THE SEVILLE STATEMENT 0N VIOLENCE

"The same species who invented war is capable of inventing peace."

Support Network c/o David Adams, Wesleyan Psychology Dept
Mlddletown, Connecticut USA 05459

NEWSLETTER - VOLUME 7, NUMBER 1, AUGUST. 1992

--- We are part or a great increase of global consciousness in these
times, which came to flower at the Earth Summit in Rio in June. and
which makes possible United Nations peace-building in a way that has
never before been possible. At the same time, however, these are violent
and dangerous times, as described in the letter sent to us by our resource
contact in Syria, George Jabbour, and enclosed here. will the United
Nations be a source of peace-building or war-making? Francesco Robustelli,
our resource contact in Italy, asks a similar question in his letter that
is enclosed here. U.N. Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali has proposed a
new category of peace-building activity by the Security Council in his
June 17 report, "Agenda for Peace." This includes such non-military
means as monitoring elections, protecting human rights, promoting
political participation and democracy, and concrete cooperative projects
in education. culture, and economic development.

--- The Seville Statement and its Support Network has a role to play in
the emerging agenda of peace-building. The Seville Statement can help
build the confidence of people that peace is possible and worth the risk
and energy required to work for it. At UNESCO, we have prepared and are
distributing new materials on the Seville Statement. Enclosed you will
find a new flyer that has been issued in English. French, and Spanish
and mailed to a wide list by UNESCO. It is designed For easy reproduction
and mass distribution. Also, we have produced a colorful poster that is
attractive to young people, combining the message of Seville with the
songs for peace of popular singers and composers and their photos. The
brochure of the Seville Statement is now available in Spanish and Arabic
as well as English and French. And it has been proposed that the next
funding cycle of UNESCO should include a book of scientific readings with
full bibliography on the issues of the Seville Statement. and an evaluation
of all these materials in the context of educational systems around the world.

--- The new materials were distributed widely at the Second World Conference
on Violence and Human Coexistence at Montreal in July. Francine
Fournier, Assistant Director-General for Social Sciences, and Georges
Kutukdjian of the Division of Human Rights and Peace represented UNESCO
at the conference. Santiago Genoves and Pierre Karli joined Fournier in
a symposium on the Seville Statement. Flyers and brochures were also
distributed to teachers in two recent conferences at UNESCO, the conference
oF Teachers for Peace in June and the conference on Teachers in an Era of
Global Change in July. UNESCO sponsored a press conference at the United
Nations Pavilion at World Expo in Seville in June, which featured four
signatories of the Statement: Jose Delgado, Diana Mendoza, Martin Ramirez,
and David Adams. Unlike the print media, the television coverage was
excellent - 10 minutes of prime time. Flyers are being distributed by
the Pavilion, but the new posters of the Statement were so popular among
young people that they were all soon taken - hopefully to be shared with
friends and to join other posters with popular artists, athletes and
movie stars.