Past Events of 2012

Uniting for Peace AGM & Spring Conference Saturday 28 April, 2012 Wesley's Chapel, 49 City Road, London EC1Y 1AU Open Flyer		Advancing 4D for World Peace Saturday 28 April, 2012 AGM: 10:30 am - 12:30 pm Venue: Wesley's Chapel, 49 City Road, London EC1Y 1AU

Open Flyer		London Book Discussion and Reception Wednesday, 25th April 2012 6.30 - 8.00 pm Speakers: Tobias Ellwood, MP Humphrey Hawksley, BBC World Affairs Correspondent Shashank Joshi, Associate Fellow, RUSI Vijay Mehta, Author, The Economics of Killing Venue: London Hilton Euston 17-18 Upper Woburn Place London WC1H 0HT See leaflet for full information

Open Flyer		Netherlands Book Launch Book Launch event of 'The Economics of Killing - How the West Fuels War and Poverty in the Developing World' by Vijay Mehta Chair of Uniting for Peace Tuesday, 10th of April 2012 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm Perscentrum Nieuwspoort Lange Poten 10 2511 CL Den Haag The Netherlands You are invited to Book Launch and Reception The event is hosted by Pluto Press, Uniting for Peace and the Wereld Federalisten Beweging Nederland Please email to confirm attendance

		The Road to Peace A Conference on Peace Building Vijay Mehta gives a lecture on: UN Reforms and Demilitarisation Friday 23rd March 2012 11 am - 5 pm Kingston University Penrhyn Road Campus Penrhyn Road KT1 2EE Conference Hosted by: UNA Kingston University

Open flyer		Peace In My Lifetime An International Conference on Peace-Building Thursday 15th March 2012 2.30 - 8.00 pm Venue: Hilton Hotel, Euston, London 17 - 18 Upper Woburn Place London WC1H 0HT

Open Flyer		Book Launch: London Book Launch event of 'The Economics of Killing - How the West Fuels War and Poverty in the Developing World' by Vijay Mehta Chair of Uniting for Peace Thursday, 8th of March 2012 6.30 - 8.30 pm Hilton London Euston 17 - 18 Upper Woburn Place London WC1H 0HT You are invited to Book Launch and Reception The event is hosted by Pluto Press and Uniting for Peace Please email to confirm attendance Vijay Mehta: vijay@vmpeace.org or Jon Wheatley : jonw@plutobooks.com

		Global Vision 2000 will hold an Emergency Session on: Sunday 4 December, 2011 2.00 pm - 3.30 pm for Occupy London Stock Exchange Tentcity University at St. Pauls Cathederal, London Speakers: Moeen Yaseen, Daud Pidcock, Muhammad Rafeeq, Vijay Mehta, and CCMJ

		Pitching Africa Wednesday 30 November, 2011 6.30 pm - 8.30 pm Brunei Gallery Suite SOAS Thorahough Street, Russell Square, London WC1H OXG

		How can we acheive peace in the modern world VM's Interview with Press TV with George Galloway's TV show The Real Deal on: Friday 18 November, 2011 3 pm - 4.30 pm

		The Morality of Intervention, Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and the Role of United Nations 9th November 2011 Time: 6:00pm – 8:30pm Speakers: Christopher Black (Lead Defence Counsel ICTR) \| Jeremy Gilley (Founder, Peace One Day) (TBC) \| Tim Wallis (Director, Nonviolent Peaceforce) \| Vijay Mehta (Chair, Uniting for Peace) \| Brian Cooper (Co-ordinator, UfP) Venue: House of Lords Room 4/A

		Strategic Campaigning for Peace Date: Monday 3rd October 2011 Time: 6pm - 9pm Venue: Hilton Hotel, Euston, London Speakers: John Hilary Director War on want, Jeremy Gilley, Founder Peace One Day, Julia Haussermann, President Rights and Humanity and Jan Goodey, Journalist/Media Lecturer.

		Dag Hammarskjold, the United Nations and the End of Empire Date: 2 September 2011 Email: troy.rutt@sas.ac.uk http://www.commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/

		Working for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons - What can the United Nations and Civil Society do ? Date: Thursday 29 September 2011 Time: 6.30pm for 7pm Venue: Quaker Meeting House, St James Street
		UN INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE Monday 21st September 2011 Time: 6:30pm – 8:30pm Speaker: Rt. Hon. Hilary Benn MP Former Secretary of State for International Development – Shadow Leader of House of Commons Venue: Friends House 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ Themes: Peace, Conflict, Development and Environment

Inquiry on the Iraq War: Who is Accountable?
Tuesday 18th August 2009
Friends House, 173 Euston Road
opposite Euston Station, NW1 2BJ London, 6.30 – 8.30 pm

Nick Grief Legality and Conduct of Iraq War
Prof. International Law, Bournemouth University

Nicholas Jones Hidden Agendas in the Buildup to the Iraq War
Former BBC Political Correspondent and Author

With the announcement by the UK government to hold an inquiry on the war on Iraq, it would be timely to have a public meeting in which we can explore the, issues of:

For registration and further information please contact:
Vijay Mehta (vijay@vmpeace.org 0207 377 2111)

Public meeting free. Donations welcome.
Please make cheques payable to ‘Action for UN Renewal.’ And post it to Treasurer,
97 Commercial Road, London E1 1RD

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Vijay Mehta in Belfast

Nationalist gripes and recession 'threat' to peace

DAN KEENAN, Northern News Editor
NATIONALIST UNHAPPINESS with the status quo at Stormont, recession and the threat of dissident republican violence have been cited as dangers to the stability of the peace process, a commission has heard in Belfast.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Britain and Ireland, meeting at the weekend, heard submissions from a range of people representing diverse standpoints on the peace process.

Vijay Mehta, from the Wales-based International Institute of Peace Studies and Global Philosophy, told the commission he believed nationalists were harbouring “an increasing degree of dissatisfaction with the current status quo”. He added: “There is a perception among nationalist supporters that Sinn Féin and its leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness have become too wedded to the peace process and have become too embedded in the powersharing structures with the unionists at Stormont.

“To the nationalist punter in the street, Irish unity has not come closer since the Good Friday agreement was signed in 1998.”

He further suggested that the peace process remains particularly vulnerable to dissident violence and that what he called “the uneasy live and let live attitude which has developed among Northern Irish people over the last 10 years” could be endangered by serious dissident violence.

Although noting the loyalist response to the murders of two British soldiers and a PSNI officer last March, Mr Mehta suggested that sudden violent acts with perhaps a number of victims “would prove to be a substantial test for the continuation of the peace process”.

The recession and its impact could also create the conditions for what he called “increasing dissatisfaction among young men in particular and a drift back into the use of violence” He noted that the early years of the peace process was accompanied by a rising economic prosperity and near full employment.

The “lessons of Ulster”, he added, were now being applied “by prime ministers, presidents, diplomats and intelligence agencies to numerous area of violent conflict” across the globe.

But he also suggested that the emerging peace needed to be underscored by new realisations and concerted work at peace building.

Calling for the training and appointment of “a large number of peacekeepers” he urged a grassroots campaign to stabilise communities. “We should have a large number of peacekeepers who can help build trust in communities, weed out the seeds of terrorism and give hope to vulnerable minorities,” he said.

“The fact is that a substantial majority of people wish to live in peace and a small minority should not be allowed to perpetrate violence which brings disastrous results.”

The commission discussions were chaired by Dr Thomas Daffern, a governor of the Saor Ollscoil na hÉireann in Dublin and Director of the International Institute of Peace Studies and Global Philosophy.

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times

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Speakers include:
Lord Hannay of Chiswick, Ambassador CHUN Yung-Woo (Republic of South Korea), Rebecca Johnson, Colin Archer, Frank Barnaby, Brian Cooper, Frank Jackson, and Vijay Mehta.

"It's time to send a clear message to the world: America seeks a world with no nuclear weapons."

In his short presidential tenure, Obama has already stated that nuclear terrorism is "the gravest danger we face." It remains to be seen if these words are backed up with concrete steps. The time is right now for 189 countries who signed up to the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty to fulfil their commitments for a world free of nuclear weapons. India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea are nuclear weapons states but outside the NPT treaty, should be persuaded for the reduction and eventual abolition of their nuclear arsenal for a safer world.

Supported by the Commonwealth Journalists Association
For registration and further information please contact:
Vijay Mehta (vijay@vmpeace.org 02 027 377 2111)

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17th February 2009
7.00pm to 8.30pm
Friends House, 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ
Annual Erskine Childers Lecture 2009
"Saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war"
Speaker: Mairead Corrigan Maguire
Nobel Peace Laureate

for the full leaflet view the Leaflet

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Universal Declaration of Human Rights – Event in Scotland
Tuesday 9th December 2008
View this article here

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28th May 2008
Hilton Athens, Greece
Rethinking the way we do business
CEO & CSR 2008

Cradle to Cradle: Introducing the Concept
Green Finance
Sustainable Buildings
Climate Change Solutions
Vijay Mehta will be the keynote speaker on ‘Climate Change Solutions’

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14th May 2008
6.30pm - 8.30pm
Oxford Town Hall
“5 years of war in Iraq: What role can the United Nations
play in building peace and security.”
Speakers: Tony Benn (former MP, Minister and President, Stop the War Coalition),
Cllr John Tanner (Mayor of Oxford),
Chair Vijay Mehta
for full details view: leaflet

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23rd April 2008
7pm-9pm
The U8 Partnership for International Development,
Magdalen Auditorium, Magdalen College, Oxford, OX1 4AU
'The Role of Global Institutions in Tackling Poverty'
V. Mehta is the keynote speaker for the event

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19th April 2008
Saturday 10.30am to 4.30pm
World Disarmament Campaign, Spring conference and AGM
Wesley Chapel, 43 City Road, London
Speakers: Frank Barnaby (nuclear scientist),
Vijay Mehta co-chair or World Disarmament Campaign (WDC)
Edward Davey M.P.

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2-5th April 2008
'Athens 3'
Third Annual Conference of the New School of Athens (NSOA)
Athens, Greece
V. Mehta is a panellist and speaking on 'reform of global institutions

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28-30 March 2008
Exeter University
Exeter
United Nations Association
Annual Conference
Contact: Nick Branson, UNA-UK, 3 Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EL
branson@una.org.uk

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27th March 2008
The United Nations and Student Association (UNYSA) of the University of St Andrews
St Andrews, Scotland
The role of the UN in 21st century global politics?

Panellists include:
- Vijay Mehta (chair of Action for UN Renewal)
Professor Oliver Richmond (University of St Andrews)
- Dr Martin Barber, (former director, UN Mine Action Service, New York)

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25th March 2008
The Gandhi Festival of Non-Violence
British Library Conference Centre
"The Life of Gandhi"
6.30pm
For full details see the enclosed 'Invite' and Booklet

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Date to be confirmed
Oxford Environmental and Ethics Organisation
'Climate change, sustainable development and the role of the United Nations'
Oxford University
V. Mehta is the keynote speaker

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Saturday, 23rd February 2008
Action for UN Renewal AGM
'The Protection and Promotion of Human Rights and the role of the United Nations'
Guest speaker: Geoffrey Robertson QC
Friends House, Euston Road, London
V. Mehta is acting chair of Action For United Nations Renewal

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Tuesday, 19 February 2008, 5.30pm
Labour Action for Peace, AGM and public meeting
Friends House, Euston Road, London
'Britain's special relationship should be with the United Nations, not the USA'
V. Mehta is a speaker along with Tony Benn and Jeremy Corbyn MP

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Wednesday, 13 February 2008, 5.30pm
UNA Leeds
'Reform of the United Nations, and the role of UN in peace and international security'
The Rupert Beckett Lecture Theatre, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT
V. Mehta is the keynote speaker

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Monday, 3rd December 2007 4.00 pm
BBC World Service TV interview
Interview with Vijay Mehta about climate change for the opening of the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP)
in Bali, Indonesia.
BBC Centre, London

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Bringing Democracy to Burma –
What can the UK government do to promote and implement the rule of law and the UN Charter?

Tuesday 4th December 2007 7-9 pm
House of Lords, Committee Room 4A, London

Speakers include:
Rt. Hon. Lord (Peter) Archer Q.C.
Anna Roberts (The Burma Campaign UK)
John Rowley (Gandhi Foundation)

The current deteriorating situation in Burma, needs to be addressed urgently, where a military dominated government is handling its people brutally, stamping out protest and curbing human rights and civil liberties. The meeting will explore ways in which a dialogue can be started between the detained opposition leader, Ann San Suu Kyi, and Burma’s junta for a change from the military dominated government to a fully fledged democracy.

Fortune Forum, The Summit
Venue: The Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London
30 November 2007, 7.00 - 11.00pm

Vijay Mehta is a co-founder and trustee of Fortune Forum, a charitable organisation raising funds for poverty reduction, environmental degradation, combating worldwide diseases and peacebuilding.

Speakers to the event included:

- Prime Minister Gordon Brown MP
- Caroline Lucas MEP
- Sir Bob Geldof
- Sir David Frost
- Daryl Hannah

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Climate Change: How It Impacts Us All

5-7 September 2007
United Nations, 60th Annual Department of Public Information Non-Governmental Organization (DPI/NGO) Conference
United Nations Headquarters, New York, USA

Vijay Mehta will be speaking on the following two workshops:

Beyond Kyoto: Working Together to Preserve the Planet

This workshop will address the need to confront the challenges of climate change by mitigation, adaptation and global cooperation. It will consider how new political momentum can be created through greater public awareness of the urgency of the issues. It will discuss in some detail how governments, the private sector, large NGOs and civil society at large all have a vital part to play. http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/28243

And it will show the essential role of the United Nations system in coordinating efforts, disseminating reliable information, and providing a framework for the negotiation, securing and effective monitoring of new global agreements.

This workshop deals with the fact that the military is the biggest polluter to the environment in the form of remnants of war (land mines, cluster bombs, air-dropped bombs, artillery shells, grenades, mortar, rockets). They contaminate a wide area, are the cause of civilian deaths and injuries and create fear and trauma for the safety of civilians. Furthermore, the effects of biological and chemical warfare against the environment in the form of radiation, toxicity and air pollution are well known. It will also discuss the new protocol to the UN convention governing explosive remnants of war. It will look at civil society and NGO initiatives to have a total ban on weapons as they have lasting health and environmental ramifications.

Reforming the UN for the 21st Century

Action for UN Renewal, Essex Hall, 2 - 6 Essex Street, London, WC2R 3HY

Speaker: Joseph E. Schwartzberg (Professor Emeritus, University o Minnesota)

Vijay Mehta is chair of Action for UN Renewal

Annual Erskine Childers lecture

'The growth and importance of individual action and its increasing influence in the field of human rights and United Nations reform’

Action for UN Renewal

Friends House, Euston Road, London
12th June 2007, 7pm

Speaker: Kate Allen, (director, Amnesty International)

Chair: Rt. Hon. Lord (Peter) Archer Q.C.

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Past Events

Vijay Mehta in Belfast

Nationalist gripes and recession 'threat' to peace