peace – IPB – International Peace Bureau

Historic Milestone for Peace: With Over 50,000 Signatures, Italy’s Bill on Nonviolent Defence Will Go Before Parliament

Translation notice: This is an English translation of the original article published by the Italian Peace and Disarmament Network.

Italian citizens who are eligible to vote can support this citizens’ initiative by signing it online through the official Ministry of Justice portal using SPID or an Electronic Identity Card (CIE). Find out how to sign.

You can sign this citizens’ initiative here: https://firmereferendum.giustizia.it/referendum/open/dettaglio-open/6100008

Coordinamento Campagne Rete Italiana Pace e Disarmo
September 14, 2026

A crucial turning point for the peace and nonviolence movement: yesterday, the “Another Defence Is Possible” campaign surpassed the 50,000 signatures required to submit its citizens’ initiative bill on unarmed and nonviolent civil defence. Signature collection will continue until 18 September and must be supported right up to the deadline: every additional signature strengthens the bill. In the coming days, the signatures will be formally submitted to the Senate, setting the parliamentary process in motion.

We did it. The “Another Defence Is Possible” campaign has reached its target of 50,000 signatures, the number required to bring before Parliament the citizens’ initiative bill establishing a Department for Unarmed and Nonviolent Civil Defence. This milestone was achieved thanks to a collective mobilisation and an extraordinary surge in signatures during the final days of the campaign.

This is a crucial, momentous and historic result. For the first time, a concrete and comprehensive proposal to build an alternative to armed defence—based on conflict prevention, mediation, grassroots diplomacy and cooperation—can be considered by Parliament, giving full effect to Articles 11 and 52 of the Italian Constitution.

Signature collection, however, is not over: the campaign officially confirms that the proposal can still be signed up to and including 18 September (until 11:59 p.m.). In the coming days, the promoting networks will formally submit the signatures. This will also provide an opportunity to assess the campaign’s collective journey and outline the “next steps”. Going well beyond the 50,000-signature threshold is important, because no additional signature is superfluous: the higher the total, the stronger the political mandate and the greater the weight of the proposal when it is debated in Parliament. Broad popular support makes it harder to ignore or set the issue aside and can demonstrate that the proposal for unarmed and nonviolent civil defence has deep roots in society. For this reason, the appeal to sign and encourage others to sign during these final five days remains more vital than ever.

This is a fundamental and transformative issue, which the more than 50,000 signatures collected have placed firmly on the political agenda, including in the run-up to 2027. This achievement gives the campaign and the entire peace movement a practical tool for bringing nonviolent civil defence into public and institutional debate. With the 2027 elections on the horizon, the proposal will be a test on which political forces will be called to take a stand: choosing to allocate resources to conflict prevention, mediation and cooperation, rather than solely to increasing military expenditure, is a fundamental choice concerning the country’s future.

This achievement—an overwhelmingly positive one—belongs to an enormously broad community. First and foremost, thanks go to grassroots organisations and the dozens of local coordinating groups that supported the campaign, as well as to everyone who made space for the proposal at countless events, festivals and camps. Thanks also go to third-sector organisations, civil service bodies and NGOs that supported the initiative; to the dozens of municipalities, mayors and local councillors who adopted resolutions in support of nonviolent popular defence and Civil Peace Corps; and to parishes, community centres, local committees and all the organisations that opened their doors to dialogue. Recognition is also due to those media professionals who showed the sensitivity and curiosity needed to give the campaign a voice, and to the many individual citizens who helped circulate its message and encouraged others to sign, whether through personal conversations or on social media.

It is important to remember that the opening months were the most difficult. Even raising awareness of the existence of the “Another Defence Is Possible” campaign was no easy task, partly because much of the mainstream media devoted so little space to the issue. If today we can celebrate the wave of signatures received in the final days, it is because the patient, widespread work carried out by hundreds of activists and organisations—often out of the public eye—laid the groundwork: the signatures gathered in such a short period are the fruit of months of persistent, decentralised commitment. The promoting organisations extend their deepest gratitude to everyone involved.

Statements from the promoting networks

“The bill on unarmed and nonviolent civil defence enters Parliament backed by the strength of a grassroots mobilisation that saw an extraordinary surge in its final days—a collective determination to support institutions for peace, disarmament and nonviolence. The goal now is to place the idea of another form of defence firmly on the political agenda and at the heart of the national debate, redirecting public funds from preparing for war to building peace. We thank all the voters who added their signatures; the activists who built support in their local communities; the public figures from the arts, culture, science, politics and the media who lent their names and faces to the campaign; the associations, clubs, parishes and groups that mobilised; and every person who, through word of mouth or social media, helped fill the information vacuum surrounding our campaign.”

Mao Valpiana, President of the Nonviolent Movement and coordinator of the “Another Defence Is Possible” campaign

“Reaching 50,000 signatures for unarmed defence—despite the media’s silence about this initiative over recent months—is a major achievement. It demonstrates the widespread opposition in our country to war and military expenditure. We now expect Parliament, instead of adopting further rearmament measures, to debate the bill and respond to the demand rising from citizens: an unarmed form of defence that contributes to building peace.”

Giulio Marcon, Co-spokesperson for Sbilanciamoci!

“At this moment in history, when war is increasingly normalised, society is being militarised and the arms race is presented as the only way to guarantee security, the fact that so many people chose to sign this citizens’ initiative bill sends an extraordinary signal. It is a powerful call for a change of perspective in how we understand defence and how we build genuine peace policies. For the Civil Service system, the implementation of this law would make it possible to enhance and renew the institution’s purpose—the unarmed and nonviolent civil defence of the country—in coordination with the Fire and Rescue Service, Civil Protection and the Civil Peace Corps. Through the proposed Peace and Disarmament Research Institute and the allocation of six per thousand of personal income tax, it would also finally allow us to build a defence system based on civilian, unarmed and nonviolent means, equal to the challenges of our time.”

Laura Milani, President of CNESC (National Conference of Civil Service Organisations)

“We are ready to engage with Parliament and public opinion on the model of defence our country needs. Backed by more than 50,000 signatures, our citizens’ initiative bill for civil, unarmed, popular and nonviolent defence reaches Parliament before the much-heralded ‘Crosetto reform’ of the national military apparatus. While militarism is demonstrating its failure on every front—incapable of resolving conflicts or providing security for peoples—the peace movement is proposing a genuine defence of our society and democracy, faithful to the principles enshrined in Articles 11 and 52 of the Constitution. This broad and united alliance, which has made nonviolence and disarmament its political manifesto, is an important resource for our democracy. At a time when rearmament is being passed off as the only response to a ‘world war fought piecemeal’, writing a different page was no easy task. Yet we have written it, and for us it is the first step in the right direction.”

Alfio Nicotra, Executive Coordinator of the Italian Peace and Disarmament Network

What the proposed law calls for

The bill presented by “Another Defence Is Possible”—a campaign promoted by the National Conference of Civil Service Organisations, Sbilanciamoci! and the Italian Peace and Disarmament Network—would establish a department within the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, bringing together instruments that already exist under Italian law—the Universal Civil Service, Civil Protection and Civil Peace Corps—under a single prevention-oriented strategy. It would also establish a Peace and Disarmament Research Institute and a dedicated national fund, financed in part through proceeds from an optional allocation of six per thousand of personal income tax (IRPEF). It is a constitutionally grounded response based on a simple principle: we must stop funding war and finally begin preparing for peace through means consistent with that goal.

At a time of rising military expenditure and multiplying threats of war, the campaign has shown that security can be discussed in a different way—and that another form of defence, one that is civil, unarmed and nonviolent, is genuinely possible.

Welfare not Warfare: Europe-wide mobilisation on 14 June against EU and NATO rearmament plans

More than 800 civil-society organisations, trade unions and movements call for demonstrations in Brussels and across the continent — just days before EU heads of state negotiate the bloc’s next long-term budget.

BRUSSELS, 9 June 2026 — On Sunday 14 June, Stop ReArm Europe, a Europe-wide coalition of more than 800 civil-society organisations, trade unions and social movements, in collaboration with the Belgian platform Stop Militarisation, will take to the streets of Brussels and dozens of other cities across Europe to oppose the European Union’s and NATO’s drive to rearm. Their main demand: public money must be spent on welfare, not warfare.

The mobilisation comes just days before EU leaders meet on 18–19 June for a European Council that will negotiate the Union’s next seven-year budget — the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028–2034 — which the coalition warns is being reshaped to channel tens of billions of euros to the arms industry.

In Brussels, demonstrators will gather at 3pm at Brussels-North station under the banner Welfare not Warfare, before marching towards the institutions driving the rearmament agenda. They will reconvene from 6pm in an open assembly at the Royal Library of Belgium (Keizerslaan 4/Boulevard de l’Empereur 4, Brussels) near Central-Station to plan the next steps of a continent-wide campaign.

Organisers emphasise that 14 June is not an endpoint, but a common focal point, with demonstrations, public meetings and coordinated actions planned throughout the month in Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Spain, Finland, Germany, Italy and other countries.

A budget reshaped for war

The coalition opposes the EU’s ReArm Europe plan, announced in March 2025, which set out to mobilise €800 billion for arms — money drawn away from healthcare, education, climate action and social protection.The coalition rejects the idea that Europe’s security can be bought through a massive rearmament project that starves social budgets and escalates confrontation. The security concerns repeatedly highlighted by the EU, cannot in any case be resolved by rearmament.

The Commission’s proposed next budget goes further still: it would allocate around €131 billion to the defence, security and space window of the new European Competitiveness Fund — five times the amount designated in the current budget. The jump to €131 billion is a net increase of at least €100 billion over seven years on the current defence and space envelope. That sum could instead fund the salaries of around 300,000 nurses, or build roughly half a million social homes — a quarter of the 2.25 million-unit housing shortfall the European Investment Bank identified for 2025 alone.

The reach extends beyond that headline figure: civilian programmes for research, mobility and cohesion would also be opened to military use. With the overall EU budget barely growing, the coalition warns, this amounts to a direct transfer from civilian to military spending. Campaigners warn that Europe is embarking on a permanent war economy that deepens conflicts rather than resolving them, will further fuel a global arms race, and increasingly embed militarisation into everyday life — from renewed conscription and expanded reserves to surveillance and the shrinking of democratic space.

They also point to the growing influence of the arms lobby: by the coalition’s count, the European Commission met arms-industry representatives 89 times on rearmament in 2025 (to October), against only 15 meetings with NGOs, trade unions or scientists on the same topics.

Borrowing for arms is also a poor economic decision. Military spending is capital- and import-heavy, so it creates fewer jobs per euro than almost any civilian alternative: studies of military versus civilian spending consistently find that money invested in care, education or housing generates 30–50% more jobs than the same sum spent on weapons. And borrowing to buy arms locks future generations into debt with no productive asset to show for it.

What the coalition is demanding

Stop ReArm Europe is calling on EU and national decision-makers to:

invest in healthcare, education, decent work, housing and a just climate transition — not in the militarisation of society;
uphold international law and the UN Charter, and defend human and labour rights;
prioritise dialogue and diplomacy over confrontation;
invest in international solidarity and cooperation as the surest foundation for stable, secure societies; and
pursue arms control and nuclear disarmament in order to guarantee peace and human security.

Furthermore, the coalition is urging MEPs to refuse consent to any long-term EU budget that channels €131 billion into defence, security and space while squeezing social and cohesion funding.

“Rearmament is sold to us as security, but the only thing it really secures are the profits of the weapon industries. A society with crumbling hospitals and a destabilised climate is not secure. Spending billions on arms while squeezing care, education and cohesion makes Europe poorer and more dangerous, not safer. On 14 June we are demanding a different set of priorities.” – Katerina Anastasiou, spokesperson for Stop ReArm Europe

The coalition is inviting movements, organisations and elected representatives at European and national level to join the Brussels demonstration and organise actions in their own communities. Local initiatives can be registered on the Stop ReArm Europe campaign’s action calendar, as part of a growing popular mobilisation demanding welfare, not warfare.

Notes to editors

Stop ReArm Europe is a pan-European coalition of more than 800 civil-society organisations and movements, spanning peace, climate, debt, trade-union, development, health and human-rights sectors, campaigning to redirect resources “from war to peace” and towards human and common security.
Brussels demonstration: Sunday 14 June, 15:00, departing Brussels-North station.
Across Europe: decentralised demonstrations and actions are planned through June. A full calendar is available at https://calendar.stoprearm.org/events/
The Belgian national mobilisation is organised by the Stop Militarisation Platform under the banner “For social justice, against war” (Pour la justice sociale, contre la guerre), backed by some 40 Belgian organisations including the FGTB/ABVV and CSC/ACV trade unions, CNCD-11.11.11, Greenpeace, DiEM25, Oxfam, Pax Christi, Vrede vzw, CNAPD and Vredesactie.
The European Council of 18–19 June will discuss the next Multiannual Financial Framework on the basis of a “negotiation box” prepared by the Cypriot presidency. The Commission’s proposal allocates €131 billion to the defence and space window of the European Competitiveness Fund, a fivefold increase on the 2021–2027 figure of roughly €26 billion.

Media contact

International Peace Bureau (IPB)
Email: info @ipb.org
Web: www.ipb.org

Issued by Stop ReArm Europe Coordination on behalf of its member organisations.

Press Release Statement Download

IPB Statement in Solidarity with Education International and Palestinian Educators

The International Peace Bureau (IPB) stands with Education International (EI) in condemning the Israeli occupation authorities for denying entry to, detaining, interrogating, and forcibly removing a delegation of education workers’ leaders who planned to mark the International Day of Education alongside Palestinian colleagues.

The actions of Israel demonstrate their increasing efforts to isolate Palestinians from international solidarity and support and must be unequivocally rejected. The IPB emphasizes that the right to education, academic freedom, trade union rights, and solidarity must be upheld for all peoples.

The IPB stands with Palestinian educators. We therefore join EI’s call on the international community to mobilize and speak out in defense of education, peace, freedom, and justice for Palestinians and those who stand in solidarity with them.

IPB_EI_29.01.2026 Download

Appeal to the Presidents of the Russian Federation and the United States of America

On 5 February 2026, the last nuclear arms control treaty between the USA and Russian Federation, The United States of America and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (New START), which has limited the nuclear arms race – albeit completely inadequately – will expire. There is a danger of an unrestrained arms race, including a nuclear arms race, with far-reaching political, strategic, economic and psychological consequences, leading to even greater confrontation and destabilisation of the already volatile international situation.

The International Peace Bureau Calls for Action to Protect Civilians in Darfur, Sudan

El Fashir, the last standing city in Darfur, Sudan, has fallen to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). And civilians are facing mass humanitarian atrocities.

For more than 550 days, the city had been under siege, devastated by the systematic cut off of aid, food, and medicine. Thousands were killed through execution, bombardment, starvation & severe malnutrition. In two days, more than two thousand people have been killed. 460 patients and their families were massacred inside the Saudi Maternity Hospital, medical staff were abducted, and an estimated 180,000 people remain trapped inside with no safe passage out. While the Rapid Support Forces broadcast videos of their own crimes, parading victims, and committing documented executions. The world’s response to these atrocities has been shameful.

IPB Co-President Joseph Gerson stated:

“In pursuit of arms sales profits and Sudan’s resources, cynical forces have made medieval brutality possible. It must stop, and the people of Darfur must be permitted to rebuild their lives and futures without fear.”

The International Peace Bureau does not accept the status quo of brutal violence, mass murder, and dominance, and we stand with the people of Sudan. We recognise that the first, fastest responders are the local networks of volunteer medics, community kitchens, and emergency response rooms, who continue to provide lifesaving assistance despite the collapse of state protection. Supporting these actors is central to saving lives and affirming human dignity during this systemic and unacceptable violence.

The International Peace Bureau calls on citizens, media, and governments alike to keep Sudan and their work visible, to challenge indifference, and to sustain public pressure for a cease-fire and opening of unrestricted humanitarian corridors to all affected areas in Darfur.

IPB Statement Sudan Download

The Princess of Peace: Bai Rohaniza Sumndad-Usman on Healing Generations Through Education

In this powerful episode of the Women as Agents of Change podcast, Liza Florida sits down with Bai Rohaniza Sumndad-Usman, whose life story is a testament to the power of turning personal history into a global mission. Ate. Honey recounts how her formative years, marked by the sirens and fear of the Gulf War, planted a deep longing to help children affected by conflict. Guided by her unique interfaith family roots—a Maranao Muslim father and a Catholic-born mother who embraced Islam—she embodies a message of unity that transcends cultural and religious divides.

The Security We Need: Rebalancing Military Spending for a Sustainable and Peaceful Future

9 September 2025, New York – Following a decade-long military build-up, global military spending hit a record high in 2024, soaring by more than nine per cent from 2023 and signaling a dangerous move away from the principles of the UN Charter.

Amid an era of geopolitical tension and distrust fueling unprecedented death and destruction around the world, the UN Secretary-General’s report, The Security We Need: Rebalancing Military Spending for a Sustainable and Peaceful Future, urges UN Member States to recalibrate security and development priorities.

Boston-Hiroshima 80th Anniversary

6 August 2025, Boston – To mark the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing, the Boston-Hiroshima 80th Anniversary Commemoration Coalition produced a 70-minute video, shown repeatedly during today’s event. The film is divided into three parts, exploring:

The significance of August 6, 1945
The legacy of the Hibakusha — survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
A call for nuclear disarmament

Watch the Film Here

The coalition also organized a gathering at Dewey Square, across from South Station in downtown Boston. On this occasion, IPB Executive Director Sean Conner delivered a message to the people of Boston and fellow citizens across the United States. You can read his full speech below.

IPB Executive Director’s Speech at Boston-Hiroshima 80th Anniversary

Many US Americans my age and younger may not be aware of the true dangers of nuclear war in the modern era. There is a common misperception that the risk of nuclear war drastically decreased after the end of the Cold War when in fact the current situation is as dangerous, if not more.

Nearly all nuclear-armed states are undergoing intensive nuclear modernization programs and the total number of nuclear warheads is on the rise. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research institute, the total number of warheads in 2024 was estimated to be 12,241, with 2,100 in a state of high operational alert on ballistic missiles. Nuclear arms control is all but abandoned – the last remaining nuclear limitations agreement by the US and Russia, the New START Treaty, is set to expire in February 2026. Nuclear threats and talk of proliferation – including the deployment of Russian nuclear missiles in Belarus and the return of US nuclear missiles to the UK – are on the rise. New so-called ‘tactical’ nuclear weapons increase the risk of their usage.

Make no mistake – nuclear deterrence theory is based fundamentally on a lie. There have been several close calls over the decades – from the Cuban Missile Crisis to the 2018 false missile alert in Hawaii. On each of these occasions, it is only by pure luck that we have not seen catastrophe. Whether purposeful or accidental, any use of nuclear weapons will likely cause a chain of events in which more weapons will be used. Even if a mere fraction of nuclear weapons are used – including in a regional conflict – the consequences will be global.

Nuclear weapons are by nature indiscriminate – there is no distinction between military and civilian, or environment for that matter. And the consequences are long-term and widespread.

80 years after the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we would be wise to learn the lessons that the Hibakusha, the survivors, share. We must abolish nuclear weapons and strengthen peaceful conflict resolution mechanisms. The good news is that there is already a framework – the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Join us in demanding that the US and all countries sign and ratify now!

IPB Executive Director Sean Conner’s Common Security Speech

IPB Executive Director Sean Conner’s Common Security Speech in the International Trade Union’s July 28 webinar For Democracy that Delivers Peace and Prosperity for All.

The basic idea behind Common Security is that the security of one is inextricably linked to the security of all; that the security of a state, nation, or peoples cannot be achieved at the expense of the security of another; that security is not a zero-sum game.

Unyielding Grace: Shirine Jurdi and the Feminine Force for Justice

This episode brings you a powerful and unflinching conversation with Shirine Jurdi, a global advocate for women, peace, and security from Lebanon. Prepare to challenge your perspectives as Shirine dismantles the narratives often imposed on women in conflict zones, offering a raw and honest look at the realities of war, justice, and the fight for a life of dignity, not just survival.