Presentation of the Luarca Declaration at the Regional Expert Meeting on peace, security and conflict prevention in Latin-American and Caribbean

In April an expert meeting on peace, security and conflict prevention was organized by the Regional Coordinator for Economic and Social Research (CRI) in Santo Domingo. Taking advantage of the presence of numerous experts from all Latin-American and the Caribbean in this meeting, the AEDIDH organized in conjunction with CRI a regional seminar of experts in conflict prevention and the human right to peace. The President of the AEDIDH introduced the Luarca Declaration and the Global Campaign for a universal declaration of human right to peace.

Two experts filed separate written submissions: Dr. Celia Merano, representative of the Lutheran World Federation in Central America, about "The Declaration of Luarca in the context of the current international human rights law and its protection mechanisms". Dr. Jose Manuel Ugarte, Professor of Administrative Law at the University of Buenos Aires and Secretary of the Social Forum for Transparency made some comments in relation to the first presentation. Secondly, Dr. Gabriel Aguilera Peralta, Vice President of the Institute of International Relations and Research for Peace (IRIPAZ) of Guatemala spoke on "The Declaration of Luarca and building peace in Central America, with particular reference to Guatemala."

Twenty-five Latin American experts participated in the lively debates that followed the presentation of the two papers, bringing fresh perspectives to the Luarca Declaration and the desirability of distributing the text in their countries in order to consolidate a culture of peace. The report of the seminar was written by CRI.

• Coordinadora Regional de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales (CRIES)
• Seminario Regional de Expertos sobre la Declaración Universal del Derecho Humano a la Paz, celebrado en Santo Domingo, República Dominicana