Peace Education – Page 55 – IPB – International Peace Bureau

CND Press Release: US-North Korea peace summit pulls world back from the brink

Anti-nuclear campaigners have responded to today’s peace summit between Chairman Kim Jong-un and President Trump.

Kate Hudson, CND general secretary, said:

“Today’s summit between President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un is a very positive development. At a time of escalating militarisation and increasingly dangerous policy developments – the US’s new nuclear posture review and recent strategic defence review to name but two – an outbreak of dialogue in an exceptionally tense region is a welcome step.

“Some take the view that the summit statement says nothing new, but the key is that the summit took place. Just months ago we were looking at the possibility of nuclear war. Today the world has pulled back from the brink. Only cynics would think that a negligible achievement.

“The statement itself crucially recognises both sides’ primary concerns. Trump has committed to providing security guarantees to Pyongyang, and Kim Jong-un has reaffirmed his commitment to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Beyond the formal texts, subsequent remarks may help to make the good intentions real: Trump says he will halt his provocative ‘war games’ – exercises that include flying nuclear capable bombers close to North Korea’s border. And Kim says North Korea will destroy nuclear test centres, so both sides are contributing to denuclearisation.

“These are small steps but much to be welcomed as the peninsula moves towards bringing a formal end to the Korean war and embracing more peaceful future”.

The Treaty On The Prohibition Of Nuclear Weapons – Analysis and Perspectives

In cooperation with the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung New York Office IPB published a booklet depicting the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in May 2018.

South Korea: Stop the imprisonment of conscientious objectors!

On 15th of May 2018, in front of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Berlin/Germany

Korea is a divided nation. The tensions with North Korea, ever since the end of the Korean War 1953, are the reason for high militarization in South Korea. The country has a population of 50 million people and an army that consists of 650.000 men and women, which is the fifth biggest army in the world. At the same time, South Korea is an economic power in East Asia and an ally of the USA. All men are liable to military service and have to serve between 21 and 24 months. Anyone who goes against this has to pay a high price. Continue reading “South Korea: Stop the imprisonment of conscientious objectors!”

TWO MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT – How do we move from geopolitical conflict to nuclear abolition?

The conference was convened to analyze and warn about the current nuclear dangers, to raise the UN Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty and other disarmamentinitiatives, and to build gobal movement for peace and complete nuclear disarmament.

Continue reading “TWO MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT – How do we move from geopolitical conflict to nuclear abolition?”

SIPRI figures on military expenditure in 2017

German MPs and actors from civil society declare: Disarmament is the challenge of our time

On the occasion of the publication of the statistics on world military expenditure in 2017 by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) German MPs and members of the peace movement criticized the enormous cost of armament at a press conference of the International Peace Bureau (IPB).

Continue reading “SIPRI figures on military expenditure in 2017”

Appeal Disarm! Don’t Arm!

Military spending must be decreased everywhere. Global arms expenditure is higher than at any time since WWII, and consumes 35 times the total cost of the entire United Nations system. Continue reading “Appeal Disarm! Don’t Arm!”

GCOMS Final Statement on the occasion of GDAMS 2018

There are many reasons to renew, once again and for the 8th consecutive year, our call for a cut in military spending (based upon SIPRI data), so that the world can move closer to a human security commitment that would better serve humanity. We face the danger of a third world war, and big countries are preparing for war with massive armament investments. It is really time for the people to stand up.
Continue reading “GCOMS Final Statement on the occasion of GDAMS 2018”

We Welcome the Panmunjeom Declaration

Statement of People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy

We Welcome the Panmunjeom Declaration and the Arrival of the Era of Peace on the Korean Peninsula with It

The Declaration embodies both Koreas’ commitment to bringing the era of division and confrontation to an end and establishing a peace regime on their own accord.

The vision of thawing military tension, achieving disarmament through mutual trust-building, and freeing the Korean Peninsula from nuclear threats is highly praised. Continue reading “We Welcome the Panmunjeom Declaration”

#YouAllOweUs virtual campaign

Today we are launching #YouAllOweUs virtual campaign. Please, feel free to share the materials with other activists and organizations.

New materials and how we will use it: #YouAllOweUs campaign

You will find the new infographics on the GCOMS website: http://demilitarize.org/materials-owe-us-gdams-campaign/

2 general images where Trump reminds global political leaders committed with increasing military spending that they all owe money and cooperation to the US for his role as world’s guard (starting from the idea of the 2%GDP he requires from NATO members and how he addressed Germany in these terms). We can see here how people are demanding politicians to take action instead on fulfilling the SDG’s.
Images of global political leaders committed with the increase in military expenditure. They are chosen based on their representativity and their public advocacy of the increase. Only 2 European leaders were chosen, despite a lot more countries being involved in the increase. We are conscious that, as for instance, Africa is only represented trough Al-Sisi. If you miss a leader or a territory, send us a representative sentence where he/she claims for the need to rise MilEx and all the information (including concrete sentences) and we will try to add new ones if necessary.

[IMPORTANT] How we will use this material: As mentioned, we all (partners but also organizations that can collaborate with us) will launch on May 16th the images on our social networks under the hashtags #YouAllOweUs (Health and wellbeing, better education, gender equality, etc) and #MovetheMoney #GDAMS2018

The idea is to combine the first image (the one with all the leaders) with one of the singles, adding those SDG’s or petitions we think military spending must be moved to, reminding political leaders what their priorities should be. You’ll find an example here: http://demilitarize.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Tweet_You_Owe_Us.jpg

Say No to War!

President Trump cannot just ignore the means and impact of diplomacy, politeness and the binding rules of international law.

Now is the time for prompt and spontaneous actions. We hope that as many as possible of you will join and set a sign for peace and understanding, standing against war and violence.

Say no to war! It is about the danger of a disastrous war, which would harm, injure and kill many lives. War is not and cannot be a solution. Every single person and every government should engage in finding a peaceful solution.