by CGS | Jul 14, 2023 | Press Release
Washington, DC– CGS is honored to announce that Ambassador David J. Scheffer, Professor of Practice at Arizona State University and Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, will join our National Advisory Council (NAC).
Of Scheffer’s appointment, CGS Executive Director Rebecca A. Shoot noted, “The NAC has guided the vision and strategic direction of our organization and its predecessors in the World Federalist Movement for more than 75 years. In the fields of law and human rights, the NAC has included such luminaries as Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, Nuremberg Prosecutor Benjamin Ferencz, and US Representative and Ambassador Clare Boothe Luce. Amb. Scheffer is a fitting inheritor of this proud tradition given his unparalleled contributions to advancing global justice as a renowned diplomat, esteemed legal professional, and eminent scholar. We are privileged that he will help steer our future course.”
Amb. David J. Scheffer is senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), with a focus on international law and international criminal justice. Scheffer was the Mayer Brown/Robert A. Helman Professor of Law (2006-2020) and is Director Emeritus of the Center for International Human Rights at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. He is Professor of Practice at Arizona State University (Washington offices). He was Vice-President of the American Society of International Law (2020-2022) and held the International Francqui Professorship at KU Leuven in Belgium in 2022. From 2012 to 2018 he was the UN Secretary-General’s Special Expert on UN Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Trials, and he was the Tom A. Bernstein Genocide Prevention Fellow working with the Ferencz International Justice Initiative at the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (2019-2021).
During the second term of the Clinton Administration (1997-2001), Scheffer was the first ever U.S. Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues and led the U.S. delegation to the UN talks establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC). He signed the Rome Statute of the ICC on behalf of the United States on December 31, 2000. He negotiated the creation of five war crimes tribunals: the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, and the ICC. He chaired the Atrocities Prevention Inter-Agency Working Group (1998-2001). During the first term of the Clinton Administration (1993-1997), Scheffer served as senior advisor and counsel to the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Dr. Madeleine Albright, and he served on the Deputies Committee of the National Security Council. Ambassador Scheffer received an A.B. (Government and Economics) from Harvard College, B.A (Honour School of Jurisprudence) from Oxford University (where he was a Knox Fellow), and LL.M. (International and Comparative Law) from Georgetown University Law Center.
Additionally, CGS is pleased to welcome two new staff members to our Secretariat team in the roles of Director of Development and Program Officer. We are delighted at the experience, energy, and expertise these impressive individuals bring to help realize CGS’s next chapter.
Jon Kozesky, Director of Development
Jon brings over 17 years of experience in development and fundraising in both the public and private sectors. He started his career in politics working in the Ohio Statehouse and later in the office of U.S. Congressman Steven LaTourette, as well as former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. After leaving Capitol Hill, Jon pursued his passion of helping nonprofits secure the resources they needed to best serve their constituents. This passion led to his founding of Jon Thomas Consulting, a boutique nonprofit management and development firm serving organizations across the United States and throughout the world in streamlining their processes and maximizing their revenue growth through grant writing, government affairs, donor stewardship, and major event planning.
Prior to his fundraising career, Jon proudly served his community as a firefighter and water rescue diver. In his personal time, Jon is a champion competitive sailor and a bit of a thrill-seeker, having sky-dived and bungee jumped on 6 continents.
James Lowell May, Program Officer
James May is a programme and project development specialist. He has lived in Serbia since 2005, and prior to joining Citizens for Global Solutions, worked across the Western Balkans on a broad range of issues including human, minority and child rights, accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity, Holocaust commemoration, democratic participation, social justice and economic empowerment, and environmental restoration.
James began working in the Western Balkans on issues related to accountability for human rights violations, first for the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, a coalition of NGOs active in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, as the network’s development coordinator, then the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights, leading a research project documenting the nomenclatural of the Milosevic Regime, and then the Federation of Jewish Communities in Serbia, running a Holocaust research and education project.
James then transitioned from accountability to efforts to protect and fulfill the rights of marginalized communities. For a decade James worked for the Centre for Youth Integration, an NGO that provides specialized services for children and youth in street situations in Belgrade, where he began as a volunteer before taking up a permanent role, while concurrently volunteering for community mental health organizations, as well as consultancy work for a number of local and international organizations, and most recently branched out to apply his experience to the environmental sector, focussing on social impact assessments and community-oriented nature-based solutions projects.
James has a degree in Archaeology from University College London. He was born and grew up in Great Britain. He is an avid cyclist.
About Citizens for Global Solutions
Citizens for Global Solutions is a non-governmental, non-profit, non-partisan membership-based organization that for more than 75 years has brought together a diverse collective of individuals and organizations with a common goal of a unified world predicated upon peace, human rights, and the rule of law. From championing ratification of the UN Charter upon our establishment in 1947 to supporting creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) 25 years ago to advocating for global instruments to confront today’s enduring challenges of war and climate degradation, CGS recognizes that true progress is a generational enterprise. We invite like-minded individuals and organizations to join us in this mission.
Contact: outreach@globalsolutions.org
by Citizens for Global Solutions | Jun 30, 2023 | Press Release
Washington, DC–Join the Virtual ‘Finding Hope in the Climate-Peace-Disarmament Nexus’ Panel
This Q&A panel discussion, co-hosted by Citizens for Global Solutions (CGS), Parliamentarians for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament (PNND), Youth Fusion, and World Federalist Movement/Institute for Global Policy (WFM-IGP), will consider how progress on environmental protection is hampered by armed conflict, nuclear threats, and the massive diversion of resources into weapons and war, and will invite collaborate strategizing on potential solutions.
Specifically, we will explore the potential of common security and global governance to foster cooperation to more effectively address climate, peace, and disarmament threats. This intergenerational dialogue will bring together youthful energy and innovation with seasoned expertise and experience, actively engaging our audience to build stronger pathways to a peaceful and sustainable future.
Session I: Americas/Europe/Africa/Middle East
Date: July 13, 2023
Time: 12:00-13:30 EST | 16:00 UTC | 17:00 GMT | 18:00 CET
Register: Zoom Registration for Session I
Session 1 Speakers:
- Kehkashan Basu (UAE/Canada): Founder-President, Green Hope Foundation; United Nations Human Rights Champion; Winner, 2016 International Children’s Peace Prize; Council Member, World Future Council; Former UNEP Global Coordinator for Children & Youth.
- Marie-Claire Graf (Switzerland): Co-Founder Youth Negotiators Academy and Climate Youth Negotiator Programme; UN Youth Climate Champion of Switzerland.
- Prof. Maja Groff (Netherlands): Convenor, Climate Governance Commission; Visiting Professor/Scholar at Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs, Leiden University; Lecturer, Hague Academy of International Law.
- William (Bill) R. Pace (USA): Founder and Inaugural Convenor, Coalition for an International Criminal Court; Former Executive Director, World Federalist Movement-Institute for Global Policy (WFM-IGP); Co-Founder, International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect.
- Prof Juergen Scheffran (Germany): Professor of Integrative Geography. Chair of the Research Group Climate Change, Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability, University of Hamburg. Principal author, The Climate-Nuclear Nexus.
- Additional speakers to be confirmed
Session II: Asia/Pacific
Date: July 20, 2023 Time: 5:00 AM UTC | 10:30 AM Delhi | 2:00 PM Tokyo | 5:00 PM Wellington 7:00 PM Hawaii | 7:00 AM Eastern Europe | 1:00 AM EST
Register: Zoom Registration for Session II
Session 2 Speakers
- Augusto Lopez-Claros (Chile/Spain): Executive Director, Global Governance Forum. Senior Fellow at the Edmund Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Former Director of the Global Indicators Group in DEC of the World Bank.
- Tadashi Inuzuka (Japan): Co-President, World Federalist Movement – Institute for Global Policy. Executive Director, 3+3 Coalition for a North-East Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone. Former Senator from Nagasaki.
- Nicole Ponce (Philippines): Co-Founder and Coordinator, I am Climate Justice movement, Asia Front Coordinator, World’s Youth for Climate Justice.
- Disha Ravi (India): Co-founder, Fridays for Future India.
- Dr Justin Sobion LLM (Trinidad and Tobago): Legal Researcher and Teaching Assistant, NewZealand Centre for Environmental Law, University of Auckland. Coordinator, Earth Trusteeship Working Group. Co-editor, “Reflections on Earth Trusteeship: Mother Earth and a new 21st Century governance paradigm.”
- Additional speakers to be confirmed
About Citizens for Global Solutions
Citizens for Global Solutions is a non-governmental, non-profit, non-partisan membership-based organization that for more than 75 years has brought together a diverse collective of individuals and organizations with a common goal of a unified world predicated upon peace, human rights, and the rule of law. From championing ratification of the UN Charter upon our establishment in 1947 to supporting creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) 25 years ago to advocating for global instruments to confront today’s enduring challenges of war and climate degradation, CGS recognizes that true progress is a generational enterprise. We invite like-minded individuals and organizations to join us in this mission.
World Federalist Movement – Institute for Global Policy
The World Federalist Movement/Institute for Global Policy (WFM/IGP), established in 1947, is a non-profit organization registered in the USA and the Netherlands. Guided by its vision of a just, free, and peaceful world, WFM/IGP works to promote the rule of law and global governance of transnational issues including those related to peace, human rights, and the environment. Our vision is a just, free, and peaceful world, where humanity and nature flourish in harmony, while our mission is to create more effective, transparent, and accountable global governance leading to democratic world federation.
Youth Fusion
Youth Fusion is a world-wide networking platform for young individuals and organizations in the field of nuclear disarmament, risk-reduction and non-proliferation. We focus on youth action and intergenerational dialogue, building on the links between disarmament, peace, climate action, sustainable development and building back better from the pandemic. Our goals are clear: to inform, educate, connect and engage our fellow students, activists and enthusiasts. Through these activities, and as part of the Abolition 2000 Network, we are contributing to the total abolition of nuclear weapons.
Supporting Organizations
3+3 Coalition for a North-East Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone, Basel Peace Office, Citizens for Global Solutions, Chicago Area Peace Action (CAPA), Climate Governance Commission, Democracia Global, Global Minnesota, Green Hope Foundation, I Am Climate Justice, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament, Peace Action, The Peace Alliance, Stimson, Upper Hudson Peace Action, World Federalist Movement Institute for Global Policy, World Future Council, World Service Authority, World’s Youth for Climate Justice, Young World Federalists and Youth Fusion.
Contact: outreach@globalsolutions.org
by Citizens for Global Solutions | Jun 20, 2023 | Press Release
Washington, DC– On Sunday, June 25, 2023, 1:00PM – 2:30PM EST, Citizens for Global Solutions (CGS) will convene a unique hybrid event to explore current concrete apertures for grassroots engagement to achieve foundational principles of democratic world federation and combat such critical global challenges as violations of international law and human rights, environmental degradation, and escalating armament.
The “Exploratory Summit” comes as CGS embarks on a new chapter, seeking innovative and ambitious solutions to current threats to inform advocacy by our Action Network.[1] At this summit, we invite subject matter experts and leading activists dedicated to our core causes and foundational values to share their perspectives on the contemporary means and methods for advocacy. Participants will have the opportunity to engage in discussion with thought leaders and join CGS’s action efforts following the summit.
Topics will include:
Supporting International Institutions through Informed Reform [Augusto Lopes-Claros]
Promoting Treaty-Based International Law [Kristin Smith]
Advancing Climate Justice and Disarmament as Components of World Federation [Alyn Ware]
Mobilizing the Next Generation through Youth Outreach and Intergenerational Approaches [Jacopo DeMarinis]
We hope you will join us for this unique event. For more information, please contact: outreach@globalsolutions.org
About Citizens for Global Solutions
Citizens for Global Solutions (CGS) is a nonpartisan, non-profit non-governmental organization (NGO) that advocates for democratic global governance predicated on the rule of law and the protection of human rights. For more than 75 years, Citizens for Global Solutions (CGS) has dedicated itself to the grand vision of a united planet. We mobilize our members to take action to promote policies and institutions that address global challenges such as peace and security, climate change, and human rights abuses. We catalyze change through grassroots organizing, education and outreach programs, policy advocacy, and engagement with policymakers at national and international level.
[1] CGS-Education Fund is a registered 501(c)(3). The CGS Action Fund is incorporated as a 501(c)(4).
by Citizens for Global Solutions | Apr 26, 2023 | Press Release
Citizens for Global Solutions (CGS) Education Fund is delighted to welcome Rebecca A. Shoot as our next Executive Director, succeeding Bob Flax, who will serve as CGS President until his retirement at the end of July. CGS’s Board of Directors takes this opportunity to express immense gratitude to Bob for his inspiring leadership during his tenure as Executive Director and looks forward to his continued contributions.
The first woman and among the youngest individuals to lead CGS throughout its 75-year history, Rebecca brings nearly two decades of practical experience in the non-governmental, inter-governmental, and private sectors implementing initiatives that give life to CGS’s foundational vision of a unified world community predicated on democratic values, human rights, and the rule of law. Of Rebecca’s appointment, CGS Education Fund Board Chair Donna Park noted, “I am pleased that Rebecca is stepping into this leadership role for CGS. Her background, experience, contacts, energy, creativity and personality are valuable assets. I believe she will work collaboratively with the Board and staff to grow CGS and the international world federalist movement to deliver our vision of a peaceful, free, just and sustainable world community.”
In nearly a decade with the National Democratic Institute (NDI), Rebecca held numerous positions in headquarters and the field supporting and leading democracy and governance programs in Central and Eastern Europe and Southern and East Africa. She subsequently moved to a leadership role steering NDI’s Governance projects globally and directing programming for the bipartisan House Democracy Partnership of the U.S. House of Representatives. Rebecca created a global parliamentary campaign for Democratic Renewal and Human Rights as Senior Advisor to Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), an international network of legislators committed to collaboration to promote democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. Prior to that, she directed PGA’s International Law and Human Rights Programme and ran PGA’s office in The Hague. Most recently, she helmed global programming to promote gender equality and criminal justice reform for the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI).
Rebecca has spoken at high-level conferences and events on five continents (and increasingly, globally through online platforms). Her publications include the first Global Parliamentary Report (IPU & UNDP 2012), Political Parties in Democratic Transitions (DIPD 2012), and Navigating between Scylla and Charybdis: How the International Criminal Court Turned Restraint Into Power Play (Emory Int’l L. Rev. 2018), which was honored with the Emory International Law Review’s Founder’s Award for Excellence in Legal Research and Writing.
Rebecca is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia and is a member of several bar associations, including the American Branch of the International Law Association (ABILA), where she serves as Advocacy Director for the International Criminal Court (ICC) Committee. She served as a Visiting Professional in the Presidency of the ICC and has provided pro bono legal expertise to The Carter Center, International Refugee Assistance Project, United Nations Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances, and U.S. Marine Corps University, where she helped develop the international humanitarian law curriculum.
Rebecca earned a Juris Doctorate with Honors from Emory University School of Law, where she received several academic distinctions, including the David J. Bederman Fellowship in International Law and Conley-Ingram Scholarship for Public Interest Leadership. She earned a Master of Science in Democracy & Democratisation from University College London School of Public Policy and a Bachelor of Arts Magna Cum Laude in Political Science from Kenyon College. She holds certificates in Conflict Analysis from the U.S. Institute of Peace and in Public International Law from The Hague Academy of International Law.
As Executive Director of CGS, Rebecca will continue her current role as Co-Convener of the Washington Working Group for the International Criminal Court (WICC), a diverse coalition of human rights organizations, legal associations, former government officials, and leading legal professionals. CGS and WICC have a rich and intertwined history that this dual appointment brings full circle, with CGS formerly serving as host for the coalition and with several current and former common Board and National Advisory Committee members. She also acts, directs, and writes for the theater.
“It is a profound privilege and challenge to serve an organization with both a distinguished history and unwavering ongoing commitment to an idea that is simultaneously radical and fundamental: one world, free from conflict with humanity united to respect the rights of all individuals, peoples, creatures, and our planet itself. Shaped by some of the greatest minds of the last century, this vision could not be more relevant today. Beyond the opportunity to serve this most powerful mission, it is a personal delight to work with such committed and supportive individuals as compose the CGS staff and board.” – Rebecca A. Shoot
by Citizens for Global Solutions | Apr 14, 2023 | Press Release
“By any rational standard what we are setting out to do is quite impossible. But we must do it, we can and we will!”
This is the inspirational message in support of democratic world government that longtime CGS supporter and National Advisory Council member Benjamin Ferencz prepared while drafting the lecture he would give at the Second Global Structures Convocation in February of 1992. The chief prosecutor of the Einsatzgruppen Trial- one of the Nuremberg Trials- at the age of 27, a tireless advocate for the International Criminal Court and a democratic world government, and an exceptional human being, Ben Ferencz had a life that was instructed by a simple yet powerful motto: “Never give up.” It is a fitting guiding principle for a person whose life was dedicated to campaigning for a democratic world federation to safeguard the sanctity of human life, a seemingly impossible yet necessary task that requires a “never give up” attitude that Ben embodied with his whole being.
In 1988, Ben teamed up with personal growth writer Ken Keyes, Jr. to write Planethood, a book directed to the general public that laid out eight practical steps to achieve a democratic world government. In the book, Ferencz and Keyes argue that “We must begin to think in planetary terms if we are to find peace.” Like many other people, we at Citizens for Global Solutions find Ferencz and Keyes’ message to be extremely hopeful since it advocates for a grassroots movement to establish a “United Federation of Nations”; We the People can really do this, provided that we “never give up!” And we are extremely grateful that Ferencz donated an entire print run of his book to CGS! Building off of Planethood, one of the most important, basic ideas Ferencz expressed in his literary works regarding world federalism is the importance of replacing the “rule of force with the rule of law” through the establishment of courts with universal jurisdiction. As Ferencz has asserted, “There can be no peace without justice, no justice without law and no meaningful law without a Court to decide what is just and lawful under any given circumstance.”
Ben’s indefatigable commitment to an International Criminal Court, with full US participation, and a democratic world government- in addition to his active involvement in CGS’ National Advisory Council- made him an obvious choice to receive the 2018 Norman Cousins Global Governance Award. Ben also was honored with the 2022 Congressional Gold Medal, which recognized his dedication to the international rule of law. In Section 2 (Findings) of the bill recognizing Ferencz, the 11th point is particularly notable:
Ben, at age 101, is still active, giving speeches throughout the world about lessons learned during his extraordinary career. He is compelled by the imperative to “replace the rule of force with the rule of law”… He often tells young people to “never give up” because the fight for peace and justice is worth the long struggle ahead.
On January 17th, 1961, President Dwight Eisenhower gave a speech warning the public of the dire, antidemocratic threats posed by the “military industrial complex.” He argued that, “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence… by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” Thanks to Ben Ferencz’s tireless dedication to a safer, more just world, we have a North Star that can, provided we “never give up,” guide all living beings on planet Earth toward a more sustainable future. In the words of CGS board member Larry David, “Ben Ferencz, we are forever indebted to your service in the cause of peace, justice, and our dream of a federal republic of the world – a true United Federation of Nations!”
About Citizens for Global Solutions
CGS is a non-governmental, non-profit, non-partisan membership-based organization that for more than 75 years has brought together a diverse collective of individuals and organizations with a common goal of a unified world predicated upon peace, human rights, and the rule of law. From championing ratification of the UN Charter upon our establishment in 1947 to supporting creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) 25 years ago to advocating for global instruments to confront today’s enduring challenges of war and climate degradation, CGS recognizes that true progress is a generational enterprise. We invite like-minded individuals and organizations to join us in this mission.
Contact: Donna Park dpark@globalsolutions.org
by Citizens for Global Solutions | Apr 10, 2023 | Press Release
Washington, DC–Join Citizens for Global Solutions on April 22 for a special Q&A Global Conversations online event with author, Samuel Zipp to discuss his book, The Idealist: Wendell Willkie’s Wartime Quest to Build One World.
Participants: You and your fellow attendees will have the chance to learn about Countering Nationalism and Remembering the Quest to Build One World. Attend the FREE event and enter a chance to win Samuel Zipp’s book!
April 22 | 12:00PM – 1:30PM
Click here to register for the FREE event!
In August 1942, as the threat of fascism swept the world, a charismatic former Republican presidential contender, Wendell Willkie, took an unprecedented airplane journey around the world to visit battlefronts in Africa, the Middle East, Russia, and China. In One World, the runaway bestseller he published on his return, Willkie challenged Americans to resist the “America first” doctrine and warned of the dangers of “narrow nationalism”. He urged citizens to end colonialism and embrace, “equality of opportunity for every race and every nation”.
Zipp argues that Willkie’s “warnings about the perils of racially charged ‘narrow nationalism’ have never been more indispensable. As the United States reaches the end of its long turn as a great global power, the quandaries of American exceptionalism he faced remain ours today, and his example may yet offer us undiscovered resources for living in a ‘one world’ he heralded more than three-quarters of a century ago.”
“The term Willkie helped to put into common circulation -’one world’ –would become shorthand for the disruptive charge of worldly connection set off by the war. Over the years Willkie’s name would fade away but ‘one world’ would be adopted by world government advocates, anti-imperialists, environmentalists, and even corporate marketers to signify the promise of times in which global shrinkage offered new contracts and new ideas to offset the dangers of war, xenophobia and racism.”
Samuel Zipp is a cultural and urban historian at Brown University. He has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, n+1, The Baffler, and The Nation and is the author of Manhattan Projects: The Rise and Fall of Urban Renewal Cold War New York. He also coedited a collection of the writings of Jane Jacobs.
“As a resident of Minnesota, home of a key founder of the UN, Governor Stassen, I have been a long-time devotee of the writings and speeches of Wendell Willkie. This book finally puts this internationally important leader into a truly global context.” Mark Ritchie, National Advisory Committee for Citizens For Global Solutions, former President of Global Minnesota and former Minnesota Secretary of State.
About Citizens for Global Solutions
CGS is a non-governmental, non-profit, non-partisan membership-based organization that for more than 75 years has brought together a diverse collective of individuals and organizations with a common goal of a unified world predicated upon peace, human rights, and the rule of law. From championing ratification of the UN Charter upon our establishment in 1947 to supporting creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) 25 years ago to advocating for global instruments to confront today’s enduring challenges of war and climate degradation, CGS recognizes that true progress is a generational enterprise. We invite like-minded individuals and organizations to join us in this mission.
Contact: Donna Park dpark@globalsolutions.org
