Every three years IPB holds a special gathering to bring together our members and supporters and to discuss the challenges facing us as peace movements in an unstable and over-militarized world. This year IPB met in Stockholm from Sept 13-15, to explore the issues of military intervention (and the alternatives) and the economy of war. The conference title was: ‘The World is Over-Armed, and Peace is Under Funded’ (a quote from Ban Ki-Moon).
Peace Education
Joining the Dots – IPB and AFRI in Dublin
IPB convened its annual Council Meeting for the first time in Ireland in partnership with the Afri ‘Hedge School’ in Dublin. Held simultaneously at the same venue, the Sean MacBride Peace Prize ceremony, as well as the panels on Activism, Disarmament and Peace Education Initiatives and Climate Change attracted many participants and had fruitful discussions and exchanges of experiences.
President Michael D. Higgins of Ireland awarded the Sean MacBride Peace Prize to Lina Ben Mhenni, the courageous Tunisian blogger and to Nawal el-Saadawi, the world-famous Egyptian feminist author.
IPB at Rio+20
With the help of its many partner organizations, IPB was able to bring the disarmament perspective to Rio+20. Through our side events on ‘disarmament for development’ and ‘the linkages between food security and armed conflicts’, we were able to discuss with other stakeholders the importance of disarmament and to encourage them to join our call.
The main attraction of the week, however, was our tank made of bread. Continue reading “IPB at Rio+20”
The Choice is Simple
Six panels juxtaposing the costs of weapons and those of specific development projects were presented as an itinerant exhibition at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Rio+20). Continue reading “The Choice is Simple”
Opportunity Costs: Military Spending and the UN Development Agenda
By Colin Archer and Annette Willi, 2012
IPB wrote a Position Paper entitled Opportunity Costs: Military Spending and the UN’s Development Agenda. It makes the case that military spending should be taken into consideration in the debate now under way on the UN’s Post-2015 Development Agenda (following on from the Millennium Development Goals). In IPB’s view, militarization is a significant factor in the sustainable development equation, often undermining the security of citizens. At the same time, the massive resources devoted to the military sector could – if even a small portion were reallocated – make a major contribution to meeting the challenges of mass poverty, unemployment and climate change.
NPT PrepCom – IPB side events
In the first week of the Non-Proliferation Treaty PrepComm (April 30 -May 11), IPB organised 4 side events, together with our partners INES and Gensuikyo. Continue reading “NPT PrepCom – IPB side events”
IPB critical of Nobel Peace Prize for the European Union
12 October, 2012
“For a peacemaking bloc, this is a highly militarized one”
The IPB finds the award of the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union surprising in that it awards a prize not to a head of state but to an entire bloc of states, thus making it difficult to identify the real recipient. Is the EU really a ‘champion of peace’, as Nobel conceived it? Or is it a club of states with many contradictory impulses and interests? Continue reading “IPB critical of Nobel Peace Prize for the European Union”
Global Day of Action on Military Spending 2012 – IPB activities
On April 17, IPB organised two events to mark the second GDAMS.
What we did:
Lunchtime seminar at the UN
Diplomats and NGOs participated in this event. The panel was composed of:
– Mr. Kassym-Jomaert Tokayev, Director-General of UNOG, who highlighted the role of the civil society in drawing attention to military spending and its impact on human security. Continue reading “Global Day of Action on Military Spending 2012 – IPB activities”
On the occasion of the annual commemorations of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
3 August, 2012
On August 6 and 9 our thoughts turn once again to the tragic destruction of the two Japanese cities in 1945, and in particular to the victims of this first, and hopefully last, use of nuclear weapons in warfare. As the years go by, there are fewer and fewer of the hibakusha left alive to witness to the horror they experienced at a young age. Continue reading “On the occasion of the annual commemorations of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki”
GDAMS 2012 in Geneva
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