July 11, 2001
The mission of the Department would be to hold peace as an organizing principle; endeavor to promote justice and democratic principles to expand human rights; strengthen non-military means of peacemaking; promote the development of human potential; work to create peace, prevent violence, avoid armed conflict and develop new structures in nonviolent dispute resolution; and take a proactive, strategic approach in the development of policies that promote national and international conflict prevention, nonviolent intervention, mediation, peaceful resolution of conflict and structured mediation of conflict.
"Domestic and International violence demands continued engagement and commitment to peace, and this legislation places the peacemaker at the table," said Lee. "The Bay Area has historically been at the forefront of the peace and justice movement, and the creation of the U.S. Department of Peace will give our local peace organizations such as the MLK Freedom Center the support of a Cabinet-level Federal agency."
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Freedom Center in Oakland is dedicated to providing programs and employment opportunities in non-violence, conflict resolution, environmental education and ecological restoration with a specific focus on under-served youth and at-risk youth in the Bay Area.
"Just as we have trained soldiers to wage war in the past, we must begin to raise up a new generation of leaders committed to peace and justice," said Lee. "The establishment of this new Federal agency will provide us with the tools and resources necessary to move towards peace in our communities and worldwide.
The Department of Peace would create and establish a Peace Academy, modeled after the military service academies, which will provide a 4 year concentration in peace education. Graduates will be required to serve 5 years in public service in programs dedicated to domestic or international non-violent conflict resolution.
"We confront new challenges every day in the quest for peace, and this proposal places that quest on an equal footing with the weapons of war," said Lee. "Peace is not some elusive pipedream, but a matter of national and international security."
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CONGRESSWOMAN BARBARA LEE JOINS IN INTRODUCING LEGISLATION TO CREATE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF PEACE
Washington, DC - Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Vice Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, joined Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and other members of Congress today to introduce legislation that would establish the United States Department of Peace, a Cabinet-level department in the executive branch of the Federal government dedicated to peacemaking and the study of conditions that are conducive to both domestic and international peace.The mission of the Department would be to hold peace as an organizing principle; endeavor to promote justice and democratic principles to expand human rights; strengthen non-military means of peacemaking; promote the development of human potential; work to create peace, prevent violence, avoid armed conflict and develop new structures in nonviolent dispute resolution; and take a proactive, strategic approach in the development of policies that promote national and international conflict prevention, nonviolent intervention, mediation, peaceful resolution of conflict and structured mediation of conflict.
"Domestic and International violence demands continued engagement and commitment to peace, and this legislation places the peacemaker at the table," said Lee. "The Bay Area has historically been at the forefront of the peace and justice movement, and the creation of the U.S. Department of Peace will give our local peace organizations such as the MLK Freedom Center the support of a Cabinet-level Federal agency."
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Freedom Center in Oakland is dedicated to providing programs and employment opportunities in non-violence, conflict resolution, environmental education and ecological restoration with a specific focus on under-served youth and at-risk youth in the Bay Area.
"Just as we have trained soldiers to wage war in the past, we must begin to raise up a new generation of leaders committed to peace and justice," said Lee. "The establishment of this new Federal agency will provide us with the tools and resources necessary to move towards peace in our communities and worldwide.
The Department of Peace would create and establish a Peace Academy, modeled after the military service academies, which will provide a 4 year concentration in peace education. Graduates will be required to serve 5 years in public service in programs dedicated to domestic or international non-violent conflict resolution.
"We confront new challenges every day in the quest for peace, and this proposal places that quest on an equal footing with the weapons of war," said Lee. "Peace is not some elusive pipedream, but a matter of national and international security."
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