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Ploughshares E-Newsletter
April 23, 2008 Announcements New staff member
The Presbyterian Church in Canada's Peace and Human Security Internship The Presbyterian Church in Canada and Project Ploughshares invite applications for the second year of the Peace and Human Security Internship with Project Ploughshares in Waterloo, Ontario. The internship will run from September 2008 to April 2009. Click here for details, applications close on May 16, 2008. Ernie Regehr receives the 2008 Arthur Kroeger College Award
Staff Updates The Afghanistan Reference Group, of which Ploughshares is member, decided to hold meetings with key individuals in each of the political parties following the release of the Manley Panel report and the subsequent Government motion on Afghanistan and the Liberal amendments. Ernie Regehr and Simon Rosenblum of the World Federalists of Canada met with Bob Rae at the end of February to discuss the forthcoming vote in the House of Commons on the extension and reshaping of the Canadian mission in Afghanistan. Towards a Caribbean Plan of Action on Small Arms
Key documents from the international workshop, including the final report and the meeting declaration, will be available on Project Ploughshares website soon — check the "What's New" section of the homepage. Funding for the workshop was received from the Glyn Berry Program for Peace and Security of the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Presentations on Space Security at US Space Command and UNIDIR Program Associate Jessica West traveled to Colorado Springs to present key findings from the Space Security Index to a group of senior officials from US Space Command on March 13, 2008. She was joined by other members of the project, Theresa Hitchens of the Center for Disarmament Information, Brian Weeden with the Secure World Foundation, and Ambassador Thomas Graham Jr. Project Ploughshares serves as the secretariat for the Space Security Index, which is an annual survey of events and long-term trends in outer space. Drawing on the findings of the project, Jessica also presented key challenges to the long-term sustainability of outer space at the conference “Space Security: The Next Generation,” hosted by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) in Geneva on March 31, 2008. Roundtable on States Reporting to the NPT Project Ploughshares hosted a roundtable event on international reporting to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade on March 25, 2008. The roundtable focused on research compiled by Ploughshares’ staff on the record of reporting between 2002 and 2007 and recommendations to improve the level of accountability and transparency of reports, particularly by nuclear weapons states. The full report will be distributed at the NPT Preparatory Committee meeting in Geneva in May 2008 and available on the Ploughshares’ website. Dialogue on Iran’s nuclear policy On March 5 and 6 Project Ploughshares in cooperation with the Mennonite Central Committee hosted a dialogue on Iran’s nuclear policy. Participants included Iranian officials from the Ottawa Embassy and Iran’s mission to the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, as well as academic experts from Tehran. Canadian participants included academics, NGO and church representatives, and former officials. The event was well received as a serious and informative exchange of views on one of the key issues currently facing the nuclear non-proliferation regime. A report of the meeting is under preparation. Speaking engagements and other meetings On February 20-21, 2008 John Siebert participated in meetings organized by Peacebuild (formerly known as the Canadian Peacebuilding Coordinating Committee) that brought together NGO representatives and CIDA officials to encourage CIDA to provide a policy basis and financial support for projects and programs that link armed violence reduction and development. On March 1-2, 2008, John joined the Mississauga Mennonite Fellowship to lead discussions on Canada’s role in Afghanistan and Project Ploughshares’ peacebuilding work in the Horn of Africa with the Africa Peace Forum. On April 14, 2008 he was the featured speaker at the Annual General Meeting of the Mennonite Savings and Credit Union in Waterloo. John participated in a priority setting and planning meeting of the Commission on Justice and Peace (CJP) of the Canadian Council of Churches (CCC) in Toronto, April 10-12, 2008. Project Ploughshares is a part of the CCC and actively works with the CJP on policy and ecumenical commitments on issues such as the Responsibility to Protect and Canada’s role in Afghanistan. In February Ernie Regehr spoke on current nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation policies and issues to a Global Studies Class at Wilfrid Laurier University. On March 7 Ernie participated in a consultation on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) hosted by the World Federalist Movement offices of New York and Ottawa. The meeting explored the current state of the R2P issue and explored the development of an international NGO network to advance R2P. During March Ken Epps spoke to two undergraduate classes at the University of Waterloo on Canadian military exports and the Arms Trade Treaty. Project Ploughshares in the News On April 23, The Globe and Mail referenced Ken Epps in its article titled "Ottawa lifting restrictions on arms sales to 11 nations". Reviving Canada’s Lead on Nuclear Disarmament The burden of armed violence Afghan Mission Motion Misses Three Key Issues Our tactics in Afghanistan must change On February 21, NOW Magazine quoted Ernie Regehr in its online news article titled "Manley's big chill". Publications Now Online The Ploughshares Monitor — Spring 2008 Disarming Conflict The Ploughshares E-Newsletter is a regularly issued publication that is intended to keep readers current with new Ploughshares publications, research and program updates, and special events. Comments on the newsletter are invited at plough@ploughshares.ca. Back issues are available here. To subscribe or unsubscribe from this newsletter, please click here.
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