Ireland is paying for ammunition going to Ukrainian army……
Despite repeated Irish government protestations of only providing ‘non-lethal’ aid to the war in Ukraine (e.g. Leo Varadkar speaking on 8th February 2023), Ireland has already, through the EU ASAP (Act in Support of Ammunition Production) programme, been contributing around €12 million for ammunition, including bullets and shells, to the Ukrainian army in 2023 and 2024. This comes out of Ireland’s general net contribution to the EU. The EU gets around prohibitions on armaments funding by doing it ‘off budget’ or under ‘research and development’, and, in the case of ASAP, set up to provide ammunition to Ukraine, doing it as a measure to support industry (!). The information about Irish payment for Ukrainian ammunition emerged from an Oireachtas joint committee meeting on 22nd May at which both the Transnational Institute (TNI) www.tni.org/en and Afri www.afri.ie made submissions. See https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/53739610022/in/dateposted/ for photo and links. Senator Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) and Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh (Sinn Féin) provided effective questioning in the session.
…and recognition of Palestine doesn’t necessarily mean anything….
In a case of not putting words into action considering the Irish recognition of Palestine during the destruction of Gaza, a bill in the Seanad (Air Navigation and Transport (Arms Embargo) Bill 2024) proposed by Alice-Mary Higgins and seconded by Lynn Ruane to outlaw arms equipment going to Israel from or through Ireland was derailed by the ‘powers that be’ in delaying consideration of it for 6 months. It had also proposed proper inspections of planes passing through Shannon with weapons. https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/seanad/2024-05-29/11/ The USA seems to have transited Apache attack helicopters to Israel via Shannon https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/us-moved-helicopters-to-israel-via-shannon/26388716.html
Law of the Innocents, 21st century
“War is a crime against humanity – War is a crime against the earth – War is a crime against the future’. The text of the new ‘law’ – rewritten for the 21st century – plus a brief history of Adomnán’s original law of 697 CE, and mission statement for the project, can all be found on the website, now online, https://lexinnocentium21.ie/ The email and web editions of this issue of Nonviolent News reproduce the main part of the new law, and a brief history of the original law. The Law of the Innocents/Lex Innocentium, 21st Century, will be launched on International Day of Peace, 21st September in Birr, Co Offaly (in the morning) where the synod took place that adopted the law, and in Lorrha, Co Tipperary, (in the afternoon) which had a 17th century link with the law. The website has a link to book for the launch, which is free to attend, and a contact form.
Nonviolent resistance in the Ukraine war context – webinar
A webinar will take place entitled “Pacifism Today : Alternatives to War in Ukraine” with Majken Jul Sørensen on Monday 17th June at 7pm, Irish time, running for about 90 minutes. INNATE is sponsoring it, along with Cymdeithas y Cymod (Fellowship of Reconciliation in Wales) and the webinar is organised by the Fellowship of Reconciliation in England and Scotland. The speaker has written a book entitled “Pacifism Today: A Dialogue about Alternatives to War in Ukraine” which was was reviewed in Nonviolent News 318 https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/2024/04/02/the-possibility-of-nonviolent-resistance-in-the-contemporary-world/ and PDF copies will be available for those booking. Participation is free and open to anyone interested; to book please go to https://www.tickettailor.com/events/fellowshipofreconciliation/1279331 but it would be appreciated if you are booking from Ireland to let INNATE know at innate@ntlworld.com
Corrymeela service for Northern Ireland Day of Reflection
Corrymeela invites people to join in a service which draws on the healing practice of lament, on Friday 21st of June at St Anne’s Cathedral, Donegall Street, Belfast from 11.30am to 12.30pm. This is part of the Day of Reflection, established by Healing Through Remembering (HTR) in 2007 and held on the longest day of the year. Using the biblical practice of lament, Church leaders stand with victims and survivors in marking collective hurt and in committing to ensuring there is no return to the violence of the past. https://www.corrymeela.org/events/214/service-for-the-day-of and HTR is at http://healingthroughremembering.org/
Summer with Chernobyl Children International (CCI)
Throughout the Summer and in the absence of its Rest and Recuperation Programme visits to Ireland, CCI are providing in-country Summer Camps for the children and young adults who otherwise would spend almost 365 days a year in institutions. Plans are also underway for their Family Support Days on the Hospice and Community Care Programme which are a chance for the children who have life-limiting conditions, and their families, to have fun and connect with other families. Meanwhile another Cardiac Mission, will be starting shortly in addition to its day-to-day healthcare, hospice and human-rights work. https://www.chernobyl-international.com/
New QCEA website
Quakers are often doing interesting things so far as peace and other activists are concerned and the Quaker Council for European Affairs has launched a new website https://www.qcea.org/ which has lots of news plus information on their primary 3 projects – migration and peace, climate justice and peace, and dialogues for transformation.
WRL USA 100
The War Resisters League in the USA, 100 years young in 2023, has been marking its centenary with weekly blogs on its history. Described as “a secular militant pacifist organization, the War Resisters League is made up of people united in nonviolent opposition to all wars while seeking to remove the causes of war, including racism, sexism and all forms of exploitation.” https://www.warresisters.org/ and go to ‘Centennial’ for the history blog.
Dublin and Monaghan bombings: 50 years on and no truth or justice
A statement was issued by ICCL/Irish Council for Civil Liberties and Amnesty International about the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings, the largest loss of life in a single day of the Troubles. “…. Amnesty International Ireland, Amnesty International UK and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) call on both the Irish and British governments to deliver truth, justice and reparations to the families. It is wholly unacceptable that, five decades later, the families are still waiting for accountability for the grave human rights violations committed. The British and Irish governments must fulfil their obligations to victims and vindicate their rights. The failure to date to deliver long awaited answers to the families of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings has shamefully served to exacerbate their trauma. Justice delayed must not be justice denied…..” The statement continued “We reiterate our unequivocal opposition to the UK government’s Troubles Act, designed to close down paths to truth and justice for conflict-related violations, and call for its urgent repeal and for Stormont House Agreement to be legislated for in a fully ECHR compatible manner.” https://www.iccl.ie https://www.amnesty.org.uk/issues/Northern-Ireland https://www.amnesty.ie/
MNI and UU joint mediation course in Derry
Mediation Northern Ireland (MNI) and Ulster University are jointly running a new postgraduate mediation course, titled “Workplace/Community Mediation Training”, starting in October. Designed to meet the growing demand for skilled mediators in various sectors it aims to provide participants with a deep understanding of mediation principles, techniques, and best practices, preparing them to effectively facilitate constructive dialogue and resolve conflicts in diverse settings. The “Workplace/Community Mediation Training” course will be offered as a standalone program and as part of Ulster University’s professional development offerings and is worth 30 University credit points; it covers the content of “Mediation Theory & Practice” – a Mediation Northern Ireland training course accredited by CPD and the Open College Network Northern Ireland.
https://mediationni.org/https-www-ulster-ac-uk-courses-202425-workplace-community-mediation-training-short-course-39201/
MII: Restorative justice and policing
MII, the Mediators’ Institute of Ireland, has a webinar at 3.30pm on 18th July looking at recent developments in Restorative Justice and Policing in Ireland. The speaker will be Dr Ian Marder, Assistant Professor in Criminology at Maynooth University School of Law and Criminology. https://www.themii.ie/restorative-justice-and-policing-in-ireland/
FOE NI film: How a Climate Change Act was achieved
Friends of the Earth Northern Ireland have an hour long film on their website about how a Climate Change Act was achieved, and the role of people power and activism in getting there, with the law coming into effect in June 2022. However as they state, “there’s still plenty of work to be done.” https://friendsoftheearth.uk/climate/film-act-now-race-get-climate-act-northern-ireland
FOE: Major study of attitudes on climate
Friends of the Earth in Ireland have published the results of a major study on public attitudes to climate change and action. Oisín Coghlan, director of FOE, said “The majority of people in Ireland remain very concerned about climate change and solidly supportive of government action to cut polluting emissions. If anything the data shows they want the Government to do more. Roughly a fifth of people name climate as one of the top three priority issues that will influence their vote in the coming elections. That’s a lot more than the 4% who say they will vote Green. Climate is an all-party issue not a one-party issue.” See https://www.friendsoftheearth.ie/news/no-sign-of-climate-backlash-in-irish-public-opinion/ and links there for further info.
ICCL: Human rights in Irish policing, 5 years on
ICCL’s report on this, 5 years after the Commission on the Future of Policing, is on their website https://www.iccl.ie/
The report finds that while some progress has been made on the Commission’s overall recommendation to introduce a human-rights based approach to policing in Ireland, significant gaps remain, particularly in the areas of accountability and transparency: “….while the establishment of a Human Rights Strategy and Human Rights Unit within An Garda Síochána has led to an increase in human rights training for Gardaí, concerns about the institutional independence and scope of powers of restructured police oversight bodies remain. In particular, limited eligibility criteria for oversight roles such as the Independent Examiner for Security, and restrictions on access to and transparency of information have led to concerns that An Garda Síochána and other information holders will be able to withhold information from oversight bodies on vague “national security” grounds…..”