Non-violent institutions ?
Research
and monitoring : Non-militarization
is a huge field of research. If you have been researching in any field in social
science, try to imagine if the situation could different in a country
because it has no army… Gender, development, literacy, conflict transformation,
small arms, etc. are amongst the things we can think of, but there is more.
Name it, and try to prove if having an army is influential or not. We will
publish it !
We also need people to regularly monitor
what goes on in every one of these countries. Preferably people from the countries
themselves, but it is not a prerequisite. We would like at least a yearly
report on the general situation and on the safety and peace building situation.
Please participate in active and
sound peace research and promoting !
Contact us at E-mail
Activism
for peace : Truly,
peace is a need for humanity ! But also for individuals ! (And even more in
times where terror is put forward !). Make peace a choice ! And then learn to face
it in small daily things as in big life wide matters. Join your local peace
community, learn about peace, share your experiences, empower yourself, your
friends and your politicians for peace !
Volunteering
: Usually volunteers are members, but this is not a necessity, unless you
do public relations for us.
Mostly we need :
-
Researchers :
o
To do general
articles on our working topics.
o
To monitor the
various countries without armies, be it permanently or occasionally, i.e.
while
taking a trip into one on them…
o
Call for papers for our new report on non-militarization (click !)
-
Public relations
people :
o
To help build
our network of politicians, officials, scientists, civil society
representatives and all persons interested in non-militarization in the
countries without armies and beyond.
o
To promote,
handle and coordinate our forthcoming newsgroup.
o
To do fund
raising.
-
Webmasters :
o
To create
pages for every country.
o
To help with
the general maintenance and improvement of our web site.
-
Translators :
o
Regularly for
small documents from French to English or From English to French.
o
Occasionally
for bigger scientific and public papers.
-
Administrators :
o
Presently we
do need a Swiss accountant.
o
Two Swiss
accounts controllers.
o
Someone to
handle the member’s list
o
And someone to
do many various other things for the secretariat.
Please let us know of your
availabilities at E-mail
Become a
member : Membership is free, but it
implies a commitment to peace. Members receive our journal or yearly report at
least once a year.
Members that contribute either by
volunteering or by a donation are considered active members.
Please let us know your interest
at E-mail or by phone at
00 41 79 524 35 74 (if needed leave a message!).
So far online payment is not
possible. You can make payments, including international ones, on our Swiss
postal account, number 17-625072-7, to “APRED, association pour la
démilitarisation”. Please do not send checks.
APRED is still a young organization,
running mostly on a volunteer basis. Contributions help us grow, do pay for our
costs and permit us to continue promoting and creating a lasting peace, a
comprehensive way to peace. Thank you !
Should you have questions or
encounter difficulties to make a payment, please contact us at E-Mail
APRED aims at achieving a peaceful world (don’t we all ?) by
promoting non-violent and humane institutions, mainly through four peace
themes :
§
Non-militarization, and demilitarization.
§
Peace zones
§
Peace as a human right
§
Peace democracy
These four elements reflect our societies, to the best they
could be …
ü
Non-militarised political institutions (territories and countries
without armies) at world and state levels.
Refusing political
international and local violence.
Creating the
conditions for a systematic use of peaceful procedures to solve conflict.
ü
Peace zones, as zones of solidarity and communal growth for all groups of people.
Zones where peace
is valued, renewed and always put to work !
ü
Peace as a human right to
provide safety to each and every one, to see that all essential needs are fulfilled
in dignity, and to guarantee access to peaceful conflict transformation
procedures.
A human right that
never calls for violence, and that demands
peace to each and everyone, that gives peaceful transformation of
conflict a chance.
ü
And a peaceful democracy to ensures at all levels, that we all
responsibly and consequently participate in the future of mankind and in the
creation of our own and shared well-being.
A political system
that truly and efficiently gives each and everyone its place to fulfill his
needs, in coordination with the needs of others and the needs of the community.
A.
For Non-militarization and Demilitarization, we do :
1. A permanent survey of all countries and
territories without armies in the world.
Visit or
special page on countries without armies
2. A permanent survey of all
demilitarization processes.
On these two
matters we publish a small yearly report
3. Promotion of non-militarization through consultancy,
research, advocacy, peaceful conflict
transformation and networking.
4. Regular publications, books
and articles.
1. Give an online
university course with “
2. An inventory of all
existing peace zones, and their specifities.
3. Consultancy and
networking.
4. A web site. www.peacezones.org (very humble so far).
5. A forthcoming publication.
Various small articles.
C.
For Peace as a Human Right, we do :
1. Legal research into the
concept.
2. Promoting and advocating.
3. A forthcoming
publication.
D.
For Peace democracy, we do :
1. Research into the concept.
2. Practice through our
own activities and teachings.
1. Research and monitoring
2. Promotion and vulgarization
3. Training and networking
4. Publications
We do our work using various - peace - tools and promoting
numerous projects.
We do :
·
Trainings, teachings and conferences.
·
Statistics and data analysis :
o
The peace treaty analysis canvas
o
The indicator of militarization
·
Development projects
o
·
Conflict prevention, conflict empowering analysis, and peaceful
conflict
transformation
·
Peace awareness and peace building projects :
o
Peace tourism and peace pilgrims
·
The journal of peace and understanding
·
We welcome, support and encourage the projects of our members
·
Archives
Who we are !
Founded in 2001, APRED is
a scientific and practical association (institute) dedicated to :
-
the promotion and achievement of
peace by peaceful means,
-
increasing the knowledge and
practice of peace in all realms of society,
-
working for the establishment of
non-violent human institutions.
Preventing
and peacefully transforming conflicts requires a will to :
1° Create
a culture of peace,
2°
Promote the necessary knowledge and skills to maintain and improve it.
3° Accept
the need, when conflict does arise, to find solutions that do not create more
harm or damage, and to do what it takes to find solutions that do not worsen
the situation, but improve it lastingly.
4° Learn
from one's experiences and share this knowledge.
In this spirit, APRED, through the study, the respect and the promotion of
non-militarization and demilitarisation, wishes to encourage the adoption of
methods of prevention and peaceful transformation of conflicts in conformance
with the great principles established as human rights and international law.
Said otherwise, APRED wishes for all conflicts to be handled with dignity.
By demonstrating the adequacy and the advantages of
non-military solutions APRED hopes, in the long run , to develop and promote
the concept of the non-violent state.
The board of APRED:
of
CHRISTOPHE BARBEY :
Coordinator of APRED, lawyer and
peace researcher.
His
other websites :
Business
(legal advice) www.infodroit.ch
.
Private
: www.ChristopheBarbey.ch
Partial list, to be
progressively completed
Peace science :
Swiss foundation for peace. Linked to the
Transnational fondation for peace and future
research (TFF)
Infos for peace. Updated, humane, well
documented ! TFF associates often travels to zones where info’s are
rare or sided to provide other perspectives. Needs support, as we do !
A scientific review, amongst others,
totally dedicated to peace. Four issues
a year, with a main them every time.
Peace
action training and research institute of
Peace in practice :
Peace Brigades International (PBI)
Sends international volunteers to create « peace
zones » around threatened activists.
International
Peace Bureau (IPB)
Coordinating organ of many NGO’s working
for peace. Winner of the Nobel peace prize in 191O ! APRED is member. Many
campaign’s on human security, peace education, small arms, military bases,
military budgets, etc.
The Arias Foundation for peace and human progress
Created by
Oscar Orias, Nobel peace prize in
1987, former president of
Group
for a Switzerland without an army (GSsA)
Activists working to suppress the Swiss
army !
Dialogue
Webpage for Conflicts Worldwide
World discussion forum on conflicts. On of
our message was message of the month in October
2003. The dialogue page is presently undergoing changes.
A big and
interactive, practical site on coexistence and peace despite
differences.
Alliance for conflict transformation
Lots of projects for peace, but also
mailings lists for events, education and jobs in the peace field ! Essential !
Our Dutch partner But we had no
news in a while !
A site full of links for peace !
Huge !
Regularly publishes sharp reports on who’s
who and doing what in the weapon and politics business !
A huge repertory of everything that goes
on, news and development projects in the Pacific.
Movement for an non-violent alternative’s
campaign for a civil peace force in
Israel-Palestine.
APRED support’s it.
If you want
to go !
Pacifist, just like we like them, loving,
lively, convinced, funny,
supportive and friendly !
Nothing
less !
If it’s
only a drop, give it to APRED, but a signature we all can do it !
I sort of
kept the best for the end. The site is a bit complicated but in part 3.3
download the ballot proposa,
just to see !
Things and stuff :
Center for global non-violence For a world without killing ! We fully agree !
Lautrinfo A journal, in French. You have a strange
question ? May be they know !
Oneworld An alternative information service online
Florian Irminger. A
friend, working for peace in peace ! See also his site for progressive
lawyer called « aprOd »…
Hum…Rather an honour I’d say !
Le MOC-Nancy (Moc = mouvement des objecteurs de
conscience).Consciousness objectors of Nancy,
friends !
www.desarme.org Organization doing disarmament in their region