Region

Among the official ceremonies for Peace Day, and by invitation of the Government of Zambia, the World March for Peace and Nonviolence has been officially announced. During the opening ceremony for the March, the Minister of Information and Communications and the African country’s Representative to the United Nations have publicly joined this inaugural global march.

India has a high commitment to internationalism. Mahatma Gandhi had desired India to come forward for the establishment of a worldly order dedicated to peace and prosperity. This gigantic task could be considered to be her responsibility. India must come forward for the establishment of a true and real internationalism, and become ideal for others in the world.

As of October 1st 2009 Mayors for Peace counts 3,147 member cities and municipalities in 134 countries and regions. During September 43 new members joined the movement of local authorities demanding the elimination of all nuclear weapons by 2020. Mayor Marcelo Ebrard from Mexico City is one of the new members welcomed during a special ceremony last September 10th.

ABI – With a mass celebration on Friday in the Hernando Siles stadium, in which the president Evo Morales, authorities, students, artists, public figures and citizens in general will participate, Bolivia will join the “World March for Peace and Non Violence”, in a ceremony that will be replicated in at least a hundred countries.

Pacifists Without Borders (PWB), organizer of the World Peace Summit, and principal international guest speaker and former Director-General of UNESCO Federico Mayor Zaragoza, speak out against the “colossal” annual military spending throughout the world, half of which (1.2 trillion dollars) is attributable to the United States alone.

The State Council for the Awareness and Prevention of Domestic Violence (CEPAVI) will add events to raise awareness about peace and non-violence to those planned for the Bicentennial of Mexican Independence and the Centennial of the Mexican Revolution, to occur in October and November, among other activities for these purposes that the organization will carry out.

Multilateral talks on Tehran’s controversial nuclear programme opened in Geneva on Thursday afternoon. Iranian representatives held discussions with representatives of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – United States, Russia, China, Great Britain and France – along with Germany. This is the first time in three decades that US and Iranian meet.

World’s first six-continent Peace March kicks off 93 days of global activities with October 2nd events in cities around the US.
Cities from San Francisco to New York will celebrate in their own way, from participating in peace walks to forming a human peace symbol calling for the elimination of wars, nuclear weapons and violence of all kinds.

Mahatma Gandhi, whose legacy this annual observance celebrates, once observed that “non-violence, to be worth anything, has to work in the face of hostile forces.” In today’s world, we face many hostile forces — multiple and persistent crises that demand a response from leaders and grassroots alike.
Inspired by Gandhi’s life, the UN today works to end violence.

Panama announced it will sign an agreement with the United States before October 30th to establish military naval stations in Bahia Piña and Punta Coca, on the Pacific Coast. Panama is a member of the Mérida initiative, promoted by the US government to combat drug trafficking. The two governments also discussed how to approach the political crisis in Honduras.