Our December newsletter is being brought to you by our National Coordinator Alley McDonald.

This December we want to highlight VOW's 2023 Review of our Annual General Meeting; VOW@Cop28; VOW's Matching Campaign; Urgent Protection of Women in Gaza, and so much more happening this month!

Be sure to scroll all the way down for upcoming events, calls to action, and recommended resources!

VOW's work of peace, anti-war and demilitarization merits your support! Make a donation. Even better, join our growing number of Monthly Peace Partners. Consider $5 or $50 or any amount in between. Become a Peace Partner today!

On 3 December, COP28 will feature Peace as a thematic convening day for the first time in the annual climate change conference’s history.

How does Peace connect to climate change policy? What is the impact of climate change on communities already affected by tensions or violent conflict? What adaptation, mitigation, or other natural resource management actions are possible to support the development of resilient individuals, households, and communities? And what can negotiators at COP28, or decision-makers around the world, do to address these challenges?

1.5 Degrees of Peace will be a panelist on Voices at the Nexus on December 3rd.

Kasha and Marla, long time VOW members, have been selected as Media and are in attendance at COP 28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from November 30th-December 10th. Kasha and Marla have been working diligently to document the evolution of bringing peace into the talks at COP for the past 2 years. They have been working with the PEACE@COP28 coalition, a community of peace organizations (including VOW) to get peace on the official agenda and into the policy track at COP28. This is the first year that peace will finally be on the COP agenda. Help Kasha & Marla with this critical mission. The trailer for 1.5 Degrees of Peace will be screen in multiple locations at COP28. Your donation will help offset production costs associated with the film, transportation and promotional materials at the event. 

Donate via paypal or directly to theglobalsunriseproject@gmail.com

Thank you!

Hosted by Acted Canada, more info here)

3 December, 9-10h, Canadian Pavilion

Filmmaker Kasha Slavner & Nisreen Elsaim - Former Chair of the UN Secretary General Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change

3 December, 16h45-17h15, Entertainment & Culture Pavilion

Hosted by 1.5 Degrees of Peace

5 December, 16h40, Youth Pavilion

Members Tamara Lorincz, Marla Slavner & Kasha Sequoia Slavner are heading to the COP 28 Climate Summit in Dubai, UAE. Tamara was selected to join the Climate Action Network-Canada (CAN-Rac) delegation as the VOW representative. Our organization is a member of CAN-Rac.

They are bringing the messages for "peace for climate justice," "cut military spending for climate finance", "cancel the F-35 fighter jet" and "demilitarize, decarbonize, decolonize".

For the first time, peace is on the climate summit thematic program, follow along here.

A statement by the Canada-Wide Peace and Justice Network as COP 28, the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, begins in Dubai.

Please click on the link below to access and share VOW's Statement on the Israel-Palestine Conflict, Action Alert-Call for Ceasefire on Gaza, resources, additional calls to actions, and stories from VOW's Co-Chair's experiences in the West Bank and Gaza.

You are invited to participate in the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) which is scheduled to be held from March 11th-22nd, 2024 at United Nations Headquarters, New York.

VOW’s Application Deadlines: Applications will be approved on a first come first reviewed basis and there are only limited passes available. We encourage you to get your application in as soon as possible. The final deadline for applications is January 5th, 2024.

Find out more by checking out our website!

Jill Carr-Harris has honed her knowledge of the strategy and tactics of nonviolent action by participating in successful campaigns in India on behalf of marginalized communities. She has now turned her attention to Canada and the issue of how to build effective peace and climate movements through well-orchestrated nonviolent campaigns, including an upcoming Caravan of Peace in Nova Scotia.

This interactive session is on Zoom only.

To Register:

On Zoom: https://tinyurl.com/4f6jnb7z

@Scienceforpeace.org

Ecology of Peace focuses on cross sector collaboration for environment preservation and conflict prevention and mitigation, to accelerate resilience in communities affected by conflict and/or natural disasters.

The session will bring together leaders to examine solutions to social conflicts around conservation, resource use and activities that damage environments and ecosystems. Gathering the private sector, government sector, NGO sector, research and science, this discussion takes an integrative approach to sustainable environment and peace.

A roundtable discussion hosted by the UN Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict Network and UNDIR on the occasion of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.

This discussion will be an opportunity to discuss weapons proliferation in relation to escalating levels of sexual violence in Sudan. Panelists will identify entry points in the work on the UN, Member States and civil society to integrate arms control and disarmament measures with the goal of strengthening conflict-related sexual violence advocacy and prevention efforts.

RSVP by December 4th, 2023. The event link will be sent to registered participants on December 5th.

An online conversation sponsored by Scholar Strike Canada on Thursday 7th. Follow the event on the SSC YouTube. A conversation not to be missed.

What is Peace@COP28? We are a participatory collective of more than 120 individuals across more than 60 institutions and 5 continents, all with an interest in making climate change policy more peace responsive and conflict sensitive. We collaborated for Stockholm+50 in June 2022 and are proud to say that our work contributed to the inclusion of peace language into the outcome documents.

There are events related to peace & climate-change, war & militarism listed here: https://www.ecosystemforpeace.org/cop28.

Successful implementation of the Paris Agreement will only be possible with a conflict sensitive and peace responsive approach. 🌎

 
COP28 starts in one month. Peace should be discussed in negotiations and included in decisions or other outcome documents. #climateactionforpeace

The global community of practice for peace has come together to develop recommendations for the integration of peace and conflict sensitivity into climate change policy. 

Read them here: https://tinyurl.com/peaceatcop28

Several countries' governments have accused the Israeli government of genocide and asked the International Criminal Court to prosecute Israeli officials, but that court effectively answers to the U.S. government and has refused for years to prosecute crimes by Israel or anyone else outside of Africa.

But the International Court of Justice has ruled against Israel in the past, and if any one nation invokes the Genocide Convention, the court will be obliged to rule on the matter.

If the ICJ determines that genocide is happening, then the ICC will not need to make that determination but only consider who is responsible.

The crime of genocide is happening. The intentional destruction of a people, in whole or in part, is genocide. The law is meant to be used to prevent it, not just review it after the fact.

What can you do? Urge countries which have been critical of Israel to invoke the Genocide Convention at the International Court of Justice. Get groups and influential people to make this a primary ask.

Sign our petition and urge world leaders to call for an immediate ceasefire by all parties and put an end to the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

A ceasefire would put a stop to unlawful attacks by all parties, halt the mounting death toll in Gaza and enable aid agencies to get life-saving aid, water and medical supplies into the Strip to address the staggering levels of human suffering. It will also allow hospitals to receive life-saving medicines, fuel and equipment they desperately need and to repair damaged wards. 

A ceasefire would also provide opportunities to negotiate the release of hostages detained in Gaza and for independent international investigations to take place into the war crimes committed by all parties in order to end long-standing impunity, which will continue to breed further atrocities. Tackling the root causes of this conflict, by dismantling Israel’s system of apartheid imposed on Palestinians is now more urgent than ever.

The situation in Israel and Palestine is evolving with each passing day – but what we know right now is this: even as Israelis mourn their loved ones and pray for the return of hostages in the wake of Hamas’s brutal attack, the state of Israel is launching an unprecedented and catastrophic assault on civilians in Gaza.1

Since October 7, the Israeli military government has cut off electricity, food, water and fuel to the 2.3 million people living in Gaza.2 As of today, the death toll has risen to 3,785. A third of those killed are children.3 These are war crimes.

With the situation in Gaza growing more desperate by the hour, the international community must act quickly to hold Israel to account and protect civilian lives. Will you send a letter to your MP calling on them to demand a ceasefire?

The situation in Israel and Palestine is evolving with each passing day – but what we know right now is this: even as Israelis mourn their loved ones and pray for the return of hostages in the wake of Hamas’s brutal attack, the state of Israel is launching an unprecedented and catastrophic assault on civilians in Gaza.1

Since October 7, the Israeli military government has cut off electricity, food, water and fuel to the 2.3 million people living in Gaza.2 As of today, the death toll has risen to 3,785. A third of those killed are children.3 These are war crimes.

With the situation in Gaza growing more desperate by the hour, the international community must act quickly to hold Israel to account and protect civilian lives. Will you send a letter to your MP calling on them to demand a ceasefire?

Despite the catastrophic health and environmental consequences, the threat of nuclear weapons has persisted with the tragic war in Ukraine, with nuclear weapon tests, NATO’s nuclear weapons exercises, and nuclear weapons modernization.

Please take a minute to write to party leaders calling on the Canadian government to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and to send a delegation to observe the Second Meeting of State Parties for the TPNW in New York at the end of November.

The Government of Canada has published statements saying “We are committed to achieving a world free of nuclear weapons." The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), to which Canada is a signatory, does not directly address complete elimination and prohibition of nuclear weapons. Canada as a member of the UN Conference on Disarmament and the Stockholm Initiative for Nuclear Disarmament, has an obligation to promote internationally the elimination of nuclear weapons.

As a non-nuclear state, Canada is in a best position to comply with the articles of the TPNW and to guide its allies and other nations toward a world free from nuclear weapons.

Sign the petition and call upon the Government of Canada to sign and commit to ratifying the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and to urge allies and other nations to follow suit! 

The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women will mark the launch of the UNiTE campaign (Nov 25- Dec 10) — an initiative of 16 days of activism concluding on the day that commemorates the International Human Rights Day (10 December).

This campaign, led by the UN Secretary-General and UN Women since 2008, aims to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls around the world, calling for global action to increase awareness, promote advocacy and create opportunities for discussion on challenges and solutions.

This years’ campaign UNITE! Activism to End Violence against Women & Girls will aim to mobilize all society to become activists for the prevention of violence against women, to stand in solidarity with women’s rights activists and to support feminist movements around the world to resist the rollback on women’s rights and calling for a world free from VAWG.

Among its activities, there is a UN official event that will take place on Wednesday, November 23 (10.00-11.30am ET.) You can follow the event on line through the UN Women Youtube channel or UN Web TV.

It has been over 30 years since the murder of 14 young women at Polytechnique Montréal (December 6, 1989). This act of violent misogyny shook our country and led Parliament to designate December 6 as The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

On December 6, we remember:

Geneviève Bergeron
Hélène Colgan
Nathalie Croteau
Barbara Daigneault
Anne-Marie Edward
Maud Haviernick
Maryse Laganière
Maryse Leclair
Anne-Marie Lemay
Sonia Pelletier
Michèle Richard
Annie St-Arneault
Annie Turcotte
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz

The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women is about remembering those who have experienced gender-based violence and those who we have lost to it. It is also a time to take action. Achieving a Canada free from gender-based violence requires everyone living in this country to educate themselves and their families and communities on gender-based violence, centre the voices of survivors in our actions and speak up against harmful behaviours.

10 December 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of one of the world's most groundbreaking global pledges: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). This landmark document enshrines the inalienable rights that everyone is entitled to as a human being - regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

The Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 and sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected.  

A year-long initiative focusing on universality, progress and engagement, will culminate in a high-level event in December 2023, which will announce global pledges and ideas for a vision for the future of human rights.

As the world faces challenges new and ongoing – pandemics, conflicts, exploding inequalities, morally bankrupt global financial system, racism, climate change – the values, and rights enshrined in the UDHR provide guideposts for our collective actions that do not leave anyone behind.

Given that young people face particular challenges in exercising their rights, while often being at the forefront of human rights activism, youth engagement is a key component of the initiative.

Dr Vladimir Zhagora: “The Challenges of Forging Peace in Sudan”

Vladimir worked on Sudan for over 14 years, with the Department of Political Affairs, United Nations, mainly in mediation efforts. He spent the equivalent of 8 years in the North, South, and East of Sudan, and in Darfur. In 2004-2005, he was the Regional coordinator for Southern Sudan with the UN Peacekeepers (UNMIS).

In January 2024, World BEYOND War will be holding a weekly discussion each of four weeks of Tracing Homelands: Israel, Palestine, and the Claims of Belonging with the author Linda Dittmar. We will send each participant a paperback copy of the book. We'll let you know which parts of the book will be discussed each week along with the Zoom details to access the discussions.

We'll put the book in the mail to you as soon as you sign up.

Join author Yves Engler on Mondays for a weekly news roundup and interactive discussion about Canada's role abroad. This weekly session will delve into the latest developments on subjects ranging from military affairs and Canada's role in Ukraine to its contribution to Palestinian dispossession, and the exploitation of African resources. Join Yves for a critical take on Canada's foreign policy. Questions, comments, and criticisms are all welcome.

On 20 July, Secretary-General António Guterres presented to Member States his Policy Brief on A New Agenda for Peace, which outlines his vision for multilateral efforts for peace and security, based on international law, for a world in transition. It outlines an extensive and ambitious set of recommendations that recognize the inter-linked nature of many of the challenges we face.

Palestinians have no control of their water and other natural resources. The land borders, movement of goods and people, air and marine space are all under Israeli control. The United Nations estimates that over 80% of Palestinians are totally reliant on humanitarian assistance. Israel's illegal blockade referred to as 'collective punishment', by the International Committee of the Red Cross, is in violation of Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Gaza Strip has been under the blockade of land, sea, and air for decades. People continue to live in an open-ended prison, on the edge of starvation without the necessities of life. Deliberate destruction of economic infrastructures will cause economic hardships far into the future with massive   unemployment number resluting in abject poverty.

During my stay in Gaza in March 2009, having received clearance to enter the territory as a delegate with a women's humanitarian organization, I saw unbelievable destruction. The Israeli bombing campaign, tanks, warplanes, and ground offensive showed no mercy.  Villages lying in ruin, bombed into piles of debris, aged olive and citrus trees bulldozed over, agricultural lands destroyed. It was particularly painful to see a Women's Centre demolished, leaving this United Nations building, once considered 'safe', for women and children, only a memory.

"This most recent outbreak of violence in Jerusalem and yet another Israeli military assault on the Gaza Strip seems particularly serious... [But] over the past decade the Israeli government's commitment to increase the Jewish presence in East Jerusalem has intensified, including persistent efforts to expropriate Palestinian homes in neighborhoods like Silwan.  Then came the final incendiary action. On Monday (10 May 2021), the Israeli police stormed the Al-Aqsa compound, where thousands of worshippers had gathered. "

https://rethinkingsecurity.org.uk/2021/05/14/israel-chooses-violence-once-again

Over the next several weeks, Israeli settlers, continued their raids on homes occupied by Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah. Police continued raiding the Aqsa Mosque, time and time again, raising the tension which ultimately led to the 11-day war.  This unrelentingly provocation resulted in missile fire from Hamas, the political, militant organization governing Gaza.

Hundreds of buildings, schools, hospitals, primary healthcare centers, including the central COVID-19 testing laboratory were destroyed.  Thousands of civilians fled their homes which were no longer inhabitable. After 11 days of violence that killed 248 people, including 66 children, and 39 women with hundreds of children injured, a ceasefire was announced.

What is particularly disconcerting is the deliberate targeting and destruction of 14-storey building that housed media outlets.  "Deliberately targeting media outlets constitutes a war crime," RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said. "By intentionally destroying media outlets, the Israel Defense Forces are not only inflicting unacceptable material damage on news operations. They are also, more broadly, obstructing media coverage of a conflict that directly affects the civilian population. We call on the International Criminal Court's prosecutor to determine whether these airstrikes constitute war crimes."

https://rsf.org/en/news/rsf-asks-icc-prosecutor-say-whether-israeli-airstrikes-media-gaza-constitute-war-crimes.

Be sure to renew your membership and donate to support our important work building a culture of peace in Canada and so that we can continue to hire youth throughout the year. Make a donation today!