[R-G] Global Peace Congress - Peace Conference Resolutions - Congress2007

[Tim Murphy]

Dear Colleagues:

Greetings! We send you in this email, the Official Resolutions adopted by
Congress 2007, a Global Peace Congress which was held from August 24-26,
2007 in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. The resolutions can also be viewed and
downloaded at www.congress2007.net ( http://www.congress2007.net/ ). The
Congress2007 Community would like to invite you to join the academic
community in reflecting on these resolutions with colleagues and students at
your esteemed institution.

We hope that the Resolutions can spur a fresh wave of academic scholarship
on Global Peace.

The Vision behind the Congress is a furtherance of Dialog between diverse
views, paradigms and ideologies that have thus far served as divisive forces
for humanity. The attending panelists, distinguished and committed
activists, scholars, artists and religious leaders from All over the Globe
and from All Walks of Life, engaged in Dialog with each other as well as
with participating audience members across the traditional boundaries of
class, race, ethnicity, gender, profession and so on. The object was to
locate all possible Areas of Agreement that can create a World-Wide
Affiliation of Peoples who can, while maintaining and respecting Difference,
sincerely find Common Cause that will sustain and nourish Planetary Life
Forms under threat today from both Violence and Greed. 
 
Panel discussions were held in the areas of Gender, Ecology, Politics,
Economy, Race, Tradition, Community, Peace/War, Arts, Science, Religion,
Spirituality, Modernism and Health and Human well-being, and resolutions
were adopted by vote in all of the above areas. We consider an open-ended
dialog between people from such diverse areas to be imperative for the
restoration of Global Peace. We hope you will partake of and also help us
extend the conversation.
 
Respectfully,
Katherine Hawkins, Chair
Congress 2007
________________________________
 
Congress2007 Resolutions
 
We, the participants in the Congress for Planetary Initiatives 2007,
assembled in Salt Lake City, Utah (August 22-26, 2007),  as a matter of dire
need, to develop a base of concerns, to formulate a framework for a global
action plan to ensure world peace;
 
A. The Gender panelists, after careful deliberation on the theme of "Gender
Issues, and their Implications for World Peace" submit to the assembled
Congress the following resolutions:To recognize that gender is an integral
part of all social, political, economic, and religious systems, often
central to those systems.
To recognize that Feminism works to transform structures of domination and
illegitimate hierarchies by addressing and changing the underlying
ideologies and power of those structures.
To acknowledge that Feminism advocates values which preserve the dignity of
all human beings.
To acknowledge that Feminism envisions a society without war, and without
killing, torture, abuse or disempowerment of minority populations.
To recognize that structures of domination are interrelated; e.g.
media, economics, and patriarchy.
To ensure that children be brought up with an awareness of the structures of
domination. 
To recognize and challenge the disempowering gender-roles and images
portrayed in media. 
To ensure that societies are furnished with mechanisms that recognize the
value of any work that sustains human life (not just paid work that carries
a monetary value).
To recognize the existence of a variety of discourses for empowering women,
including religious and indigenous cultural values.
To acknowledge that there are various feminisms throughout the world and
that they are valid and effective.


B. The Arts, Culture, Film and Recreation panelists, after careful
deliberation on the theme of "Art and Aesthetics: The Contribution of
Creativity to World Peace" submit to the assembled Congress the following
resolutions:
 
Recognizing that,Art and media can be a powerful catalyst for personal and
social transformation but often does not meet this goal.
The industry is market driven. 
Consumers participate in the market. 

We propose:that parents and educators model and encourage conscious
consumption of media via informed media literacy. This includes issues
regarding program content AND the harmful physical, emotional and social
consequences of inappropriate (age and stage specific) over consumption of
commercially produced graphic (screen based) media.
that producers, directors and actors take responsibility for the impact
their works have on the social, emotional and spiritual development of the
people who view (consume) their products.
that leaders in the industry serve as role models to expand their commercial
success by creating new forms that are both commercially successful
(engaging, entertaining) and socially responsible (in-lightening rather than
en-darkening.)  And by so doing set a new and higher standard and example
for emerging artist.
that all new emerging forms of media-propaganda clearly state their
sponsors.   

 C. The Kinship, Community and Societal Change panelists, after careful
deliberation on the theme of "Family, Tribe, the Affective Life, and World
Peace" submit to the assembled Congress the following
resolutions:
 
Recognizing that we are World Peace Activists and that we serve in our
communities and in all our dealings; 
 
Accordingly, we propose to:
 
a.        Create an online community (website) to further our
international Activism.
 
b.      Make available our collective resources to support this
community in furthering our individual visions and our overall objective of
world peace. 
 
c.       Create an online forum and establish creative leadership to
moderate the discussion and to protect the integrity of the initiative.
 
d.      Articulate, formulate, and disseminate this message to the
media.
 
e.       Enroll financial institutions both local and global to support
this vision of world peace advocacy through financial support or private
funding.
 
f.        Register with the United Nations as a consultative NGO.
 
 D. The Science, Technology, Ideas and Innovationpanelists, after careful
deliberation on the theme of "Mainstream Science, Alternative Sciences, and
their Potential for Peace" submit to the assembled Congress the following
resolutions:
 
Recognizing that:
 
i.                     what is required is peace on all four planes of
social being: material transactions with nature; social interactions between
people; social structure; and above all, the stratification of the embodied
personality. This last condition involves the integration of the mental,
emotional and physical aspects of our personality. As inner peace, this
integration is also the condition of working towards peace at all four
levels.
 
ii.                   the industrial revolution has produced untold
damage (from which we are still suffering) at all these planes of social
being; and we have not adequately assessed the effects of more recent
technological innovations-from the television to the computer and other
electronic communications devices. 
 
iii.                  The possibility of the beneficial use of good
science in the development of alternative peace-conducive technologies is
severely constrained by the structure of contemporary society, and in
particular the subordination of scientific research and development to
corporate, political and military aims.
 
In this impasse, we would like to adopt the following resolutions:
 
a.             To develop the sciences of inner, human and social
being, alongside peace studies. (Inner science or understanding would, for
example, investigate the use of our remarkable capacity for reflexivity or
self-observation.) In developing the science of human social being, we need
 
b.             To pay attention to lay knowledge as a resource and to
perspectives that predate the advent of modernity, for example a principle
of balance between work and leisure, or the cultivation of appropriate scale
in human life. 
 
c.             To attend to the way in which certain ethical
principles, such as reciprocity or universal solidarity are the unrecognized
foundation of social practices in all sectors of social life. 
 
d.             To explore the possibilities of the unconditional
sharing of all science and technology.
 
 
E. The Ecology, Nature and other Species panelists, after careful
deliberation on the theme of "Nature, Ecology, and Environment:
Implications for World Peace" submit to the assembled Congress the following
resolutions:
 
Recognizing that in earlier times we wondered how long the excluded and
oppressed peoples of our planet would have to struggle to achieve basic
human dignity; 
 
Recognizing that we did not realize at the time that along with social
injustice the scepter of human extinction would stare us in the face; 
 
Acknowledging that the ecological crisis is accelerating at an alarming rate
and that each of us can do small and big things to reverse the situation; 
 
Affirming that we shall overcome in the end;
 
We propose the following,
 
a. At the personal level
-         that we make the right choices rather than succumb to the
seduction of the consumer market,
-         that we be careful in the use of water, turn of the lights,
take a bus or a train instead of a plane, as far as possible,
-         that we begin to see the earth as sacred, as a mother to be
honored and not as a commodity to be plundered and wasted,
-         that we sense the energy and the nurturance that the earth
gifts us,
-         that we eat less meat and more vegetables, fruits and cereal,
since the production of meat inflicts a heavy toll on the environment,
-         that we produce and consume locally as far as possible, not
least of all because we can avoid transportation over long distances, which
is a major cause of global warming,
 
b. That since corporations are a major source of environmental pollution,
citizens must increasingly monitor corporate behavior and evaluate their
ecological footprints, obliging them to compete with each other in promoting
ecological best practices. Simultaneously we should strive to change human
consumer behavior by working together with corporations to popularize the
image of being green,
 
c. That civil society groups and organizations must pressure national
governments to participate in the formulation and implementation of
environmental policy and legislation. Only a transparent and participatory
process can prevent special interest groups from subverting the
implementation of meaningful environmental laws,
 
d. That we push our elected representatives to move swiftly to develop
alternate energy sources, be they wind, sun, hydrogen fuel cells or
sustainable bio-fuels etc.,
 
e. That since in most countries agriculture is the largest consumer of
water, we develop methods of low-water agriculture, such as the Madagascar
method o f paddy cultivation and the drip and sprinkler methods of
irrigation and that these must be subsidized with government funds so that
they can be widely used,
 
f. That we should organize civil society debates on all aspects related to
global warming and lobby both nationally and internationally to move towards
more substantive efforts to go to the roots on climate change,
 
g. That we should support the socially responsible companies by increasing
the consumer awareness of ecological benefits of being and staying green and
using more plant based products in lieu of pesticides or chemically enriched
products.
 
h. That we should strive to understand the implications and impact of WAR
(and what is behind war) on environment and that we should publicize this
widely.
 
i. That we should promote and ensure protection for the ever increasing
numbers of environmental refugees and recognize the need for a new U.N.
international convention on the states of refugees that includes the terms
environmental refugee, and ensures the safe and adequate care, and
protection for the world's internally displaced environmental refugees and
international environmental refugees.
 
 
F. The Economy and Material Life panelists, after careful deliberation on
the theme of "Human Needs, Provisioning, Ethics, and World Peace"
submit to the assembled Congress the following resolutions:
 
Recognizing that the current global economic structure has failed to deliver
peace due to its exploitative nature, its undemocratic institutions of
global governance, its devaluation of non-market economic activities, its
excessive focus on economic growth, its aggression against nature, its
tendency to reinforce and feed upon social segmentations along gender,
racial, religious, caste, and ethnic lines, its tendency to homogenize
cultural variety, and to create islands of plenty amidst seas of misery
leading to conflict and violence,  
 
Recognizing that the consumerist western lifestyle is not ecologically
sustainable for all peoples of the earth,
 
Acknowledging that working towards world peace requires a system of social
provisioning that can satisfy material human needs, enhance human
capabilities, secure a decent quality of life, and expand choice options,
without violence against people and without violence against nature. 
 
Recognizing that working towards such a system entails the rejection of
Eurocentric habits of thought, and the celebration of the diversity and
richness of non-western economic traditions,  
 
Acknowledging that such a system only employs technology in the service of
the above stated aims, rather than celebrating it for its own sake or
employing it only for the sake of economic growth, 
 
We propose an economic system that entails:
 Securing national sovereignty to allow for the implementation of autonomous
trade, fiscal, and monetary policies that are commensurate with the
objectives of social justice, poverty alleviation, and provisioning of
health and education, Securing cultural sovereignty to protect the diversity
of local economies, Ensuring genuine grassroots participation at all levels
of decision making from local to national and global governance agencies,
Encouraging communal and non-exploitative production processes that utilize
non-labor displacing and non-ecologically degrading technologies, Ensuring
that market processes are governed by a legal framework bounded by
culturally specific ethical norms, rather than a dogmatic belief in free
markets, Valuing non-market economic activities, such as elderly care, child
rearing, and unpaid household work, in the same way as we value market
activities, Abolishing all forms of gender, racial, religious, caste, and
ethnic discrimination associated with economic activity,


In order for this to be more than a wish list, we must continue our
ceaseless struggles towards these ends, nothing less will achieve our
cherished objective of world peace. 

 
G. The Tradition, Nativism, and Indigenous Ways panelists, after careful
deliberation on the theme of "Tradition, Modernity, and
Nativism: Indigenous Practices and Peace" submit to the assembled Congress
the following resolutions:
 
Titling these resolves "On Becoming Fully Human";
 
Recognizing the following conceptual scheme:
 
North   Red                  Earth                Heart                
           Feelings            Harmony
                                                                       
                              +                     =
East      Yellow             Air                   Mind                
           Thoughts          Balance
                                                                       
                              +                     =
South   Black               Water               Physical Existence     
   ActionsFreedom
                                                                       
                                          +                     =
West    White               Fire                  Spiritual Existence  
      Purpose            Inner Peace
=          
A sense of interconnectedness, being part of something greater than
ourselves, a "universal consciousness"
=
Increased capacity for individual and collective change = Increased capacity
for peace, both as a process and as an outcome
 
Adopting the metaphor thatAspen trees have unique, interconnected root
systems that help each tree contribute to the health and vibrancy of the
grove. We view being fully human in the same way. Individuals, connected by
a shared purpose, are what make humanity thrive;
 
Recognizing that in the instrumental, "Golden Dual", the message suggested
two diverse entities resolving differences and coming together harmoniously
and that this is what we need to do as a species; 
 
Acknowledging that irrespective of race, color, or gender, the only way we
can come together harmoniously is through increasing our
understanding- and love for one another; 
 
We adopt the following working propositions:
a.That we educate our children concerning the truths (lessons) learned from
the history of human experience, b. That we value diversity, c. That we
inculcate within our children a spiritual base that serves to inspire a
greater capacity- and desire for harmony, balance, freedom, and inner peace,
d. We embrace and perpetuate our interconnectedness by sharing and serving
our brothers and sisters.
 

H. The Race, Ethnicity and Language panelists, after careful
deliberation on the theme of "Racism, Bigotry and Prejudice: Intolerance
and World Peace" submit to the assembled Congress the following
resolution:
 
Recognizing that: 
 
Whereas,    the progress of peace is impeded by racial, ethnic, caste,
religious, linguistic and other types of intolerance; and,
Whereas,   bigotry is directed against non-religious believers,
Whereas,    discrimination is often based on notions of hierarchy,
purity and pollution, and/or myths; and,
Whereas,    intolerance results in the denial of history, culture,
language, and self determination of particular groups; and,
Whereas,    dominant groups (race or caste) appropriate a
disproportionate share of power, authority, wealth, resources and
prestige; and,
Whereas,    groups who are discriminated against are often victims of
violence, inhuman and degrading treatment, extreme poverty, are treated
as if they were invisible, disproportionately targeted, blamed for
social ills, subjected to improper security legislation and custodial
abuses, as well as other unjust treatment; and,
Whereas,    governments often explicitly or tacitly support private
actors who perpetuate discrimination; and,
Whereas,    discrimination is cumulative domination, and has social,
political and economic dimensions; and,
Whereas,    definitions of race and ethnicity vary by history and
geography; and,
Whereas,    understanding the colonial history is necessary to
understand racism in context.
 
Wherefore, be it RESOLVED:
a. To rely on "social movements" to develop new discourses on racial
justice;
b. To recognize and understand the contributions of all groups toward
the development of their societies;
c. To develop education systems with adequate resources to acknowledge
educational differences, meet the needs of all groups, and teach the
culture of respect and tolerance;
d. To facilitate interaction between the youth of different racial,
caste and indigenous groups;
e. To increase access to opportunities, education and resources and
decrease economic inequalities;
f. To teach respect for universal human rights principles of
nondiscrimination and equality;
g. To promote language flexibility;
h. To eliminate hate speech and racist propaganda.
i. To encourage and facilitate a vision of a society in which every
human being is treated with dignity; respect; and provided with equal
means for growth and development, and enjoy inherent human rights.
 
I. The Religion and Faith panelists, after careful deliberation on the
theme of "Religion and Faith: The Placement of The Sublime  in World
Peace" and the Spirituality and Transcendent Ethics panelists after
careful deliberation on the theme of "Transcendent Ethics, Metaphysics,
and Other-Worldly Pursuits: Empathy, Imagination and World Peace" submit
to the assembled Congress the following resolutions:
 
Recognizing that there is inherent goodness in all of our best selves
that transcends our differences of religion, and culture and that it is
an ethic of empathy and compassion, of treating others as one would like
to be treated; of service to humanity and trying to be one's best self,
and that this common ethic of good is one of the most powerful forces
for building peace;
                    
Recognizing  that knowledge of truth by itself is not enough, that it
must be practiced day in and day out to achieve it; 
 
Therefore, we commit and call upon all:
a. To be true to their best selves; to set aside prejudices, to not
follow or lend support to those who practice violence and hatred in the
name of religion [or otherwise] and to practice SERVICE TO HUMANITY as a
fundamental value,
b. To respect each other's faith and moral values and preservation of
natural environment as the foundation for a harmonious and peaceful
coexistence to ensure our peace and prosperity,
c. To honor our diversity for our common good as one human family,
d. To encourage others in a positive manner to practice the good values
that we hold so precious to realize our individual spirituality while
serving humanity.
 
J. The Modernism and Eurocentrism panelists, after careful deliberation
on the theme of "Ideas, Epistemics, and Hegemony: Cultural Prospects for
Peace" submit to the assembled Congress the following resolution:
 
To develop educational materials to teach the next generation about the
contributions of many civilizations in shaping the modern world in
positive ways; this would undermine the prevailing view that the West
has been the sole engine of all positive things in modern society. This
would reduce the chauvinism prevalent among many Westerners who see it
as the Manifest Destiny to dominate other cultures, which inevitably
leads to conflicts. A pivotal shift in this new approach to education
would result from repositioning the teaching of history of science and
technology and modernity, by acknowledging the contributions of
non-Western civilizations (most notably the Chinese, Indians, Persians
and Arabs) in shaping what became falsely known as "Western science".
Such a multi-civilizational view of the origins of modern science,
technology and modernity would achieve the following:
 
1.      Promote dialog, not clash, to demonstrate how the dialog of
civilizations has functioned fruitfully in the past, and, therefore,
such a dialog should be made to work today as an alternative to the
clash of civilizations. Thus, the history of science and technology can
become an antidote to the clash of civilizations,
2.      Decouple modernism from Westernization. Chinese, Indians, Arabs
and others would no longer feel pressured to abandon their native
civilizations and to adopt Westernization carte blanche in order to
utilize science and technology and to modernize. Each non-Western
civilization would experiment with its own integration of modern ideas
into its native traditions. Western Modernity would become only one kind
of modernity, 
3.      Promote sustainable modernism. While Western modernity has
proven to be largely unsustainable, these other civilizational
approaches could lead to better forms of modernity.
 
K. The Peace, War and Militarism panelists, after careful deliberation
on the theme of "War, Violence, Disarmament, and the Pacification of
Human Existence" submit to the assembled Congress the following
resolutions:
 
Whereas, recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and
inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation
of freedom, justice and peace in the world;
Whereas, disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in
barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind; and 
Whereas, the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy
freedom of speech and belief, freedom from fear and want has been
proclaimed as the highest aspirations of the common people;
Whereas it is essential if a person is not compelled to have recourse,
as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that
human rights should be protected by the rule of law;
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly
relations between nations;
 
Therefore, Congress 2007 calls for:
 China to allow the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet; to allow the Tibetan
people to practice their religion without censorship or fear; to allow
those displaced Tibetans now living in Bhutan, India and Nepal to return
to Tibet without fear of repression, and to restore all rights and
privileges in their ancestral homeland,
Israel to recognize the right of the Palestinian people to have their
own state in the areas occupied by Israel in 1967, and recognizing the
right of Israel to live in peace with secure borders in the areas prior
to 1967,
Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be completely relinquished to
the Palestinians and all Israeli residents to be relocated in Israeli
land,
Palestine and Israel to denounce the use of terrorism in any form and
take every measure possible to prevent their own people from engaging in
terrorist acts and take measures to prevent any future terrorism
themselves,
Equitable compensation to be made by Israel to Palestinians who owned
properties in Israel that were forfeited in 1948 when the refugees
fled,
Palestinian refugees from other countries- Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon,
Syria and other countries to have the right to return to Palestinian
territories provided they accept the terms of being a law-abiding
citizen of the Palestinian state,
The United States of America and its allies to cease the production,
sale, and military use of depleted uranium weapons immediately,
Bringing world attention to the atrocities that have been inflicted on
the Chechen people,
Supporting efforts to free Chechen prisoners of war held by the Russian
Army,
Supporting efforts to locate those Chechens who are among the
"disappeared",
Supporting efforts to help the people of Chechnya rebuild their
infrastructure and to reconstitute their identity as a people.
Recommending that any war-like confrontation and disruption of human
life anywhere in the world should be resolved through negotiations
between the leaders of the parties confronting one another so that
people can carry on their lives peacefully,
Recognizing that the aggression against Iraqand its continued
occupation is unlawful under international law and constitutes a grave
and serious dereliction of obligations of states who are party to this
continued illegality against Iraq, 
Condemning the depravation of the civil rights of the people of Iraq,
the creation of a proxy government, and the destruction on a massive
scale of its historical heritage and the killing of hundreds of
thousands of innocent civilians,
Recognizing that such state action is tantamount to state terrorism as
defined by the World Courtin the case of Nicaragua, and therefore
entitles those who are victims of this horrendous misfortune to
appropriate remedial actions under the law,
Condemning any form of state terrorism or retaliatory terrorism.

L. The Health, Human Well-Being and Child Welfare panelists, after
careful deliberation on the theme of "Well-Being and Conviviality: Human
Welfare and World Peace" submit to the assembled Congress the following
resolutions: 
 
We call for actions to:
 Return to the fundamental core values of family; nurture; audio visual
communication and play,
Take care of Children who are victims of war, conflict, and natural
disaster,
Create community-supported experiential learning environments for
parents and people who care for children,
Ensure processes that facilitate children so children can remain as
children not for the exploitation of child labor,
Recognize that We Reap What We Sow - If we bring love into our homes,
our children will grow knowing love, acceptance, and peace.  Those seeds
of love and peace we plant in our children will later grow into trees of
love and peace showering fruits upon the entire world,
Protect the right of every child to food and healthcare,
Protect the right of every child to an unbiased education,
Protect the right of every child to grow up in a peaceful world,
Promote the idea that we can only be just and fair to one another if we
can take the time to listen, and make the effort to place ourselves in
the position of others,
Realization and appreciate that there is much work ahead of us if we
are to truly grasp the principles and practices of dialogue.

 
Congress2007 Meeting
August 26, 2007
[Adopted by the recorded majority vote and by acclamation]
 
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