Author: Assistant Coordinator

Health Care Instead of Military Exercises

With the recent WHO declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic, concerns are higher than ever about the rapid global spread of the disease with precautions being taken to limit travel, large gatherings, and panic. Nonetheless, one of the largest military drills in Europe since the Cold War is still set to unfold in the coming months, Defender 2020 Europe. The exercises planned to bring together 37,000 soldiers and 7,000 national guardsmen from NATO countries for exercises across Europe to simulate a wartime scenario.

Criticism of the drills are plentiful: putting a stress on European transportation systems, which will prioritize military relocation over civilians and risks damaging roads and the surrounding environment, as well as contributing to climate change; raising the alarm and directing threats toward Russia in the East, including drills near their border in the Baltic countries; and the further militarization of Europe, which takes resources away from social programs to fund forces that make the continent more dangerous, rather than safer.

Recently, however, one concern has risen above the rest: the spread of Covid-19. Similar military exercises have already been cancelled: the remainder of the “Exercise Cold Response 20” in the Arctic Circle was cancelled this week by the Norwegian Joint Headquarters, as has the remainder of the “Exercise Juniper Cobra 20” between the US and Israel (the second such exercises between the two states to be cancelled).

As of March 12, the US has decided to “reduce” its participation in Defender 2020 due to COVID-19, admitting that the virus has already forced the Army Europe commander, Lt. Gen. Christopher Cavoli to self-quarantine after possibly being infected. Nonetheless, the scale of this reduction remains unknown and the primary focus remains on their “highest priority training objectives.” Meanwhile, Poland’s Chief of General Staff has tested positive for COVID-19 following his return from an army gathering in Germany.

It is clear that these military exercises go against the advice of national and international health institutions as well as governments themselves. The large gatherings of military forces not only risks spreading the disease between soldiers, but also the larger population of Europe, given that the soldiers will not be completely isolated from the rest of the population. There is nothing about Defender 2020 that distinguishes it from similar military drills that have already been cancelled – in fact, the larger scale of the drills and involvement of a greater number of countries only risks increased exposure and cases of transmission across Europe.

Similarly, the resources committed to the Defender 2020 drills could be much more effectively used to combat the actual threat to Europe – the spread of the pandemic. Imagine if governments could commit the money they would have spent to run ineffective drills to strengthening their health systems, providing testing equipment, investing in research to fight the virus, and ensure health institutions have the necessary equipment to treat those already infected.

If the case against Defender 2020 wasn’t already strong enough, the COVID-19 virus should be the final nail in the coffin. It is time to cancel the exercises and look for alternative, more effective strategies to maintain peace in Europe.

Denuclearizing of the Korean Peninsula

Denuclearizing of the Korean Peninsula and Establishing a Northeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone

(Presentation of Dr. J. Enkhsaikhan, Chairman of Blue Banner NGO at the 6th Forum of Northeast Asian Peace and Development, held on 24 November 2019 in Shanghai)

Continue reading “Denuclearizing of the Korean Peninsula”

MacBride Award 2019 for Elayne Whyte Gómez

Elayne Whyte Gómez

“We wanted to change the world,” Ambassador Elayne Whyte Goméz said of herself and her classmates 24 years ago to an audience of students, staff and community members in a University. That aspiration continues to fuel her work. Ambassador Whyte is a career diplomat who is proudly serving as a Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations Office in Geneva. “Costa Rica which is a country that decided 70 years ago to have a different approach to peace and security by abolishing its armed forces. So that means for a country like us, that we have put all our trust in an international system, that through rules and institutions we can resolve the conflicts and problems of humanity” she explains.

This dedication to improving international law inspired this young diplomat to lead successfully the negotiations of the landmark Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in 2017, as an ultimate step of successful disarmament treaty negotiations.

Between 2014 and 2015, she was co-Chair of the 5th Meeting of the States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM). She is currently a member of the Committee on the Implementation of Article 5 of the Conference of the States parties to the Anti-Personnel Landmine Convention (APLC) and a Vice-president of the Conference of the States parties of the APLC. She was Vice-president of the Second Conference of the States Parties of Arms Trade Treaty.

Her leadership at the UN conferences negotiating the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons from March to July 2017 was a background of the success of the Treaty. The negotiations were brought to a successful conclusion in July 2017 and are ratified up to now by 26 countries and signed by 70. She developed during the conference a new style of work allowing the contribution of civil society and experts, together with diplomats. She is deeply connected to nuclear disarmament and a world free of nuclear weapons.

IPB is proud to award Mrs Gomez the Sean Mc Bride Prize, for her invaluable contribution to the completion of the historic Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and salute the work and dedication of this young woman in a key disarmament process where too fewer women have the opportunity to lead.

MacBride Award 2019 for Bruce Kent

Bruce Kent

Bruce Kent is an internationally known peace activist and a “real peace hero” who, even in his 90th year, remains an active campaigner and organizer for peace and human rights. He was one of the main speakers at the big march and demonstration against nuclear weapons in London in 2016.

Bruce was ordained as a Catholic Priest in the Diocese of Westminster in London in 1958 and became a Chaplain to Pax Christi in from 1974-1977. He joined the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) in 1960 and was elected chair from 1977-1979, becoming the General Secretary in 1979 for 6 years. He was elected CND Chair again from 1987-1990. He was also Chair of War on Want from 1974-1976 and was the British co-ordinator for the Hague Appeal for Peace in 1999. He is now a Vice-President of CND, Pax Christi and Movement for the Abolition of War (which he co-founded in 2001).

He was also one of the founders and main organizers of the European Nuclear Disarmament Campaign in the 1980s. He was also, in 1988, one of the main organizers of a 1000-mile peace walk from Warsaw to NATO HQ in Brussels to call for a united peaceful nuclear-free Europe.

Bruce was also IPB President from 1985 till 1992 and he has been an inspiration to so many people of all ages in the UK and elsewhere.

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On Saturday 19th of October 2019, Bruce Kent received the Seán MacBride Peace Prize Medal in London. Here you can see some photos from the ceremony and get an impression!

Sports as a peace building tool

Sports as a peace building tool

The lasting spirit of Pyeong Chang Olympic games.

On Friday 8 November 2019 at the United Nations in Geneva, the City of Pyeong Chang that hosted the winter Olympic games in 2018 and the Pyeong Chang 2018 Legacy Foundation organized a Seminar on Peace and Sports where IPB consultant Arielle Denis was asked to contribute.

IPB has been a strong supporter of the Pyeong Chang spirit since the start and IPB co-President Lisa Clark participated in the 1st Pyeong Chang Peace Forum in 2019. Indeed, the authorities, the Sports community and the South Korean civil society organised Pyeong Chang Olympic games has a really meaningful peace event, regenerating the Olympic spirit as it should always be: a unique opportunity to build bridges between peoples. As one remembers, using the opportunity of the Olympic Games, the 2 Koreas started a new era of relations towards peace and reconciliation. Everyone has in mind the impressive opening ceremony where the Korean teams walked together at the parade and played together in team sports.

The momentum created by PyeongChang 2018 served as a catalyst for political dialogue between the two Koreas, and also between the USA and North Korea, helping to bring about a thaw in their strained relations through the power of sport.

Since then, many steps where made with the participation of civil society, like the very meaningfull women crossing borders movement.

Building on 2018 success, Pyeong Chang Forum 2019 called for a number of action plans, including for all governments to increase their commitment to supporting and enforcing international disarmament laws. It called of course on the two Koreas to find a way to end over 70 years of hostilities between them and embrace a peaceful and collaborative way of moving forward. In addition they called the UN to fully implement the SDGs and drafted resolutions to prevent violations of women’s rights.

One of the questions addressed in the November 8 Seminar was to expand the Pyeong Chang spirit. The next Olympic games will take place in Japan, and this will coincide with the 75th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The idea of making this time a strong call for nuclear abolition gathered everyone’s support and should be brought to the next Pyeong Chang Forum which will take place on February 11-12 2020.