Statements – IPB – International Peace Bureau

French Nuclear Tests in Algeria – Joint Statement on the International Day Against Nuclear Tests

We, the undersigned organizations, on the occasion of the International Day Against Nuclear Tests, 29 August 2025, express our deep concern at the passing of more than six decades since the start of the series of nuclear tests conducted by France in the Algerian Sahara between 1960 and 1966. These included 17 nuclear explosions in addition to 40 subcritical supplementary tests, leaving a heavy legacy of widespread radioactive contamination and resulting in severe health, environmental, and social damage that remains to this day.

Letter for a World Free of War and Nuclear Weapons

English and Spanish

On August 6 and 9, 2025, the individuals and organizations signing this letter will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the events in which the United States dropped two nuclear bombs on the Japanese populations of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing 150,000 people and leaving thousands more injured and suffering serious consequences. We honor and remember all those lives lost and injured by the nuclear bombs. For them, for us, we say No to the existence and use of nuclear weapons!

Three Japanese Groups, Including A-Bomb Survivors’ Organization, Issue Joint Statement on Hiroshima and Nagasaki 80th Anniversary

23 July 2025, Japan – Ahead of the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, three organizations calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons, including the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, issued a joint statement on the 23rd, calling for “the most important thing is to raise awareness in Japan and around the world about the inhumanity of nuclear weapons, regardless of differences of position.”

A GLOBAL CALL TO ACTION: FOR DEMOCRACY THAT DELIVERS PEACE AND PROSPERITY FOR ALL

FOR DEMOCRACY THAT DELIVERS PEACE AND PROSPERITY FOR ALL

As we approach the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we, the undersigned organisations, call on governments and international institutions to reaffirm their commitment to a world free from nuclear weapons, honouring the demand of the Hibakusha and 2024 Nobel Peace laureate Nihon Hidankyo, and to prioritize sustainable development over militarism, people of collective power, accelerating military build-up and climate change, and diverting resources away from human development and peacebuilding.

As organisations from the peace, labour, economic justice, and climate movements, we share the belief that collective security can only be ensured through solidarity, by meeting the basic needs of all people.

IPB Press Release: For Democracy that Delivers Peace and Prosperity for All

27 July 2025, Berlin, Germany

The International Peace Bureau (IPB), in cooperation with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Greenpeace, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Oxfam, and 350.org, has released a global call to action for nuclear and conventional disarmament, common security, and a prioritization of sustainable development over militarism.

IPB Statement on Thailand-Cambodia Border Clashes

25 July 2025

The International Peace Bureau (IPB) expresses deep concern over the rising military clashes and political tensions between Thailand and Cambodia, which have resulted in the death of at least 15 civilians and the mass displacement of civilians from border areas. The escalation of long-standing tensions over the border risks further exacerbating civilian suffering and displacement.

The IPB calls for an immediate ceasefire and a return to diplomatic negotiations and conflict resolution as the only tools that can solve the crisis. Nationalist and militaristic rhetoric must be replaced by dialogue and common security. Moreover, IPB calls on ASEAN, particularly neighbour states, in the region and those with military ties to either party to encourage de-escalation and peaceful resolution.

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Neutrality Colloquium: A Call to Action for Active Neutrality & World Peace

Neutrality Colloquium: A Call to Action for Active Neutrality & World Peace

Geneva, Switzerland | June 26-27, 2025

The Neutrality Colloquium took place on June 26–27, 2025, in Geneva, Switzerland, bringing together 90 experts in diplomacy, international law, peacebuilding, and digitalization, from 27 countries across five continents—including Colombia, Argentina, Costa Rica, the USA, the DRC, Syria, Moldova, Ireland, Japan, and China. Held in hybrid format, the Colloquium served as a critical platform to explore and promote active neutrality as a strategy for peacebuilding, conflict prevention, and global stability amid growing geopolitical tensions, rising militarization, and ongoing humanitarian crises.

This gathering followed the First International Congress on Neutrality, which was held in Bogotá, Colombia, in April 2024. That congress marked a milestone, with participants from 25 countries laying the groundwork for a renewed global conversation on neutrality. The Geneva Colloquium was conceived as a smaller, expert-level forum to build upon that momentum and shape the vision for the Second International Congress on Neutrality, scheduled for 2026.

The event was jointly organized by a coalition of organizations committed to peace and disarmament: Global Veterans Peace Network (GVPN), World BEYOND War, Inter-University Network for Peace (REDIPAZ), International Peace Bureau (IPB), Transnational Institute, the Colombia Peace Agreement, and the Geneva Center for Neutrality, which hosted the gathering. Their collaboration was essential to the success of the Colloquium.

Over two days, participants engaged in five thematic focus groups:

Current Neutrality Practices
Digital Neutrality in the Age of Cyberwarfare and AI
Neutrality and Media
Building a New Non-Aligned Movement
Neutrality and Common Security in a Militarized World

Each group developed specific recommendations, which were integrated into the final outcomes of the Colloquium: a Modern Neutrality Final Declaration and an Action Agenda to Promote Active Neutrality.

The Declaration stresses that neutrality is not indifference. Rather, it is a strategic, principled approach to international relations—one that prioritizes peace over power projection, sovereignty over dominance, and cooperation over confrontation. In light of the alarming rise in military expenditures—including NATO’s recent commitment to allocate up to 5% of GDP to defense—the declaration calls for redirecting resources from warfare to social, ecological, and economic justice.

“Active neutrality is neither passive nor indifferent. It is a proactive, values-based stance, rooted in non-alignment, non-intervention, and demilitarization. In a context of rising geopolitical rivalries, climate breakdown, and digital warfare, active neutrality means to:

Prioritize peace over power projection

Promote sovereignty and self-determination, especially for the Global South

Reject participation in arms races, military alliances or military interventions

Promote dialogue, diplomacy and multilateralism

Invest in social, ecological and economic justice instead of war”

The Geneva Colloquium marked a significant step in global efforts to redefine and reinvigorate the role of neutrality in the 21st century. The inputs and outcomes of this event will directly inform the Second International Congress on Neutrality in 2026—ensuring that the principles of active neutrality continue to evolve as powerful tools for peace and justice in our increasingly polarized world.

You can read and download the documents below:

Modern Neutrality Final Declaration
Action Agenda to Promote Active Neutrality
Press Release: Colloquium on Neutrality by Geneva Center for Neutrality Official

Modern Neutrality Final Declaration

Modern Neutrality Final Declaration Download

Action Agenda to Promote Active Neutrality

Action Agenda to Promote Active Neutrality Download

Press Release: Colloquium on Neutrality by Geneva Center for Neutrality

EN – Press release Download

The Helsinki +50 People’s declaration on common security and human rights

Drafted by Nordic Peace Alliance’s working group on Helsinki+50

Preamble

Inspired by the Helsinki Final Act signed on the 1 st of August 1975, we, civil society organizations and individuals from Europe and beyond, call for the reinvention and revitalization of cooperation for common security and human rights in Europe. The conference in Helsinki paved the way for several positive achievements, serving as the closest thing to a peace agreement for post-World War II Europe during the continued Cold War period. The allied victory in WWII led to the formation of the UN and the adoption of indivisible human rights and the UN Charter which is the basis of international law. The Helsinki Final Act built on these achievements and promoted economic, social, cultural, environmental, scientific, and humanitarian cooperation. Thus, the Helsinki Final Act created the necessary environment for détente, arms reduction, and a dynamic peace and human rights movement of global importance.

Final Declaration of the International Forum for Peace

For a world in peace

Stop the increase in military spending and the militarization of our society!

The world is at a crossroads. On the one hand, the world capitalist system, imperialism that insists on maintaining a unipolar order, anchored in centuries of colonial domination, with NATO acting as the military, political and ideological arm of that old and unjust international order. On the other side, there are the forces that seek to make way for a new multilateral order, committed to the principles of the UN, which is committed to peaceful coexistence, mutually beneficial cooperation, social progress and solidarity.

IPB Condemns U.S. Strikes on Iranian Nuclear Sites: An Illegal Escalation

Berlin, June 22, 2025

The International Peace Bureau (IPB) strongly condemns the United States’ recent military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Carried out in coordination with Israel, these attacks are a dangerous escalation that violates both international law and the U.S. Constitution—and brings the region closer to a devastating war.

Under international humanitarian law, nuclear facilities are protected due to the catastrophic risks they pose to civilians and the environment. Targeting them is inhuman and illegal. There is no credible evidence that Iran is currently pursuing nuclear weapons—U.S. intelligence has confirmed this repeatedly. Military action under these circumstances has no legal justification.

Domestically, the strikes also violate the U.S. Constitution, which grants Congress—not the President—the authority to declare war. Launching attacks without Congressional approval contradicts both the War Powers Resolution and the principles of democratic oversight.

This is more than a legal issue—it is a matter of global security. Attacking nuclear infrastructure risks the release of radioactive materials, retaliatory strikes, and rapid regional escalation. The consequences could be catastrophic—not just for Iran and the Middle East, but for the world. The USA and Iran should cease hostilities and return to serious, long-term negotiations.

NATO members must not follow a U.S. president who acts unlawfully, even within his own constitutional system. They have a responsibility to uphold international law and prevent escalation—not enable it. Silence or complicity only deepens the crisis.

There is no military solution to this crisis. IPB calls for an immediate end to all military operations, respect for international law, and return to diplomacy. Peace and common security can only be achieved through cooperation, not weapons.

FOR DEMOCRACY THAT DELIVERS PEACE AND PROSPERITY FOR ALL

You can read and download the documents below:

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