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June 2008 WILPF International Peace and Security E-News

 

WILPF Peace and Security

 

E-NEWS June, 2008

 

This month let's see if we can make some progress on the tasks we have been given. Felicity Hill has sent us the URL for current program priorities as listed on the WILPF Geneva web site. You can find the complete program document at http://www.wilpf.int.ch/programme/2007-2010.htm.

Let's look first evaluate what we've all accomplished tas a working group in Disarmament and Demilitarization since the Bolivia Congress, begin to ponder priorities until the next Congress and also consider if there are resolutions we wish to propose at the November International Board meeting. (Next month we can do the same for Human Rights and Globalization). Please share your own thoughts and information on any of these categories with the list serve at disarmament@wilpf.ch or with me directly at carol.disarm@gmail.com .

 

CHALLENGE MILITARISM:
 
challenge military security concepts, end current conflicts & promote disarmament
 
This is the first pillar of WILPF program and is the focus of the disarmament and demilitarization portion of our Peace and Security work. Please share your comments on what we've accomplished thus far (including in your own Section!) and what you would like to see as priorities from the beginning of 2009 until our next international WILPF Congress.

A. Send Fact Finding Missions to countries in conflict. Issue reports and recommendations:

1. Take up opportunities to publicise the findings of the Colombia mission, at the Commission on the Status of Women and others. Follow up the recommendations of the mission to Colombia.

This presentation at the CSW by the Columbian delegation took place, given in Spanish and translated into English. There was an overflow crowd and it was enthusiasticaly received. Where is the report on Peace Women (I have not been able to find it) and what has been the follow up? Congratulations to Adriana Gonzales and the Columbian Section for a side event well done!

Mary Day Kent, who joined in the WILPF delegation to Columbia, has written a report on the conflicts and life situations in Columbia available from the American Friends Service Committee.

What else has been done on follow-up? 

2. Undertake additional missions to the Israel/Palestine, Sri Lanka, Nepal, India and Cuba if finances allow.

Heidi Meinzolt-Zepner (German Section) made a fact finding visit to Israel and Palestine. We sent the report to the Peace and Security list serve and until recently it was on the WILPF website

The Middle East Committee now has a home on the international WILPF web site with its own web pages here . It is still in formation and committee members and their priorities presented in Bolivia are not yet listed. The resolution submitted by the committee in Bolivia does not appear anywhere, but the call in that resolution for support of a Nuclear and WMD free zone in the Middle East should be of particular interest to this working group. Hanan Awaad wants to help us form an Iraqi WILPF Section and the Middle East Committee is also working on forming a Jordanian Section.

What other conflict situations would you like WILPF to consider? What about occupations of Iraq and Afghanstan? 

B. Oppose military security structures and policies, support alternatives:

1. Participate in the Abolition of Military Bases Network for closure of such bases around the world, holding the base occupier fully responsible for follow up cleaning and for refunding the population for health problems due to the destructive effects of their military presence;

Three attended the No Bases Network meeting in Ecuador. Mary Day Kent has since left the WILPF staff (U.S. Section) but is still a WILPF member and reported on the Ecuadorian intent to shut down Manta, the major U.S. base there. Tell us, Kozue Akibayashi (Japan Section) and Irene Eckert (German Section) about any follow-up by you or your Section and how you are currently involved. In the U.S. we have formed a supporting No Bases Network with AFSC at the core as enabler and funder and Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space as a key participant. Eight WILPF members (from British, Norwegian, German and U.S. Sections ) participated in a demonstration a U.S. cyber spy base in Germany. Read Regina Hagen's (German Section) report on celebration of the base shut down and encounter with U.S. military police. Are other Sections involved in anti-military base work?

2. Disclose military spending, publicise figures, show the alternatives, utilize gender budgeting to compare mil itary R&D compared to peace research budgets, Nordic Battle Group costs compared to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)

The WILPF Geneva International Women's Day Seminar was a great start for all of us, and also the You Get What You Pay For brochure.

European Sections please report on your research on the Nordic Battle Group, etc. Would it be helpful to compare percentages spent on human needs and on military budgets in our various countries. There is quite a difference between Costa Rica and the U.S.A., for instance.

U.S. DISARM and members of the Swedish Section (including co-President Kerstin Greback ) joined Sam Cook of Peace Women and Ray Acheson of Reaching Critical Will in a side event on women, military spending and gender budgeting at the Commission on the Status of Women. WILPF member Mary Beth Sullivan (Outreach Coordinator for our partner Global Network) spoke powerfully about the trillions sought for U.S. space militarization (the extreme of male dominance) and the need for conversion to peace economies.

3. Support the anti-NATO efforts of some sections in the build up to the April 2008 Summit in Bucharest, and continue the linkage WILPF has always made with anti-NATO work to the need for the OSCE to be supported;

European Sections -- please report what you did on this.

4. Support efforts by the European sections to oppose the militarized security concept in the EU European Reform Treaty and the European Defence Agency which has implications for all conflict zones in which EU troops will be deployed in Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere;

Again, members of European Sectins please report.

5. Increase the number of conflicts on which international WILPF is engaged. Currently WILPF is actively working on the conflicts in the Middle East, Colombia, Sri Lanka, and DRC. If Sections want International WILPF to expand this list, then expertise, guidance and strategic advice is required;

Ferial, (Lebanon), Hanan (Palestine), Dulcy and Indra (Sri Lanka). Marie-Claire (Congo). and Adrianna (Columbia) have WILPF sisters been able to assist you in anyway in your own situations? Do you want to report on your own work and situation, and what more can be done to help? What other conflicts should be addressing and how can we be of use? What about the U.S. occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq?

6. Continue to monitor and advocate for disarmament through multilateral processes, including the nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty and the Conference on Disarmament

In what ways have Sections been able to engage in important workon nuclear weapons abolition?

What about WILPF work in Lebanon, Norway, Sweden, Britain and Geneva on the new Cluster Bombs treaty? Can we oooperate more widely in support of Prevention of An Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS) and preventing weapons in space? In the U.S. our Disarmament committee is increasingly concerned about the dangers of bioweapons research and threats to the Bioweapons Convention. Costa Rica is now on the Security Council and the Costa Rican WILPF Section is supporting their government's continuing efforts to achieve a treaty controlling the small arms trade. Can we work more together on these issues?

7.Continue to participate in the International week to protest militarization of space. (October 2008).

In 2007 WILPF Sections in Australia, Geneva WILPF, Germany, Norway the United Kingdom and the United States participated in Keep Space for Peace Week, October 4 to 13. Read the statement delivered by WILPF to UN delegations during that week.

This year all WILPF and Global Network reports were included in the United Nations World Space Week publication ( 5 megabytes -- not for older computers). It celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Sputnik launch, and the fortieth anniversary of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty meant to ensure the peaceful uses of space for the benefit of all humankind.Global Network and WILPF have found the annual UN World Space Week, which is organized by an NGO co-sponsored by aerospace corporations, devoted to arousing the enthusiasm of young people for space exploration. It avoids any mention of space militarization and problems which must be resolved if space is to remain a shared commons, and kept for peaceful uses. -- not destruction of the environment, earth's life forms and the human race. This year WILPF and Global Network reports dominate U.S., U.K. and Indian sections. Many reports were cut and few of our photos were used, but at least we begin to open dialogue on the issues.

  • Hunger strikes continue in protest of US plans for a "missile defence" system in Europe
    Learn more from the RCW E-News, 30 May and 13 June. Also take a moment to sign the online petition against the development of this system - help the campaigners reach 200,000 signatures by 10 July.

C. To Support Section’s Political lobbying, the Secretariat will:

(Has your Section been able to take advantage of any of the following services and resources from our international office?)

  1. Draft lobbying letters, talking points and background information to enable Sections to ask questions of their governments and parliaments about military spending, and the reporting of it to the UN Arms and Military Spending register.
  2. Draft lobbying letters, talking points and background information to enable Sections to pressure for the Security Council to implement Article 26 of the UN Charter
  3. Create backgrounders on i) military spending, compare military spending to gender equality spending, opportunity cost disarmament and development ii) the so-called “War on Terror” and iii) deterrence (“Security for Whom?”);
  4. Support increased Section linkage with International WILPF projects on disarmament (Reaching Critical Will) and 1325 (PeaceWomen), by providing copies of statements made by the governments directly to Sections, continue monitoring and reporting on activities of the NPT, CD and General Assembly, highlight actions taken by WILPF sections on disarmament and 1325 in the regular newsletters going to thousands of NGOs, government representatives and UN officials.
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That is a lot to think about!

And what about PRIORITIES between now and the next Congress? What issues will you concentrate on in your Section and what can we do and achieve together?

What resolutions re disarmament/demilitarization is your Section planning to propose to the International Board (meeting in Geneva this November). Do we want to propose any resolution(s) or statements from this working group?

PLEASE RESPOND

Next month we will look at human rights (including indigineous rights and racial justice) and global governance. 

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For WILPF news check Peace Women, Reaching Critical Will and the Disarmament, Human Rights, Racial Justice and UN (Global governance) WILPF Geneva website.

  • Please send your comments, reports and concerns on Peace and Security issues to Disarmament@wilpf.ch or reply directly to Carol Urner, Peace and Security co-convener. Co-convener for Disarmament and Decolonization issues is Edwina Hughes of Aotearoa/New Zealand.
  • To unsubscribe or add additional subscribers click here . If you do not want to receive this newsletter please find someone in your Section who is interested in Peace and Security Issues including Disarmament and Human Rights. Let's build this into a real working group.



WILPF Peace and Security

 

E-NEWS

 

I) Look below for our working agenda from now until the WILPF Board meeting in Geneva, November 19-25. Our tasks are assigned by International staff and the Executive Board. We are expected to meet by email, so let's get to work!

II) Scroll down for the Peace and Security concerns which most interest you for current action and reports from Sections on

  1. Human Rights
  2. Disarmament, demilitarization and decolonization
  3. Women and peace building
  4. Global governance
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I) Working Agenda:
This year the international working groups are asked to meet by email to acomplish the tasks below.
  1. prepare a report on priorities for action between November 2008 and the next WILPF COngress in 2010. This is due into the Geneva Secretariat by October 1. Priorities we set for ourselves at the Congress are here. The Executive Committee and staff also set priorities which you received earlier (I can't find them on the web site). They do not include all of our own priorities (including human rights issues) but set some different ones (like opposing NATO) so we should refer to these also. We can also lift up emerging new priorities not given in either of these prior lists.
  2. prepare our report and evaluation re P&S activities during the months between the Bolivia Congress and the International Board Meeting in Geneva November 19-25. Report/evaluation is due by October 1. Please send your own info to the WILPF Peace and Security listserve or to the co-conveners. If you are curious you can read our report in 2007 to the Bolivia Congress . The more input you give the better we can make our report/evaluation for the Board.
  3. prepare any resolutions from our Peace and Security Working Group, also to be submitted by October 1. Many of you will be involved in preparing resolutions from your Sections, but this is another opportunity to submit resolutions re our shared P&S concerns. Access all past WILPF Resolutions here.
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II. Current actions of Sections on Peace and Security Concerns
1. Human Rights
Unfortunately Human Rights did not make it into the official list of WILPF P&S priorities since the emphasis is on challenging militarism. But of course they remain a priority: no disarmament without human rights, and no human rights without disarmament. Do we want to lift these issues up?
Shadow Reporting: Currently the U.S. Section is involved in preparing, submitting and follow-up on a shadow report to the Commission on the Rights of the Child. The U.S. government and Somalia are still the only ones that have not ratified the CRC but the protocol on Child Soldiers ws ratified during the current Administration. On May 22 representatives must report to the CRC in Geneva on answers to questions raised by WILPF on behalf of themselves and 30 other U.S. NGOs. WILPF plans to have three representatives there to observe and speak with CRC staff and official U.S. representatives.
Are other Sections involved in shadow reporting? This is a powerful tool for helping to move governments into compliance with ratified treaties. Can we share information? Click here for WILPF web pages on the current comprehensive periodic human rights review, including when your country is scheduled for reporting and UN Guidelines for submitting shadow reports. Columbia and Israel are coming up for review in the thrid session of 2008. Canada and Germany in the first session of 2009. Shadow reporting, anyone?
Kirsty McKay is our new Human Rights intern in Geneva. Engage actively with her and check out the Human Rights section on the WILPF website.
2. Disarmament, Demilitarization and Decolonization
Actions on existing WILPF priorities
Keeping Space for Peace is already a WILPF priority. Six U.S. Section WILPF members and Regina Hagan from the German Section attended the international Global Network Conference Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space held in Omaha, Nebraska April 11-13, seat of Strat Com -- the most dangerous place on earth. The Global Network site is down, but here is info on Strat Com from another co-sponsor of the conference. Two WILPF members shared the annual award for their work on space demilitarization: Regina Hagan (Germany) and Carol Urner (U.S.). Best news for WILPF was the decision to make negotiation of treaties on Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space and banning weapons in space Global Network top priorities, bringing WILPF strong new allies in our own work in support of these potential treaties. WILPF sponsored the workshop on Space Law or War in Space. Brief reports on actions of WILPF Sections in Australia, Norway, Germany, the U.S. and the Geneva office in Switzerland now appear in the UN World Space Week publication. (Warning: only for a newer, fast computer. ) Read the Global Network report on Strategic Command and the conference. It is almost 9 megabytes.) Can more Sections participate in this effort, and the October 4 to 13 Keep Space for Peace Week? Can we tie the week into the no bases network and the rights of indigineous peoples. Many U.S. bases involved in the space militarization program are on expropriated indigineous lands.
No Bases Movement : Japan, German and U.S. WILPF Sections are already involved in the no bases network, which is another priority issue. Three WILPF members attended the organizing conference is Ecuador in 2007. Any reports to share from Kozue Akibayashi and her work on Okinawa, Irene Eckert in Germany or Mary Day Kent who concentrates on Columbia? Are Sections in Britain, Philippines, Italy, Norway or elsewhere involved in resisting foreign bases (nuclear, missile defense, spy sattelites or for whatever purpose)? Can we share experiences?
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and Abolition of Nuclear Weapons: Read the daily News in Review with NGO articles on daily progress of the 2008 NPT Prep Com, and rejoice that we have such an able editor and spokesperson in Ray Acheson of Reaching Critical Will. You can also track your own government's statementss and positions at the NPT, NGO statements and a great deal more. WILPF RCW gives us wonderful resources for moving our governments toward nuclear weapons abolition. Let us know how your Section is using these resources.
Disclose military spending and present alternatives: WILPF did a lot of that in March at the Commission on the Status of Women and in celebrations of International Womens' Day around the world. By now I trust you've already read the report on the wonderful International Women's Day seminar in Geneva, and downloaded (and used) the flier You get what You Pay For. It is a crime that the world's military budget is now enough to fund 600 years of full UN operations! What more can we do to shift the balance? Use the new WILPF MIlitary spending tool kit. U.S. Section has joined War Resisters League and others to help start up the new Bite the Bullet War Profiteers Education and Action Network to track, expose and transfrom or shut down corporations promoting and profiting from endless wars. All of us can use resources on Reaching Critical WIll Corporate Connections on multinational corporations promoting and profiting from nuclear weapons production and space militarization.
Should other disarmament issues also be priorities?
Small Arms: Can we actively join Costa Rica Section in working for a treaty on control of the small arms trade and for an end to the illegal trade in small arms? Their government, which supports both, is now on the UN Security Council. I forwarded earlier the Costa Rican Section document on the need for the treaty on trade in small arms, and yesterday sent out their call for WILPF participation in the Global Week of Action Against Gun Violence June 2 to 8. I think these issues are priorities with many sections. Do any other Sections have reports on current action against small arms violence? What about Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Albania? Should this be a priority for all of us? Can we actively join Costa Rica in support of the 2005 Firearms Protocol limiting illegal trade in small arms (many countries with WILPF Sections have not yet ratified) and support for a new treaty on the small arms trade?
Cluster Munitions: Katherine Harris continues to provide us with a wealth of information on progress on the proposed treaty banning cluster munitions even though she is no longer on the Geneva staff. Thank you Katherine, and thanks to Norway and WILPF Sections that are now working on this treaty and about to bring it to fruition. Are Sections in the United States and other Sections, where governments are now seeking to undermine the treaty, working to build support for it? Katherine and WILPF give us many tools to use.
Nuclear Free Zones: The Middle East Committee put a the proposed WMD Free Zone in their area at the top of the list of recommended priorities. Other Sections are in regions struggling to either develop or secure them. Are enough Sections involved (or potentially involved) to make this a priority issue?
Saving Article 9 in the Japanese Constitution: Article 9 has long been popular among many Japanese, but now those who profit frm war are seeking to remove it and develop Japan as a major military power. Ellen Woodsworht, President of the WILPF Canadian Section, Kozue Akibayashi of the Japan Section and Ellen Thomas of the U.S. Section attended the International Conference on Article 9 which WILPF endorsed. The aim is not only to save the Japanese Article 9, but to get its equivalent in every national constitution. (Shouldn't the UN Charter, ratified by all 193 members of the United Nations, serve that same purpose? Can we make it do so?)
3. Women and Peace Building
Peace and Security Working Group urged continued support of Peace Women in our recommendations at the Bolivia Congress. UNSCRes 1325 is a popular cause among WILPF Sections. Martha Jean Baker has agreed to be the contact point for Sections working on 1325. Read the editorials of Sam Cook and Felicity Hill in the April edition of Peace Women E-News.
Here is an exerpt from Felicity that I found motivating, but better to read it all:
I personally think we 1325 peace women should be SCREAMING about military spending reaching the level of $1 trillion 200 billion. This is the equivalent to 600 years of the UN’s regular budget!! Money is being spent on one littoral combat ship that could send 6.8 million children to school in Afghanistan for 9 years. The money used to occupy Iraq for TWO WEEKS is the equivalent of what the OECD countries allocated to gender empowerment projects for the last 5 years based on 1996 figures. How can we be satisfied with the tiny budgets and projects and inroads we are making when this structural and institutionalised organised crime and corporate welfare continues?

I think we could use 1325 more as a tool to critique the organization of security itself, the culture of security, the budgets and human resources that are wasted on military security on weapons to kill and mutilate. I don’t think 1325 has been used enough in this way YET. I think we can use 1325 as a key, as a mirror and as a set of lenses on each of our campaigns against weapons, on each of our campaigns against wars. I think it is time for us to dare to be more political, to dare to enter in numbers, as women, to what is called the “hard security issues” with more confidence and determination. For me this is what 1325 was about, this was what I hoped for, and this is still what I think we must use it for.

4. Global Governance
Nothiing is said about this in current WILPF Priorities, although Edith Ballantyne has alsways kept us aware of the need for UN reforms and turned our attention to it leading up to the 2005 World Summit on UN Reform. Carole Shaw expresses interest in pursuing this at present. Please contact her if you want to join her. This is traditionally an area of key concern to WILPF.
What other priorities do we propose? What other P&S actions are concerns of our Secdtions. None of us can do everything. Surely everyone can report something.
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For further news check Peace Women, Reaching Critical Will and the Disarmament, Human Rights, Racial Justice and UN (Global governance) WILPF Geneva website.

  • Please send your comments, reports and concerns on Peace and Security issues to Disarmament@wilpf.ch or reply directly to Carol Urner, Peace and Security co-convener. Co-convener for Disarmament and Decolonization issues is Edwina Hughes of Aotearoa/New Zealand.
  • To unsubscribe or add additional subscribers click here . If you do not want to receive this newsletter please find someone in your Section who is interested in Peace and Security Issues including Disarmament and Human Rights. Let's build this into a real working group.