PEACE ACTIVITIES2017 ANNUAL REPORT

SOKA GAKKAI INTERNATIONAL

Introduction

The Soka Gakkai International (SGI) is a worldwide lay Buddhist association with members in 192 countries and territories. Based on the life-affirming philosophy of Nichiren Buddhism, SGI members aim to develop positive human potentialities for hope, courage and altruistic action.

As a nongovernmental organization (NGO) working with the United Nations, the SGI has been active in education for the general public with a focus on peace and disarmament, human rights and sustainable development as well as providing humanitarian assistance and promoting interfaith dialogue and cooperation. Such initiatives are developed according to local needs and priorities, and each independent SGI organization around the world undertakes activities and projects appropriate to its own culture and context.

The SGI’s peace activities are based on the following key elements deriving from Buddhist philosophy:

Belief in the dignity of lifeAll people inherently possess a life-state of ultimate dignity and in this sense are fundamentally equal and have limitless potential.

The interconnectedness of all lifeAn awareness of the interrelatedness and inseparability of one’s own life and those of others can help put an end to discriminatory attitudes and destructive behavior toward others and the environment.

Reflection, dialogue and nonviolenceInner reflection enables us to feel the suffering of others as our own. Through dialogue, we strengthen mutual understanding and aim to join with others in a stand against violence and the taking of life.

Peace and Disarmament

Sustainable Development

Humanitarian Actvities

Human RightsEducation

Gender Equalityand

Empowerment

The SGI’s nuclear abolition efforts trace their roots back to 1957, when second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda (1900–58) made a public declaration calling for the elimination and prohibition of nuclear weapons. The SGI has been working toward realizing a world free from nuclear weapons and the creation of a culture of peace through a number of initiatives and events, including the latest exhibition “Everything You Treasure—For a World Free From Nuclear Weapons.”

The SGI promotes sustainable living through various educational efforts. It has organized events and exhibitions around the world, including “Seeds of Hope,” which was a joint initiative between the SGI and the Earth Charter International (ECI) in support of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005–14).

The SGI has been engaged in humanitarian relief activities over the years, taking advantage of its unique strengths and capabilities as a faith-based organization (FBO). During the Third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in 2015, the SGI organized side events sharing the Soka Gakkai’s continued relief efforts following the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.

The quest for human rights can be perceived as “a challenge of otherness” in which individuals develop the courage to acknowledge, respect and appreciate the differences among people. The SGI is engaging in activities to advance human rights education in support of the World Programme for Human Rights Education (2005–ongoing) and the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training (2011).

Gender equality and the empowerment of each individual are integral to the Buddhist philosophy of the SGI, which upholds the inherent dignity and equality of all human beings. The SGI supports the activities of UN Women and the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) by working with other like-minded groups through organizing events and actively participating in the NGO Committee on the Status of Women.

From March 27 to 31 (First Session) and from June 15 to July 7 (Second Session), the two sessions of the United Nations (UN) conference to negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading toward their total elimination, was held in New York. On July 7, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) was adopted.

The SGI submitted a working paper titled “On the Objectives and Significance of Prohibiting Nuclear Weapons” to the First Session, circulated as A/CONF.229/2017/NGO/WP.8 and the second working paper titled “Comments and Proposals for the Draft Convention on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons” to the Second Session, circulated as A/CONF.229/2017/NGO/WP.25.

During the negotiations, the SGI representatives made statements which put forward proposals to include reference to international human rights

law, in particular the right to life, and to strengthen the reference to disarmament education and to highlight the role of women in promoting peace and security. These points have been reflected in the treaty.

On September 20, the treaty officially opened for signature at the UN headquarters in New York. Prior to the signing ceremony, SGI President Daisaku Ikeda called for the early entry into force of the treaty in his article published by InDepthNews (IDN). In it he stressed that “The essence of the issue is not the confrontation between states that possess nuclear weapons and those that do not; it is the confrontation between the threat of nuclear weapons and humanity’s right to life.”

SGI representatives attended the signing ceremony of the treaty as one of the civil society delegations invited by the UN, together with the International Campaign to Abolish

Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and the hibakusha—survivors of the atomic bombings.

Read the SGI’s working paper:

https://www.un.org/disarmament/ptnw/pdf/A%20CONF.229%202017%20NGO%20WP.8%20_SGIWorkingPaper_Final.pdf

https://s3.amazonaws.com/unoda-web/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/A-CONF.229-2017-NGO-WP.251.pdf

Historic Treaty Prohibiting Nuclear Weapons Adopted

Peace and Disarmament

The United Nations (UN) conference to negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading toward their total elimination

ICAN has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2017 in recognition of its role in achieving the TPNW. Celebrating the awards ceremony of the prize to ICAN on December 10, the SGI urged further efforts to realize the vision of a world free of nuclear weapons embodied in the TPNW, adopted at the UN in July this year.

In a statement, Hirotsugu Terasaki, SGI Director General of Peace and Global Issues, warmly congratulated ICAN on this historic moment and stressed that the TPNW will serve as a crucial focus for the ongoing campaign for the abolition of these most inhumane of weapons, thereby helping humanity overcome its self-destructive tendencies. Terasaki also called for constructive dialogue and debate involving all parties while strengthening effective linkages with the NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons) regime—the cornerstone of international nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation efforts.

Terasaki was invited to the ceremony in Oslo representing the SGI, in recognition of its efforts as an international partner of ICAN. The SGI has been an international partner of ICAN since 2007 and has engaged in a number of collaborative projects toward the shared aim of a world free from nuclear weapons.

Read the article “SGI and ICAN: Friendship and Collaboration” :

http://www.peoplesdecade.org/pdf/newsarchives/171120_02.pdf

Hiromasa Ikeda, SGI vice president, joined other participants in stressing the moral case for ridding the world of nuclear weapons and urged increased efforts in awareness-raising at the conference “Perspectives for a World Free from Nuclear Weapons and for Integral Disarmament” held at the Vatican in Rome on November 10 and 11.

Vice President Ikeda stated: “Nuclear weapons are dangerous from a security perspective. From an ethical and moral perspective, they are wrong. This renders them unacceptable in any hands.”

The SGI was one of 13 cooperating organizations involved in the conference hosted by the Vatican’s newly created Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

On November 10, conference participants received an audience with His Holiness Pope Francis, who spoke of the “mentality of fear” created by nuclear weapons.

Several Nobel Peace Prize laureates addressed the conference, including Beatrice Fihn, executive director of 2017 Nobel Peace Prize laureate ICAN, who thanked people of faith for their efforts toward the historic adoption of the TPNW in July this year.

At both sessions of the UN conferences that adopted TPNW in New York, a diverse group of faith-based organizations presented a public statement under the name of “Faith Communities Concerned about Nuclear Weapons.” In support of the adoption of the treaty, the statement said, “We reiterate our shared stance that nuclear weapons are incompatible with the values upheld by our respective faith traditions.”

Diverse faith groups and individuals joined as signatories including PAX, the SGI, the World Council of Churches (WCC), and Pax Christi International (PCI).

On the occasion of the first session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2020 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Review Conference which was held in Vienna from May 2 to 12, the faith groups presented a statement on May 3. The statement was delivered by Kimiaki Kawai, SGI director of peace and human rights. The SGI has collaborated with other faith groups to issue interfaith statements eight times over since 2014 as a collective work of faith communities, and highlighting the moral and ethical dimensions of nuclear weapons.

SGI Urges Nuclear Weapons Abolition at Vatican Conference

Awarding of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize to ICAN

Faith Groups Call for Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

ICAN and the SGI

Hiromasa Ikeda, SGI vice president, addresses the conference “Perspectives for a World Free from Nuclear Weapons and for Integral Disarmament”

Amplify, a global network of young people working for nuclear abolition, held the 2017 Amplify Youth Summit for Nuclear Abolition from June 16 to 21, gathering 16 young people from 13

countries on the margins of the nuclear ban treaty negotiations in New York. The SGI contributed to the event through two staff members serving on the steering committee and also as an organizational cosponsor.

Highlights of the five-day summit included participating in the Women’s March to Ban the Bomb; a meeting with the hibakusha; and hosting a youth reception for nuclear abolition supported by 10 cosponsor organizations. Briefings were also held with the president of the conference;

the Austrian Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs; the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the UN; the UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs; and ICAN.

The Amplify network derived from the 2015 International Youth Summit for Nuclear Abolition held in Hiroshima, which the SGI co-organized together with several other international NGOs.

Amplify Youth Summit Organized in New York

On September 7, the High Level Forum on the Culture of Peace was convened

at the UN headquarters in New York by the president of the General Assembly in cooperation with the Global Movement for the Culture of Peace (GMCoP). Nobel Peace laureate Betty Williams delivered the keynote address at the General Assembly Hall on this year’s theme “Sowing the Seeds of the Culture of Peace: Early Childhood Development Is the Beginning” followed by statements from 41 governments and UN agencies. The afternoon session consisted of a panel

of governments, UN experts, academics and civil society. As a founding member of GMCoP, the SGI has helped organize the forum for six consecutive years since the first forum was convened in 2012. feb13-message-50th-anniv-tlatelolco-treaty.html

For more information on the event, see:http://www.opanal.org/en/50-anniversary-plaza-tres-culturas/

High Level Forum on the Culture of Peace

A new animation on the TPNW titled Reshape History was released on September 26, the International Day

for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. It was produced by the SGI in cooperation with ICAN to inform people about the dangers of nuclear weapons and the importance of the treaty. It is a 90-second video making it suitable for dissemination via social networking platforms.

Raising public awareness holds the key to achieving a world free from nuclear weapons. It is reaffirmed in the treaty’s preamble, which underscores the importance of disarmament education.

This also helps make the treaty universal—as stipulated in Article 12 of the treaty. This animation aims to inform people that the threats posed by nuclear weapons put us all at risk, and the treaty adopted at the UN in July provides a viable solution to the problem.

Watch the video:https://vimeo.com/235337614

A New Animation on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Released

Peace and Disarmament

The 2017 Amplify Youth Summit for Nuclear Abolition

The animation Reshape History

Nobel Peace laureate Betty Williams delivers the keynote address at the High Level Forum on the Culture of Peace

Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco), an international seminar on the topic of “A World Free of Nuclear Weapons: Is It Desirable, Is It Possible? How Could It Be Achieved?” was held in Mexico City, Mexico, on February 13, which was organized by the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL). SGI President Daisaku Ikeda conveyed a message to the seminar.

On August 23, an event was held to unveil a plaque commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Tlatelolco and to mark the 60th anniversary of the Declaration Calling for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons made by second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda in September 1957.

As well as the event, an opening ceremony of the exhibition

“Everything You Treasure—For a World Free From Nuclear Weapons” was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, OPANAL, the SGI and SGI-Mexico at the Plaza de las Tres Culturas in Mexico City.

The opening event was attended by Ambassador Luis Javier Campuzano, director general for the United Nations; Ambassador Luiz Filipe de Macedo Soares, secretary-general of OPANAL; Minoru Harada, president of Soka Gakkai; and Nereo Ordaz, general director of SGI-Mexico.

Read SGI President Ikeda’s message:

http://www.daisakuikeda.org/sub/resources/works/lect/2017feb13-message-50th-anniv-tlatelolco-treaty.html

For more information on the event, see:

http://www.opanal.org/en/50-anniversary-plaza-tres-culturas/

Events Commemorating 50th Anniversary of the Treaty of Tlatelolco

Since 2013, the exhibition Everything You Treasure—For a World Free From Nuclear Weapons, created by the SGI with the support of ICAN, has been showcased in many venues worldwide. The exhibition was created with the aim of reexamining the issue of nuclear weapons from 12 different perspectives, including humanitarian, environmental, economic, human rights, spiritual and gender. As of December 2017, the exhibition has been shown in 81 cities in 19 countries.

Exhibition highlights in 2017 include a showing at the

University of York in the UK in September as part of the congress titled “Health Through Peace 2017” which was organized by the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) and Medact to bring health professionals and peace activists together to debate, educate and advocate on conflict and global insecurity. The exhibition was also held at City Hall of Neu-Isenburg in Germany in July and at the King Juan Carlos University in Madrid, Spain, in September.

Exhibition: Everything You Treasure—For a World Free From Nuclear Weapons

United Kingdom

Selected List of Venues in 2017:

Date Venue

February Chonburi, Thai

March Osaka, Japan

April Osaka, Japan

July San Juan, Argentina

July Neu-Isenburg, Germany

July Johor Bahru, Malaysia

August Nagasaki, Japan

August Osaka, Japan

August Mexico City, Mexico

September York, UK

September–October Madrid, Spain

October Manila, Philippines

November Groß-Gerau, Germany

The winning photos from each UN International Day

photo competition

The Mapting app ("mapping" and "acting") is an app created to track and map activities that contribute to actualizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that were launched in November 2016. Jointly developed by the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) and Earth Charter International (ECI), the app aims to engage youth in the challenge of making the 17 SDGs a reality by the target year of 2030 by allowing them to post photos or videos of any act, project or idea that pro-motes achievement of the SDGs and share these on a world map. The app acts as an educational tool and a vehicle for inspiring users to take action and share solutions, thus

changing the focus from the problems we are facing to the solutions that exist.

To celebrate some international UN days such as Interna-tional Youth Day and International Women’s Day, the Mapt-ing team has held several photographic competitions. Please check out the awarded photos below.

To see more pictures of positive actions, download our app at:

www.mapting.org

Co-convened by the Center for Earth Ethics of the Union Theological Seminary and the Center for Ethics of the Saint Thomas University, the 2017 Rome-Assisi Conference on Spirituality & Sustainability brought together representatives from religious and faith-based communities as well as international, academic and research institutions and dis-cussed transformative global change based on spirituality and sustainability including the implementation of the SDGs. The SGI spoke at the session on ecological spirituality and its indigenous roots and introduced Buddhist perspectives on sustainability as well as the SGI’s educational approaches in sustainable development.

Mapting App

SGI Participates in Rome-Assisi Conference on Spirituality and Sustainability

Sustainable Development

On July 12, the SGI co-organized a side event at the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development titled “Can Non-formal Education Be Measured? A Case Study on the Use of Exhibitions in School Settings” together with the Centre for Environment Education (CEE) and the ECI. It introduced initial findings from a study that the CEE and the SGI had conducted to measure the impact of non-formal education (NFE) by showing the exhibition Seeds of Hope: Visions of Sustainability, Steps Toward Change at schools in India. Mapting, the mobile app developed by the SGI and ECI to promote the SDGs was presented as another NFE tool.

The Seeds of Hope exhibition was created by the SGI and ECI in 2010 and has to date been shown in 38 countries and territories to encourage viewers to learn, reflect, and to be inspired and empowered to make sustainable change.In 2017, Ghana, France, Uruguay and Russia were added to the list of host countries.SGI-Ghana held the exhibition at the University of Ghana in Legon, Accra, on March 18 and 19. On May 3, the exhibition was launched at the Association Culturelle Soka de France in Paris. SGI-Uruguay hosted it in Montevideo city in June, and it was attended by the mayor.On the occasion of the International Scientific Congress titled “Globalistics-2017” which was held from September 25 to 30, the exhibition was showcased in the lobby of the Russian Moscow State University (MSU) Fundamental Library.

SGI Co-organizes High-Level Political Forum Side Event on Nonformal Education

Exhibition: Seeds of Hope—Visions of Sustainability, Steps Toward Change

School in India where measurement of the impact of non-formal education was conducted

Russia Ghana

Selected List of Venues in 2017:

Date Venue

February India

March Accra, Ghana

April Lucknow, India

May Paris, France

June Montevideo city, Uruguay

September Manitoba, Canada

September Moscow, Russia

October Kelantan, Malaysia

What knowledge and assumptions about religion do faith-based and secular international humanitarian agencies make? How do these assumptions impact their work?

These were the issues explored at the Symposium on Religion in Humanitarian Action, which was held in Andover Hall of the Harvard Divinity

School (HDS) on January 19 and 20, sponsored by the Religious Literacy Project at HDS in collaboration with Boston University. UN officials, humanitarian practitioners and leading scholars participated in the symposium where the SGI was also invited as a speaker

The SGI made a presentation in the

panel titled “Cyclone Nargis: The Humanitarian Crisis of a Natural Disaster.” It was pointed out that people amidst a crisis can be inspired to initiate actions for recovery even in a depressed situation by receiving encouragement through faith.

The Symposium on Religion in Humanitarian Action at Harvard

On May 23, ACT Alliance and the SGI co-organized a pre-conference to the 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction titled “Locally Led Disaster

Risk Reduction by Faith-Based Organi-zations (FBOs)—Implementing the Sendai Framework” in Cancun, Mexico.

Following presentations by ACT Alliance and CADENA, a Jewish NGO based in Mexico, Nobuyuki Asai, SGI program coordinator of sustainable develop-ment and humanitarian affairs, shared experiences of the Soka Gakkai in Japan when members conducted relief activities. Disaster-preparedness is currently being promoted at each of the SGI’s one-thousand-plus commu-nity centers across Japan.

The organizations released a joint

statement which urged States Parties to engage FBOs and local faith commu-nities (LFCs) in a meaningful and substantive way in implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. It emphasized that FBOs and LFCs can complement other aid sectors’ activities at the grassroots level.

In addition, the SGI delivered a presen-tation on engaging private citizens in disaster risk reduction (DRR) at the Ignite Stage during the Global Platform.

2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction

Over 140 participants representing various local and global faith networks, faith-based organizations, aid agencies, policy makers and governments participated in a forum to strengthen

partnerships and networks in localizing humanitarian response. The event took place in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from October 16 to 19 and was co-organized by 16 NGOs, including the SGI, and sponsored by some aid agencies including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The forum aimed to provide holistic support for faith leaders who engage in the work of DRR by sharing perspectives and knowledge on the issue. It also highlighted the significance of women’s involvement across faith networks in all aspects of

humanitarian work.

More than 50 panelists from all over the world, including one from the SGI, presented challenges and best practice on engagement, coming up with evidence-based recommendations to scale up local partnerships and improve humanitarian aid.

Participants reaffirmed that in times of emergencies, faith leaders are the first main responders, even when they themselves are affected.

International Forum "Localizing Response to Humanitarian Needs"

Humanitarian Affairs

Representative of Soka Gakkai delivers a presentation on engaging private citizens in disaster risk reduction (DRR) at the Ignite Stage

The Forum was organized as a follow-on from the World Humanitarian Summit

Thousands of Rohingya refugees have been based in Malaysia over recent years. Collaborating with UNHCR, students from Soka Gakkai Malaysia (SGM) visited the Rohingya refugee community in Klang, Selangor, to show their support and sympathy for the community. The third visit took place on August 12.

During the exchange program, they had several activities such as playing games, singing songs and drawing pictures with refugee children to form bonds of friendship among themselves. Having dialogue with the women residents, students taught them techniques in making handicrafts. They reminisced about their hometown and spoke about the difficulties they faced when leaving their homes due to the challenges there.

The event gave the refugees encouragement and hope and at the same time helped the students deepen their understanding of the refugees’ plight and develop caring attitudes toward society.

The SGI sponsored a public session at World Bosai (disaster reduction) Forum held in Sendai, Japan, on November 26 and 28.

Following a Buddhist monk and a local Muslim, Mr. Mitsuaki Niinuma, a member of the Soka Gakkai’s local organization in Sendai, delivered a presentation. Sharing his own experience of running a shelter in the Soka Gakkai's culture center in Sendai after the devastating earthquake in 2011, he introduced a new exhibition displayed at the center which was produced to share the experiences and lessons learned during that time, with the hope of inspiring visitors by showcasing the affected peoples' tenacious recovery processes.

Professor Susumu Shimazono of Sophia University in Tokyo, a representative of the Japan Religion Coordinating Project for Disaster Relief, made a keynote speech. Through presenting several religious organizations' relief activities, he emphasized that such work needed to be more recognized in society. He claimed that FBOs and people with faith show their strength particularly during times of difficulty.

World Bosai ForumSoka Gakkai Malaysia Exchanges with Rohingya Community

Rohingya children and Soka Gakkai Malaysia students play games together

Eighth International Conference on Human Rights Education

SGI representatives participated in the Eighth International Conference on Human Rights Education (ICHRE) held in Montreal, Canada, from November 30 to December 3. Around 300 participants from all over the world gathered together and engaged in practical workshops and insightful sessions featuring the latest tools, knowledge and good practice in human rights education.

The SGI co-organized with the International Organization for the Right to Education and Freedom (OIDEL) a workshop titled “Successes and Challenges in Promoting Human Rights

Education: Can the Impact of Educational Tools in Non-formal Settings Be Measured?” After a storytelling icebreaker led by Nancy Flowers, HRE USA Lifetime Achievement awardee, and presentations by Kristi Rudelius-Palmer from the University of Minnesota and Barbara Weber, Amnesty International global director for HRE, around 40 participants from international organizations and academia shared their different views and experiences, engaging in meaningful discussions exploring the impact of educational tools to promote HRE in non-formal settings, and discussed how it can be

measured. The Transforming Lives: The Power of Human Rights Education exhibition was also displayed in English and French during the conference.

New Exhibition on Human Rights Education Opens at UN Headquarters in Geneva

A new exhibition titled “Transforming Lives: The Power of Human Rights Education” was launched on March 6 at the Palais des Nations, home of the United Nations Office at Geneva.

The exhibition raises awareness of the vital role of human rights education in promoting dignity, equality and peace and in preventing human rights violations and abuses. It was created to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Education

and Training in 2011.

The showing in Geneva was co-organized by the SGI, HRE 2020, the NGO Working Group on Human Rights Education and Learning, and the states comprising the Platform for Human Rights and Training (Brazil, Costa Rica, Italy, Morocco, the Philippines, Senegal, Slovenia, Switzerland and Thailand), with thanks to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

At the opening, Ambassador Maria

Nazareth Farani Azevêdo, permanent representative of Brazil to the United Nations Office at Geneva, commented, “Human rights education and training are critical to achieving a society of peace, tolerance and sustainable development in which the human rights of all are respected, protected and fulfilled.” Hirotsugu Terasaki, SGI director general of peace and global issues, quoted SGI President Daisaku Ikeda, stating: “It has never been more important to create and solidify a movement for human rights education that will foster the social conditions in which people treasure human diversity and dignity.”

The 25-panel exhibition shows how human rights education has transformed the lives of people in Australia, Burkina Faso, Peru, Portugal and Turkey. It invites citizens, governments and civil society organizations to take action to nurture a culture of human rights.

Human Rights Education

Ambassador Maria Nazareth Farani Azevêdo, permanent representative of Brazil to the United Nations Office at Geneva, speaks at the opening ceremony of the exhibition

The workshop “Successes and Challenges in Promoting Human Rights Education: Can the Impact of Educational Tools in Non-formal Settings Be Measured?”

SGI Delivers Oral Statement at the Human Rights Council

During the 36th session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), the OHCHR presented the midterm progress report on the implementation of the Third Phase (2015-2019) of the World Programme for Human Rights Education. On September 25, on behalf of 16 organizations of the NGO Working Group on Human Rights Education and Learning (NGO WG on HREL), the SGI delivered a joint statement titled “Assessment of the World Programme for Human Rights Education Third Phase.”

In the statement, the NGO WG on HREL welcomed the midterm progress report which gives an overview of the

different initiatives taking place at national levels. It also reaffirmed that the implementation of human rights education and training programmes is part of the SDGs, which specifically include human rights education under Target 4.7, and it underlined the positive cooperative developments taking place between national actors like governments, national human rights institutions and NGOs. In addition, the oral statement stressed the need to address an evaluation and follow-up of all human rights training processes and encouraged member states to share their best practices when they prepare for the final evaluation of the Third Phase by 2020.

Council of Europe Human Rights Education Conference

Around 300 participants, consisting of government, academic and civil society representatives took part in a three-day conference with the theme “Learning to Live Together—A Shared Commitment to Democracy: The Future of Citizenship and Human Rights Education in Europe.” The purpose of the conference was to strengthen the implementation of the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education (EDC/HRE).

The SGI was invited to participate in the training program as a representative of the youth, children and civil society sector on June 19 and 22. The program provided updates on the

latest developments in the field of EDC/HRE, enhanced advocacy competencies in relation to the Council of Europe Charter on EDC/HRE, and solidified networks among individuals and organizations. During the training, representatives of different organizations discussed the conclusions of the Report on the State of Citizenship and Human Rights Education in Europe, shared experiences and lessons learned, and proposed recommendations for future action. Participants proposed strategic goals for the next five years to promote citizenship and human rights education, both within their countries in Europe and the global context.

Human Rights Council Youth Forum

The second Youth Forum hosted by the World Young Women’s Christian Associations (YWCA), prior to the 35th session of the HRC (HRC35), took place on June 2. The SGI was part of the steering committee who helped organize the forum which gives youth a platform to discuss human rights and influence decision makers. Two hundred young leaders registered from more than 30 youth organizations.

The SGI facilitated a working group on human rights education. The working group proposed a set of recommendations which included: Ensuring that materials on human rights and the HRC are understandable and disseminated through various channels including social media and non-formal education; guaranteeing universal access for all youth to human rights education; and to request the OHCHR to create training and resources for young people in collaboration with youth and youth organizations to enable youth to meaningfully participate in the UN human rights

mechanisms. These recommendations were incorporated into the Youth Forum Declaration presented at the HRC35 side event on June 8.

Participants at the second Youth Forum prior to the 35th session of the Human Rights Council

SGI Representative Speaks at the Meeting of Sant’Egidio

On October 31, an event calling for the abolition of the death penalty in Japan was held at the Italian Institute of Culture in Tokyo, sponsored by the Community of Sant’ Egidio, a Christian lay movement based in Italy. The event was held with the theme, “To Open Paths of Peace for Building a Common Future” to raise public awareness against the death penalty. Representatives of religious groups and civil society organizations spoke, and a musical performance was held to promote the dignity of life. In his speech, Tamotsu Sugiyama, vice president of Soka Gakkai in Japan, pointed out that the death penalty is not only incompatible with the right to life, the most essential of human rights,

but also that it is unacceptable for Buddhists who uphold the dignity of life. He also underlined the importance of human rights education, saying that the first step to countering and preventing human rights violations and abuses is to help raise awareness within individuals, and that the SGI promotes human rights education which fosters the values of respect, inclusion, nondiscrimination, participation, accountability and equality.The SGI has worked for a long time to mainstream human rights education as part of its efforts to raise awareness about the significance of human rights.

Seminar on Human Rights Education

The NGO WG on HREL organized a seminar titled “How Can Human Rights Education and Training Be Promoted through the Education 2030 Agenda, Especially Target 4.7?” co-sponsored by the States Platform on Human Rights Education and Training and the UNESCO Liaison Office in Geneva on May 30 in Geneva. This seminar took place before the 35th session of the Human Rights Council in connection

with the publication of OHCHR’s report on the high-level panel discussion for the fifth anniversary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training.

The SGI helped organize a seminar which included speakers from UNESCO, OHCHR and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). As a contribution to the panel discussion, the NGO WG on HREL made specific recommendations,

including the need for stronger synergy between the initiatives of UN agencies, other intergovernmental entities and governments in the field of human rights education.

Around 80 participants from governments, UN agencies, NGOs and academic institutions attended the seminar. The objectives of the seminar were: To review different initiatives related to human rights education carried out at the international level and to examine their content and complementarity; to provide an update on the status of various programmes in 2017; and to focus on human rights education within these initiatives and programs.

Human Rights Education

The seminar “How Can Human Rights Education and Training Be Promoted through the Education 2030 Agenda, Especially Target 4.7?”

Event calling for the abolition of the death penalty

Parallel Event during the Commission on the Status of Women

NGO Committee on the Status of Women/NY Monthly Meeting

On March 17, the SGI co-organized a parallel event titled “Inclusive and Transformative Leadership for Women’s Economic Empowerment” with the World YWCA, Graduate Women International, the Global Movement for the Culture of Peace, and Soroptimist International during the 61st session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). The SGI and Soroptimist International president moderated the event.

Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury gave the keynote speech. “Leadership,” he said, “is about teamwork and sees all people as leaders.” “Individuals,” he said, “are leaders when they have personal commitment—collective action is not possible without self-determination. Transformative action has to come from the individual, which is what the culture of peace is about.” Ambassador Chowdhury also passionately stated that “Any human endeavor that does not have women at its heart, within its center, will never be meaningful.”

Representatives from UN Women and the World YWCA also spoke at the event. Diana Rusu, knowledge management analyst, shared about UN Women’s online movement on women’s economic empowerment: Empower Women. Through their global platform, they aim to champion good examples in economic empowerment, share stories of

women in all spheres of society, and offer free e-learning courses. “Formal education is important,” she noted, “but is not enough—skills training for the workforce in leadership and self-confidence is also essential for women and girls.”

During the interactive discussion one participant shared that churches, places of worship and local communities are examples of places where inclusive and transformative leadership are found that help strengthen the visibility, collective voice and representation of women.

The NGO Committee on the Status of Women’s September monthly program titled “Peace and Security and the Role of Young Women: The Link Between UNSCR 1325 and 2250” was held on September 28 with the participation of over 90 people reflecting a diverse and intergenerational group. The SGI helped organize the meeting as a member of the Committee’s executive committee and co-chair of the young professionals subcommittee.

Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury, Jayathma Wickramanayake, the UN secretary-general’s envoy on youth, and Sophie Giscard D’Estaing, peace and security policy analyst for UN Women, spoke on the importance of recognizing young women—identified in both resolutions—as the leaders of today and as key to the success of peace and security. Ambassador Chowdhury said of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, that Goal 5 on gender equality is the most primary goal, as all other goals will not progress without it. He passionately called out for a transformation of people’s mindsets. “Mindsets,” he said, “is the biggest barrier to gender equality.”

Jayathma Wickramanayake, the secretary-general’s envoy on

youth, whose home country is Sri Lanka, started by speaking of her personal interest in peace and security, having grown up in conflict and seeing the suffering of her fellow citizens, particularly young women. She mentioned that the first “Progress Study of Youth, Peace and Security” is currently being compiled with the participation of civil society, and will be presented to the Security Council in the spring of 2018. All speakers spoke of the need to bridge together UNSCR 1325 and 2250 and to not have them implemented independently.

Gender Equality and Empowerment

Diana Rusu, knowledge management analyst, shares about UN Women’s online movement

The NGO Committee on the Status of Women’s September monthly program

About SGIThe SGI was registered as a nongovernmental organization (NGO) associated with the UN Department of Public Information in 1981 and was granted consultative status with the Economic and Social Council in 1983. It was also listed as an NGO in cooperation with UNHCR in 1997. SGI maintains offices in New York and Geneva.

The SGI was an early proponent of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-14) and played an active role in the UN process for the realization of the World Programme for Human Rights Education which was launched in 2005 as a follow-up to the UN Decade for Human Rights Education (1995-2004). It launched the People's Decade for Nuclear Abolition initiative in 2007 to rouse public opinion and help create a global grassroots network of people on the issue.

The SGI actively participates in networks including the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the UN (CoNGO) and NGO committees on specific themes such as peace and disarmament, human rights education and gender equality in New York, Geneva and Vienna. SGI President Daisaku Ikeda has been issuing his peace proposal annually since 1983 to bring the voices and perspectives of civil society into the work of the UN, suggesting broad themes for the SGI’s activities as an NGO.

www.sgi.org

E-mail: contact@peacesgi.org

Copyright of Photos:Soka Gakkai Office of Peace and Global IssuesSGI Office for UN AffairsMalaysia Soka GakkaiSeikyo Shimbun