For a world in peace
Stop the increase in military spending and the militarization of our society!
The world is at a crossroads. On the one hand, the world capitalist system, imperialism that insists on maintaining a unipolar order, anchored in centuries of colonial domination, with NATO acting as the military, political and ideological arm of that old and unjust international order. On the other side, there are the forces that seek to make way for a new multilateral order, committed to the principles of the UN, which is committed to peaceful coexistence, mutually beneficial cooperation, social progress and solidarity.
The NATO summit on June 24 and 25, with the proposal to increase military spending at the cost of reducing social spending, means deepening the arms race that in 2024 represented a global military spending of 2.718 trillion dollars.
We believe that the Atlantic Alliance is part of a security system that has repeatedly contravened the Charter of the United Nations and is generating more insecurity in a global scenario characterized by a multidimensional crisis that threatens humanity and the planet.
We are deeply concerned about the resurgence of fascism and the multiple crises that threaten life on the planet and distance us further and further from the goal of achieving a world of peace, leading to intensified exploitation, more inequalities, an increase in poverty in important regions of the world, climate change and the escalation of global violence.
The growing conflicts worldwide, including the genocide perpetrated by Israel in Gaza, the war in Ukraine, the conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Sahara, the Sudan, the recent Israeli aggression against Iran, and so many other conflicts constitute flagrant violations of international law and the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.
We see that wars have an economic foundation that seeks to seize natural resources to put them at the service of economic benefit.
The consequences of these crises are expressed in death, suffering, destruction, denial of the most basic rights of peoples, and the war endured especially by the millions of human beings who lose their lives and those who are forced to abandon and to move from their places of origin; In particular, women who are raped as spoils of war or captured by trafficking networks, girls and boys, older adults and people with special needs.
In the same vein, we denounce the continued interference in the internal affairs of other countries by the United States Government and those who support it, such as the European Union, as well as the campaigns of manipulation and attempts at destabilization against sovereign nations that do not submit to its interests.
We expressly condemn the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed against Cuba, as well as its unilateral inclusion in the list of States alleged sponsors of terrorism, from which it must be removed immediately. These policies are unjust, inhumane and contrary to all international legality.
We also condemn the recent United States bombing of facilities in Iran as a violation of Iranian arrogance and international law and a direct threat to global peace and stability.
Reducing security only to a matter of armaments and military confrontation entails immense dangers for all the peoples of the world.
Growing militarization and rising geopolitical tensions hinder the multilateral cooperation needed to urgently resolve the global problems that the current unjust international order has caused, such as poverty, inequality, patriarchal violence, hunger, housing, climate change, lack of access to health and education, genocide, armed conflicts and the nuclear threat.
The continued increase in military budgets is detrimental to the resources needed to ensure the real security of populations and of the planet.
History shows that many of the problems of international security involving lack of respect for rights and sovereignty are accompanied by the promotion of fascist forces and have their origin in socio-economic and ecological disturbances, the unbridled exploitation of resources and the lack of diplomacy and multilateral mechanisms for collective security.
Faced with the warmongering escalation, which is proposed at the 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague, which is committed to more military spending, more rearmament and a globalized NATO at the service of the domination of a few, from this forum we value the Helsinki Agreements that 50 years ago marked essential principles such as respect for the sovereignty of peoples, peaceful resolution of conflicts and non-interference and the proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace that provides a path of cooperation to be replicated in other regions of the planet.
Today, more than ever, we need to move towards a multilateral and just, democratic and equitable international order, based on peaceful coexistence in which international solidarity and cooperation prevail.
Those of us who have promoted this International Forum for Peace believe that, in order to build peace, we must unite, cooperate and organize ourselves in plurality and diversity to cooperate in supporting the struggles of the working class, the work of social movements, with special attention to the incorporation of youth into the project of building a common security architecture, based on multilateralism and respect for the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, focusing on diplomacy, disarmament, social justice, equality and environmental sustainability, putting life at the centre of all Government action and rejecting those power structures that fuel war, perpetuate poverty and destroy the planet and showing solidarity with those who are fighting for a dignified future in every corner of the world.
For all this, we urge:
- Work to stop the genocide in Gaza and the military conflicts that are occurring in multiple regions of the world.
- Reject any increase in military spending that can be approved at the NATO summit and challenge the logic of the “new cold war” that divides and confronts humanity into hostile blocs, betting on global cooperation and solidarity, above political and cultural differences.
- Support and promote campaigns to demand less military spending and more investment in social welfare, gender equality, education, health, etc. with special attention to the Stop Rearm Europe campaign
- Bet on diplomacy, de-escalation of warmongering and mutual security guarantees.
- Propose that on September 21, World Day of Peace, an action be organized in each territory that refers to the defense of peace and solidarity between peoples.
- Support that the UN General Assembly in 2025 make a turn towards real and fair multilateralism and reaffirm the principles included in its founding charter, which are precisely to preserve humanity from war.
- Transfer to the “Group of Peace-Friendly Countries” existing within the United Nations the idea of expanding this initiative to social movements and political parties as a “Group of Peace-Friendly Organizations”.
- Demand the elimination of nuclear weapons and the closure of foreign military bases throughout the world, as well as the end of blockade and interference policies.
- Demand increased aid to civilian victims of war, paying greater attention to the protection of boys and girls, women, older adults and people with special needs who usually suffer the consequences of war conflicts more dramatically.
- Condemn the use of unconventional or fourth-generation methods of warfare aimed at subjugating countries and political processes that do not yield to claims of imperial domination.
Finally, the organizations gathered in this International Peace Forum consider it positive to maintain this framework of collaboration, cooperation and exchange of information that brings together social movements, trade unions, parties and other organizations and networks to fight for peace, against war and combat its structural roots.
Brussels, 24 June 2025