Established in 2000, the Peace Appeal Foundation was co-founded and mandated by five Nobel Peace Laureates, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, F.W. de Klerk, Mairead Maguire and Adolfo Esquivel. The founders' vision is to build a culture of peace and non-violence for the children of the world. The foundation supports local, national and international stakeholders in their efforts to create and sustain peace and dialogue processes to transform or prevent violent conflict and build the foundations for a just and durable peace.
"Coordinating Transitional Justice"Insights into the practice of peacebuilding from the community of the Peace Appeal.
Jeffrey Seul, the Peace Appeal's co-chair, recently published an article in the January 2019 edition of the Negotiation Journal (published by the Harvard Law School) on the challenges to coordinating transitional justice in countries in conflict. The article addresses the real and perceived tensions between human rights and conflict resolution professionals as they seek to "avoid or end the wars that breed human rights violations and the human rights violations that breed wars. The full article is available online from Wiley and Sons here.
Our Year End/Year Beginning Message....In Memoriam: Padma Ratna Tuladhar
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Invest in Peacebuilding 2019
News and PerspectivesThe Peace Appeal Welcomes Our New Intern for 2019
The Peace Appeal is pleased to welcome Sahana Bhagat for its internship program in its US office for the Fall semester.
Sahana is a 3rd year Echols Scholar at the University of Virginia. (The Echols Scholarship program is awarded to app. 5% of entering students within the University of Virginia's College of Arts and Sciences). Sahana is pursuing a degree in Global Security and Justice, with a minor in Social Entrepreneurship. Sahana has a qualitative research background and has most recently returned from conducting ethnographic research for community organizations in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, South Africa. She is passionate about humanitarian aid and microfinancing. During her internship, she will be working with Peace Appeal staff on a number of projects related to our support for peacebuilding partners in Zimbabwe and US. We are excited to have her join us. Peace Education:
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Reflections on the Possibilities and Limitations of Dialogue
Zimbabweans Work to Seize an Historic Opportunity
December, 2017. A coalition of civil society groups, representing Zimbabwe’s leading religious bodies, labor and human rights organizations, women, youth and disabilities movements, Media associations, students and more have come together to advance democratic reforms at this historic moment in Zimbabwe’s history. Calling themselves the National People’s Convention, their new effort is to launch a National Envisioning Process, which seeks to rally together citizens of Zimbabwe to make the most of the opening of the democratic space in Zimbabwe.
The Peace Appeal and our partners have been working with one of the lead organizers in this effort, the Zimbabwean Council of Churches (“ZCC”) whose General Secretary attended the Third Conference on National Dialogues in Helsinki in April. Plans for advancing inclusive dialogue in anticipation of elections in 2018 were accelerated with the dramatic developments leading to the resignation of Mugabe last month. In the last few weeks, four gatherings have been convened in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, as well as the cities Bulawayo and Mutare. As the year comes to a close, organizers are developing a long term structured initiative to galvanize public participation in developing a cohesive vision for the nation both in advance of next year’s elections and to continue over the next several years. Burma's Union Peace Conference - the 21rst Century Panglong Reconvenes
May 30, 2017. This past week, Burma’s Union Peace Conference reconvened for the third time in 18 months. Known as the “21rst Century Panglong” (a reference to the 1947 meeting between Burma's interim head of government, Aung San - father of today's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi - and ethnic leaders from the Shan, Kachin and Chin), the conference brought together an estimated 740 delegates, plus many non-seated observers, from throughout the country to engage in a comprehensive dialogue seeking to end the country’s ongoing violent political conflicts and establish a new federal structure for a unified, peaceful Burma.
After extending discussions by an additional day in an attempt to find solutions to contentious issues, the conference concluded Monday with a first phase agreement. The “Pyidaungsu Accord" incorporated 37 high level principles that emerged from state and regional dialogues, including basic commitments to democracy and federalism, and fundamental principles covering economic, social sector, regional development and land and the natural environment. Key sticking points among parties remain (including commitments to “non-secession”). Not all parties to the nation's conflict were present, 7 ethnic parties had left early. In the next phase all parties will need to be engaged, and key issues and the modalities of power sharing and the country’s future federal structure will need to be addressed. |
USIP Publishes "Nonformal Dialogues in National Peacemaking: Complementary Approaches" The United State Institute of Peace published a report by Derek Brown, our co-director, entitled "Nonformal Dialogues in National Peacemaking: Complementary Approaches." The report draws extensively on the experiences of national stakeholders in both nonformal and formal national dialogue processes who participated in two international conferences on national dialogues in April 2014 and November 2015 that were hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland.
Crisis in Myanmar: Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu Writes Open Appeal to Fellow Nobel Laureate, Aung San Suu KyiSeptember 7, 2017. Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu wrote an open letter to his fellow Nobel Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi in response to the crisis in Myanmar affecting hundreds of thousands of Rohingya, many of whom have fled catastrophic violence in Burma's Rakhine state to take refuge neighboring Bangladesh. In his closing paragraph, Archbishop Tutu calls on his friend to speak out. "We pray for your to speak out for justice, human rights and the unity of your people. We pray for you to intervene in the escalating crisis and guide your people back towards the path of righteousness."
Humanitarian and Peacebuilding Efforts Impacted by Counter-terrorism & Money Laundering RegulationsMay 25, 2017. Our partners at the Charity and Security Network continue to monitor and work to reverse the closing regulatory space for humanitarian relief and peacebuilding organizations. They've just highlighted three new reports studying the impact on civil society of new counter-terrorism and money-laundering regulations, and the efforts of civil society coalitions to the improve the regulatory environment that impedes charitable organizations' humanitarian work. The reports include a study released by Chatham House, the other by Bread for the World, and a third by UN Special Rapporteur Miana Kiai.
New Challenges to Peace SupportWashington, February 7, 2017. Two-thirds of U.S.-based nonprofit organizations working abroad are facing problems accessing financial services, according to a comprehensive report released today by the Charity and Security Network. The study illustrates a growing challenge to peacebuilding and humanitarian relief organizations working in conflict zones globally.
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This recently created guide on children and war sa part of the Peace and Dialogue Platform compiles essential knowledge resources and information on the subject. It is aimed to be an ongoing knowledge sharing space and accumulation of information around this issue.
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