In a world filled with violence and inequity, there are many different pathways to peace that need to be explored and developed.
One significant way that organizations affiliated with the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement, including Core Collaborators and Grebel Peace Incubator participants, strive to create a more peaceful world by engaging with governments at provincial, national, and transnational levels. This can include providing policy guidance, active committee participation, and the presentation of compelling evidence to government decision-makers.
Indeed, shaping public policy is a key way to bring about positive impact and scale change. Organizations affiliated with the Centre, such as the Tamarack Institute, Centre for Community Based Research, and Mennonite Central Committee, have nurtured the expertise and developed the insights needed to do this work through research, community connection, and partnerships.Another striking example can be found at Project Ploughshares, a Core Collaborator at the Centre, whose staff play a pivotal role in shaping policies related to disarmament and bolstering international security, particularly in the domains of the arms trade, emerging military technologies, nuclear disarmament, and outer space governance.
In May 2022, against the backdrop of the armed conflict in Ukraine, Cesar Jaramillo, Executive Director at Project Ploughshares, took on an integral role in a civil society delegation focused on nuclear disarmament within the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This delegation engaged in critical discussions with key Canadian political figures, including the Assistant Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for International Security and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Additionally, Jaramillo offered valuable insights as he represented Canada as an official member of the Canadian delegation in the 10th Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
Kelsey Gallagher, Researcher at Ploughshares, attended the Eighth Conference of States Parties to the UN Arms Trade Treaty in August 2022, where he engaged with government representatives in discussions concerning treaty compliance and the pursuit of universalization.
Meanwhile, Branka Marijan, Senior Researcher at Ploughshares and a Centre for Peace Advancement Research Fellow, served as an invited expert at a workshop hosted by the Centre for International Governance Innovation and Defence Research and Development Canada, which focused on AI and semi-autonomous systems. She also provided feedback on the draft AI defence policy to the Canadian Department of National Defence.
In May 2022, Jessica West, also a Ploughshares Senior Researcher and Centre for Peace Advancement Research Fellow, offered expertise in guiding the development of norms for responsible behaviour in outer space for the UN Open-Ended Working Group on Reducing Space Threats. Furthermore, she undertook the role of preparing and coordinating the civil society statement on outer space for presentation at the UN First Committee in October 2022.
You can keep up with the activities and impact of the Ploughshares team by checking out the latest issue of the Ploughshares Monitor, their flagship publication released four times a year.
By: Sophia Pettit