Social movements

Social movements
(Coordinator Comment)

There are many social movements promoting all of the eight programme areas of a culture of peace. There is space to mention only a few of them here.

Human rights. Perhaps the best known is Amnesty International which won the Nobel Peace Prize for 1977.

Democratic participation. There are innumerable local initiatives for democratic participation, and at least one global clearing house, the International Observatory of Participatory Democracy.

Women's equality. There is no single civil society initiative that has such a scope as the Fourth World Conference on Women that took place in 1995 in Beijing.

Disarmament. The oldest peace organization, the International Peace Bureau, continues to work at a global level for disarmament.

Free flow of information. Many organizations promote the free flow of information. A good example is Reporters Without Borders.

International understanding, tolerance and solidarity. Most peace organizations include this priority. Initiatives for inter-religious solidarity are especially effective..

Education for peace and nonviolence. This topic is treated in a separate forum, although mention should be made here of the global peace education initiative the followed up the 1999 Hague Appeal for Peace.

Sustainable human development. This is treated here in a separate forum.