Report by Pol Dhuyvetter,
Coordinator of Mayors for Peace in Latin America
and Executive Adviser of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation
The Colombian capital Bogota has decided to host and organize the First Latin American and Caribbean regional conference of Mayors for Peace on April 7 and 8, 2015. The regional conference will be organized by the International Relations Department of the City of Bogota; Bogota`s Center of Memory, Reconciliation and Peace and in close co-operation with Mayors for Peace.
The ongoing armed conflict in Colombia has led to a deep yearning for reconciliation and peace in the Colombian population. The conflict has caused over 220,000 deaths since 1958. The Colombian government says more than six million Colombians, some 12% of the country’s total population, have been directly or indirectly victimized by the country’s armed conflict. The United Nations 2013 Global Study on Homicide, in which Latin America was declared the world`s most violent region, also adds to the rationale for Bogota to host the first regional conference of Mayors for Peace. The conference will provide a way for local governments to seek best practices and solutions together in order to create safe cities and promote a culture of peace and non-violence.
The regional conference also plans to address the global threat of nuclear weapons, an issue in which the region has demonstrated an unprecedented and historic leadership since the creation of the first Nuclear Weapon Free Zone with the 1968 Treaty of Tlatelolco
The plans for the regional Mayors for Peace conference received the endorsement, amongst others, of Mr. Gustavo Petro, Bogota`s Mayor; Ms. Marta Zamora, the General Secretary of Bogota City Hall; Ms. Ana Teresa Bernal, Bogota`s High Commissioner for Human Rights, Victims, Peace and Reconciliation & Mr. Camilo Gonzalez, the Director of Bogota`s Memory Center. Also ICAN Colombia and the Colombian Campaign Against Landmines have embraced the initiative during the one week business-trip to Bogota by Pol Dhuyvetter, the coordinator of Mayors for Peace in Latin America & Executive Adviser of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation.
>Related information: Bogota Center of Memory, Reconciliation and Peace:Official site in spanish/English article
>Related information: United Nations 2013 Global Study on Homicide
>Related information: A News Analysis about the UN Global Study