Category: Topic

2001, Europe, Europe (general)

Peace and Reconciliation in Europe

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Peace and Reconciliation in Europe

Richard Seebohm

Introduction

I have spent the last three years as Representative in Brussels of the Quaker Council for European Affairs, lobbying the European institutions on the subjects of peace, human rights and economic justice. One of our outcomes was a club of 17 NGOs with whom we set up the European Peacebuilding Liaison Office. It began work in January 2001, with the task of information-sharing in order to link the non-violent conflict resolution capabilities of the NGOs with the evolution of European Union policies for crisis management.

It is one thing to avert crises, but quite another to solve the problem of enabling people who have been intent on destroying each other to learn once more to live alongside each other.

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2001, Truth Commissions

The Work of Truth Commissions

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The Work of Truth Commissions

Roberta Bacic

Notes on Truth Commissions

Truth commissions have been set up in countries that have endured violent conditions and where human rights have been systematically violated. In these countries the new political regime, where there has been war, or transitional governments, where there has been a dictatorship, do not have a judicial system capable of dealing with the consequences of the past. The existing systems cannot be relied upon to prosecute those responsible for previous human rights violations, because usually violence has been perpetrated by the state and its institutions, including the Justice Department. At the very least these institutions have been culpable for their silence, ignoring or denying the violence.

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2000, Europe, Europe (general)

Changes in Europe and Britain

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Changes in Europe

Europe today faces unprecedented challenges. The euphoria of 1990 and the end of the Cold War gave way to new problems: unemployment, threats to the environment, narrow nationalism, vast numbers of displaced people and new restrictive asylum legislation.

Enlargement of the European Union brings its own dilemmas – more countries and diverse cultures means compromise and consensus.

  • How open will the E.U. be, as it expands and deepens?
  • Will monetary union bring growing prosperity?
  • Will there be safeguards to ensure fair trade for all, rich and poor alike?

The search for new patterns of freedom and justice means a tremendous challenge for the churches, too. Can they help to create and maintain a truly democratic society?

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