mingle in cafes and clubs. Traffic slowed down, violence and murder dropped dramatically.
The voice of civil society is the conscience of our nations. It is stronger now than ever in history, and for the first time the idea of ending war is more than a utopian dream. It is time to shift our priorities to act for the common good. The New York Times said in February 2003, that there is once again a second superpower – the power of world public opinion. We are all part of that superpower and we have the opportunity and the responsibility to act now to change history.”
Contact: World Peace Forum
Website: www.worldpeaceforum.ca
Tel: 604 687 3223
Email: admin@worldpeaceforum.ca
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