Author: Assistant Coordinator

In Memoriam: John Hume

Written by Colin Archer, former IPB Secretary-General

A great loss of a great man: IPB echoes the many tributes flowing in from around the world, and from within his own city of Belfast, following the death on Aug. 3 of John Hume, the co-founder and leader of the Social Democratic and Labour party (SDLP) of Northern Ireland. See Guardian obituary and comments from his biographer.

IPB awarded John the Sean MacBride Peace Award, shortly before the announcement of his receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. In his MacBride acceptance speech, held in Brussels in October 1998, he lavished praise on the European Union as a great peace-making institution. Indeed, as a Member of the European Parliament he had been able to harness its influence and prestige in support of the Irish peace process. Just four years earlier, in Sept. 1994, IPB’s Cora Weiss had organised an Irish Peace Process Tour to encourage all the parties to take advantage of the IRA Ceasefire and move more swiftly to an inclusive peace agreement.

Many more links about John Hume’s work are available at: https://www.betterworld.info/peace/peace-prizes/sean-macbride-peace-prize/1998-john-hume-northern-ireland

IPB/IPPNW Statement on the 75th Anniversary of the Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Statement on the 75th Anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Invitation to August 9 special worldwide screening of “The Vow From Hiroshima”

*Updated on 16 July 2020 to reflect Botswana’s TPNW ratification

As we recall the unprecedented horrors that the citizens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki experienced on August 6 and 9, 1945, we reaffirm the determination of our organizations to ensure that nuclear weapons are never used again. Continue reading “IPB/IPPNW Statement on the 75th Anniversary of the Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki”

Workers’ Rights and Militarization: Arguments for Rethinking Security

In June 2020, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) released the Global Rights Index 2020, a report on workers’ rights in 139 countries. The report painted a bleak picture for working people across the globe, most of all in the ten worst countries for working people. That list includes Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, The Philippines, Turkey, and Zimbabwe. Continue reading “Workers’ Rights and Militarization: Arguments for Rethinking Security”

Never Forget: 25 Years After the Srebrenica Genocide

Berlin, 11.07.2020

The Srebrenica genocide is the worst atrocity on European soil since World War II.

Twenty-five years ago, more than 8,000 men and boys were separated from their families and brutally executed. Many more tried to flee through the woods, but were eventually captured and murdered by the Bosnian Serb forces. In an effort to conceal the crimes that they committed, following the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, they relocated the bodies from the sites of mass execution and buried them in a series of mass graves. Continue reading “Never Forget: 25 Years After the Srebrenica Genocide”

IPB Partner, USCM, Calls for Human-Centered Security in Times of Global Pandemic

US Conference of Mayors Calls for Human-Centered Security in a Time of Global Pandemic

At the close of its 88th Annual Meeting, held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on June 30, 2020, the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) Executive Committee unanimously adopted a sweeping resolution Calling for Human-Centered Security in a Time of Global Pandemic. The new resolution calls on the President and Congress: to support United Nations Secretary-General Guterres’ call for an immediate global ceasefire and international cooperation to address the COVID-19 pandemic; to reconceptualize security in human-centered terms, and to redirect funds currently allocated to nuclear weapons and unwarranted military spending to support safe and resilient cities and meet human needs; and to lead a global effort to prevent nuclear war and actively pursue a verifiable agreement among nuclear armed states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals. Continue reading “IPB Partner, USCM, Calls for Human-Centered Security in Times of Global Pandemic”

Webinar: The Colombian Peace Agreement: Where Are We Today?

On the 2nd of July the IPB held a webinar on the Colombian Peace Agreement, and where we are today. Many have questioned the peace deal’s survival since President Iván Duque Márquez’s ascension to power in 2018. Further attention will be given to the recent deployment of US troops to Colombia and its effect on relations with Venezuela. Continue reading “Webinar: The Colombian Peace Agreement: Where Are We Today?”

Open Letter on COVID-19 and Humanitarian Disarmament

The IPB and GCOMS have signed the following open letter created by ‘Humanitarian Disarmament.’ The letter argues that humanitarian disarmament can lead the way to an improved post-pandemic world and calls on states, international organizations, and civil society to follow its lead to create a “new normal.” It is open for signature by civil society organizations through the form here. Continue reading “Open Letter on COVID-19 and Humanitarian Disarmament”

IPB Mourns the Death of Lina Ben Mhenni

The world lost a strong and courageous fighter for peace – Lina Ben Mhenni died on the 27th of January 2020. She passed after complications related to a stroke at the young age of 36. IPB is deeply saddened by this loss.

Lina Ben Mhenni was internationally recognised for her work during the 2011 Tunisian revolution, and was awarded the Seán MacBride Peace Prize in 2012. Continue reading “IPB Mourns the Death of Lina Ben Mhenni”

The IPB supports the Peace Wave, August 6-9, 2020

The Organizing Committee of the World Conference against A and H Bombs met on May 8 in full session and proposed that on August 6 through 9 of this 75th year of the A-bomb tragedies it launches an international joint grassroots action “Peace Wave” with the common aim of the elimination of nuclear weapons and with the signature campaign for the “Appeal of the Hibakusha for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons” (petition enclosed) as our common action. Continue reading “The IPB supports the Peace Wave, August 6-9, 2020”