Pax Christi Campaign on Child Soldiers and Light Weapons
Pax Christi is launching a campaign to Stop the use of child soldiers and tackle the proliferation of light weapons and small arms. The launch is taking place in the Kildare suite of the Westbury Hotel, Clarendon Street (off Grafton Street), Dublin 2, on Thursday 7th October, running from 10.30 to 1pm. Speakers include David Andrews, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Stuart Maslen, international human rights lawyer who has been active in this area. 84% of those who have died in recent conflicts have been civilians, since 1990 over 90% of these deaths were caused by light weapons; there are over 300,000 children engaged in armed conflict around the world. Contact: Pax Christi, 52 Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin 6. Tel: 01 - 496 5293, fax 496 5492.

Gone Fission
Nuclear power is one threat to humanity, as Japan reminded us recently (INNATE still has copies of the Dawn pamphlet 'The Nuclear Syndrome - Victory for the Irish Anti-Nuclear Power Movement' by Simon Dalby about the late 1970s). However nuclear weapons are a still more potentially lethal threat, none more so than those emanating from Britain. "Trident - Britain's Weapon of Mass Destruction" by Scottish CND takes a detailed look at these truly terrible weapons - there is always one on patrol ready to fire (so you can sleep unsoundly in your bed). It includes details of a possible attack on Russia and argues their illegality in international law. The 36 page (A4) report is available price UK£2 plus 40p postage (add extra outside UK) from Scottish CND, 15 Barrland Street, Glasgow G41 1QH, Tel: 0141 - 423 1222. E-mail cndscot@dial.pipex.com

Churches Peace Education Programme
The Churches' Peace Education Programme has recently developed a range of teaching materials to assist teachers in Northern Ireland in implementing EMU/Education for Mutual Understanding. The material, Pathways (age 8 - 11) and Little Pathways (age 4 - 7) is also applicable to the study of personal and social education, moral education, literacy in the infant classroom, the provision of pastoral care and the issue of classroom management. Contact Elaine Hall at Belfast 028 - 90662992 (new NI code) for details. A range of religious education, cultural heritage and conflict resolution materials are also available for primary and secondary schools - details on request from the above phone number. CPEP, 48 Elmwood Avenue, Belfast BT9 6AZ.

Cork Youth CND Group Launched
June saw the launch of Cork Youth CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament). They are involved in a broad range of issues including Trident Ploughsares 2000 (working for the closure of Faslane Trident base in Scotland using nonviolent direct action), campaigning against the Republic joining PfP (NATO-led Partnership for Peace), and linking with other groups to work on human rights issues. You can get in touch with Cork Youth CND at 2 Windsor Place, Ballyhooley Road, Cork City, phone 021 -503306, contact Louise Maloney and Martyn Kelly.

AFrl Cross Border Famine Walk
AFrI's latest famine walk will be from Sheskin (Co Fermanagh) via Roslea to Clones (Co Monaghan), beginning at 12 noon on Saturday 9th October. The walk focus will be on East Timor and the walk leaders will be Dino Rai and Jose Lopes. Details from AFrI in Dublin at 01 - 496 8595 or 496 8610, E-mail afri@iol.ie

Policing In the New Millennium - Meath Peace Group
Policing in the new millennium is the topic of a meeting organised by Meath Peace Group on Monday 1st November at 8pm in St Columban's College, Dalgan Park, Navan. There will be various speakers and all interested welcome. For further details contact Julitta Clancy at 01 - 825 9438, fax 825 9261.

NI Human Rights Commission
The new Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission has published its draft strategic plan for 1999-2002, issued for consultation. Comments need to be in by 15th November. NIHRC, Temple Court, 39 North Street, Belfast BT1 1NA. Tel: 01232 - 243987, fax 247844, E-mail nihrc@belfast.org.uk and Website http://www.nihrc.org

Voices At the Dawn - Bosnia
Brendan McQuillan, a VSI/Voluntary Service International member from Co Louth, has spent the past 3 years working in Bosnia-Hercegovina with Pax Christi; the main focus of his work is a reconciliation project called Voices at the Dawn which aims to publish the stories/testimonies of displaced people (Muslim, Croat, Serb - over 2.2 million displaced people, many of whom are still in temporary accommodation). The aim is to help people gain insight by hearing others' stories and assist healing. To find out more you can contact Brendan McQuillan at VSI, 30 Mountjoy Square, Dublin 1, Tel: 01 - 855 1011, fax 855 1012, E-mail vsi@iol.ie

AI-NI Expands
Amnesty International in Northern Ireland has launched new groups in Omagh, Craigavon and East Belfast over the summer. There are now groups in Belfast, Mid Down, North Down, Newry, Foyle, East Belfast, Craigavon, Omagh, Queen's University, UU Coleraine, UU Jordanstown, and UU Magee, as well as a Lawyers' Group. Amnesty's multi-faith Human Rights service will take place in Rosemary Street First Presbyterian Church, Belfast at 7.30pm on Thursday 9th December - the eve of Human Rights Day. Meanwhile Brice Dickson, chief commissioner of the NI Human Rights Commission, will deliver the AI annual lecture -details from the office. AI - NI, 80a Stranmillis Road, Belfast BT9 5AD, Tel: 01232 - 666216, fax 666 164.

The address of AI in the Republic is 48 Fleet Street, Dublin 2, Tel: 01 - 677 6361, fax 677 6392, E-mail info@amnesty.iol.ie ('Nonviolent News' 69 listed the location of the forty local groups in the Republic).

IFOR News
News from the International Fellowship of Reconciliation includes the availability of various materials in relation to a Culture of Nonviolence and the Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World, 2001 - 2010 (a quare name but great stuff) - details from IFOR direct or from INNATE. Culture of Nonviolence postcards from Len Munnik and Francoise Pottier are available at NLG6.00 / UK£2.00 for four, or 12 cards for NLG17.50 / UK£6.00. The IFOR Council (world gathering) meeting will take place in the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa, from 12 - 25 July, 2000, hosted by Wilgespruit Fellowship Centre. IFOR, Spoorstraat 38, 1815 BK Alkmaar, Netherlands, Tel: +31 72 512 - 3014, E-mail; office@ifor.org Website http://www.ifor.org

East Timor: The Violence Goes On
Despite the arrival of peacekeepers there are still major problems in East Timor. In response to this the East Timor Ireland Solidarity Campaign (ETISC) recently launched their 'Give Them Back!' campaign. This refers to the more than 200 thousand East Timorese held in concentration camps run my militias and military in Indonesian West Timor - there are reports of 100 people disappearing every day and that a death list is being circulated around the camps. The Indonesian authorities recently announced that they'll allow those "who want to return" to be repatriated - but it's vital the UN takes over these camps, and militias are disarmed, because anyone who chooses to return to East Timor is a target. 

Give them back! also refers to the people of Oecussi, the East Timorese enclave in Indonesian West Timor; it has a population of 55 thousand and the UN has given it no attention whatsoever; the last foreign observers to leave it said they felt they were leaving the people to die and a month later there's no further information on their status. The UN must protect these voters and establish a strong presence there with INTERFET; Oecussi is a legitimate part of East Timor and deserves the same protection as the rest of the country. ETISC asks you to contact the following addresses and highlight the above points and remind them that the problem in East Timor will not leave the public agenda until the last Timorese is allowed to live in peace in their own country:

1. President Bill Clinton, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC, 20500. Fax 001 202 456 7661.
2. Kofi Annan, UN General Secretary, UN Plaza, New York, USA. Fax 001 212 963 2155.
3. Ambassador of USA, Mr Michael Sullivan, Embassy of the USA, 42 Elgin Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. Fax 01 - 6689946. You can contact ETISC at; Room 16, 24 Dame St, Dublin 2, Tel: 01 - 671 9207, E-mail etisc@ireland.supports.tp Website www.easttimor.com

Legends of Peace
The International Co-ordination of Legends of Peace (see Nonviolent News 66 and 70) has moved to; Van Blankenburgstraat 25, 3e Etage, NL - 2517 XM The Hague, Netherlands. Tel./Fax. + 31 70 360 2360. E-mail peacelegends@beyondthemask.com Website remains the same; http://www.gn.apc.org/peacelegends - Unsolicited comment (about 'Nonviolent News,') No.543; "Lots of groups in NI requested packs. Due to much of your publicity, I'm sure! Many thanks" - Peter Merry, outgoing coordinator of Legends for Peace.