Below are updates on the creation of a United Nations Emergency Peace Service: a standing, individually recruited, rapid response force under the control of the United Nations able to respond quickly to prevent genocide and crimes against humanity from occurring or escalating. Please forward widely.

This update is brought to you by Global Action to Prevent War; a member of the UN Emergency Peace Service Working Group. These updates, along with more information about the UNEPS initiative are posted on our website at www.globalactionpw.org/UNEPS/index.htm. If you would like to receive regular updates on the creation of a rapid-reaction service to prevent genocide and crimes against humanity, please e-mail coordinator@globalactionpw.org.

UNEPS UPDATES:

UNEPS PUBLICATION:

Global Action to Prevent War, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and World Federalist Movement are proud to present the release of the publication “A United Nations Emergency Peace Service: to Prevent Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity.” Edited by Robert Johansen, this 104 page book includes the proposal for a UN Emergency Peace Service; a preface by Sir Brian Urquhart, former UN Under-Secretary-General for Special Political Affairs, the expert discussion from the internationally attended UNEPS conference held in Spain in 2005; an afterword by Lt. Gen. Satish Nambiar, first force commander of the UN peacekeeping mission in the former Yugoslavia; comments on the initiative by representatives from South Africa, Brazil and the USA; and a suggested reading list.

To order, please mail a check for $12.00 payable to World Order Models Project to: The UNEPS Initiative, c/o Global Action to Prevent War, 675 Third Avenue, Suite 315 , New York , NY 10017

Or order online with a credit card, or to view the publication in PDF format please click here.

If you or your organization is interested in hosting a book launch or writing a book review to publicize this initiative, please e-mail Waverly de Bruijn at coordinator@globalactionpw.org .

UNEPS UN PRESS CONFERENCE AND BOOK LAUNCH

On Friday, June 16, Global Action to Prevent War held a press conference at UN Headquarters hosted by the United Nations Correspondents Association. Experts on peacekeeping efforts spoke on behalf of the UNEPS publication, and included Sir Brian Urquhart, former UN Under-Secretary-General for Special Political Affairs, Dr. Robert Johansen from the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, Dr. Peter Langille from the University of Western Ontario and Bill Pace, Director of the World Federalist Movement and Convener of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court.

An excerpt from Sir Brian Urquhart's speech at the press conference:

Tony Blair said that the acceptance of the principle of Responsibility to Protect peoples who are under inhumane treatment or even genocide was the most important principle accepted at the UN since the universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Well that's all very nice but it's not much good having a principle of the Responsibility to Protect people in trouble when you don't have any means of doing it quickly...And that is the point of the work that has been done, this book, which I hope you will read with interest: so that we don't, the next time there is an emergency--and there will be another humanitarian emergency--see the members of the Security Council wringing their hands and wishing that the UN had the capacity to do something about it.

A transcript of Sir Brian Urquhart's speech is available here.

UNEPS CONFERENCE IN VANCOUVER

From June 23-27, 2006 individuals from across the globe came together to discuss the UNEPS proposal and the future work of Global Action to Prevent War . During the two-day UNEPS conference, there were a series of fruitful discussions on the substantive issues relating to UNEPS followed by strategy planning for the coming years. To obtain either the UNEPS or GAPW conference reports, please e-mail Waverly de Bruijn at coordinator@globalactionpw.org.

PUBLIC PANEL AND BOOK LAUNCH IN VANCOUVER

While in Vancouver, GAPW hosted a public panel on the UNEPS publication at the Liu Institute for Global Issues, University of British Columbia. The panel, moderated by the Honorable Warren Allmand, Former Canadian Member of Parliament and President of the World Federalist Movement-Canada, featured Professor Robert C. Johansen, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame and Editor of “A United Nations Emergency Peace Service” publication; Professor Hussein Solomon, Director, Centre for International Political Studies, University of Pretoria; Dr. H. Peter Langille, Department of Political Science, University of Western Ontario; and Waverly de Bruijn, International Coordinator, Global Action to Prevent War. This public forum was well attended and a lively question and answer session followed, with a number of attendees showing a strong interest in both the initiative and the publication.

TORONTO STAR ARTICLE  

On June 15, 2006, UNEPS was featured in a front-page article in the Toronto Star . The article, which quotes both Dr. Peter Langille and Dr. Robert Johansen, describes the UNEPS proposal and highlights the UNEPS publication “A United Nations Emergency Peace Service: to Prevent Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity,” as well as referencing both the UNEPS conference in Vancouver and the UN book launch that were to follow. To read the full article, please click here.

UNEPS BROCHURE AVAILABLE

A one-page color brochure introducing the UNEPS proposal is available for printing and distribution here. We encourage and appreciate distribution!