January 28, 2025 – WASHINGTON, D.C.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Science and Security Board (SASB) has set the Doomsday Clock at 89 seconds to midnight, marking the closest it has ever been in its 78-year history. This historic adjustment underscores the alarming trajectory of global risks and highlights the urgent need for immediate, collective action to avert catastrophe.
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Sierra Leone: New Anti-Democratic Law to Silence Critics
By: Africanist Press | 23 January 2024
The Sierra Leone Parliament has recently endorsed a controversial Counter Terrorism Act, which threatens the fundamental civil rights of citizens and grants sweeping powers to the state to silence opposition. This legislation, passed with little public consultation, could criminalize free speech, labeling dissent as terrorism. Its provisions target journalists, academics, and any individuals or groups the government deems a threat to national security. This bill is seen as a direct assault on freedoms of expression and academic inquiry in Sierra Leone.
Continue reading “Sierra Leone: New Anti-Democratic Law to Silence Critics”Podcast Episode: Community Voices: IPB Calls for Unity and Peace in Liberia’s House of Representatives
By: Africanist Press
In this episode, Africanist Press, with Tyson Smith Berry Jr., IPB Council Member, explores critical issues in Liberia. The IPB has urged members of Liberia’s House of Representatives to unite and address the ongoing parliamentary deadlock that has stalled legislative activities since October 2024.
Tyson delves into the petition, emphasizing the importance of unity and peace in the Liberian House of Representatives and highlighting why collaboration between the Reform and Loyalist Blocs is crucial for the country’s future.
Listen now:
1. To listen on Spotify, click here.
2. To listen on Amazon, click here.
Join the movement! Sign our urgent call for action in Liberia to support unity and progress. Together, we can make a difference.
https://bit.ly/signthecall-Liberia
We thank you, Africanist Press for this collaboration.
In Memoriam: Federico Mayor Zaragoza
“We must move from the law of the jungle to that of understanding, dialogue, and listening, to the conviction that people understand each other by talking”
The International Peace Bureau (IPB) deeply mourns the passing of close friend and dedicated culture of peace advocate Federico Mayor Zaragoza. As Director of UNESCO from 1987 until 1999, he centered the importance of education as a tool for development, peace and human security. In 2000, he founded the Fundación Cultura de Paz, dedicated to promoting a culture of peace and building dialogue and understanding between cultures and peoples, emphasizing the importance of gender equality and women’s involvement in a culture of peace. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize on several occasions, including by IPB.
For IPB, Federico represented a beacon of hope for peace and international cooperation and we were proud to work with him frequently over the years. In 1999, his speech at the Hague Appeal for Peace Conference opened up doors for international partnership with UNESCO on the Global Campaign for Peace Education. He welcomed IPB into the Ubuntu Civil Society Network and helped organized our 2016 and 2021 World Peace Congresses in Berlin and Barcelona. His speeches inspired – but even more, they provided hope and concrete actions for a more peaceful future.
We honor his legacy and his lifetime of contributions to peace, justice, and cultural dialogue. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and all who were touched by his remarkable life.
Federico Mayor, December 2024
“We, the peoples, have resolved to save future generations from the scourge of war”. – UN Charter
Continue reading “In Memoriam: Federico Mayor Zaragoza “When everything appeared
indecipherable, irreversible,
dark and meaningless,
radiantly arose in every human being
the light of the extraordinary mystery
of life
Suddenly, renewed hope
on new paths
on a personal and collective scale.
Now, duty of memory, for urgent action.
Now, at last, the power of the word
and never again that of arms.
Now, yes now, “we, the peoples”,
equal in dignity.
Introducing Austria’s First Peace Atlas: A Pathway to Peace
Austria has taken a significant step forward in promoting peace with the launch of its first-ever Peace Atlas (Friedensatlas Österreich), a groundbreaking civil society project. This evolving initiative serves as a beacon for those seeking practical examples of nonviolent resistance, successful peace projects, and essential information on organizations dedicated to peace, human rights, environmental protection, women’s rights, and social justice.
The Peace Atlas is more than just a directory; it’s a collection of “Best Practices of Peace”. It maps out inspiring peace-promoting actions across Austria, such as acts of nonviolent resistance, transformative educational programs, legal reforms, and environmental initiatives. The Atlas highlights the deep connections between peace, social justice, the fair treatment of migrants, gender equality, and climate protection.
By showcasing these examples, the Peace Atlas aims to inspire individuals to incorporate peace-promoting actions into their daily lives and develop their projects for a more just and harmonious world. Organizations like AbFaNG and others are available to support those ready to embark on this path.
Explore the Peace Atlas and take the first step towards making peace a reality. Visit: www.friedensatlas.at
Give Peace a Chance!
In Memoriam: Fritz Edlinger
Austrian publicist, author, and peace activist | 1948-2024
With AbFaNG and the peace activists’ families, we mourn the passing of Fritz Edlinger, a dedicated journalist, author, and passionate advocate for peace, who left us on December 4th. As the editor of the magazine International and a committed left-wing social democrat, Fritz worked tirelessly to amplify voices and promote understanding, particularly in the Arab world.
His unwavering dedication extended to supporting cultural initiatives and advocating for a peaceful and just world. Even in his final days, Fritz remained deeply engaged in his mission, speaking at the opening of the Palestinian Film Week in Vienna, a project he organized.
We honor his legacy and his lifetime of contributions to peace, justice, and cultural dialogue. Fritz’s voice and vision will be deeply missed, but his work will continue to inspire us.
Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and all who were touched by his remarkable life.
Read more about his works at:
https://www.jungewelt.de/artikel/489388.fritz-edlinger-der-letzte-kreiskyaner.html
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Civil Society Statement on Nuclear Weapons Prohibition
By: Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, Released on October 23, 2024
On October 23, 2024, a statement was released by civil society organizations emphasizing the urgent need to prohibit nuclear weapons and denouncing the Kremlin’s nuclear blackmail. Published in both Ukrainian and English, the statement underscores the importance of upholding Ukraine’s historical commitment to remaining a nuclear-free state.
The Ukrainian Movement of Pacifists strongly reaffirms Ukraine’s adherence to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and condemns any discourse advocating for the development of nuclear weapons within Ukraine. This statement serves as a call to honor Ukraine’s obligations under international law and resist all forms of nuclear speculation, which jeopardize global peace and security.
Read the full statement in Ukrainian and English:
NEW PUBLICATION: Human Security and Common Security to Build Peace – A Toolkit for Parliamentarians
A new joint publication by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the International Peace Bureau (IPB) and the World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS) is designed to provide parliamentarians around the world with a toolkit for prioritizing human security and common security as opposed to militarized state security.
With every passing month, our world becomes more violent and dangerous. After a decline in the 1990s and early 2000s, the number of conflicts around the world has been growing – and no region has been left untouched. These conflicts often involve multiple parties and are increasingly fuelled by transnational criminal activity. Some have been going on for decades and some remain unaddressed by the international community. Their cost is immense, however, and it is usually civilians who pay the heaviest price.
The future hardly looks encouraging. Disinformation, social media and artificial intelligence (AI) are spreading hate, division and mistrust. AI-powered weapons are making it easier than ever to kill, while cyberattacks on critical infrastructure are also taking their toll. Meanwhile, nuclear disarmament has come to a grinding halt and global tensions are distracting our leaders from the urgent – and sometimes existential – challenges that face us: climate change, pandemics, hunger and much, much more. We need multilateral collaboration to address and fix these challenges. But conflicts take us in the opposite direction.
Two alternative approaches offer new possibilities to get us all back on track. The first is human security, which is about engaging with and representing people, and implies contextualized and tailored legislation rooted in several dimensions relating to the well-being of the individual. The second is common security, which takes the principles of human security to a larger scale and enshrines the idea that dialogue, multilateralism and collaboration are key to any attempt to solve a problem.
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Honoring Hiroshima and Nagasaki: A Call for Nuclear Disarmament in Belarus
4 August, Belarus – Olga Karatch from Our House organization recently led a peace wave action in Belarus to commemorate the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and to advocate against nuclear weapons. She is pleased to share photos from the event, which saw a larger turnout than anticipated.
Karatch emphasizes the importance of unity and collective effort in the fight for nuclear disarmament and the right to be conscientious objectors. This action reflects their commitment to a world free from weapons and war.
As we remember the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Karatch encourages continued advocacy for a peaceful future and nuclear-free world.
Read the Statement by Olga Karach in memory of the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and on the use of nuclear weapons in Belarus.
[German language]
Olga Karatch is a Belarusian activist, political scientist and head of the human rights organization “Our House” (Nash Dom), founded in 2002 as a self-financed newspaper. The 45-year-old Nobel Peace Prize candidate is active in the human and civil rights network, which is repressed in her country by the Lukashenko regime. She has been detained several times and also tortured; the KGB website publishes her name on the list of terrorists. Today she lives in exile in Vilnius, Lithuania, from where she continues her important non-violent work.