Yesterdays´news – IPB – International Peace Bureau

Post Event – If Not Now, When? An International Forum to Prevent Nuclear War and Secure Our Future

We extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who joined us for our side event If Not Now, When? An International Forum to Prevent Nuclear War and Secure Our Future on March 4, 2025, at Scandinavia House in New York City.

2025 Peace Camp: The Lakenheath Alliance for Peace

The New Peace Camp will take place from Monday, 14 April to Friday, 25 April 2025, at RAF Lakenheath in the UK. This event is organized by the Lakenheath Alliance for Peace to raise awareness and oppose the potential return of US nuclear weapons to the base, while advocating for global peace and disarmament.

Statement of Support for Turkish Conscientious Objectors

Issued by the Deutsche Friedensgesellschaft – Vereinigte KriegsdienstgegnerInnen (DFG-VK) German Peace Society – United War Resisters

We have just heard accounts from those directly affected by the criminalization of conscientious objection in Turkey. Their experiences are a stark reminder that the fight against militarism is not abstract—it is about real people facing real persecution. Their voices demand that we turn what we have heard today into meaningful action.

GDAMS 2025: April 10 to May 9

From April 10 to May 9, 2025, the International Peace Bureau (IPB) will join forces with partners worldwide for the Global Day of Action on Military Spending (GDAMS). This year’s campaign comes at a crucial moment, as the world faces escalating violence, including the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the war in Ukraine, and over 30 other armed conflicts in the Global South, many of which are in Africa. These conflicts, alongside increasing militarization and supremacist rhetoric, have created a climate of fear and instability.

Demand to Close Military Bases Heard Around the World

On February 23 and surrounding days, individuals and organizations around the world took coordinated action in their communities to call for the closure of all military bases as part of the Global Day of Action to Close Bases. Details about plans for the day, participants, motivations, and goals are at DayToCloseBases.org.

2024 Seán MacBride Peace Prize: Honoring Indigenous Women Peacebuilders in Manipur, India and Peacebuilders in Israel-Palestine

21 February 2025, Berlin, Germany

The 2024 Seán MacBride Peace Prize honors the selfless efforts and dedication of organizations and individuals who promote healing, restoration, and human rights while embodying the principles of peace amidst diversity. This year, the prize is awarded to two joint organizations and three outstanding Indigenous women whose work reflects bravery, resilience, nonviolence, and genuine peacebuilding.

Alarm at Irish Government Plans to Dismantle Ireland’s Triple Lock

Open Letter to the Taoiseach by International Organisations

Ireland is a neutral country. A central component of that neutrality is the Triple Lock. It stipulates that Irish troops can only be deployed on overseas missions if there is approval from:

the cabinet,
Dáil Éireann – Ireland’s lower house of parliament,
and there is a UN mandate.

A three-tiered approval mechanism to authorise the deployment of troops to highly complex and volatile environments, including conflict zones, makes good sense. Yet in recent days the Irish government announced plans to bring legislation before the cabinet to undo it. This is a fundamental policy shift that will seriously weaken Irish neutrality. It could see Irish troops being deployed, not to keep the peace within a UN mandated mission, but to wage war as part of a military alliance.

We firmly believe in neutrality as a means to actively prevent the outbreak of war and recognise that the Triple Lock is vital for preserving Ireland’s neutrality, particularly amid escalating global instability and conflict. We wrote to the Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) to convey our alarm at the erosion of a core component of Irish neutrality.

You can read the full letter below.

IPB Statement on Democratic Republic of Congo

The International Peace Bureau expresses deep concern regarding the advance of the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo including in the regional capital of Goma. To this day and despite international humanitarian law, humanitarian assistance remains blocked outside Goma, while the population is still deprived of access to drinking water, electricity, Internet, sufficient food and adequate health care – the capacity of hospitals is saturated. The ongoing violence not only endangers the stability and well-being of the people of the DRC but also threatens peace and security across the whole region.

European Speaking Tour: Conscientious Objectors from Türkiye Share Their Fight for Human Rights

Human rights activists from Turkey are sharing their personal experiences during their European speaking tour.

Türkiye does not recognize the human right to conscientious objection to military service. As a result, conscientious objectors face lifelong ‘civil death,’ enduring persecution, fines, and prison sentences. By refusing military service, they take a clear stand against militarization and war in Türkiye.

Conscientious objectors and their supporters actively organize through Vicdani Ret İzleme (Conscientious Objection Watch). We have invited them to share their work and experiences with us. This event offers a unique opportunity to hear firsthand accounts from conscientious objectors about their strategies of resistance against conscription and war in Türkiye. They will also discuss their connections with groups in Kurdish regions and explore whether conscientious objection can be a path to ending the war in the region.

Additionally, they will present the work of Vicdani Ret İzleme and invite you to join their efforts in opposing war and conscription.

The speakers

Merve Arkun is one of the vice presidents of the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection and an executive member of War Resisters’ International, will give briefings on the current situation of the right to conscientious objection in Türkiye and examples of the work carried out. She will also share gender perspectives on conscientious objection as a human right.

Hüseyin Civan is a conscientious objector and has been subjected to restrictions on his civil rights and is experiencing „civil death” (a term used by the European Court of Human Rights to describe the situation of conscientious objectors in Türkiye) due to his refusal to serve in the army.

Inan Aru is a conscientious objector and has been tried and imprisoned many times on the same charge due to Türkiye’s failure to recognize the right to conscientious objection.

Hülya Üçpinar is a human rights lawyer from Türkiye, and has a long track record of campaigning for the right to conscientious objection in Türkiye. She is also experienced in applying for this human right within the European and UN system. She is an executive committee member of War Resisters’ International and one of the co-founders of the Nonviolent Education and Research Centre based in İstanbul.

We will be glad to have them in person in Berlin on 27 February, together with Deutsche Friedensgesellschaft – Vereinigte Kriegsdienstgegner (DFG-VK). You can register at https://bit.ly/tco-berlin and please check the complete Berlin event details here:

Berlin Event: 27 February

The tour is organized by Connection e.V. and War Resisters’ International. Stay tuned for their tour dates and venues at: https://en.connection-ev.org/

Check the flyer below for their schedule (English, German and Turkish):

Berlin_TurkeyPosterA3-Eng_De_It5 Download

Turkey – Booklet Berlin2 Download

War & Peace Prospects for ASEAN and Asia in the Trump Era by Reiner Braun

January 28, 2025 -Philippines

Reiner Braun, former president and executive director of the Berlin-based International Peace Bureau (IPB), shared his insights on global peace and the urgent need to avoid World War III during his talk at the Pandesal Forum, held at Kamuning Bakery Café. The event, moderated by Wilson Lee Flores, focused on the topic War & Peace Prospects for ASEAN and Asia in the Trump Era.