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A Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone in the Middle East: Toward Regional Cooperation and Peace

A Night of Insightful Discussions at IPB HQ, Berlin

On Friday, June 7, from 6 to 8 pm CEST, the International Peace Bureau (IPB) headquarters in Berlin buzzed excitedly as it hosted a pivotal event in collaboration with the Middle East Treaty Organization (METO) and the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. Attendees, both in-person at Marienstr. 19-20 and virtually via Zoom, gathered for a stimulating evening centered on METO’s work and their visionary future plans.

METO’s Vision for a Peaceful Middle East

METO, a coalition of civil society activists and practitioners, is dedicated to creating a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction. Their overarching goal is to foster a region characterized by peace, integration, and prosperity, grounded in human and environmental security. The organization advances its mission through a combination of policy advocacy and educational programs aimed at promoting regional security and peace.

Distinguished Speakers and Engaging Discussions

The event featured prominent speakers who shed light on METO’s impactful initiatives:

Sharon Dolev, Founder and Executive Director of METO and Council Member of IPB, shared insights into the organization’s foundational work and strategic direction.
Emad Kiyaei, Director of METO, discussed the critical role of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in METO’s efforts and the broader vision for regional stability.
Asmaa Guedira, from Women’s Environment Leadership, emphasized the importance of integrating gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and the empowerment of women during times of conflict. She highlighted the need for raising awareness and fostering a climate of unity and equality in the Middle East.

The event was moderated by Sean Conner, IPB Executive Director, who guided the discussion and facilitated a Q&A session, allowing attendees to engage directly with the speakers.

Reflections on Past Efforts and Future Aspirations

Speakers reflected on previous peace efforts in the region, such as the significant meetings and decisions made by the Arab League. They reiterated their unwavering commitment to promoting global peace, with a special focus on the Middle East. Asmaa Guedira’s presentation underscored the vital role of gender diversity and the protection of women in conflict zones, urging for a more inclusive approach to peacebuilding.

During the event, speakers presented and discussed their work to promote and build off of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which is a historic document that offered a formula for ending not only the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but also the wider, lingering Arab–Israeli conflict, and to achieve a collective peace and security.

The event concluded with a small reception, providing an opportunity for attendees to network and discuss the topics further. The blend of in-person and virtual attendance ensured that the message reached a broad and diverse audience, all united by a shared goal of a peaceful and secure Middle East.

Looking Forward

As the evening drew to a close, the sense of optimism and determination was palpable. The participants left with a deeper understanding of METO’s mission and the collective efforts required to achieve lasting peace in the Middle East. The event served as a testament to the power of collaboration and the relentless pursuit of a world free from the threat of weapons of mass destruction.

You may find the full event video below:

Court rejects Kagarlitsky’s appeal: Campaign pledges to redouble efforts for his freedom

Update Boris Kagarlitsky International Solidarity Campaign

June 6, 2024

“Unjust but not unexpected”: this is how Suzi Weissman, spokesperson for the Boris Kagarlitsky International Solidarity Campaign, described the June 5 decision of a Russian court to reject Boris Kagarlitsky’s appeal against a five-year jail term for “justifying terrorism”.

The court also maintained the ban preventing the well-known Marxist sociologist and anti-war activist from managing internet sites and telecommunications channels for two years from the end of his prison sentence.

Weissman said: “The judges’ draconian decision was no great surprise since all recent appeals against sentences brought down under Russia’s catch-all anti-terrorism legislation have been rejected.”

The charge of “justifying terrorism”, which has been widely used against anti-war activists in the Russian Federation, was brought against Kagarlitsky on July 25 last year after he made some ironical remarks on the occasion of the Ukrainian Navy’s July 17 attack on the bridge connecting Crimea to Russia.

The refusal of the body hearing Kagarlitsky’s appeal (the Judicial Collegium for Military Personnel of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation) means that he will now remain confined in a penal settlement in Torzhok (Tver region).

Kagarlitsky’s lawyer, Sergey Erokhov, has already stated on his Telegram channel (June 5) that he will continue with the appeal process, taking the case to higher instances of the Russian legal system, starting with the Praesidium of the Supreme Court and going as far as the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation.

International appeal ignored

The appeals court judges refused to budge on Kagarlitsky’s sentence despite a special appeal from 37 internationally prominent progressive political figures and intellectuals, including Yanis Varoufakis, Jeremy Corbyn and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, as well as ministers in the Spanish government and MPs from France, Portugal, Ireland, Belgium and Brazil.

The signatories emphasised that Kagarlitsky had never advocated terrorist methods to reach political objectives and that keeping him in jail would tarnish Russia’s international reputation.

Since his jailing Kagarlitsky has also received offers of university postings in Brazil and South Africa, while the ongoing petition demanding his release has attracted more than 18,000 signatures to date.

Increasing repression

The court rejected the two main arguments of Kagarlitsky’s defence formulated by lawyer Erekhov, namely: “(1) it is impossible to judge a social scientist … for his professional activities and (2) punishment must be fair, i.e. it must correspond to the nature of a crime, the degree of danger it entails for the public and the circumstances in which it is committed.”

For Suzi Weissman, the judges’ “barbarous” decision to ignore such basic legal criteria reflects the determination of the Putin regime to crush domestic opposition to its war on Ukraine.

“In this context the basic democratic and legal rights of anti-war activists like Boris Kagarlitsky and thousands of others count for very little.

“Upholding Boris’s appeal would have set a very bad precedent for the Kremlin: if his argument had been accepted, why not that of everyone else condemned for ‘justifying terrorism’?”

Weissman concluded that Boris Kagarlitsky has become a “courageous champion of peace and symbol of the struggle for the right to freedom of expression, who has been the victim of a gross but entirely deliberate miscarriage of justice”.

The Boris Kagarlitsky International Solidarity Campaign will now redouble its efforts for his release. Details of a new round of initiatives will be announced soon.

Contact details:

United States: Suzi Weissman +1 818 521 2860
Canada: Andrea Levy +1 514 433 7890 Quebec: André Frappier 1 514 476 7306
United Kingdom: Alex Callinicos +44 (0)7703 358 909
South Africa: Patrick Bond +27 834 251 401
Europe: Alexei Sakhnin +33 758 988 815 Adam Novak +421 904232 129
Dick Nichols +34 683 171 461
Australia: Fred Fuentes +61 412 556 527

Peace and Human Rights Movements around the World since the end of the Cold War

AN ARCHIVE

compiled by the International Peace Bureau, Geneva

Approx 400 box-files.

Physical documents and an online catalog will be available soon – for students, researchers, activists, and others, at:

JB Priestley Library – Special Collections

University of Bradford BD7 1DP

https://www.bradford.ac.uk/library/special-collections/our-collections/collections/peace

Further information, incl. 12pp illustrated article, available on request from: colinarcher@phonecoop.coop

1^st June 2024

A Chat With Annette: Threats to regional peace in the Asia-Pacific region and the work of the Independent and Peaceful Australia Network

Watch our live chat replay with Independent and Peaceful Australia Network Executive Director Annette! She analyzes and opens the conversation on the threats to regional peace in the Asia-Pacific region and shares the important work of IPAN.

Watch now:

The World’s Tectonic Geopolitical Changes and their Implications

On May 22, 2024, the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament & Common Security hosted an exceptional webinar panel on the Tectonic Geopolitical changes that are transforming the international landscape, their implications, and common security policies. Understanding the forces at play is essential to ending and preventing wars, reversing the climate emergency, and bringing greater security and justice to all.

The role of peace education in building a peaceful Haitian society

The conference delivered by Roland Joseph at the Université Publique du Sud-Est in Jacmel (UPSEJ), Haiti, on the theme “Le rôle de l’éducation à la paix dans la construction d’une société haïtienne pacifique” (The role of peace education in the construction of a peaceful Haitian society) on Saturday, May 18, 2024, sponsored by the International Peace Bureau (IPB).

C7 Policy Recommendations: Peace, Common Security and Nuclear Disarmament

By: International Peace Bureau and Italian Network for Peace and Disarmament

CONTEXT: CHALLENGES TO ADDRESS

On May 19, 2023, following G7 leaders’ Hiroshima Vision on Nuclear Disarmament proclaimed a “commitment to achieving a world without nuclear weapons with undiminished security for all.” As anxieties over global crises continue to grow, the pursuit of undiminished common or collective security has never been so necessary.

IPB Speech at Civil 7 on Fostering Peacebuilding

15 May 2024 | Rome, Italy | Executive Director Sean Conner

“We are now at an inflection point. The post-cold war period is over. A transition is under way to a new global order. While its contours remain to be defined, leaders around the world have referred to multipolarity as one of its defining traits. In this moment of transition, power dynamics have become increasingly fragmented as new poles of influence emerge, new economic blocs form and axes of contestation are redefined. There is greater competition among major powers and a loss of trust between the global North and South. A number of States increasingly seek to enhance their strategic independence, while trying to manoeuvre across existing dividing lines.”

– Antonio Guterres in the New Agenda for Peace

After the second war in particular, there was a change in understanding that issues of peace and security around the world are inextricably linked – that threats in any part of the world can have global repercussions. In the post-cold war era of globalization, aided by new technologies, integrated global markets, and ease of travel and communication, this has become increasingly true.

Ukraine-Russia: Negotiate Now!

Embargo: 22 May 2024, 00:00 am

The extension of wars creates an unprecedented danger for the state of the world. Assuring peace and finding ways to solve armed conflicts is a fundamental duty of governments. Europe has a particular responsibility to start searching for ways to end the war that is taking place within its region – the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Annual Report Conscientious Objection to Military Service in Europe 2023/24

For the second year, this report is necessarily dominated by the war in Ukraine, with a large part of the space being taken up with reports of developments in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus and the situation of refugees from these countries. EBCO continues working on the ObjectWarCampaign, which was jointly launched by Connection e.V., War Resisters’International (WRI), International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR), and European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO).

This Annual Report covers developments from 2023 up to the start of April 2024.