Coincidentally present in New York on 12 May were four of CZOP’s key advocates, now renamed by us, CO-PEACE, or CORRIDORS OF PEACE FOR CHILDREN EVERYWHERE. Rima Salah, David Bassiouni and Mary Racelis took the opportunity to welcome to New York chief promoter, Baquer Namazi. He was enjoying his first visit to the city after years of detention and house arrest in Tehran, followed by recovery in Dubai with son, Babak, and family. He remains actively engaged in seeking the release of son, Siamak, from his continuing unjust detention in the notorious Evin Prison.
It was nonetheless a happy group that met at Rima’s elegant apartment near the UN. Helping Rima display the well-known Arab hospitality of plying us with drinks and snacks was her esteemed sister, Doris, of YWCA fame.
The four of us met, both to update plans for CO-PEACE as well as simply to rekindle the joyful camaraderie of long-time friendships. Our core group is engaging in a series of consultations with key UN figures involved in peace processes to bring in UNICEF’s special insights and the continuing interest of XUNICEF to prioritize the needs of children caught in armed conflict. Bringing in the important work of the UNSRSG on Children and Armed Conflict and the UNSRSG on Violence Against Children forms part of our alliance-building strategies.
Our aim is to bring out UNICEF’s 1990s successes in persuading both sides in inter- or intra-country armed conflicts to suspend hostilities, even if for only three days, enabling humanitarian groups to reach children under siege. XUNICEF veterans will recall the elements needed: (1) a third party initiating a proposal; (2) negotiations at high levels; (3) careful planning; (4) targeted communication; and (5) diverse stakeholders in broad partnerships.
Successes, as in El Salvador, Ethiopia, Iraq, Lebanon, Myanmar, Philippines, Sudan and Yemen, among others, brought to child victims desperately needed services – mass vaccinations, water, food, clothing, medicine, medical care and more. These ground-breaking actions enabled thousands of young citizens to survive to adulthood. Many observers believe the program laid the groundwork for meaningful peace negotiations between the warring sides.
News and Views has featured the CO-PEACE Initiative in several of its issues. Our core foursome expects to send an updated proposal soon to all XUNICEF members, calling for the voluntary participation of those interested. It will invite retirees with direct country involvement in Jim Grant’s CZOP to communicate their learnings to current generations. Others will be asked to contribute by reaching and supporting NGOs and community associations in the affected conflict countries and worldwide. Ultimately, we hope through CO-PEACE to reach, relieve and save children caught in conflict through strong people-based movements,
Linking with UNICEF in this effort is of course also crucial. We, therefore, welcomed Megan Gilgan, UNICEF’s Deputy Director, Public Partnerships Division, a friend and strong advocate for Baquer’s release, who dropped by Rima’s place to say hello. Far away in India but remaining close to our efforts was Karthika Pillai, an active young NGO leader, who serves as our very efficient and committed secretariat-administrator in the CO-PEACE effort.
Not everything on 12 May was business though. At a sumptuous Italian restaurant dinner hosted by Rima, the core-four enjoyed stimulating and nostalgic conversations. We reminisced about our UNICEF experiences, discussed international events of the day, life in New York and UNICEF happenings, while catching up on family developments.
Yet again, this mini-reunion expressed what many of us know: the common experience of serving children everywhere creates special bonds that never die. Shifting from UNICEF to XUNICEF sustains enduring friendships and aspirations toward a better world for children and families everywhere.
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Mary Racelis reporting on behalf of David Bassiouni, Baquer Namazi, Rima Salah and herself, May 2023
PS - We were delighted when Megan Gilgan dropped in at Rima's home and joined us for a few minutes. Selfie taken by Megan Gilgan.
WOW ! and WOW again ! Now this is as photo of historical significance. Rarely are we privileged to see in the same place such XUNICEF luminaries as one of the foremost advocates for women in UNICEF, one of the foremost advocates for children in war situations, one of the main advocates for Palestinian children rights and one of the most active post-retirement supporters of UN and UNICEF issues. Wish we could have been there, also knowing that Rima and sister Doris are exceptional hostesses and meals at their apartment are culinary delights. For me, the personal angle..apart from the fact that all four are dear and old colleagues....is that they met in the same building where we rented an apartment from 1983-84, owned by close friends from Beirut days, the Sanbar brothers.
ReplyDeleteI was very happy to read about this initiative of Co-Peace/Corridors of Peace and hope it will grow to become a major player in world politics. One area to follow-up is the agreement which UNICEF had signed with the International Olympic Committee to stop all fighting during the Olympic Games.
ReplyDeleteThis concept could easily be adopted by Olympic committees and sports associations all over the world - and not just during the Olympics..
During the period of insurgency in Nepal, schools became a target for attacks, in part because those who were against the Government came saw some school teachers performing a dual function, as teacher and also convenor of the ruling party. The upshot was that when these teachers were attacked, politically at first but then some horrific cases of execution, it completely shut down schools. The Education programme with a few NGO partners that had presence on the ground -- not all did, in these remote districts -- crafted a Schools as Zones of Peace initiative, based largely on local community links with both parties to the conflict, the issues came down to resolution mechanisms when either group broke the agreed upon norms and the transfer of commanders on both sides, meant going back through the process again. This was low key stuff unlike the Kathmandu City generated all purpose calls for Peace which lacked resonance, networks and processes at the field level. UNICEF was among the first UN agencies to engage with the parties to the conflict at the local level. What was critical was our neutrality in a environment where both parties were eager to play up the other side as being the culprits. We did not at the time claim any high level sucesses but in at least 3 districts of the country piloted a methodology that others could pick up, really stuck a chord with local communuties, as they had an active role in reaching out to the militants physically. We drew inspiration in this work from the frameworks developed by our colleagues elsewhere but the adaptation and innovation were really in response to local situations, granular details matter. Building Trust was key and thats a real slog. No easy wins. But process and sweat equity works. It was a small initiative but beat chest thumping or making broad scale calls for peace from 5 Star Hotel Ballrooms -- the cockpit for so many other partners!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Fouad, Horst and Samphe for your much appreciated comments. It's good to know that the CO-PEACE effort is arousing interest. We are looking for accounts of CZOP-like or linked initiatives. Samphe and Horst, yours are the first two. We wll be writing another note soon in hopes of drawing out more such examples. Mary
ReplyDeleteHello Fouad, Horst and Samphe,
ReplyDeleteWhat great follow-up statements to our CO-PEACE foursome meeting at Rima's place in New York!
Fouad, your delineating our individual roles in UNICEF's past, continuing into the present through CO-PEACE is much appreciated. I agree that our picture tells a thousand words. Thanks for confirming that.
Horst, your information on steps UNICEF took with the International Olympic Committee to get fighting stopped worldwide is something I didn't know. Were you able to keep track of any fighting that actually stopped as a result? That would be good to know as we develop our CO-PEACE advocacy efforts. Thanks for your positive reactions. We hope we can call on you once we really get going.
Samphe, your account of how local communities caught in the midst of violent struggles took the initiative to make the two sides come to terms is exactly the kind of experience we are seeking for strengthening CO-PEACE initiatives. Your fascinating account highlights the importance of community knowledge in forging solutions, something, happily, UNICEF understood.The roles of UNICEF staff in the process will also be valuable. We will certainly draw on your on-the-ground expertise as we move forward. Thank you very much for inaugurating our XUNICEF knowledge base on local community initiatives in forging peace for their families, community and nation. Mary