Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation

“We practice healing and reconciliation to resolve conflict without resorting to violence.” - URI Principle 9
Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation

URI Cooperation Circles work at every level, from influencing policymakers to providing training at the grassroots, to build peace, heal existing tensions, and prevent new conflicts.

Examples of our work in this Action Area:

  • EcoPeace/Friends of the Earth Middle East CC gathered Israelis, Jordanians, and Palestinians to join their voices in calling for cooperative restoration efforts in the Jordan River.
  • In Africa, Shalom Ghana CC ended a 10-year feud between Christians and Muslims by getting youth from both sides together to plant trees the village badly needed.
  • After an increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes in California, USA, the Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County CC co-sponsored a "Ring of Solidarity" where over 200 people joined hands around a mosque to show community support for their Muslim neighbors.
Search for Cooperation Circles (CCs) with a focus on Peacebuilding & Conflict Transformation

Stories

Reflecting and Serving on Hiroshima Day

My oldest son came to me one night 16 years ago and said, “Dad, I’m going to Japan.” He was 16 years old at the time. And I said, “Oh, are you? And who’s paying for it?” He said, “The American Friends Service Committee. I’m going with a group of American teenagers and we’re going to interview survivors.” So he went, and spent the summer in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Nuclear Disarmament: a question of morals...

The following article is written by Dr. Jonathan Granoff.  He is president of the Global Security Institute and a founding member of the Voices for a  World Free of Nuclear Weapons Cooperation Circle.  He is also an attorney, author and international advocate emphasizing the legal, ethical and spiritual dimensions of human development and security, with a specific focus on advancing the rule of law to address the threats posed by nuclear weapons.  

The Vision: Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons

If you live in a city which is a nuclear weapons target, if you live in a country which aims nuclear weapons at other regions, if you live in a world which would be devastated by nuclear weapons, you probably don’t have the opportunity to vote on the use of nuclear weapons.  Until now.  Now a voice vote by grassroots people is being called, and your voice will be counted.