The Arms Control Association (ACA) and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) co-organized a webinar titled “The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty” on 27 August, as part of their new joint series on “Critical NPT Issues.” Anna Ikeda of SGI joined the panel with George-Wilhelm Gallhofer, Head of Nuclear Disarmament …
Interfaith Perspectives on Nuclear Weapons: A Multigenerational Conversation
The Parliament of the World’s Religions’ Next Generation Task Force hosted a webinar titled “Interfaith Perspectives on Nuclear Weapons: A Multigenerational Conversation” on 15 August, where panelists engaged in a conversation on nuclear weapons, the importance of disarmament, and the critical role of interfaith and multigenerational action in a world free of nuclear weapons. This webinar was hosted in commemoration …
IUCN Virtual Dialogue: Spiritual Perspectives for a New Normal
On 25 June, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) held a virtual dialogue with representatives from various faith and spiritual traditions to share their visions for a “new normal” in a post-2020 world. Alexandra Masako Goossens-Ishii of SGI was invited to contribute to the first IUCN Virtual Dialogue of the #BuildBackBetter series from a Buddhist perspective, addressing …
Women of Color Advancing Peace and Security UK Chapter Launch Event
On 24 June, Hayley Ramsay-Jones of SGI joined the virtual launch event of WCAPS-UK, the UK branch of the Women of Color Advancing Peace and Security, as a panelist. WCAPS was created three years ago in the United States and aims to advance the leadership and professional development of women of color in the fields of international policy-making, disarmament, peace, …
Joint Interfaith Statement on the 75th Anniversary of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 189 groups from around the world endorsed a joint interfaith statement coordinated by Faith Communities Concerned About Nuclear Weapons, to speak in one voice and reject the existential threat to humanity posed by nuclear weapons. The statement reaffirms that the presence of even one nuclear weapon violates the core …
Interfaith Webinar Series on Human Rights, Ethics, and Climate Change
As COP26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, scheduled for 2020, was postponed and the 44th Session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC44) in June was held virtually for the most part with no side events by civil society, the Geneva Interfaith Forum on Climate Change, Human Rights and the Environment (GIF) decided to contribute to and inform discussions …
Impact of COVID-19 on Human Rights Education Discussed During HRC44
In recent months as the pandemic has hit the globe, discussions on human rights education have highlighted the impact it has on COVID-19. On 3 July, during the 44th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education presented her thematic Report titled “Right to education: impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the …
Celebrating Caribbean leadership! 19-20 June 2020 marks the one-year anniversary of the Caribbean Forum on the TPNW
Celebrating Caribbean leadership! 19-20 June 2020 marks the one-year anniversary of the Caribbean Forum on the TPNW “Like all Small Island Developing States, we view the prospects of a nuclear detonation, whether by design, accident or negligence, as an existential horror that could decimate the entire Caribbean region.” Shorna-Kay Richards, former Deputy Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the United Nations. …
Online World Conference 2020 Youth Assembly
The online Youth Assembly took place on 2 May, attended by over 370 participants. The event was initially scheduled for 24 April as part of the World Conference 2020, right before the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), but it was transformed into an online meeting due to the COVID-19 outbreak. …
Choosing Hope in the Time of COVID-19
We express our most sincere condolences to all who have suffered a loss during this unprecedented time in history and deep sympathy to everyone who has been impacted. We also extend our heartfelt gratitude and respect to all health workers and others risking their lives on the frontlines around the world. At this difficult period, when people are challenging feelings …