Dive into a powerful conversation on human rights, resilience, and the fight for justice with Randa Siniora, a leading Palestinian feminist and human rights activist.
In this compelling episode of the Women as Agents of Change podcast, Liza Florida sits down with the incredibly insightful Randa Siniora, a Human Rights Defender and General Director of the Women’s Center for Legal Aid and Counseling in Palestine. Randa shares her deeply personal journey, shaped by a legacy of displacement and a lifelong defiance of patriarchal norms. She discusses the critical intersection of colonial occupation and patriarchal structures, specifically how they disproportionately impact Palestinian women.
This isn’t just a conversation about activism; it’s a testament to unwavering persistence, the vital importance of global solidarity, and the enduring power of hope in the face of overwhelming odds.
A new analysis released during the NATO summit in the Netherlands by the Transnational Institute, Tipping Point North South, and Stop Wapenhandel, reveals that NATO’s growing military build-up is severely undermining global climate goals and diverting critical resources away from climate and social investment.
Since 2021, NATO member states have increased their combined military spending by 25%, reaching US $1.5 trillion. This rise has contributed to an estimated 40% increase in the Alliance’s carbon emissions—from 196 million to 273 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent. In 2024 alone, European NATO members and Canada recorded their steepest annual spending increase in decades at 17.9%.
Explore the powerful intersection of trauma healing, human rights, and social change in this profound conversation with psychologist and poet Esset Samatova.
In this episode of the Women as Agents of Change podcast, Liza Florida sits down with the insightful Esset Samatova—a Santo psychologist, human rights strategist, and poet. Esset shares her journey from a ninth-grade fascination with psychology to the front lines of activism, where she pioneers a unique approach integrating trauma healing into the core of social change. She discusses the critical need to address both individual and systemic trauma, the mentors who shaped her path, and her work with the UN Minority Fellowship.
Presented by the International Peace Bureau in collaboration with the Eight Billion Podcast, this series celebrates the wisdom, vision, and transformative power of women working across the globe to create a more peaceful, just, and sustainable future.
Women from diverse backgrounds have long been at the forefront of positive change. As pillars of peacebuilding and transformation, their impact transcends generations. Through activism, the arts, community leadership, and cultural preservation, women continue to inspire movements for justice and shape societies through creative expression.
The Fourth Annual 24-Hour Peace Wave is coming on July 12, 2025.
The peace wave is a 24-hour-long Zoom featuring live peace actions in the streets and squares of the world, moving around the globe with the sun. The peace wave visits dozens of locations around the globe and includes rallies, concerts, production of artworks, blood drives, installation of peace poles, dances, speeches, and public demonstrations of all variety.
In 2025 we are encouraging participants to address the need to abolish nuclear weapons.
All parts will have machine-translated captions in Zoom. Some parts will have human voice interpretation.
The Peace Wave will happen on July 12, 2025, from 0:00 to 24:00 UTC. In Japan that is 9 a.m. July 12 to 9 a.m. July 13. In Europe that is 2 a.m. July 12 to 2 a.m. July 13. In U.S. and Canada Eastern Time that is 8 p.m. July 11 to 8 p.m. July 12.
Get the Zoom Link to Watch the Peace WaveEmbed the Registration Form on Your Own Website
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Report from Campaign for Peace Disarmament and Common Security shared via Newsletter | 07 May 2025
We were privileged to play the leading role in organizing “SOME WAY OUT OF HERE: Disarming Nuclear Powers & Preventing Proliferation” side event at the United Nations during the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty PrepCom. The session featured Yayoi Tsuchda, the Assistant General Secretary of Gensuiko, the Japan Council against A- & H- Bombs, Dr. Marco Marzo, Secretary General of the Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Weapons; and John Burroughs the senior analyst and former Executive Director of the Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy.
As war and militarism continue to threaten global peace and stability, voices for justice, nonviolence, and diplomacy are rising across Europe. This June, we invite you to take part in a powerful series of peace events happening in several cities—including The Hague, Brussels, Geneva, and Ramstein—where we will gather in solidarity with peace movements around the continent.
These events are more than symbolic—they are actions rooted in collective resistance, education, and community building. Whether you’re marching in a demonstration, attending a peace conference, or meeting fellow activists, your presence matters.
Over the past year, the world has witnessed an alarming escalation of violence: the genocide in Gaza, the war in Ukraine, the civil war in Sudan, the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and more than 30 other armed conflicts in the Global South (half of them in Africa) have led to millions of people being killed, injured, losing their livelihood or being forcibly displaced. Still further violent conflicts loom on the horizon as global tensions escalate and competition between nations grows while international law and conflict mediation and resolution bodies like the United Nations are sidelined or ignored.
Militarism is clearly fuelling all these wars and violence, but despite calls to move away from weapons and violence to peace negotiations and disarmament, governments are doubling down on a recipe for disaster by significantly increasing their military budgets. Instead of seeking paths toward peace by investing in diplomacy, humanitarian aid, and conflict resolution, they’ve decided to hand out more and more money to the arms industry. History has repeatedly shown that militarization brings neither peace nor security; it perpetuates cycles of destruction, suffering, and injustice and fuels climate breakdown. Militarization is therefore not a solution, but a part of the problem. How is more of the same going to give any result other than more war, violence and injustice?
All this violence is also being fuelled by increasingly aggressive and openly supremacist discourses and policies from a rising far right and a rightwards shifting center, which exacerbate a climate of fear and present further militarisation and securitisation of our societies as the only path forward, thus closing off any public debate.
Spending money in war and rearmament means diverting valuable resources away from our wellbeing. Every cent spent on arms is a cent not spent on essential public services, where it would truly improve lives, provide genuine security and build sustainable peace. At a time of climate and environmental crises that put the planet and the lives of current and future generations at risk, it is essential to reduce military budgets and use these resources to save people and the planet. Prioritizing war-related expenditures over fundamental societal needs exacerbates suffering, deepens economic insecurity and widens social inequality. Further militarization and military spending increases will necessarily entail more austerity and cuts in essential public services, while fueling repression and the loss of rights and freedoms, both home and abroad. It is also paramount to debunk the myth of the positive impacts that military investments have on national economies. Increasing military spending, in addition to reinforcing a status quo based on violence and injustice, diverts resources from more productive civil sectors, which yield higher benefits, both short and long-term, including job creation.
We demand an end to this reckless arms race. The world does not need more weapons, but rather more dialogue, cooperation, global democratic institutions, and a commitment to justice and human dignity.
We urgently call on governments to reduce military spending and instead address through cooperation and diplomacy the global challenges of our time requiring all available resources.
We call for real efforts aimed at global disarmament, stopping the arms trade and ceasing arms shipments to countries in conflict, involved in regional instability or systematically violating human rights and international law. We call on governments and companies to prioritise peace and justice over profits derived from arms manufacturing and trading.
We call on governments (especially those of the U.S. and EU countries) to cease supplying arms to and buying arms from Israel, and use all existing means, including by taking sanctions against the Israeli government, to push for a real ceasefire and an end to the genocide in Gaza.
We call for a sincere and active discussion on new and responsive international and regional security architectures based on the shared ideas of common security, disarmament and global justice. We call on governments to abide by international law and international disarmament treaties, to support the international conflict resolution framework of the United Nations, implement the commitments made in the UN Pact for the Future, and to actively prepare a fourth Special Session on Disarmament in the UNGA.
We call on governments to address the climate crisis now. Global militaries are responsible for 5.5% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This means that if global militaries were a country, they would be the fourth largest emitter. Increased military spending means increased GHG emissions. If millions of dollars can be made available for buying arms, there is no reason why they should not be available for climate finance to address the biggest challenge ever faced by humanity.
We call on civil society across local, national, regional, and international levels to join together in the GCOMS campaign to combat the rising trend of military spending, to strengthen the global movement for peace and justice, and to challenge decision-makers who seek to justify a never-ending militarism in the name of security.
Sign the appeal now, please click the button below:
Where: Koekamp (Laan van Reagan en Gorbatsjov), The Hague, Netherlands
On Tuesday 24th and Wednesday 25th of June, the annual NATO-summit will be held in the World Forum in The Hague. There, NATO’s members and heads of state will discuss their ongoing war plans against their geopolitical enemies, with the goal of retaining and conquering access to resources and political power worldwide. The summit will be held in the context of escalating militarisation and tensions in the west, and the ongoing western support for the Israeli genocide on the Palestinian people.
The organisation calls on all aligned international, progressive organisations to mobilise its people, resources and fellow organisations to join this protest against the NATO war summit, and to verbalise the growing international call for justice and peace. Together, we stand strong against the raging imperialist war machine. The time to act is now!
Organisation
This protest is organised by the Dutch Counter Summit Coalition for Peace and Justice, composed of several of the leading Dutch organisations on the topic of anti-imperialism, peace and social justice. Including, but not limited to: the Revolutionary Socialist Party and their youth organisation ROOD, De Nieuwe Vredesbeweging, BIJ1, and Stop Wapenhandel. Besides this protest, the coalition is also organising a counter summit (with limited capacity) on the 21st and the 22nd of June.
The Counter Summit will finish before the protest starts, so attendance at both events is compatible. The Koekamp is a 2 minute walk from the Central Station of The Hague. There are several parking garages nearby. A public toilet is available at the Central Station. It is encouraged to bring anti-imperialist and pro-justice campaign material to the protest. Other additional information, e.g. the speaker programme and duration of the protest, will be shared at a later moment. The media kit for promotion can be downloaded through this link.
For pressing matters or additional questions, please contact the coordinator of the
Help us raise awareness and mobilize for peace! Your contribution will support the international protest against the NATO war summit on June 22nd in Brussels, including outreach, logistics, and mobilization efforts.
Let’s take a stand together — No to war, yes to peace!
On March 19, 2025, at 12:00 PM ET, the Women in Conflict Zones webinar brought together women from various war-affected regions to share their experiences and insights. Organized by World BEYOND War, Southern Anti-Racism Network, International Peace Bureau, Convention for Pan-Africanism and Progress (CPP), and CODEPINK, the event highlighted the devastating impacts of war on women and children while exploring solutions for peace and justice.
Speakers from Belarus, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gaza, Lebanon, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Korea, Sudan, and Syria shared firsthand testimonies of resilience and activism in conflict zones. The event also aligned with the second UN Decade for People of African Descent (2025-2034), emphasizing the need for targeted support for African women and children affected by war.
Speakers:
Belarus: Olga Karatch
Cameroon: Cyrille Rolande Bechon
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Julie Kabukanyi
Gaza/Palestine: Hanan Awwad
Lebanon: Hala Kilani & Shirine Jurdi
Mozambique: Namatama Sakabilo
Nigeria: Zullaihat Muhammad Ohiare
South Korea: Cho Young-mi
Sudan: Reem Abbas
Syria: Oula Ahmad
This webinar served as a powerful call to action, urging global solidarity in addressing the impact of war on women and fostering long-term peace.
