The message below is from Rita Marie Johnson of the Rasur Foundation in Costa Rica, which has been working with the administration of recently elected President Oscar Arias to institute a Ministry for Peace in Costa Rica. It will be in the form of an expansion of duties and name of the Ministry for Justice to the Ministry for Justice and Peace, with responsibilities for peaceful conflict resolution, prevention of violence, and promotion of a culture of peace.

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We got great news today. Our initiative for a Ministry for Justice and Peace was written into a stronger bill and presented to the Legislative Assembly yesterday, supported by both major parties!! Now the President of the Assembly refers it to a committee for study, then it comes back for debate and for a vote. The Minister of Justice, Laura Chinchilla, is highly motivated to get it passed as soon as possible and she insures that I am kept in the loop. The Rasur Foundation will be actively lobbying for rapid passage of the bill.

We have the green light from the Ministry of Justice to talk openly about the bill now. I will be including it in presentations in Japan (Nov. 11-20).

Please find attached the English translation of the final version of the bill that was presented to the Legislative Assembly. We were pleased that they allowed us to add:

j) To promote the participation of the civil society through Non Governmental Organizations and any other organizations devoted to the promotion of peace and non-violence.

This provision gives the Ministry for Justice and Peace the "green light" to work hand in hand with NGO's.

Also find attached the organizational chart that we developed and had approved by the Ministry for Justice for future use after the bill is passed. We were pleased that they allowed us to add Costa Rica Pro Paz, an alliance of NGO's that we are planning as our next initiative, to this diagram.