The war started by Turkey is an aggression against the Kurdish people and an attack against the Syrian territorial sovereignty. Tenth of civilians have already been killed by the Turkish bombing and many of them are escaping from the region.

This cannot be and is not the solution of the regional problems. It only brings civilian suffering.

IPB strongly condemns Turkey’s invasion with the green light of the US and the attack against the Kurdish people that have bravely fought against ISIS and protected civilians in the region. 

IPB calls for an immediate ceasefire and the governments of the EU to firmly condemn this aggression and to stop any kind of arms trade with Turkey.

Also, IPB stresses the UN to take its responsibilities vis-à-vis the rights of the Kurdish people. Negotiations must start with all stakeholders in order to guarantee the rights of the Kurdish people.

IPB supports all protest actions in front of Turkish embassies all over the world. The peace movement must help to stop this war!

The International Peace Bureau´s Triennial Meeting is scheduled for Saturday the 19th of October 2019 in London.

We kindly invite you to our Seán MacBride Peace Prize Ceremony for Bruce Kent, which will be held on the same day.

Do not miss the chance to join our CND - IPB Confernce "21st Century Security: Challenges and Solutions".

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Tensions are growing among states possessing nuclear weapons and the collapse of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty brings Europe closer to the brink of another dangerous Cold War. Meanwhile, the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) gains traction and opens new avenues for urgently needed common campaigns and actions.

Final appeal created and supported by the participating organisation:

European call for nuclear disarmament, free Europe and the world free from nuclear weapons!

Remember your Humanity and forget the rest

The international peace movement for future met on the weekend of the global actions of Fridays for Future and the UN’s international day of peace to debate the transformation of our society towards peace, sustainability and justice.

More than 100 participants from 28 countries – mainly university students – joined the conference “Transform! #ChangeTheRules – Just transitions towards peace, social justice and environmental sustainability” of IPB, the IPB Youth Network and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) with support of ILO ACTRAV, DFG-VK, Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung to exchange experience, knowledge and perspectives on paths towards a better future. The program included speakers from a diverse set of backgrounds – young and old, Global North and Global South, academics and practitioners, and men and women – and gave extensive room to non-formal education and building connections.

The "Peace and Security" Circle of the Asia- Europe People Forum (AEPF) is a critical part of the Forum that collectively understands, analyses, interprets and formulates alternative responses and actions on issues of peace, security, conflicts, threats and opportunities in Asia and Europe as envisioned by the people's movements of this region.

New alternatives for a common security policy and –architecture in Europe and Asia are urgently needed. Those alternatives should take into account the positive experiences of the policy of détente from the 1970s and 80s. A Common Security Policy (also known as Collective Security Policy) should serve as the basis of this new security architecture. 

The participants of the workshop, coming from Asia, Europe and the US worked on several objectives during the two days in Berlin:

·         To analyze the current situation in the two continents and its impact on peace and security, as well as people’s lives.

·         To analyze the current security situation in Asia and Europe and draw conclusions for a new security architecture.

·         To develop items of a security architecture based upon the concept of a Common Security Policy.

·         To address inhibiting as well as stimulating factors of the concept.

To name actors and implementation strategies for a Eurasian Common Security concept.

This report presents a summary of 2019 Global Days of Action on Military Spending, including an overview, highlights, materials and a compilation of all actions carried out, accompanied by a selection of pictures. During 26 days, from April 13 to May 9, over 110 GDAMS events took place in 27 countries.

As in previous years, these events varied in shape and size depending on countries and partners, generating a whole range of actions that included street protests/demonstrations, seminars, press conferences, joint statements, interviews, workshops, stalls, leafleting, petitions, letters, peace vigils, penny polls, school rallies, videos and photos.

These diverse actions highlighted the unacceptable global military expenditure of $1.82 trillion in 2018 while linking it to different national and local realities.

For many it was the threat of a war with Iran and the stationing of new nuclear weapons that led thousands of people to the streets to protest against the US Air Base in Ramstein on June 29th2019.

The more than 5,000 participants that took part in the demonstration were particularly protesting against the Air Base’s role in drone warfare and a possible future drone war. “No armament with us” was the demand that unified the peace activists during the colourful and diverse demonstration from Ramstein-Miesenbach city center to the US Air Base Ramstein. The mood was optimistic.

The opening and closing rallies included thought-provoking speeches that presented diverse arguments against war, whilst also highlighting the importance of the peace movement and particularly the protest actions in Ramstein. The lively cultural program that followed was stirring and motivating. It was this powerful and united stand against war that shaped the protest actions during the week-long peace camp in Ramstein. Read the whole report here and the Declaration of the 3rd International Conference "No to Military Bases and War"

With great sadness that we should mention that Cynthia Cockburn, an outstanding scholar of peace and conflict studies, has passed away last week.

Cynthia Cockburn was a British academic, feminist, and peace activist. She was a researcher, writer and photographer who has contributed to the study of masculinity, labour processes and trade unionism, and more recently of gender, war and peace-making. She was an active antimilitarist and has long been involved in a number of peace and anti-war organisations. Cynthia was involved in the European Forum of Socialist Feminists and Women Against Fundamentalism, and has long been active in the international network and London local group of Women in Black against War.