Communiqué from the Second People’s Summit for Ministries and Departments of Peace Victoria, BC, Canada – June 19-22, 2006

The Global Alliance for Ministries and Departments of Peace gathered at Royal Roads University, Victoria, Canada, to advance the establishment of ministries and departments of peace in governments worldwide. Government and civil society delegates from Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Italy, Japan, Liberia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Palestine, Philippines, Romania, Solomon Islands, Spain, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States united to develop an effective global and national architecture for peace.

In plenary sessions and working groups, Summit participants established the foundations for local, national, regional, and international campaigns that will work towards conflict resolution and peace- building. "The role of governments in this initiative is crucial, in partnership with civil society," said Franklin Quijano from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process in the Philippines. Fred Fakari’i, undersecretary in the Department of Reconciliation, Unity, and Peace in the Solomon Islands, noted that "Together we have the capacity to build the architecture that will make peacebuilding effective."

The Global Alliance calls upon governments of the world and civil society organisations everywhere to:

• Develop necessary resources and infrastructure for resolving conflicts effectively by peaceful means
• Establish, train and develop civil peace services and the human resources and capacities for peacebuilding and conflict transformation
• Incorporate conflict resolution and peacebuilding into school curricula from primary schools through university
• Actively engage youth, women, and all communities to participate as equals in peacebuilding, to ensure participation and representation of all
• Support and encourage coordinated efforts to gather lessons learned and best practices from peacebuilding experiences around the world.

The Global Alliance is committed to partnership and cooperation with governments, organisations, and institutions nationally and internationally working for the achievement of these goals and the promotion of peace by peaceful means. Governments such as those in the Philippines and Solomon Islands who have already established secretariats and departments for peacebuilding, conflict transformation, and reconcili- ation are pioneers and examples to the world.

"Collectively, the youth at the Summit call for a global youth cooperative network of the diverse local movements towards establishing departments and ministries of peace. We are excited to be able to offer a 'fresh' perspective for peace," said Tara Yip-Bannicq, Youth Delegate to the Summit.

"Everyone assembled here," said Dr. Saul Arbess, Summit host and Canadian Working Group delegate, "is determined to provide the energy, skills and momentum to realise these goals, working in concert and in harmony with peaceworkers worldwide."

Saul Arbess, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ;
Diana Basterfield, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ;
Stephanie Jensen, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ;
Yumi Kikuchi, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ;
Dot Maver, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ;
Biannca Pace, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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