Global Alliance For Ministries and Departments of Peace

3rd Summit for Ministries & Departments of Peace - Japan 2007

The 3rd Global Summit for Ministries and Departments of Peace took place September 21-26 in Kisarazu and Tokyo, Japan. This extraordinary event began on the International Day of Peace and Global Ceasefire declared by the UN. It featured 21 country delegations*, representing both civil society and parliamentarians, from all five continents, including Nepal, which became the second country after the Solomon Islands to form a Ministry of Peace, and Rwanda, a country that experienced genocide in 1994. The event was sponsored by the Global Alliance for Ministries and Departments of Peace numbering more than 25 countries and hosted by its Japanese member, Japan United for Ministry of Peace (JUMP).

Ministries and Departments of Peace are dedicated to creating a culture of peace within and between countries where the Ministers of Peace would meet to reduce violence and war through non-violent conflict resolution.

A principal purpose of this Summit in Japan was to support the peaceful nature of the Japanese Constitution, now under review, and to advocate that all countries create peace constitutions.

Over the four days of meeting, the Summit heard reports from each country, carried out a series of intensive training towards the formation of Ministries and Departments of Peace within their respective governments, and resolved to witness the creation at least two more ministries by the next Summit, with Costa Rica as the most likely to declare. “This summit empowered each one of the participants and gave the Global Alliance the power to go forward,” said Yumi Kikuchi, founder and chair of JUMP.

At the summit the Africa Alliance for Peace emerged, initiated by delegates from Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda.

The Global Alliance calls for structures in governments and civil society that support a culture of peace, working together with all sectors in each country, especially youth, towards that goal.

*Countries represented were: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Palestine, the Philippines, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, UK and USA.

1st People’s Summit for Ministries & Departments of Peace

The first international People’s Summit for Departments of Peace was held in London, UK, on October 18-19, 2005. The two-day Summit was preceded by two days of training (October 16-17) in the latest developments on the expanding frontier of knowledge and practice in peacebuilding and conflict transformation around the world.

Forty people from twelve countries took time from their busy lives and invested their energy and resources to attend. The countries represented included Australia, Canada, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Netherlands, Palestine, Romania, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States of America. In addition, written support was received from political leaders in Australia, Nepal, Nigeria, Japan, and Uganda, including:

At the time olf the First Summit, five of these countries had working groups conducting campaigns for Departments of Peace or Ministries for Peace: Australia, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, and the United States.

Throughout the four days it was evident that ‘we the people’ are ready, willing, and able to be together and communicate with one another in ways that demonstrate the change we wish to see.

On the final day of the Summit, the participants launched an on-going partnership for global action, now called the Global Alliance for Ministries and Departments of Peace. The London Summit then concluded with a public meeting in the Grand Committee Room in the Houses of Parliament, hosted by John McDonnell MP and emceed by Diana Basterfield, co-founder of UK ministry for peace. The event opened with video greetings from Congressman Dennis Kucinich and Marianne Williamson, and Dot Maver spoke on behalf of The Peace Alliance. Canada’s representative, Saul Arbess, shared the Canadian working group’s perspective. John McDonnell MP then articulated clearly the urgent need for departments and ministries of peace in order to provide a governmental infrastructure — an institutional space — for dialogue on peaceful resolution of conflict to take place