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TO BE A PEACE MAKER ~DAVE ROBINSON PAX CHRISTI USA
*Free Counseling for Soldiers and Their
Families The Soldiers Project, which started
in California and is now on Long Island, is a group of volunteer psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, marriage counselors,
and family therapists Who provide free, confidential
counseling for military service members of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and for their families. Veterans and their wives,
husbands, children, parents, and other loved ones are all affected by military service and the challenges of returning home.
Project Soldier can make the transitions easier. For further information, call (toll free) 1-877-576-5343, email info@thesoldersproject.org,
or visit www.thesoldiersproject.org. ****************************************************************************
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Supreme Court Ruling Could Severely
Cripple Peacebuilding Partner response in works with Alliance for Peacebuilding
& 3D Security
Joseph,
A new challenge lies before us. In Late June, the Supreme Court
ruled in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project (HLP) that peacebuilding efforts with designated terrorist groups can now be considered
material support towards terrorism and are therefore illegal. By
a 6-3 opinion, written by Chief Justice Roberts, the court ruled that that the Patriot Act's prohibitions on "expert
advice," "training," "service," and "personnel" apply to United States peacebuilders that
are working to end violent conflict. Organizations and individuals working on peacebuilding now risk 15 years in prison
for pursuing peaceful resolution with terrorist groups. This decision highlights that the Supreme Court, and many others in our country, still do not understand peacebuilding
and conflict resolution. The field you have so passionately committed yourselves to now faces great risk. We must and will take action on this issue. We have joined together once again with
the Alliance for Peacebuilding and 3D Security to address the Supreme Court ruling. We recognize
the urgency of the situation and are preparing a strategic response in support of peacebuilders throughout
our nation and world.
Please help us by donating $10 today in support of this vital work. We have already identified four areas of focus: - Engaging the Administration on how they will enforce this ruling
- Continuing our efforts to place peacebuilding content within the Foreign Assistance Act Reform to mitigate the effects
of the ruling
- Launch a public awareness campaign to bring attention to the
importance of peacebuilding and engaging those who choose to use violence against us
- If needed, swiftly explore other legislative measures to revise the policy
Your $10 donation will help us respond in a strategic and profound way to this new challenge. Help support us with the funding we need to give YOUR voices the chance to be heard on this topic. You can read the opinion here. Let your Facebook network know about this important issue 
Keep your eyes open for email updates
on our response and additional ways you can take a stand in support of peacebuilding. In Peace,
 Aaron Voldman Executive Director, Student Peace Alliance
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us: |
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----- Original Message ----- Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 11:03 AM Subject: A Breakthrough for
International Peacebuilding Structures in our Federal Government! Exciting Update from D.C.!
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Foreign
Assistance Act Reform Major Milestone: Strong
potential to include significant peacebuilding funding and infrastructure After years of advocacy, our
efforts are helping to change the conversation!
Dear
Joseph, Advocating for peacebuilding in Washington D.C. has never been an easy
task, as many of you know. Last week at the Dirksen Senate building, I found myself overwhelmed with emotion.
But for once the emotion stemmed from deep appreciation rather than frustration.
Recently, Washington D.C.
has seen a breakthrough for the field of international peacebuilding. As part of the Foreign Assistance Act Reform (the
legislation that put USAID into place), there is a brand new section on peacebuilding and conflict mitigation.
Members of Congress, specifically House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), now recognize the integral
relationship between development and peacebuilding, as violence can be considered development in reverse. As such, Rep.
Berman requested that leaders of the international peacebuilding community, led by Chic Dambach of Alliance for Peacebuilding
and Lisa Schirch of 3D Security, draft a concept paper on what the peacebuilding section of the bill should include. Aaron Voldman and I, representing The Peace Alliance
and Student Peace Alliance in D.C., were asked to contribute to the concept paper. This concept paper provided the opportunity to place a peacebuilding framework into our foreign affairs policy and
gain recognition of peacebuilding as a national priority. An opportunity brought about in many ways by your
continued persistence and commitment to furthering peacebuilding within our federal government.
Last month
the concept paper was handed to the House Foreign Affairs Committee who used it in developing a joint peacebuilding discussion
paper with the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee. This discussion paper's first page reads like our messaging
of the last six years. I have never seen a document from the government so clearly lay out the problems of
our current foreign policy approach and also offer solutions that are aligned with what we have advocated for since the beginning
of our work. Here are some important highlights:
1) A joint USAID-State Council with the
mandate to foster a unified and clear peacebuilding approach within the State Department and USAID that will enable these
agencies to assume meaningful responsibility for peacebuilding policy and programming, including crisis management,
contingency operations and conflict prevention, and provide the capacity to effectively mobilize and target resources.
There exists a strong contingent of advocates calling for this Council to be named
the Peacebuilding Council.
2) The Director of the Council would be nominated
by the President.
3) The new Council would conduct conflict and risk assessments on an annual basis.
4)
Training in conflict prevention and mitigation would be required of certain Foreign Service Officers.
5) The President
would be directed to establish a standing interagency coordination mechanism specifically to address early action and preventive
measures. You can find both the concept paper and the Committees' discussion paper online at our website. You can also join me in a discussion on DoPeace. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and will be happy to answer any questions. |
Last week the Committees held an open meeting for feedback on the discussion paper and over 75
representatives from the peacebuilding field attended! The staffers answered questions, provided some insight and most
importantly of all, listened. It was clear by the end that they really get it. When I went up
to shake the hand of the main drafter of the discussion paper I nearly cried as I shared with her my appreciation for all
that she has done and all that she continues to do to move this forward.
These changes represent the
growing commitment of our government to peacebuilding. The committee staffers, along with those in
the peacebuilding field, also recognize the need for the Administration to come forward with a mission and strategy for security
that will provide a framework for these possible changes. We still have questions and some concerns about the discussion
paper (such as the lack of coordination with civil society) and many organizations (including Alliance for Peacebuilding and
3D Security) have submitted response papers to the Committees to help strengthen it.
We are honored that The Peace
Alliance and Student Peace Alliance have been a part of this process, and are excited to see what makes it into the final
bill. Regardless, the bottom line is that the peacebuilding conversation is happening in Washington D.C.
The conversation we have been working for, of how to make peacebuilding a true federal priority and central to our policy-making,
is actually occurring at the highest levels of government, even more than we know. There remain a lot of questions as
we work towards consensus on the solutions to the problems articulated in the discussion paper. These discussions, and
the proposed new structures, represent a huge step for the field of international peacebuilding.
We will keep you
updated about the progress of the legislation and possible opportunities for support. Be proud of the influence The
Peace Alliance and Student Peace Alliance has had on the role of peacebuilding in our federal government. We continue
to have a measurable impact in the nation's capital.
I am proud to represent The Peace Alliance and Student Peace
Alliance in Washington D.C. Now is finally our time!
Thank you for your continued
commitment to this cause,
Julia Simon-Mishel D.C. Staff of The Peace Alliance Student
Peace Alliance Managing Director
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