Region

NPT conference kicks off with acrimonious interchanges between Iran and the USA. Ban Ki-Moon reminded delegates that the last conference failed, “This time we can… and must… do better”. Iran condemned US deterrence policies as the source of proliferation and the US replied that, “Iran’s president offered the same tired, false, and sometimes wild accusations against the US.”

The Mayor of Hiroshima headed a list of dignitaries at the front of a Great March to the United Nations in order to meet with UN Disarmament Chief, Sergio Duarte. The Abolition Torch carried around the world on the World March for Peace and Nonviolence was handed over to the UN as a reminder to conference delegates attending the NPT conference of their important task.

2 days before the NPT conference begins in New York, UN General Secretary Ban Ki Moon addresses the anti-nuclear movement in a conference, “For a Nuclear Free, Peaceful, Just and Sustainable World”. He talks of his shared view of a world free of Nuclear weapons and says, “The time for change is now”. A delegation of World without Wars travels to New York in support.

The Frente Nacional de Prefeitos (FNP) joined Mayors for Peace during their General Meeting held in Florianopolis, south of Brazil, on April 26 and 27th. In the motion adopted by the FNP the Brazilian Association of Local Governments encourages its members to join individually. During the conference 29 Brazilian Mayors were welcomed as new members.

The traditional knowledge and practices of about 370 million indigenous peoples in 90 countries around the world are increasingly being recognized as vital for conservation of nature and efforts to combat and adapt to climate change.
Ban Ki Moon called on “governments, indigenous peoples and UN to ensure that the Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples becomes a reality”.

The leader of the Colombian Green Party, Antanas Mockus, reached a technical tie in popularity rating with his most dangerous rival in the presidential race, and stated his goal is to win in first electoral round. A poll by the National Consultancy Center and CM News revealed that Mockus has climbed considerably in voting intentions.

Call it perfect timing or a sheer historical coincidence; be it because they feel caught between the Israeli nuclear hammer and the Iranian might-be atomic anvil or just because they truly want it, the fact is that the leaders of 22 Arab countries have launched an unprecedented massive and pressing call to free the world from nuclear weapons.

Here in this small Andean nation of 10 million people, the glaciers are melting, threatening the water supply of the largest urban area in the country, El Alto and La Paz, with 3.5 million people living at altitudes over 10,000 feet. I flew from El Alto International, the world’s highest commercial airport, to the city of Cochabamba.

We have been talking to Hugo Novotny about the Parks of Study and Reflection and what is being lived in them by those who do the work of levelling, as well as those who develop a process in one of the four disciplines: the material discipline, the energetic discipline, the mental discipline and morphological discipline.

Peace Boat’s Global Voyage will be setting sail from the port of Yokohama on April 16 (Fri) on the third Global Voyage for a Nuclear-Free World, in which ten Hibakusha will (atomic bomb survivors) will participate. During the 101 day journey until July 25, they will be visiting 22 ports in 20 countries, giving testimonies of their experiences.