Author(s):
Chayer Amelie <amelie@icbl.org> .
Monday 20 July 2009
The International Summit of Religious Youth Leaders on Disarmament for Shared Security was held in Kathmandu, Nepal, on 10 and 11 July 2009. Organized by ICBL member Religions for Peace, the event brought together young people from around the world, as a chance to prepare for their campaign on disarmament and development. The President of Nepal joined the opening ceremony, along with several other VIPs.
With support from Raza Shah Khan of SPADO, the Pakistan arm of the ICBL, and Purna Shova Chitrakar of the Nepal Campaign to Ban Landmines, the Religions for Peace Global Youth Network had an extremely fruitful meeting and will now move very rapidly into a disarmament campaign, to commence in November 2009. The summit covered many facets of disarmament and humanitarian issues, including the elimination of landmines and cluster munitions.
Allison Pytlak, Disarmament Program Coordinator at Religions for Peace, gave a keynote address about small arms, landmines and cluster munitions that outlined at length what these are, where they are a problem, how they are a problem in Asia-Pacific, and about the Mine Ban Treaty and Convention on Cluster Munitions.
Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan, Landmine Monitor expert on the region, participated via teleconference and used the success of the ICBL as an example of how the determination of just a few people can grow into a larger, impactful movement. Raza Shah Khan presented the current challenges in Pakistan's Swat Valley (see ICBL's press release from 20 May 2009: Nobel Peace Laureate Campaign Denounces Taliban Use of Landmines in Pakistan's Swat Valley) and Purna Shova Chitrakar presented a case study on her organization's campaigning efforts against cluster munitions.
In addition to the President of Nepal Dr Ram Baran Yada, other influent personalities addressed the participants, such as Mr. Kul C. Gautam, former UN Assistant Secretary-General and former Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, Mr Taijiro Kimura, Director of the UN Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific, and Mr Tadatoshi Akiba, Mayor of Hiroshima and president of Mayors for Peace.
Additional information
Landmine Monitor Factsheet: Landmines in Asia-Pacific
Religions for Peace - Closing press release
