Assistant Coordinator – IPB – International Peace Bureau

Germany Fourth Largest Exporter of War Weapons – with Fatal Consequences!

Action Aufschrei Demands a Turn Towards a Culture of Peace

The alliance Aktion Aufschrei – Stoppt den Waffenhandel! (Outcry – Stop the Arms Trade!) strongly criticizes the trend in the global arms trade, as presented in the latest figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). It was to be feared that Germany would move up to fourth place with a global share of 5.7%, ahead of China, behind the USA, France and Russia. Germany has been among the top group of global exporters for years. The trend is sharply rising, as German arms deliveries increased by a dramatic 15 percent in the period from 2021 to 2025 (compared to 2016 to 2020).

The SIPRI figures show at an alarming rate the speed at which arms races are accelerating worldwide, but they inadequately address the resulting problems. Because German weapons and armaments are not simply sold; they are also used in conflicts around the world.

Open Letter to Governments of West Asia

[ARABIC BELOW]

To the governments of West Asia;

We, the undersigned members of global civil society, are deeply alarmed by the war on Iran and the escalating violence threatening to engulf West Asia in a wider, devastating war.

GDAMS 2026 Appeal · A Call to Action Against Global Militarization

The global security landscape has deteriorated massively in recent years: the number of wars and violent armed conflicts active today is the highest since the end of World War II, erupting across the world and drawing in an unprecedented number of states and actors. From Gaza and the West Bank, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, to Ukraine, Venezuela, Iran, and beyond, levels of violence, civilian suffering, and violations of international law have reached heinous heights, including the commission of genocide.

Macron’s “Advanced Deterrence”: A Dangerous Shift in French Nuclear Policy

By: Alain Rouy, IPB Vice President and Le Mouvement de la Paix President

French | English

On March 2, 2026, at L’Ile Longue nuclear military base in Brittany, Emmanuel Macron gave an extremely bellicose, dangerous, and irresponsible speech on French nuclear weapons.

Macron developed a new concept, that of “advanced deterrence”, which consists of positioning French strategic air forces in other European countries and allowing those countries to participate in nuclear exercises “in full transparency with the United States of America and in close coordination with the United Kingdom,” and in close cooperation with Germany.

Statement by the World Peace Foundation RDCONGO Africa: In response to the attacks against Iran and the military escalation in the Middle East

In response to the attacks against Iran and the military escalation in the Middle East

The World Peace Foundation DRCongo Africa expresses its deep concern and solidarity with the International Peace Bureau (IPB) in condemning the attacks carried out by the United States and Israel against Iran. These military actions constitute a serious violation of international law and threaten the stability not only of the Middle East but also of the entire global community.

For a New Foundation of International Institutions

The United States’ withdrawal from UNESCO,combined with the drastic reduction of its financial aid to UN agencies promoting the achievement of the SDGs(Sustainable Development Goals), was already undermining the objective of “human security” theorized by the UNDP in 1994 and progressively highlighted by various UN agencies, as acknowledged for example by Bertrand Badie in his book”L’Art de la Paix”(“The Art of Peace”-2024).

We are now witnessing a new assault on the United Nations(UN) with the establishment by the President of the United States of a “Peace Council”,with prerogatives that would extend beyond the question of Gaza.

Working Paper “On the Problem of Military GHG Emissions Assessment”

Published By: The Centre d’Estudis per la Pau J.M. Delàs (Centre of Studies for Peace J.M. Delàs)

The climate emergency represents one of the most serious problems currently facing humankind. It is widely known that anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs) – those released by human activities – continue to be drivers of climate change. Both armed forces and the military industry emit GHGs. Signatories to the Paris Agreement are required to report their emissions; however, reporting the activity of their armed forces remains voluntary, and many choose not to do so. Combined with the vague and fragmented information the military industry tends to provide, this makes it difficult to obtain a clear and reliable picture of the GHG emissions for which the military sector is actually responsible. This being the case, numerous researchers have attempted to evaluate these emissions using a range of methodologies and primary sources.

The Hour is Getting Late: Report from the United States

Joseph Gerson, IPB Co-President
Speech delivered online at the Bikini Day Commemoration – Annual Gensuikyo Conference
Shizuoka, Japan | February 27, 2026

Battered by U.S. and Russian aggressions, the survival of the U.N., its charter, and international law are in jeopardy. Expiration of New START, inadequate though it was, eliminated the last remaining U.S.-Russian arms control agreement. China is annually adding about one hundred thermonuclear weapons to its arsenal, leaving us hostages to three nuclear scorpions in a bottle. Within the last year India, Pakistan, and Israel – all nuclear powers – have gone to war. Europeans are negotiating a second nuclear umbrella. North Korea continues its nuclear and missile deployments. And from South Korea to Poland, including Japan, there are pressures to join the club of nuclear terrorists.

Reflecting on NPT Preparatory Committee 2024

IPB attended the first week of this year’s NPT Preparatory Committee in Geneva. From July 22nd to the 26th, the International Peace Bureau hosted two side events, and further participated in two thought-provoking roundtable discussions created by our partners.

Our first event, occurring on Monday, was oriented on the vitality of Nuclear Weapon Free Zones (NWFZs). Our speakers covered a variety of pressing issues, from the legal loopholes existing in many NFWZ treaties to how civil society organizations could collaborate to remedy them. The panel featured Reiner Braun, former Executive Director of IPB; Alain Ponce Blancas, Research and Communication Officer of Agency Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL); Enobot Agboraw, Executive Secretary of African Commission on Nuclear Energy (AFCONE); Enkhsaikhan Jargalsaikhan, Chairman of Blue Banner and Board Member of IPB, and Leonardo Bandarra from the Middle East Treaty Organization (METO). At the end of their remarks, a Q&A session ensued, capping off what was a strong start to the week.

Our second event took place the day after in collaboration with METO, and was centered on the prospect of denuclearization in the most volatile region in the world: the Middle East. Just like our event prior, our panel featured a stacked roster of experts, including, Sharon Dolev, Founder and Executive Director of METO and Council Member of IPB; Tariq Rauf, Former Head of Verification & Security Policy, Alt Head of NPT Delegation; Emad Kiyaei, Director of METO; Emily Molinari, IPB Deputy Executive Director; and Sean Conner, Executive Director of IPB Executive Director. The experts touched on key elements that will be integral for securing a future peace in the Middle East, such as the fulfillment of the Arab Peace Initiative and the necessity of a multilateral disarmament across the land. Perhaps most importantly, the hour-long discussion ended on an optimistic note, with the general consensus being that hope is required, even during the bleakest moments, in order to truthfully vie for peace.

The rest of the week presented several duly appreciated opportunities for IPB to learn about other organizations’ goals through their own events. On Wednesday, for instance, the team had the pleasure to partake in an open discussion led by SCRAP Weapons and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) on how civil society organizations can effectively advocate for a Fourth Special Session on Disarmament. Conversations on disarmament and security continued as METO invited guests to their own roundtable, which was a relevant extension of our joint side event on Tuesday. The room was filled with brilliant discourse on the vitality of increasing communication within civil society and the potential of a renewed Arab Peace Initiative. And then on Friday, members of IPB’s staff finished off our participation in the NPT PrepCom after attending side events held by the delegations of the Philippines, Finland, and Germany.

Overall, the continuation of activism and diplomacy through the annual PrepCom serves as a critical foundation upon which real progress can be built from. IPB remains hopeful about the future, and looks forward to the day when nuclear weapons become relics of the past, as they should be.

A Nuanced Look into Geopolitics in “Global NATO: Implications & Resistance”

On July 17th, IPB was proud to host a roundtable discussion that focused on challenging NATO’s hegemonic world order. The panel featured prominent peace activists Joseph Gerson, Reiner Braun, Anu Chenoy, and Walden Bello — all of whom took a deep dive into today’s geopolitics and explained in detail NATO’s culpability in rising escalations.

The four speakers each delivered their introductory remarks. Their speeches touched base on several pressing topics, from NATO’s increased presence in the Asia Pacific region to the fate of the military alliance under a potential Trump presidency. Each expert presented their own nuanced views of these situations and many more, all the while emphasizing the general discussion’s theme of NATO’s rapid expansionism and its inevitable consequences in the process.

The roundtable ended with a Q&A session and key takeaways delivered by each panelist. A consensus surrounded the indispensability of youth participation in peace advocacy work. Without young activists willing to carry on the torch, it was agreed that much of the world would have their crises unresolved. The recorded panel can be seen here:

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