*Lic. María Cristina Azcona*
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Rene Wadlow <rene.wadlow@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: 2017-06-21 7:37 GMT-03:00
Subject: Re: laws of war
To: María Cristina Azcona <mcrisazcona@xxxxxxxxx>
[image: 21 June: A Day of Balance and Harmony] 21 June: A Day of Balance
and Harmony
by Rene Wadlow
2017-06-21 09:49:49
*Our earth is a small star in the great universe*
* Yet of it we can make, if we choose, a
planet Unvexed by war, untroubled by hunger or
fear, Undivided by senseless distinctions of race, color, or
theory. Stephen
Vincent Bennet*
*The 21st of June, the Summer Solstice, is in many cultures the cosmic
symbol of balance and harmony: balance between light and dark, between the
universal and the local, between giving and receiving, between women and
men, and between our inner and outer worlds. History records humanity's
preoccupation with the sun's annual cycle. Sites such as Stonehenge in
England are thought to have been erected specifically to trace the path of
the sun through the heavens.*
[image: sun01_400_06]The sun has always had symbolic meaning. As that most
ancient Sanskrit prayer, the *Gayatri *tells us, the sun is a disc of
golden light giving sustenance to the universe, and Plato used the image of
the sun to represent the idea of the One, the Good. In the age of the Old
Kingdom in ancient Egypt, the concept of harmony, order, and balance were
personified by the goddess Ma'at, the winged woman who replicated on earth,
the celestial balance of order and beauty.
There is an old tradition attributed to Hermes Trismegistus and the *Emerald
Tablet *which says "that which is below is like that which is above, and
that which is above is like that which is below." Thus, the cosmic growth
of light should be reflected in our lives in greater light, greater
awareness, greater understanding.
21 June is a day of recognition of the world-wide increase of light which
destroys ignorance. It is a day in which we celebrate illumination as it
dispels darkness. It is a day during which we can all recognize the growth
of greater consciousness and concern for the common good. Therefore, the
Association of World Citizens stresses cooperation and visions of a better
future. Harmony and balance include tolerance, acceptance, equality and
forgiveness of past pains and conflicts.
Due to the efforts of those with a world vision, people throughout the
world are recognizing their responsibility to each other and are attempting
to revolve ancient and entrenched global problems. Today, we see a new
spirit of cooperation as we move toward a cosmopolitan, humanist world
society. We see a growing spirit of forgiveness, reconciliation, and
dialogue. We are one human race, and we inhabit one world. Therefore, we
must see the world with global eyes, understand the world with a global
mind, and love the world with a global heart.
* ***********************************
*Rene Wadlow*, President, Association of World Citizens
On Tue, May 10, 2016 at 5:12 PM, María Cristina Azcona <
mcrisazcona@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Rene
That is a wonderful article
Feel free to submit this article to Bruce Cook ´s email for our upcoming
book Strategies for Peace
Blessings
*Lic.María Cristina Azcona*
*@macazcona*
*Psicopedagoga*
*Orientadora Familiar*
WWPO Founder President <http://www.wwpo%2Corg/>
www.wwpo,org
2016-05-10 12:09 GMT-03:00 Rene Wadlow <rene.wadlow@xxxxxxxxx>:
<http://globalsolutions.org/blog/2016/05/Security-Council-Resolution-Highlights-Foundation-World-Law#main-content>
Security Council Resolution Highlights a Foundation of World Law.
Rene Wadlow*
May *10* 2016
<http://globalsolutions.org/files/public/images/red%20cross%20geneva%20conventions%20laws%20of%20war%20humanitarian%20law%20UN%20security%20council%20medical%20hospital%20attacks.jpg>
The protection of medical facilities and medical personnel is at the
heart of the laws of war, more often called humanitarian law. On May 3,
2016, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution
2286 <http://www.un.org/press/en/2016/sc12347.doc.htm> calling for
greater protection for health care institutions and personnel in light of
recent attacks against hospitals and clinics in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, South
Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Afghanistan
<http://globalsolutions.org/blog/2015/10/Kunduz-Hospital-Airstrike-War-Crime-or-%E2%80%9CMistake%E2%80%9D>.
These attacks on medical facilities are too frequent to be considered
“collateral damage.” They indicate a dangerous trend of non-compliance with
world law by both State and non-State agents.
The protection of medical personnel and the treatment of all the
wounded--both allies and enemies--goes back to the start of humanitarian
law in the experiences of Henri Dunant at the 1859 battle of Solferino in
Italy. A businessman, not a doctor, Dunant found himself a witness of the
battle and organized local women to start treating the wounded, negotiated
so that doctors among the Austrian prisoners of war could be released to
help the wounded. Nevertheless, many soldiers died from lack of care after
acute suffering.
The image of the dying stayed in Dunant's mind. On his return to Geneva,
he began to organize what has become the International Committee of the Red
Cross, followed by many national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, now
structured in a federation. Both the International Committee and the
Federation have their headquarters in Geneva and cooperate closely with the
UN, the World Health Organization, the Office of the High Commissioner for
Refugees, and NGOs.
The first Red Cross--Geneva Conventions--to protect the wounded and
prisoners date from 1864. The Geneva Conventions
<https://www.icrc.org/en/war-and-law/treaties-customary-law/geneva-conventions>have
been expanded after wars, especially after the Second World War and the
Vietnam War. When the Red Cross Conventions were signed in 1864, Dunant
believed that war would be a permanent aspect of human relations;
therefore, there should be “laws of war” to limit the destructive
consequences, especially to non-combatants.
]In 1867, Henri Dunant was pushed out of the International Committee of
the Red Cross that he had founded. He had lost all his money and was
declared bankrupt. Bankruptcy was not considered a good thing among the
Genevieve lawyers who were the core of the Red Cross--in fact bankruptcy
was a sort of “mortal sin.” Dunant went to live in a small village and used
his energy and organizational skills to try to end war and to promote equal
rights for women. Both ideas seemed rather strange to the Swiss of his
time, and he died a largely forgotten figure.
We still have the two-track approach: one of respect for the laws of war
and a second track for the abolition of war, or at least, a negotiated end
to armed conflicts. For the moment, there is not much motion on either
track. We must support Resolution 2286 as a reaffirmation of the importance
of world law, even if Security Council resolutions are rarely written in a
dramatic style that can be quoted in newspapers. We must also promote good
faith negotiations to end the armed conflicts in Syria, Iraq, South Sudan,
and Yemen. These negotiations are difficult; good faith is in short supply.
However, as the representatives of non-governmental organizations we have
certain avenues for action and resolution 2286 gives us a mandate.
Rene Wadlow, President and a representative to the UN, Geneva,
Association of World Citizens
<http://globalsolutions.org/solutions/tpp2>
<http://globalsolutions.org/node/3208>
<http://globalsolutions.org/blog/2016/05/Security-Council-Resolution-Highlights-Foundation-World-Law#>
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