The thematic event, titled “Peace and security in Asia and Europe”, drew participants from Australia, Belgium, Cambodia, Finland, India, Italy, Japan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam. A Dutch scholar sent his video-taped presentation.
The workshop was co-hosted by the AEPF International Organizing Committee and the Vietnam Peace and Development Foundation.
Topics of discussion included: military spending and arms transfer; nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction; dangers of armed conflicts, internal conflicts, unresolved conflicts and points of conflagration; peaceful conflict resolution, gender relations, intercommunity and identity relations, regional conflicts; killer drones, killer robots, other secret weapons.
Speakers included:
- Lisa Clark (Italy), Rete Italiana per il Disarmo and International Peace Bureau, Military spending and arms transfer;
- Phạm Văn Chương (Vietnam), Vietnam Committee for Asian-Arican-Latin American Solidarity and Cooperation, Peace and security in Asia – Issues and solutions;
- Martin Broek (the Netherlands), European Network Against Arms Trade (ENAAT), Arms trade relations Asia Europe (video);
- Meri Joyce (Australia), Peace Boat / Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflit (GPPAC), Disarmament for development;
- Yayoi Tsuchida (Japan), Japan Council Against Atomic & Hydrogen Bombs (Gensuikyo), Toward the 2015 NPT international joint action;
- Nguyễn Minh Y (Vietnam), Vietnam Peace Committee, Agent Orange – A perfidious weapon of mass destruction;
- Thandar Thin (Myanmar), Women’s Organizations Network, Developments in Myanmar;
- Chito Sta. Romana (Philippines), Philippine Association for Chinese Studies (PACS), Escalating US-China strategic rivalry in Asia;
- Anuradha M. Chenoy (India), Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, Peaceful Resolution of Conflicts;
- Sumeera Shrestha (Nepal), Women for Human Rights, Internal armed conflict of Nepal – Brief background;
- Maria Lourdes Nuera (Philippines), Initiatives for International Dialogue, Toward a regional dispute prevention and settlement mechanism;
- Nguyễn Văn Huỳnh (Vietnam), Vietnam Peace Committee, Peaceful settlement of local wars and armed conflicts;
- Farooq Tariq (Pakistan), Awami Workers’ Party, Killer drones, killer robots, other secret weapons;
- Amabella Carumba (Philippines), Mindanao People’s Peace Movement, US military presence in the Philippines.
The Workshop adopted an “AEPF 2014 Basic Concept Paper – Peace and Security” as a contribution to preparations for the Peace and Security Cluster of the Milan forum./.
Source: Vietnam Peace and Development Foundation
