News & Announcements

    Vanuatu has taken a leading role in a bloc of nations fighting to keep marine environment protection on the main agenda of the UN organisation responsible for developing global regulations for seabed mining. The assembly of the Kingston-based International Seabed Authority is meeting this week with a packed program, including a vote to pick the next secretary-general who could significantly influence the environmental constraints set on mining. For the full story, go to RNZ International/Pacific   Image: T Schneider/shutterstock.com'

  A new climate change research hub has been launched at the University of the South Pacific (USP). The new centre was officially launched on 5 August with initial funding from Aotearoa New Zealand International Climate Finance Strategy. For the full story, go to RNZ International/Pacific   Image: Dmitriy Prayzel/shutterstock.com

  By Toda Peace Institute Director, Kevin P. Clements Chaiwat Satha-Anand, aged 69,  succumbed to cancer on June the 27th 2024.  He was a wonderful human being, gentle caring and compassionate. He was a Thai Moslem which was unusual in strongly Buddhist Thailand. There is no doubt that this religious identity gave him a lifelong interest in how to negotiate all kinds of differences nonviolently. But it was the movements against Thai military dictatorships in the 1970s that gave him his passion for understanding how to resist repressive rule nonviolently. As he put it “I believe that violence is a problem you can overcome. I have learned that conflict is normal and natural, so I don’t aim to eradicate it. But violence is not normal. And a solution to conflict does not need to involve violence. There should be another option, which is peaceful means.” Chaiwat was the Director of the Thai Peace Information Centre which conducts studies and activism in relation to the Thai military and social issues. He was also Chairperson of the Strategic Nonviolence Commission in Thailand. His whole life was dedicated to nonviolence theory and activism, and he was particularly dedicated to understanding the peacebuilding traditions of Islam. For several years, he directed the International Peace Research Association's (IPRA) Commission on Nonviolence and he was an active member of the Asia Pacific Peace Research Association when I was its Secretary General. He was the 2012 winner of the El-Hibri Peace Education Prize. In 2003, he was nominated to head efforts to reduce violence in southern Thailand as a member of the National Reconciliation Commission. He delivered a key final report to the Royal Thai Government on how to de-escalate the violence. He was an excellent scholar as well as a NV practitioner. One of his important publications was “The Promise of Reconciliation? Examining Violent and Nonviolent Effects on Asian Conflicts,” (Transaction Publishers, 2016). More than all these achievements Chaiwat was a wonderful self-actualised human being. who embodied nonviolence as a way of life . He is sorely missed by all who had the good fortune to be in his company. He was a much respected Senior Research fellow of Toda until he retired because of ill health. He did not allow this illness to define him, however, and continued his work for peace until the end.  Toda sends deepest commiserations to  his partner, Dr Suwanna Satha Anand. Deepest condolences too, to all who worked with Chaiwat in APPRA, IPRA and the Centre for Non Killing in Hawaii. He was  a wonderful example to  all of us on how to embrace life and live it to the full.  As a mark of his high reputation, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, said “Even as I bid farewell to this remarkable soul, I find solace in the legacy he leaves behind. May his memory forever inspire us to walk the path of peace, seek understanding in the face of adversity, and build a world where harmony and respect reign supreme, ”RIP dear friend. Let’s honour his life by continuing his good work for a nonviolent Thailand in a nonviolent world.

  In Tuvalu, public consultations are underway to discuss the Falepili Union agreement with Australia.Pacific Leadership Network for Nuclear for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (APLN) and editor-in-chief of Global Asia. Under the arrangement, 300 Tuvaluans can permanently resettle in Australia every year. In return, Australia has a say in the country's security agreements. "Overall yes, it's a good thing for Tuvalu. The main concern is with how the actual migration opportunities play out for Tuvalu," said political researcher Dr Carol Farbotko from Griffith University. Listen to the full article on ABC Pacific (9 minutes) Image: Mary Star/shutterstock.com

  The US presidential election is being watched with trepidation in South Korea. Should President Joe Biden be re-elected, Seoul would likely see continuity in the relationship and a continued strong US-South Korea bilateral alliance. But a victory for Donald Trump is fraught with peril. He could throw the alliance into turmoil, try to make South Korea a front-line state in the US standoff with China, threaten overtures to North Korea, and demand South Korea increase defense cost-sharing and defense budget or face the withdrawal of US forces, writes Chung-in Moon.The situation is worrying for all sides of the political spectrum in Seoul, writes Chung-in Moon. Read the whole article in Global Asia Chung-in Moon is James Laney Distinguished Professor at Yonsei University, vice chairman of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network for Nuclear for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (APLN) and editor-in-chief of Global Asia Image: patrice6000/shutterstock.com