GPPAC Northeast Asia is excited to join the International Peace Bureau World Peace Congress 2021, held in a hybrid form both in Barcelona and online from October 15-17, 2021. The Congress featured diverse discussions around bringing a peace perspective into confronting the global challenges of our time.
A session coordinated by GPPAC Northeast Asia members People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) and Peace Boat on Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation was held on the final day of the congress, October 17.
Please see below for details including the video of the session and papers by presenters.
Full details of the Congress can be seen on the IPB homepage here: https://www.ipb2021.barcelona/
IPB World Peace Congress 2021 workshop:
Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation
Northeast Asia is one of the most militarized regions in the world. Competition between the US and China, both nuclear states, is creating yet more difficulties in peacebuilding in the region. The 70 year long Korean War and unstable armistice system on the Korean peninsula has fueled an arms race and nuclear proliferation in Northeast Asia. Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution is a significant pillar for regional and international peace mechanisms, but the Japanese administration continuously tries to revise it.
This workshop will raise awareness of the current situation surrounding Northeast Asia, bringing together activists from the region and beyond to explore ways to together create peace and cooperation amid the region’s complicated situation.
Objectives
- to share the current situation and assessment on issues relating to Northeast Asian peace and denuclearization
- to share challenges and difficulties in building peace in Northeast Asia
- to discuss the role of civil society, and how to strengthen this
Moderator
- Meri Joyce International Coordinator, Peace Boat / Northeast Asia Regional Liaison Officer, Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), Tokyo
Speakers
- Kawasaki Akira Executive Committee Member, Peace Boat / International Steering Group Member, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), Tokyo (paper available here)
- Lee Taeho Chair of Policy Committee, Director of Center for Peace and Disarmament, People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) / Standing Executive Committee Member of Korea Peace Appeal Campaign, Seoul (paper available here)
- Kevin Martin President of Peace Action, Maryland
- Wang Danning Fellow, The Charhar Institute, Beijing (paper available here)
- Korean National Peace Committee (KNPC) A Call for Peace from the DPRK, Pyongyang (paper available here)
- Suh Jae-Jung Professor for Politics and International Relations at International Christian University (slides available here)
