IPB Statements – IPB – International Peace Bureau

Civil Society Statement on Calling for the Commencement of Preparations for the UN’s Fourth Special Session on Disarmament

UNGA First Committee on Disarmament and International Security Delivered by Rafi Chowdhury, International Peace Bureau

Chairperson, distinguished delegates,

I present this statement on behalf of 175 civil society representatives and a coalition of organizations from around the world. We urge all member states to activate the UN General Assembly mechanism of Special Sessions on Disarmament without further procrastination, as per the recommendations of the UN Secretary-General António Guterres in Action 26(a) of the Pact for the Future.

Nobel Peace Prize 2024 Award to Nihon Hidankyo and the Fight Against Nuclear Weapons

Statement by Alain ROUY, National Secretary of the “Mouvement de la Paix” (France), Vice-President of the International Peace Bureau

The award of the Nobel Peace Prize 2024 to the Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo is a well-deserved reward for the hibakushas who have been warning against the use of nuclear weapons for decades.

We are living at a crucial moment when some are considering the use of nuclear weapons in ongoing conflicts, and when the nuclear powers are engaged in “modernizing” and increasing their nuclear arsenals.

This is particularly true of France, which is preparing to double its spending on nuclear weapons (7 billion euros in 2025, compared with 3.5 billion in 2017), with the terrifying goal of spending 100 billion in 15 years on nuclear weapons.

We have to say no to this infernal arms race and develop international mobilizations for the elimination of nuclear weapons. In France, we are asking our government to take into consideration the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which came into force on January 22, 2021 and has already been signed by 94 countries and ratified by 73. France must take its turn in this process, first by participating as an observer in the meetings of the States Parties to the TIAN, to join it.

Following on the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the international ICAN campaign, the Nobel Prize 2024 is a powerful encouragement and support for all those fighting for a world finally free of nuclear weapons.

Déclaration de Alain ROUY, secrétaire national du “Mouvement de la Paix” (France), vice-président du Bureau International de la Paix

L’attribution du Prix Nobel de la Paix 2024 à l’organisation japonaise Nihon Hidankyo est une récompense méritée pour les hibakushas qui par leur témoignage mettent en garde depuis des décennies contre l’usage des armes nucléaires.

Nous vivons un moment crucial où certains envisagent l’utilisation des armes nucléaires dans les conflits en cours et où les puissances nucléaires sont engagées dans la “modernisation” et l’augmentation de leurs arsenaux nucléaires.

C’est en particulier le cas de la France qui s’apprête à doubler ses dépenses consacrées aux armes nucléaires ( 7 milliards d’euros en 2025 contre 3,5 milliards en 2017), avec l’objectif terrifiant de dépenser 100 milliards en 15 ans pour les armes nucléaires.

Il faut dire non à cette course infernale aux armements et développer les mobilisations internationales pour l’élimination des armes nucléaires. En France, nous demandons à notre gouvernement de prendre en considération le Traité sur l’Interdiction des Armes Nucléaires (TIAN)entré en vigueur le 22 janvier 2021 et déjà signé par 94 Etats et ratifié par 73. La France doit s’engager à son tour dans ce processus, d’abord en participant comme observateur aux réunions des Etats-parties au TIAN, avec l’objectif de le rejoindre.

Après le prix Nobel de la Paix de 2017 attribué à la campagne internationale ICAN, le Prix Nobel 2024constitue une aide et un puissant encouragement pour tous ceux qui luttent pour un monde enfin débarrassé des armes nucléaires.

Statement by Alain ROUY, National Secretary of the “Mouvement de la Paix” (France), Vice-President of the International Peace Bureau Download

Nihon Hidankyo is also an organizational member of the International Peace Bureau. The Hibakushas deserve this award, and it is about time to recognize their efforts and the legacy they live for — never again, no to nuclear weapons and yes to peace.

PRESS RELEASE: Climate and Peace Groups Join Togetherin First Global Week of Action

Berlin, September 21st, 2024

Peace and climate movements are taking action together in the first Global Week of Action for Peace and Climate Justice to highlight the connections between their causes.

The week runs from 21-28 September, with more than 50 events planned across five continents, in countries including Australia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Germany, Malawi, Mexico, India, the Netherlands, Sweden, the UK and the USA, as well as many online.

The week of action aims to raise awareness of the links between war, militarism, and climate injustice, such as the following:

The world’s wealthiest countries have repeatedly failed to provide $100bn in promised climate finance to help countries adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate breakdown. Meanwhile, in 2023 global military spending increased for the ninth year running to $2443bn.
Experts estimate that the world’s militaries are responsible for 5.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. If the world’s militaries were a country, they would have the fourth largest carbon footprint: higher than that of Russia. But militaries are excluded from current climate agreements, so face no accountability for their pollution.

The week also aims to build bridges between peace and climate justice movements, and to build momentum behind the demand to ‘divest from war – invest in climate justice!’

In New York City, there will be events to coincide with the UN Summit of the Future. The Japan-based international NGO Peace Boat will carry out workshops and actions in Tokyo and in the Atlantic Ocean as part of its global voyage for peace. In Mexico, students will create a list of demands directed to the Mexican Congress, asking them to divest funds from the armed forces and reinvest them in environmental public policies. In the UK, vigils will be held in London, Taunton and Bath.

Call to Action on the International Day of Peace

You can sign the call and find the original call in Spanish here.

This September 21, we join in and commemorate the International Day of Peace, which was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1981.

On this day, which holds great significance for humanity, we call on the governments of our continent:

To put an end to the arms race and military spending. Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Peru, and Ecuador are the countries with the highest military spending in Latin America. We need money for life— to build schools, hospitals, and meet other urgent needs, not for death.
To end police violence, which continues in many of our countries where there is no real oversight of police actions, impunity prevails, and there are no genuine efforts to ensure police training and actions are in accordance with respect for human rights.
To stop military exercises with the U.S. Southern Command, as well as military and police training for Latin American troops at the School of the Americas, now renamed WHINSEC, or at any other U.S. military academy where violence and war are still promoted as ways to resolve conflicts.
To close and withdraw all U.S. and NATO military bases in Latin America, including U.S. military bases imposed in Guantánamo, Cuba; Soto Cano in Honduras; the bases in Colombia; NAMRU-6 in Peru; in the Malvinas Islands, controlled by the United Kingdom in Argentina; and others. Out of Latin America! Return home, we want peace.
To demand that the U.S., NATO, and all countries end the arms race and war. It is time for the U.S. and NATO, in particular, to end the wars and stop sending weapons to Israel, Ukraine, and other places. It is time for them to act responsibly and make efforts to achieve peace negotiations between Palestine and Israel, and between Russia and Ukraine.
Finally, we call on our governments to lead efforts to advance global disarmament, diplomacy, respect for the self-determination of peoples, the end of unilateral sanctions, and to work toward building a world of peace, solidarity, and social justice.

Let the guns fall silent, end all wars, we want peace!

Click here to sign!

IPB Condemns Escalation and Calls for Immediate Ceasefire Following Targeted Killings in West Asia

31 July 2024, Germany

The International Peace Bureau (IPB) expresses deep concern over the recent targeted killings in West Asia, including the deaths of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah’s top military commander, Fuad Shukur, in Beirut. These actions are a violation of international law and pose a serious risk of escalating the conflict to a regional level. Such escalations not only endanger regional stability but also have global consequences, as they increase the risk of a wider conflict that could involve the use of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), leading to catastrophic outcomes worldwide.

These attacks have severely set back efforts towards achieving a ceasefire and a long-term resolution to the conflict, including the return of Israeli hostages. The timing and nature of these actions suggest a deliberate attempt to undermine diplomatic efforts, prolonging the suffering of civilians and obstructing peace processes.

Recent statements by Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, and various international responses underscore the fragile state of affairs. IPB urges all stakeholders, including regional and global powers, to work towards a peaceful resolution and avoid actions that could lead to uncontrollable escalation.

IPB emphasizes the critical importance of using diplomatic channels to de-escalate the situation. Resorting to violence only exacerbates the suffering of innocent civilians and brings the region closer to widespread conflict. We call on all states and non-state actors, both within the region and those with direct or indirect involvement, to prioritize peace and stability, respecting international law principles.

We urgently call for a ceasefire and comprehensive negotiations that address the root causes of the longstanding conflict, cycle of violence, and oppression in Palestine and Israel, and throughout West Asia. Long-term peace can only be achieved through dialogue, mutual understanding, and trust-building, ensuring the common security and dignity of all people involved.

C7 Policy Recommendations: Peace, Common Security and Nuclear Disarmament

By: International Peace Bureau and Italian Network for Peace and Disarmament

CONTEXT: CHALLENGES TO ADDRESS

On May 19, 2023, following G7 leaders’ Hiroshima Vision on Nuclear Disarmament proclaimed a “commitment to achieving a world without nuclear weapons with undiminished security for all.” As anxieties over global crises continue to grow, the pursuit of undiminished common or collective security has never been so necessary.

IPB Statement on Recent Escalation in West Asia

18 April 2024, Germany

The International Peace Bureau (IPB) is deeply concerned over the continued escalation and open violation of international law in West Asia. Both the Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy in Syria and Iran’s launching of missiles and drones from its own soil toward Israel represent blatant attempts to exacerbate tensions and expand direct confrontation to a regional scale. We unequivocally condemn these actions and demand that all states involved, both directly and indirectly, reject any further military responses and make use of diplomatic channels for immediate de-escalation.

We reiterate the complex and prolonged nature of regional conflicts in West Asia and underline that any attempt to solve these disputes through military action risks throwing not only the region into direct and deadly conflict, but also states outside the region. Any such war would result in immeasurable death and suffering of innocent people and an acute risk of nuclear weapons use which would put the entire planet at risk. States in the region must recognize that they cannot choose their neighbors and must instead work toward a policy of common security for all in the region.

Long-term solutions for peace in the region are only possible in a climate of peace when the active violence of Israel’s assault on Gaza and ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people has stopped. We therefore reiterate our call for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations in Gaza that create the necessary space for discussions on long-term solutions that preserve the humanity and underline the need for common security of all Palestinians, Israelis, and peoples of the region.

C7 Statement to the G7 Foreign Ministers

14 April 2024. Ahead of the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Capri, 17-19 April 2024, we, the C7 (Civil7), issue a statement with our recommendations to call on the G7 Foreign Ministers to take concrete actions to promote human rights and the common interests of humanity and the planet for a more peaceful, just and secure future.

Please refer to the statement (PDF) from here.

War Costs Us The Earth · GDAMS Statement 2024

War Costs Us The Earth · GDAMS Statement 2024

Disarmament now to save people and planet

Humanity is at a crossroads where political decisions on defence budgets will determine the trajectory of the multiple crises in which we are immersed.

Wars and armed conflicts are devastating whole regions of the world. Global military spending has increased by 19 percent between 2013 and 2022 according to SIPRI figures, and has risen every year since 2015. Yet, from Gaza to Ukraine, the DRC, Sudan, Myanmar, or Manipur, this has done nothing to resolve persistent conflicts nor reduce global tensions. Instead, increased military expenditure and intensifying militarism have only increased the volatility of global peace and cooperation. Rising temperatures are modifying climatic patterns in a profound and extreme way. Millions of people are already experiencing the disastrous consequences of climate change and environmental degradation, amplified further by violent conflict. We must act now.These fluctuating weather and climatic patterns have direct repercussions on whether territories can remain habitable as well as on the future of decent and sustainable living conditions for all.

DECLARATION SUPPORTING THE CREATION OF MINISTRIES AND INFRASTRUCTURES OF PEACE

Through this Declaration, the International Peace Bureau (IPB), an international Non-Governmental Organization,

MANIFESTS its firm support for the creation and maintenance of Ministries of Peace and Peace Infrastructures that are organized and developed in the Latin American region and internationally with the objective of generating a peaceful, supportive and harmonious culture incorporated in sustainable and lasting way to the lives of people.

More specifically, convinced of the relevance and urgency of said government structure in the current Colombian reality and taking into account its long history of violence and armed conflict that has bled the country for more than 50 years, we adhere to the project to create the Ministry of Peace in Colombia, which will be presented by representatives of the Global Alliance for Ministries & Infrastructures for Peace -GAMIP -in Bogotá, on November 9, 2023 in the format of a Public Hearing at the Congress of the Republic.

The planification of a Ministry of Peace and the development of Peace Infrastructures in Colombia, in all the countries of the Latin American continent and the world, means an unprecedented political and strategic challenge, enabling two simultaneous processes of extraordinary importance and impact on the future of the history of the region.

Read the full Declaration here:

Carta-apoyando-al-MPC_in-English_IPB Download