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Ukraine-Russia: Negotiate Now!

Embargo: 22 May 2024, 00:00 am

The extension of wars creates an unprecedented danger for the state of the world. Assuring peace and finding ways to solve armed conflicts is a fundamental duty of governments. Europe has a particular responsibility to start searching for ways to end the war that is taking place within its region – the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Annual Report Conscientious Objection to Military Service in Europe 2023/24

For the second year, this report is necessarily dominated by the war in Ukraine, with a large part of the space being taken up with reports of developments in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus and the situation of refugees from these countries. EBCO continues working on the ObjectWarCampaign, which was jointly launched by Connection e.V., War Resisters’International (WRI), International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR), and European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO).

This Annual Report covers developments from 2023 up to the start of April 2024.

Expert: It is impossible to achieve victory through weapons in the atomic world

Press Release

Obshchaya Gazeta, Leningrad Region, Russia, April 22

Original Publication in Russia: https://og47.ru/2024/04/22/ekspert-za-scyot-oruziya-v-atomnom-mire-nevozmozno-dobitsya-pobedy-42180

Healing People, Peace & Planet : World’s Indigenous Leaders at the First Global Summit on Indigenous Peacebuilding held in Washington DC Urges United Nations to include Indigenous Peacebuilding Approaches in Resolving Global Conflicts.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

30 April 2024, Binalakshmi Nepram Mentschel

We live in a world marred by conflict. The world of today urgently needs meaningful peacebuilding that works for all. 80 percent of conflicts around the world are happening in biodiversity areas where Indigenous Peoples live.107 wars are happening in the world today, displacing 117 million. Any peace-building efforts in global conflicts must involve and include Indigenous Peoples. Peace-making efforts are currently usually negotiated at high political levels, behind closed doors, and with violent groups – where Indigenous Peoples are rarely represented.

Djibouti: Closing Foreign Military Bases/ Fermeture des bases militaires étrangères

IPB supports the World Beyond War’s campaign to close all military bases in Djibouti through non-violent means. A military bases comprises land, structures, and gear specifically designated for the requirements of the military and overseen by the soldiers who typically reside and operate there when not engaged in foreign missions. Through agreements among nations, certain prominent nations maintain bases beyond their own territories. These bases serve as hubs for organizing and initiating military actions. We strongly support Djibouti’s call to close the eight active bases in their area.

Support the Let Cuba Live!

Today Cuba faces a blockade whose sole purpose is to force it’s people into submission; a blockade that is using new tools like the State Sponsors of Terrorism list to increase its strength and reach.

IPB support the Let Cuba Live Campaign. Join us in collecting 1 MILLION SIGNATURES for an urgent demand to take Cuba off the list of State Sponsors of Terror and continue its path toward peace, social justice, and human development.

Global Day of Action #StopSendingArms to Israel

On May 2, the Global Day of Action will mobilise a global coalition of arms experts, civil society organisations, climate activists, healthcare workers, faith leaders, journalists, academics, legal professionals, artists and students around the shared goal of calling on all states to halt the transfer of weapons, parts and ammunitions used to fuel atrocity crimes in Gaza.

Stop the War Coalition -Philippines Statement on Global Military Spending

PRESS STATEMENT

APRIL 25, 2024

References: Dj Janier (09336412694), Mercy Angeles (09063677594)

Stop the War Coalition Philippines joins the call to demilitarize as global military spending rises for the ninth consecutive year

Wars and military conflicts devastate entire portions of the planet. According to SIPRI estimates, global military spending climbed by 19% between 2013 and 2022 and has risen annually since 2015. Particularly for 2023, for the ninth year in a row, there has been a 6.8 percent increase in spending in real terms from 2022, with the world spending roughly $2443 billion US dollars. This is apparent in all five regions, with considerable rises in Europe, Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East.

For the Philippines, military spending has been steadily on the rise in recent years with the latest figures showing that we spent USD 3.965 Million or around 35 dollars per capita (source: demilitarize.org). Around 500 million USD in Foreign Military Financing from the United States is earmarked for the country. This is part of the 8 billion USD emergency aid package for Indo-Pacific allies under the Indo-Pacific Supplemental Appropriations Act that was approved by the United States House of Representatives. This in turn was part of an even bigger 95B USD package that will send aid to other US allies like Israel and Ukraine.

UNODA’s Statement on the Global Days of Action on Military Spending

Izumi Nakamitsu, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, issued the following message on the occasion of the 2024 Global Days of Action on Military Spending.

The figures released today by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) show that global military expenditures rose by 6.8 per cent in real terms to 2,443 billion US dollars in 2023 – a new record high. This amounts to approximately 2.3 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP) or around 306 US dollars for every person on the planet.

Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2023

Published by: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)

Date: 22 April 2024

Authors: Dr Nan Tian, Dr Diego Lopes da Silva, Xiao Liang and Lorenzo Scarazzato

World military expenditure increased for the ninth consecutive year in 2023, reaching a total of $2443 billion. The 6.8 per cent increase in 2023 was the steepest year-on-year rise since 2009 and pushed global spending to the highest level SIPRI has ever recorded. The world military burden—defined as military spending as a percentage of global gross domestic product (GDP)—increased to 2.3 per cent in 2023. Average military expenditure as a share of government expenditure rose by 0.4 percentage points to 6.9 per cent in 2023 and world military spending per person was the highest since 1990, at $306.