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	World Peace must start with Environmental Justice by Kumi Naidoo Executive Director of Greenpeace International   September 16, 2011 (Vancouver Sun)   For the past week, the world has reflected on the tragedy of 9/11 and the consequences of that fateful day. To my mind, we talk more about security than peace now. And we ignore the role that environmental justice can play in achieving world peace.   It does not take a rocket scientist to understand that climate change will exacerbate global conflicts. And our reliance on fossil fuels and unconventional oil deposits - like those in the oilsands or the Arctic - will only accelerate climate change.   Just look at Darfur and Somalia where resource wars are already underway as a result of climate change; and sadly those that are suffering first and most brutally are those that have been least responsible for the climate chaos we find ourselves in.   Choosing clean energy alternatives and a green economy offers a multiplicity of solutions for the planet. In turning away from fossil fuels and burning less carbon dioxide, we save the environment, we create jobs, and we save lives.   Forty years after it was founded, Greenpeace is as relevant as ever in drawing the links between peace and environment. In 2007, United Nations Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon said, "We need you, Greenpeace, to mobilize public opinion and enable politicians to do the right thing."   In Canada, we are working with industry, government and first nations to create sustainable forestry practices.   The landmark Great Bear Rainforest Agreement in British Columbia is seen as a "greenprint" for successful forest conservation worldwide. It will preserve close to three million hectares of rainforest - an area larger than Prince Edward Island - from logging.   Similarly, the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement signed last year includes an immediate moratorium on logging in 28 million hectares of forest. This isn"t just trees either, but wildlife habitat and the lungs of the planet.   These agreements demonstrate that environment and economy can be highly compatible under the right conditions. We can have economic prosperity and environmental protection at the same time.   In 1990, Greenpeace founder Bob Hunter wrote: "The idea exists that the ecology movement is a late-blooming fad, something to do with hippies; a fad, moreover, that will vanish the moment serious jobs-versus-nature battles come down after the first macro waves of recession."   And yet, here we are. While political and economic crises ebb and flow, the environmental movement has kept pace with reality. The movement continues to grow, and so does Greenpeace.   From its humble roots in Vancouver, Greenpeace now has offices in more than 40 countries on every continent and three million members worldwide. We started with the hope of ending nuclear testing (green) and proliferation (peace) - a campaign we"re still fighting, primarily in the energy sector - and we"re still promoting practical solutions for the planet.   We"re an organization of big ideas and ideals. We don"t accept government or corporation money. And we"re always ready and willing to stand up for our convictions and tackle big problems with big solutions.   Over the last 40 years, Greenpeace has helped to end nuclear testing, introduce a ban on the dumping of radioactive waste at sea, protect the ozone layer by introducing technology like "Greenfreeze" refrigeration, establish a treaty to protect the Antarctic from mineral exploration and put an end to commercial whale hunting.   We are renown for our famous, high profile demonstrations. But, most of our work is focused on promoting real-life, practical solutions for people and the environment.   And we"re making it a global effort, in every sense of the word. We employ scientists, lawyers, engineers and researchers. We have the most dedicated activists and volunteers on the planet - and they are young, old, and everything in between.   Not bad for an organization that began with a daring mission to end nuclear testing on Amchitka, Alaska. Fittingly, Greenpeace doesn"t celebrate its birthday on the occasion of a meeting, the writing of a charter or the raising of its first funds. We celebrate the day a group of visionaries set sail to make a difference, and as Bill Darnell quipped, to make a "green peace."   This week, we pause to celebrate our successes and then get back to the meaningful change Greenpeace has always stood for, and which is more urgently needed now more than ever before. Visit the related web page
	UN envoy unveils recommendations on ensuring justice for children in conflict by Radhika Coomaraswamy Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict   September 2011   The United Nations envoy for children and armed conflict has stressed that children are victims and not perpetrators of war and unveiled recommendations that address the needs and rights of minors as victims, witnesses or perpetrators of violence during warfare in an effort to ensure justice for them.   “States are increasingly arresting and detaining children associated with armed groups, either because they are a threat to national security or because they have participated in hostilities,” said Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, during a presentation to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.   Children are particularly vulnerable to human rights abuses when deprived of their liberty, Ms. Coomaraswamy told the Council.   She unveiled a working paper entitled “Children and Justice During and in the Aftermath of Armed Conflict” in which she points out that children are often tried in national and military courts without legal representation or assistance, in the absence of their parents and often have no clear understanding of the charges brought against them.   “Given the forced nature and the root causes of their association with armed groups, and, considering their age, children should be treated primarily as victims, not as perpetrators,” said Ms. Coomaraswamy, urging Member States to prosecute adult recruiters who force children to commit crimes.   Youngsters are themselves abused, exploited, and beaten into submission by their commanders while associated with armed groups, she said.   Ms. Coomaraswamy also spoke about the changing nature of warfare and its terrible impact on children.   “Wherever aerial attacks occur, the technological potential to kill civilians including children, may result in devastating circumstances,” she said, urging all combatants to minimize civilian causalities and the use of girls and boys as suicide bombers, an action she described as “one of the most perverse developments in modern warfare.”   Ms. Coomaraswamy recommends that child victims and witnesses of war be allowed to participate in the trials of those accused of perpetrating war crimes against them. However, for such participation to meaningful, prosecuting authorities and courts need to reconsider the way children’s evidence is taken and used.   “In particular, courts and other bodies need to introduce provisions that will enable children to give evidence before a court, and at the same time ensure that children are protected from any adverse consequences as a result of giving evidence,” she writes in her recommendations.   The Special Representative also urges national courts to enact legislation to make the best interest of the child victim or witness the primary concern. Such legislation should also contain special measures for the support and protection of children, such as the admission of pre-recorded testimony, voice and image distortion, anonymity or closed hearings.   She pointed out that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has introduced an innovative alternative mechanism through which children who are victims of international crimes can access justice.   The mechanism allows children to participate in a trial without actually having to give evidence. “States are recommended to introduce this concept for children into their national legislation,” Ms. Coomaraswamy writes.   However, she points out that since only a small proportion of children who have been harmed in armed conflict can participate in proceedings before national or international courts, non-judicial mechanisms may provide a larger number of children with an opportunity of accessing justice and have their voices heard.   “States emerging from conflict should consider introducing non-judicial structures such as truth and reconciliation commissions and traditional justice to bring more immediate justice and reconciliation.” Visit the related web page
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