Your organization is invited to join a process to Build Peace and Justice Now! It is the result of a discussion in Tunis a year ago at a meeting of the International Council of the World Social Forum (WSF) to welcome a World Assembly of Struggles and Resistance (WASR). It will for the first time take place on Sunday February 18th in hybrid format at 4PM Nepalese time, UTC 9:15 AM during the WSF in Kathmandu on February 15th-19th.
There is a Zoom meeting on February 1oth.
As an opportunity for the exchange of experiences between movements, a 2-hour Zoom-meeting will be held on Saturday, the 10th of February at CET 15, Nepal time 19:45 and Mexican time 8:00. Short introductions with peace and justice perspectives will be made by movement speakers from Nepal, South Africa and Sweden, followed by comments from different participating movements.
A draft declaration called “Build Peace and Justice now!” for the WASR will also be presented. The hope is to contribute to common campaigns on issues where several movements have common interests, such as disarmament for welfare and a social and just climate transition.
The Zoom link to register is:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUuf–vqTouEtYEqculz9nofSSc0y9IzSA-
10 feb 2024 – 8 hrs México and Centroamérica / 9 hrs Canadá, Colombia / 10 hrs Venezuela / 11 hrs Brasil / 15 hrs París, Casablanca / 19:45 Katmandú
We hope this process can become a new first step towards stronger international cooperation to address the present multi-dimensional crisis and build alternatives.
There is a growing need to address social and climate justice in relation to the escalation of conflicts and wars between power blocs. Tensions between the power blocs are growing both on militarization and security policies, food and health, supply chains, technology, financial systems, natural resources and mass media narratives. A just green transition needs the support of the rural and urban majorities in opposition to privileged groups whether in the West, East or Global South. Can a peoples’ movement across the East-West and North-South gap take initiatives to work for disarmament for a socio-ecological just transition? Is this an important issue for the World Assembly for Struggles and Resistance of the WSF 2024 to take place in Kathmandu on the 18th of February?
Peace, social, and climate justice is on top of many movements’ agendas, including the WSF in Kathmandu on the 15th-19th of February. Due to the shortage of resources, movements from many countries cannot participate in Nepal. Especially from the Central and Eastern European countries, Southern Caucasus and Central Asia, but also other regions in the world where this issue is of importance.
But many other issues are also important for the World Assembly for Struggles and Resistance of the WSF 2024. This online discussion on February 10th is organized to widen the participation in preparation for the WASR. It has also been initiated by The European Social Forum Network Prague Spring 2 against right wing extremism, which has since 2010, been working for dialogue on peace, and the social and ecological crisis. The antiracist youth network UNITED for Intercultural action is also supporting this event.
BUILD PEACE AND JUSTICE NOW!
Nobody can doubt any longer that the multiple crises have deepened worldwide. Superpowers and market-oriented international institutions like NATO, the European Union, Russia, and the United States, as well as the World Economic Forum, World Bank, and IMF have drowned the world in a cacophony of competitive hate speeches and sea of bloody wars, ethnic cleansing and genocide, economic and ecological disasters, and neocolonial injustices supported by increasingly authoritarian governments.
The majority of the world’s population is in one way or another suffering the consequences of these disastrous policies. The cost of living crisis affects most rural and urban people in the world. Social and democratic rights are under attack. Violence against women and other vulnerable groups in society is increasing. Inequality is rising due to unprecedented levels hard to comprehend. This is causing famine to spread and putting societies at risk to be torn to shreds.
Democracy is at risk of becoming an empty shell influenced by lobbying in the interest of rich people and corporations, more than the common people. Global warming, the loss of biological diversity, the lack of water, the alarming levels of toxins, and other environmental destruction affects us all.
We, the undersigned organizations of the “Assembly of Struggles and Resistances of the World Social Forum” have decided to act on a global scale in order to counteract by peaceful means the imperial and neocolonial ambitions of super powers, the global corporates, and authoritarian governments.
PEACE is not only the absence of wars between nations, but also the absence of repression of universally guaranteed Human Rights like the freedom of speech, human dignity, indigenous peoples rights, freedom from racism, freedom from patriarchy and casteism, the right to have one’s ethnic, sexual or other identity accepted, and the right to a livable, thriving environment to protect future generations.
There is an escalation of tensions going on between states and power blocs leading to a militarization of politics in nearly all fields. Independent voices and civil society have their space limited or openly repressed in all parts of the world. They are seen on both sides of larger conflicts as a danger or even as foreign agents. At the same time we see right wing extremism, xenophobia, and racism on the rise in all parts of the world. What we need instead is peaceful coexistence, disarmament, and constructive solutions for social and ecological concerns locally, nationally and between nations.
The only possibility left is to tackle this disaster in a worldwide mobilization of civil society on all continents and in all fields of action. We need a coherent simultaneous struggle for urban and land reform, for the right to the city, and agroecology. Housing, energy, water, healthy food, education and health care should be provided for all. Solidarity and common economic initiatives need to replace capitalist economic structures, and young people need to have options to have dignified livelihoods, rather than live in the current situations of livelihood uncertainty and insecurity.
We need both resistance and a fight for alternatives in order to bring about peace and justice. We need this in every rural community, municipality, and city of the world. We recognize also that thousands of such alternatives already exist, practiced by Indigenous and other communities, and rural and urban collectives across the world.
For this it is necessary to produce not only a unity on the conceptual level, while recognizing the enormous diversity of practices and worldviews, but also a CONVERGENCE of as many social and ecological movements as possible, around a common plan of action which establishes clear priorities for our struggles in the near future. Such a convergence needs also to work towards safeguarding all life on earth, recognizing the right of all species to thrive.
We are building a permanent World Assembly for Struggles and Resistance which aims to converge our common efforts. In 2024, we want to emphasize common struggle on the following issues bringing many movements together: (Specific initiatives will be added in the declaration process and at the Assembly in Kathmandu) We also add a calendar of initiatives suggested in the same process.
That’s why the preparatory Committee of the “Assembly of Struggles and Resistance of the World Social Forum” has decided to open the floor to all organizations in the framework of the upcoming World Social Forum in Kathmandu, Nepal. The proposals submitted to this Assembly should be concrete, action-oriented, and open to all social and ecological movements of the world on a global level.
Please write your suggestions for a common Declaration as well as for the Common Action Plan (CAP) to the following email address: worldsocialassembly@gmail
Possible common struggles:
In 2024 we especially see the need to confront militarization and wars by calling for ceasefire and peace talks in all present wars. We especially call for worldwide mobilization on XX to stop genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza in support of the ICC decision. We also support uniting peace, justice, and climate movements in a common call for a Global Day of Action on Military Expenditure, and the call for Peace and Climate Justice. More action initiatives will be added.
