CONGRESS REPORT 2015
WOMEN’S INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR
PEACE & FREEDOM
© 2016 Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom March 2016 CONGRESS REPORT 2015 1st edition 78 pp. Author: This report was prepared by Susi Snyder with contributions and notes taken by: Alison Bottomley, Anjo Kerkhofs, Annika Skogar, Åsa Malmberg, David Stallman, Emma Bürgisser, Helen Kay, Janette McLeod, Kathrin Perez, Linda Eitrem Holmgren, Malin Nilsson, Mia Gandenberger, Altaira Hatton and Stella Hermiston. Editor: Madeleine Rees, Kozue Akibayashi, Altaira Hatton, Catia Confortini and Nina Maria Mørk Hansen Design and Layout: Nina Maria Mørk Hansen Photos: All photos in the report are by Li Grebäck and Mir Grebäck von Melen. A huge thanks from WILPF for all those wonderful photos covering such an important event in the history of WILPF. Cover photo: The Centennial Congress took place in The Hague, the Netherlands, were WILPF got founded 100 years ago. As in 1915, an iconic group photo was taken on the stairs leading up to the Palace. Photo credit: Mir Grebäck von Melen. www.wilpf.org
Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom Rue de Varembé 1 Case Postale 28 1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland
Table of Content Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Congress Agenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Roll Call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Opening of the Centennial Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Statement by Outgoing President Adilia Caravaca. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Statement by Dr. Steven van Hogestrated, Carnegie Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Statement by Aynar Tekin, President WILPF Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Decisions of the Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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New Sections and Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Standing Committees and Working Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 WILPF 2015 Manifesto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 International Programme. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Finance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Constitution and By-Laws. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Congress Committees and Mandates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
International Programme 2015-2018. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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2015 Manifesto Discussion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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International Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Executive Committee Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Secretary General Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 International Treasurer’s Reports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Review and Presentation of Standing Committee, Working Group and Network Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Communicators Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Environment Working Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Standing Personnel Committee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Standing Finance Committee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Standing Constitution Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 WILPF Academic Network. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Young WILPF Network. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Proposed Organisation Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Proposed Constitutional Amentments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Presentation of New Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Presentation of the New Executive Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Congress Resolutions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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The Human Right to Health and Safe Food. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Girl Soldiers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Protecting Democracy and the Public Interest from Secret Trade Agreements . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Yemen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Russia and Ukraine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Climate Change, Environmental Justice, and Peace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Weapon of Mass Destruction Free Zone in the Middle East. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Constitution of Nepal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Seaking Asylum s a Human Right. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Sudan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Recognising Nuclear Tests in Polynesia as Crimes Against Humanity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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List of Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Financial Statements 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Foreword Being at the Peace Palace at The Hague with nearly 300 WILPF members from all over the world made me shiver. We read much about the history of WILPF; how it was started by courageous women, who were even portrayed as dangerous women, determined to stop the devastating war that was taking many lives at the time. What was it like to be with like-minded and indomitable women building solidarity to end the war? Standing in the Peace Conference Room at the Peace Palace brought me to that journey beyond time, where I may wander around in our collective imagination about the energy that our foremothers were wielding exactly 100 years ago, in April 1915, at this very place. A hundred years later, we are still struggling. While together, as WILPFers, we have brought much progress over these years as we continue to struggle to stop wars that spread wider and are more fatal than ever.
Our founders’ analysis - that wars start in the violence of our daily lives, and that they are perpetuated and made to seem natural and inevitable by the intertwined systems of patriarchy, militarism, and an economy based on profits rather than needs - remains relevant to us today. This Centennial Congress was a wonderful opportunity to renew our solidarity and to enhance our feminist analysis of war, violence, and militarism as expressed in our newly-adopted Manifesto. I am honored to have been elected as International President of WILPF at this very special Congress. I am also humbled by the responsibility to be in this position of leadership, entrusted by my fellow WILPFers, who are equally courageous, dangerous, and troublemaking as the women who established WILPF 100 years ago. We have much work ahead of us, different challenges, and more trouble-making to pursue, as we follow in the footsteps of our founders. Kozue Akibayashi WILPF International President
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Congress Agenda Wednesday the 23 April 2015
Thursday the 24 April 2015
Formal Opening of the Centennial Congress
International Treasurer’s Report
Acceptance of New Sections
Proposed Budget 2015-2018
Appointment of the Election Committee
Presentation and Discussion of Proposed Organisational Changes
Presentation of Resolutions and Process Review and Presentation of Executive Committee Report Review and Presentation of Secretary General Report Review and Presentation of Standing Committee, Working Group and Network Reports
Presentation and Discussion of Constitutional and By-Law Amendments Presentation and Discussion of WILPF 2015 Manifesto Adoption of Constitutional and By-Law Amendments Adoption of 2015 WILPF Manifesto Discussion on Draft Resolutions
The Centennial Congress of WILPF took place at The Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, where it all started 100 years ago. Almost 300 WILPFers from around the globe participated in the three day long congress.
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Friday the 25 April 2015
Roll Call
Presentation and Discussion of Proposed International Programme 2015-2018
The following WILPF Sections were present at the 2015 International Congress:
Review of Status and Proposals for Standing Committees and Working Groups
Albania, Aotearoa/ New Zealand, Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Finland, France, French Polynesia, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, Nepal, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States of America.
Introduction of Candidates for the Executive Committee Presentation of Election Committee Results Voting for Executive Committee Adoption of Resolutions, International Programme and Budget Discussion on Next Congress Formal Closing
Additional participants from the following countries also attended: Cameroon, Eritrea, Ghana, Israel, Nicaragua, and Uganda, and also international members.
The Agenda was approved by Congress.
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Opening of the Centennial Congress The 2015 WILPF Centennial Congress was formally opened by outgoing International President Adilia Caravaca. The opening plenary session included a welcome address from the Director of the Carnegie Foundation Dr. van Hogestrated, and a welcome from the President of the hosting Dutch Section, Aynar Tekin.
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During the opening ceremony a peace quilt was presented to the Peace Palace, as represented by the Carnegie Foundation.
Statement by Outgoing President Adilia Caravaca It’s so beautiful and wonderful to see you all. We’ve all been waiting for this moment, getting prepared and getting organised. I want to take this opportunity to give you all a big thanks for the chance to have represented you as a President. It’s really been an honour to act as your ambassador in many ways, to visit Sections, to participate in the interesting processes in preparation for this meeting; preparing work with some of the groups aspiring to be Sections, working with different organisations in my regions. It’s been an incredible opportunity to reinforce my identity as a peace maker and as a human rights defender. I take this opportunity to share that with you because I think we all are these things. I think we should all feel proud, as WILPFers we are peace makers, we are human rights defenders. I’d like us all to take a minute of silence to remember our founders. To remember that this organisation is alive and vital and vigorous and that the principles from our founding are still alive within us. We are here because of the decades of work and dedication. We need to concentrate on our intentions for being here. Let us stand for a moment and have a minute of silence to think about why we continue to do the work that we are doing. Thank you. I’m pleased that in these past years we’ve all worked very actively to [make] the Manifesto and through our diversity we have reached a consensus on this Manifesto and the ideas it contains. This is an inspiration for our future. In the Manifesto we have identified root causes of war and conflict that we need to continue to challenge. I’m pleased that we’ve named these causes of war and militarism, and this mentality
that is there. That we’ve identified patriarchy as a problem; the economic systems that oppress us; that we recognise racism as a root cause. The wars that are taking place today are deeply racist. Weapons are built in one part of the world, and deal death in another. This trade of arms-this is causing [our] humanitarian crises. When we talk about racism outside Europe and North America we are not talking about colour schemes. Like when we talk about patriarchy we’re not talking about men. We’re talking about ways of thinking. We may not have a world war going on like our founders [did] in 1915, but there are so many wars and wastes of lives and natural resources in the world today that it can feel like it. There are more refugees than ever; an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. We organise and we remind each other of these things, because we have the power to stop them. This is our 100th anniversary Congress, which we’ve been preparing for many [for] years. We see in the world today an eagerness to do things, to help, to build peace. WILPF does very interesting things, and there is an eagerness to be more involved with us. These next days there will be many opportunities to discuss how we connect, how we organise, how we act as an international organisation. We are one international organisation. This is the magic, the inspiration, this is what makes people so inspired by WILPF. We are strong because we are international. We can act because we are international. We think, and we influence globally. Let’s use this Congress to strengthen ourselves to be the best international peace makers and human rights defenders we can be. Thank you.
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Statement by Dr Steven van Hogestrated, Director, Carnegie Foundation Good afternoon peacemakers. 100 years after your conference in 1915 in the then neutral Netherlands.
disputes and that is what happens in this building that I’m sure you will see in the course of the coming days.
Yesterday evening I saw this television film of the participation of British women in the 1915 Congress. The government thought they were dangerous so even though 180 wanted to come, they limited the number to 24. These women were in the train all day and then they got to the ferry and found the sea was blocked and they could not come. I hope that the British women made it here today.
They did 125 cases since 1946, so they have brought down or even evacuated a great number of problems between states.
You are very welcome in the peace palace which has been here since 1913. It was opened just at the eve of the first world war. It was the result of peace conferences held in 1899 and 1907 and if you can look under the curtains you see the outside forms of the palace. This new wing is part of the palace, but what we call the Academy Hall. The palace is the seat of two institutions that I think your organisation has campaigned for all along. One is the International Court of Justice, established in 1946 and the other is the Permanent Court of Arbitration which was basically the result of the peace conference in 1899 and 1907, which incidentally was called for by the Tsar of Russia. Arbitration and international adjucation are two very important works in the Peace Palace. Clearly that is not all that we do. It’s all about negotiations and diplomacy. The courts can have a very useful role in settling international
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But it must be said that the court only works for those states that have adopted its jurisdiction. So there are states, and I heard a few names of states here, that have said no we need to see that on a case by case basis. So the court it is not like the supreme court of the world. It is a supreme court but only of those countries hat have said yes we would like to use it if we have a problem with another state. There is no time to go into that now, but it is a point to think about. Because it is so easy to say that we have this international court, and why don’t they bring the international justice that we all are looking for. The answer has to be well, some states have decided not to be a part of that system. Your conference will hopefully bring you both inspiration and encouragement and it looks as if the resolutions of 1915, of your predecessors, are as actual today as they were then. I’m sure that you will build on those. I found them remarkably fresh when I read them. I wish you a very pleasant few days here and I hope that we will be good hosts for you in this beautiful peace palace. Thank you very much.
The Anniversary Congress of WILPF took place at The Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, where it all started 100 years ago. Almost 300 WILPFers from around the globe participated in the three day long congress.
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During the opening ceremony a peace quilt was presented to the Peace Palace, as represented by the Carnegie Foundation.
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Statement by Aynar Tekin, President WILPF Netherlands Welcome everyone. Welcome to the Netherlands. It’s an honour to stand here in front of you. It’s my first Congress of WILPF. This is the land of Aletta Jacobs who was one of the founders of the Congress in 1915. And this is also my new home.
For instance, now, the Dutch government is in crisis because the right wing party does not want to give that right and health provisions to those who are illegal. And the leftish party wants to do that. This is a division, where one side does not engage with the other.
Here we are to remember the brave women of 1915 as well as the women before that year and after that year. The year now is 2015 and I’m wondering are we standing on the front of new history?
But what about the people who are trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea as we speak? To find a better home. The list of unfortunate, and unjust, and unfair dilemmas are too long and too mind blowing and above all geographically framed. Even though politicians can make compromises, dehumanising is the main way to exclude the other. The other being a human that rather has no value by the one that has the power to divide.
Looking back, the Congress in 1915 had a domino effect that is still empowering. Without those who had the great courage to challenge power then, we would not be here now. I think our grandmothers would be proud of us. I know mine would be. I know that [she was] a women who worked her whole life on the land with nothing else but her hands, her feet and her mind to provide for the children that she had no choice but to have. Well things have changed, and I do not have the same social destiny as my grandmother. I believe that I owe this partially to the women before and after 1915. Even though the concept of womanhood is debatable, calling it a woman’s rights struggle has brought us further. Yet there is a risk we face. Fixing the idea of masculine or feminine, focusing on the difference of the other. With the rise of awareness of feminism, grew an awareness that the other would have hegemonic power. Not only is this emphasised culturally but there is inferior access also for social and economic purposes.
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And I’m wondering is it because we are afraid of losing something? Scientific research shows that the biological explanation is that our brains still fundamentally functions on the amygdala, the little part of the brain that is cautious of danger. It’s a small part but the oldest part of our brain Or is it because the structure of language restricts us. A semantic account is to order the world in dichotomies like masculine or feminine and to become a main psychological ideology. I have lived my whole life the other. Most of the time I was not aware of the social reality. So in my opinion those justifications are no longer a valid excuse. Still so many questions, so many diverse answers. [In] the coming days we are going to rethink the construct how we can redo and construct in the coming time the paths of peace.
WILPF Democratic Republic of the Congo had made beautiful dresses with African print for the Centennial Congress.
Maybe, maybe we should put a claim like in 1915. A fierce claim that goes beyond borders and beyond ourselves. Because maybe being the other is more intelligent and compassionate. We can articulate. Maybe change is our chance for the others. The essence of feminism is the radical reinterpretation of tradition. Not reproducing power by knowledge, but countering that power like in 1915. With our new creative knowledge.
Are we up for the challenge to change? I think we are on the front of new history. So let’s make peace, freedom and emancipation work.
Hegemonic masculinity is still the cause of discord, and combined with the trend of securitization in these stormy times, is stronger than ever.
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One The Anniversary of the first tasks Congress for Congress of WILPF was took to formally place at The accept Peace three Palace new National in The Sections: Cameroon, Ghana and Israel. On the picture, Sylvie Hague,Ndongmo, Netherlands, President whereof it the all started new Cameroon 100 yearsSection, ago. Almost addressed 300 WILPFers Congress on how she and her fellow Section members had recognised from around the importance the globe participated of questioning in the military threespending day long congress. and protecting human rights, while the panelists took notes.
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Decisions of the Congress The Congress welcomed and approved the reports of the Executive Committee, the Secretary General as well as the Working Groups and Standing Committees. The Congress thanked the Sections for reporting in a timely manner and urged this good practice to continue.
New Sections & Groups The WILPF 2015 Congress welcomes new Sections in Cameroon, Ghana and Israel. The WILPF 2015 Congress welcomes new groups in Nicaragua, and Uganda.
Elections The Congress voted to appoint the following Executive Committee: President:
Kozue Akibayashi, Japan
Vice Presidents:
Joy Onyesoh, Nigeria
Margrethe Tingstad, Norway Catia Confortini, United States
appointing their convenors (please refer to the minutes of the International Board meeting on the 26 April 2015).
WILPF 2015 Manifesto The Congress adopted the 2015 Manifesto and agreed that a study guide to accompany it should be developed and circulated to Sections.
International Programme The International Programme 2015-2018 was adopted by the Congress, on the understanding that the Secretary General, Madeleine Rees, is mandated by the Congress to incorporate the programme suggestions presented and provided in writing during the Congress, which will be circulated to the Executive Committee and International Board for further action. Notably, the Environment Working Group was tasked with developing a programme proposal and circulating that to the Executive Committee and International Board within three months.
Sameena Nazir, Pakistan
Finance
Treasurer:
The Congress accepted the International Treasurer’s report and approved the budget framework. The Congress approved the audits submitted and appreciated the strengthened financial management and accountability processes.
Kerry McGovern, Australia
Standing Committees and Working Groups The Congress decided to discontinue the defunct Standing Communications Committee. The Congress empowered the International Board to make amentments to the Standing Committees and Working Groups, hereunder
The Congress decided that the financial statements and other records must be prepared in accordance with the International Accounting Standards (or national equivalent) and audited
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in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (or national equivalent).
one for each of the international positions, after private discussion with each;
Constitution and By-Laws
(c) Report to the International Congress on its work and on the slate, should one have been agreed, giving the reasons for the choices recommended;
The Congress voted to make no changes to the Constitution and By-Laws, but instead to empower the Standing Constitution Committee to continue discussions in preparation for the next Congress.
Congress Committees & Mandates Election Committee According to the WILPF Constitution, an Election Committee will be established by the Congress to facilitate elections of WILPF’s Executive Committee. The role and responsibilities of the Election Committee, as detailed in the By-Laws are: 1. An Election Committee shall be constituted at the beginning of the International Congress to facilitate and oversee the election process. 2. It shall be composed of members of the Nomination Committee and of members elected by Congress to a total of five members. Members nominated for an office shall not be eligible to serve on the Election Committee. The members of the duly constituted Election Committee shall designate a convener from their midst. 3. It shall: (a) Arrange a meeting during the International Congress in which the candidates introduce themselves to the International Congress participants; (b) Select a slate from the list of nominees,
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(d) In the case that voting became necessary, ensure proper control of the electoral process by distributing ballots only to the voting members of the International Congress in exchange for their voting cards, and by tallying the votes and reporting the results to the Congress. The Congress, taking note of the recommendations by the International Board agreed that the following persons would serve on the Election Committee:
• Annie Mtundu (Democratic Republic of the Congo) • Aynur Tekin (Netherlands) • Ida Harsløf (Denmark) • Katia Patiño (Bolivia) • Pat O’Brien (US)
The Congress approved the recommendation of the International Board and established a Resolutions Committee consisting of the following persons: • Ray Acheson (International Staff) • Annika Skogar (Sweden) • Ros Brunt (UK) • Felicity Ruby (Australia)
Resolutions Committee WILPF Congress is responsible for setting the framework for WILPF programme and policy. This is done through the adoption of outward facing resolutions. A Resolutions Committee is appointed at the start of the Congress with the responsibility to assess resolutions submitted in advance by Sections for consistency and clarity, and to deal with any resolutions emerging during the Congress itself.
International Progra causes of conflict, and to bring this into the different bodies of the multilateral system.
Secretary General Madeleine Rees presented the International Programme of work to be undertaken over next three years. There followed a discussion when several suggestions were put forward from members. Congress agreed the programme and empowered the Secretariat and Environment Working Group to elaborate a concrete project in order to integrate work on environmental issues into the International Programme. There are expectations that WILPF will deliver in certain areas, and the International Programme is designed in a way to be coherent and maximise its impact. WILPF has raised expectations to deliver in a variety of Human Rights forums, on issues of militarism; women, peace and security; to provide gendered analysis of power; to participate actively at Universal Periodic Reviews of country’s human rights records; to engage productively with the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination of Women (CEDAW), and; to facilitate participation in these and other bodies to advance the WILPF agenda. WILPF has been arguing for an interpretation of human rights law which reflects the lived experience of women, in pre-conflict, during conflict, and in post conflict. WILPF staff expertise is based in Geneva and New York which facilitates knowledge transfer between the offices on human rights, women Cynthia Enloe from WILPF US peace and security, and the root comments on the manifestodisarmament draft.
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There is a challenge to keep abreast of technology and its impacts on peace and freedom and WILPF must remain at the forefront of gaining information on the arms industry which is currently moving toward acceptance of new technologies, such as killer robots. WILPF is getting better at using advocacy based on law in responses to a multilateral system that is not working well. Learning from experience, WILPF has modified our approach, adapting the model of engagement used in the MENA Agenda 1325 project to develop a Crisis Response Programme. This has already been effective for work in Ukraine and is based on a theory of change which offers a different analysis of conflict, moving away from the binary discourse and bringing the voices of the non-violent into processes for peace, both locally and within the multilateral system. One of the benefits of the WILPF Academic Network is filling the need for better analysis. This raises the importance of articulating gender discrimination in the analysis of root causes of conflict, including an examination of women’s health and reproductive rights. WILPF is aware of the need to pay attention to the environment, examining the effects of militarisation, resourse extraction, deforestation and climate change.
amme 2015-2018 WILPF needs to organise intelligently. This emphasises the importance of the communications team, to build up the organisation’s communication. Although paid staff are all passionately committed to the work, they cannot cope with all communications regarding the workings of the membership organisation. Sections need to make better use of the information as well not only exchanges, but also discussions and actions. There are countless unpaid (and often unrecognised) hours that go into making WILPF work. We need to better reflect this. Looking ahead, we build on the lessons; that grassroots activists can influence the power of nation states; that our activism is a fundamental tool to make sure that agreements - like Beijing are followed up and implemented, not discarded without outcry. We need to understand better how to best deal with single issue campaigns; how to deal with men; how to work with men who don’t want to be violent. We need to change the way gender roles are perceived. And we need to build our membership, to build WILPF.
Questions, Answers, Comments & Suggestions: The Costa Rican Section wants to find ways to address the issue of armed violence, not only in conflict. There are a horrific number of deaths in the region, even though they are not technically at war. There is a need for the Sections to also develop programmes that are strongly
connected to, and complement the work done by the secretariat. There is a need to campaign on the streets; to keep pressure on the press; to share with other organisations in the peace movement; to use art and music as local communications tools, and to involve all people. Several Sections proposed that the International Programme includes work on environmental issues. From the US Section, this should build on the Environment Working Group and further develop efforts to examine the effect of militarism on the environment. The Environment Working Group recognised that a number of issues have been tackled in an ad-hoc way by the group over the years, including: food; nuclear waste; multi-national companies seizing resources, among others. There must be a way to better integrate this issue of importance to many members into the International Programme. Madeleine Ress responded with a suggestion that the Environment Working Group put forward ideas on how to put together an Environment Programme in the next three months and seek commitment from the International Board and the Executive Committee. The Swedish Section noted that there is difficulty in getting responses from the International Board. How can this body better provide the necessary support and feedback between the Executive Committee, the Secretariat and Sections? Is this possibly because there is a lack of clarity of the roles and responsibilities?
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The Italian Section reaffirmed the urgency to work on nuclear weapons issues, noting that the Doomsday Clock is set at 3 minutes to midnight. WILPF Italy also recognised that working with media means opening their eyes to the real problems, something that is extremely difficult. The Philippines Section recommended WILPF issue more policy papers that combine the academic and activist perspective, also linking economic and gender analyses but without resorting to International Monetary Fund concepts, instead using people’s experiences. The UK Section noted that the issues of refugees and migration is missing from the International Programme. Several Sections noted the need to reform the UN system, to deal with issues of misused veto, and to address the corporate influence impacting policy decisions. Collaboration with other organisations in shared goals and objectives was also encouraged.
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2015 Manifesto Discussion Kerstin Grebäck, outgoing Vice-President, presented the background of the eight year Manifesto process. The process began with a suggestion from Edith Ballantyne that WILPF should have a Manifesto for what our organisation wants to create in the coming century. It was a significant part of discussions during the Bolivia Congress (2007) at which time the project was approved. Over the years the Executive Committee and Secretariat requested ideas and suggestions from the Sections. In 2009, Krishna Ahooja Patel was appointed to provide draft text. The text was circulated among Sections, through the International Board however there was little feedback or engagement. It was suggested to reach out to others in the academic WILPF community for support to revitalise the project.
In the year leading up to the International Board meeting in Madrid (2013), Cynthia Cockburn was asked to consider the project, and eventually agreed. Cynthia Cockburn came to the IB meeting in Madrid (2013) to present her ideas and interview WILPF members from across the world. After the meeting as first draft was prepared and circulated for the May 2013 International Board meeting. The Anniversary Working Group on Political Content also participated in the manifesto process and collected responses from at least 14 Sections, which they presented to Cynthia Cockburn.
On 23 April 2015, the WILPF 2015 Manifesto, the official declaration of the organisation’s intentions, views and work, was adopted by an overwhelming majority.
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On 13 November 2014 the final draft was sent to the International Board for a vote, with the result that 80% approved the text as it was. The Manifesto was then turned over to the Secretariat to be prepared for release at this Congress. Every WILPF member can be proud of the core message of this Manifesto: We are determined that WILPF shall grow and become more effective, that we will engage, mobilise and amplify the energies of women worldwide to do away with militarism as mindset, militarisation as process and war as practice. We will shake the foundations and topple the structures of power that foster it: capitalism and its class system, patriarchy with its gender hierarchy, and nationalism with its racist ranking of diverse peoples. We will continue to struggle to achieve full participation as women in all our communities, states and international organisations. We seek to liberate women’s power to stop war.
Questions, Answers, Comments & Suggestions: A member from the US Section noted the need to reflect the urgency of our work as we take the Manifesto forward. That in taking this document out to our members and to the public, we can think about ways we might need to discuss our understanding of different terms and concepts, for example the document uses patriarchy, which can also be understood by some as dominant systems. It is also important in bringing this out that we reinforce our belief that indigenous peoples are not solely victims. A member from the Spanish Section appreciated the job that was done, and recognises this is a historic moment for WILPF, a moment our foremothers would be proud of in this tradition of feminist pacifists. We are not only claiming, but we are also offering. When we speak of
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capitalism, we must recognise that it is not the same as it was in 1915, and we need to find ways to increase the financial freedoms for human needs. The economic face of war is an important piece of our work. Another Spanish member added that we as WILPF members and feminists must make these words (like patriarchy) understandable. It can be used as a pedagogical tool to educate people. Patriarchy is at the core of capitalism, of the war system, the financial system. It is part of our daily life and we should take a strong position against the form of capitalism today. A member from the Italian Section agrees that complete disarmament is our shared goal, but pleas with members to focus now on the urgent need to deal with nuclear weapons as a priority. The humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons must drive us to have a convention or a law that prohibits these once and for all. The human right to live free from nuclear weapons should be a legal right. This document also empowers us to speak more forcefully on democratic governance, including the need to democratize the UN. One of the tools we can use is peace education, which should be developed on a global scale. It was suggested to develop a study guide to accompany the Manifesto. This study guide could then be used to help clarify and expand the thinking behind the use of different words, recognising that they have different connotations in different cultures and societies. Suggestions from the floor included ideas that the study guide might include discussions on capitalism, patriarchy, neo-liberalism, exploitation, fascism, the way not all violence is militarised, and more. The Secretariat was asked by the Congress to develop such a study guide. The Sections were asked to contextualise the Manifesto, to find the parts that apply to the work within the Section, and to use it. This is a guide for the next century.
“The Manifesto as it appears on the Agenda of Congress has been considered and shaped by many members, so it should be seen in some sense as a collective project,” affirms Cynthia Cockburn, who was the main author of the document.
A vote was taken and the Manifesto was overwhelmingly approved by the Congress. Upon acceptance of the Manifesto, the main author Cynthia Cockburn said:
The WILPF 2015 Manifesto was the result of a long collaborative drafting and revising process, which included all of the Sections, the Executive Committee, the International Board and the Anniversary Political Working Group.
“Thank you. This is your work. In this process I received over 200 pages of comprehensible and comprehensive comments, this is your contribution to the future. Thank you for involving me.”
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International Reports Executive Committee Report The Executive Committee Report was presented by Adilia Caravaca. The Report seeks to integrate both women’s and peace perspectives. During the question and answer time, the following items were raised: Have online board meetings and Executive Committee meetings been successful, or were some meetings difficult for some members to attend? The online meetings have been extremely efficient and pleasant, and saved a lot of costs. The participation was not always 100%, but there was always a quorum for any decisions that needed to be taken. The meetings were in compliance with our by-laws. The new Executive Committee will have to deal with improving the internal communication, while saving resources. An online meeting is not a substitute for face to face meetings, but more people have been able to participate in these meeting than have come to in-person meetings. I don’t have the feeling that I can stop war, so why did the Executive Committee chose that title for this conference? And what discussions have taken place among the Executive Committee about the outcomes of the Beijing +15 process? There was some controversy about the Women’s Power to Stop War campaign, but at the end we made this choice – it does not mean that we stop our normal tasks – rather it gives us focus and reminds us of the goal we seek. Our focus has been around the International Programme, we made sure to integrate the peace agenda into the Beijing +15 discussions, and we know that peace doesn’t come without human rights, especially in mobilising against poverty and racism. It is important to get the agenda against militarism into post war and reconstruction activities.
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How are the issues of disarmament and demilitarisation being advocated for inclusion in the post 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)? The Women, Peace and Security Programme, PeaceWomen, is working diligently to make sure that these issues are included in the SDG process. Additional discussion points were raised, including: • We need to develop a programme that works towards our principles and we want to make a new statement against new wars such as in Yemen and we have to point those who are responsible for this war-generating machine. • I was very inspired by the slogan. It is modern and calls to young people. I know I am against war, but I have power to do more. We have to uncover our hidden power. • I am an activist in a new movement that promotes refusal to be conscripted in the army. But this means exclusion at many points in our lives in the militarised state we live in (Israel), we have to support these conscious objectors. We have a choice. • One issue brought us here. We want to be peace makers. All governments that declare war against the Middle East people, please let’s use our energy to confront these governments. War is becoming contagious for our countries. We don’t want to be the place in the world to test new weapons. Please, stop this. • We try to keep our movement together and stimulate the Sections to join efforts. • We need to allocate some time for training in conflict resolution and mediation. The Congress approved the Executive Committee Report.
Secretary General Report The Secretary General Report was presented by Madeleine Rees. The history of WILPF is absolutely compelling. What has been said during the years was so much more relevant than things being discussed at the Security Council of the United Nations. I will work through the major issues we have been dealing with. The Congress gave us the mandate bring the experience of women, particularly in conflict countries into the multi lateral fora and seek to influence policy at global and national level. Conflict is never singular, it is multi faceted and hence we need a holistic, integrated approach in dealing with it, our methodology is presented in the Report. We strengthened the Human Rights approach. We exemplified the integrated approach with the review of the policies of the UK and we brought it into the Human Rights Council. We have made progress – we are getting respected for our messages on disarmament. We are bringing critical attention to issues of disarmament and militarism, as seen through the Disarmament Programme, Reaching Critical Will.
We started the MENA Agenda 1325 Project in 2012. Our first event at the Human Rights Council with women from the region engaged in the Arab Spring was a standing room only and we made men cry. In 2013 our aim was to consolidate: keep the model and implement it in more situations. Our work on the Arms Trade Treaty had great impact; due to WILPFs leadership gender based violence as a criteria to prevent arms transfers is now included in the Treaty, and we have to keep the pressure on to make sure that is implemented. We tried to learn lessons from Bosnia. Bosnian women had the impression that they had not achieved what they wanted. So we brought them together for a series of retrospectives and lessons learnt which they then shared with with women from Syria, whilst the Syrians enjoined them to reactivate their engagement. We joined with other organisations in the campaign Women Lead to Peace, which focused on participation of women in Geneva Peace Talks on Syria. We did not succeed in getting them into the negotiating room, but the Syrian women did a great job of presenting their plea and they got a large and high level audience.
The Women, Peace and Security Programme, PeaceWomen, is increasing its engagement with Sections and, for example, worked closely with the Nigerian Section on the National Action Plan on Women Peace and Security. We issued a Women, Peace and Security Handbook and the PeaceWomen E-News reaches 400,000 people monthly.
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We demonstrated that there are still many states who will champion the absolute necessity of having women participate. Congratulations go the Swedish Section on work done with Colombia and Nigeria. Bilateral support is a wonderful instrument that builds a real social movement. Congratulations to the Indian Section in dealing with the conflict in the North. This was influenced by the National Actions Plans 1325. Thanks to Emma Bürgisser, who made it possible. We have a communications team. We now have a design manual. Our website has enormously improved and our publications as well. They make sure that the world knows what we are doing. We have always brought women together. We took women from Syria to Bosnia in 2013: they learned a great deal. Then we brought women from Bosnia and Georgia to Ukraine. We brought gender analysis from countries in conflict to Geneva to change their narrative. We are still working on that, but by constantly exposing the decision makers to an alternative voice, for example; the Security Council listening to Syrian women instead of the warring parties, gradually we are making a difference. The Spanish Section facilitated our input in the Global Summit of Women Suffering in Wars with the basic truth that you cannot stop the suffering of women in the conflict, without solving the conflict.
Questions, Answers, Comments & Suggestions:
How can we include climate change in the International Programme? - We are discussing this, relating it to the Human Rights Programme.
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Why did the Secretariat stop monitoring the Conference On Disarmament? - We don’t want to put our time and resources into defective mechanisms.
The work has to trickle down to our Sections, but there should also be bottom up communication. At the Security Council, men make decisions, but they don’t take us seriously. How can we make them understand that we have a real point, and that the men on the grassroots [level] agree with us? - We do work with men, but we need to know how to do it. We have to deconstruct certain reactions.
It is good to connect personal stories. It helps to connect more to the issue we are talking about. I noticed great improvements last year. I have seen that there are more young people, the website has improved, communication is better and younger. In the International Programme and strategy for coming years, it would be nice to include aspirations of young women on the issues we work for. The Secretary General Report was approved by the Congress.
International Treasurer’s Report WILPF is in good financial shape – a great improvement over our situation in 2010. We are receiving more funds through grants but this has increased the administrative complexities of the organisation. In addition grants tend not to cover the administrative costs they generate, let alone other administrative costs. Section fees continue to provide support to meet these needs. WILPF now has an active Standing Finance Committee and requirements for membership have been strengthened. This Committee has regular Skype meetings with 99% attendance despite the global time differences involved. Since the last Congress, the Standing Finance Committee has produced an Ethical Fundraising Policy, an Ethical Investment Policy, a Fundraising Manual, a Reserve Policy, and is still working on a Finance Manual. It would be useful if Section fees could be paid on time. Sections who are having difficulty in meeting their fees should contact the Geneva office to negotiate. WILPF now has 30 active Sections and all are represented at this Congress. It is hoped that small loans or small grants will become available for Sections in the future – depending on the ability to raise funds. The Geneva and New York offices are working well together in regard to finance and staffing. In 2010, the New York office incorporated as a non-profit organisation to minimize tax burdens and enable funding from some donors. Between 2011 and 2014 the budget multiplied by six times, so 2014 concluded with a 3 million Swiss Franc budget. Major donors including the Oak Foundation; NORAD, core-funder for the MENA Agenda 1325 project; UN Agencies, especially for conduct in space and disarmament projects, and; the Channel Foundation, for 100th anniversary have brought the budget up.
Donors continue to support WILPF. This continued support has enabled WILPF to restructure its financial management, write a financial manual and begin recruitment of a Financial Manager. Challenges remain, especially to cover administrative costs. Section fees are very important to this. Currently WILPF income is about 50% government funding. There are some foundations providing support in the next three years, which could be used for crisis response projects. Individual donors have helped pay for the anniversary celebrations and Section fees were also very important. WILPF has a good surplus from 2014, much of it carried over to conclude projects scheduled to end in 2015. The largest expenses include Staff, the offices (unfortunately based in two of the most expensive cities in the world) and travel costs bringing women to speak at conferences, etc. Communications and other supporting costs are each about 10% of budget. It is difficult to project the 2016 budget as WILPF does not yet know what grants it will receive. What is accounted for is in the report. This anniversary year has been expensive, 2016, 2017 and 2018 should be less so. Questions, Answers, Comments & Suggestions:
Sections would like notice of when International applies for or receives grants from Sections’ countries, including both initial and continuation grants. Is there a risk in accepting government monies? Should we recognise that all money is dirty and WILPF is good at doing the washing? - Government grants to WILPF are not accepted with any conditions attached. WILPF is not controlled by donors, instead, donors seek to support WILPF’s agenda.
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- WILPF has an ethical fundraising policy for guidance and efforts are being made to diversify funding sources.
WILPF at section level should encourage their parliaments to pass a law to require a percentage of national GDP be used for development work. What constitutes administrative expenses; is it grants administration, or membership administration? - It is to maintain the office, right now only 2.5% of costs are met by Section fees.
Need to find different ways to fundraise. National Sections need to take more responsibility for fundraising, especially of themselves. What about trying to find links between Sections and establishing cross border funding. The Spanish Section is run completely by volunteers. Is it possible to form an alliance with another section with paid staff? Spain has received grants for small amounts and that has helped with mounting a history project shown around Spain. Where on the budget is information about the reserve funds? - The Investments are recorded in the Statement of Financial Position of WILPF UNO Inc. Investments, at fair value. As at 31 December 2014 we had $157,203.74 invested in Domini Social Investments. These funds are managed by by the Investment Committee, a subcommittee of the Standing Finance Committee.
Can WILPF offer paid internships in the future? - Funding is being sought for this. Currently, Geneva interns are offered assistance with accommodations costs.
Suggestion: Annual Section Reports could contain a reference/ shadow budget showing the unpaid work performed by members.
The Treasurer’s Report, Financial Report(s), Audit, and Budget were approved by the Congress.
Review and Presentation of Standing Committee, Working Group and Network Reports Standing Personnel Committee Presentation by Lorraine Mirham, Convenor of the Standing Personnel Committee. The Committee has not been working as a Committee, instead we started a task force on personnel issues. I was helped by some advisors. This is a group that picks up personnel issues. We have some good procedures, we have extremely committed staff and interns. We encourage the Executive Committee to implement the recommendation of hiring a new staff person with the function to play a section coordination role at the Secretariat. There is a recommendation to re-establish the Standing Personnel Committee and Congress delegated that decision making to the International Board at a later date.
Standing Finance Committee Presentation by Inge Stemmler, Convenor of the Standing Finance Committee. The Committee is working very well. There has been agreement on financial guidelines and a finance manual. The report details the structures and policies being put into place. There are still issues with finding the funding to maintain permanent staff, and strategies and suggestions are welcome. The Committee is looking into ways to support section fundraising, and hopes
to host a fundraising seminar/ webinar. The Committee seeks two new members, with relevant experience, to join. The Committee meets monthly on a Friday, by online conference call organised by the staff.
Standing Constitution Committee Presentation by Martha Jean Baker, COConvenor of the Standing Constitution Committee. The Committee worked hard to make suggestions, but the Congress decided not to adopt them. There remains a need to reform the Constitution and By-Laws and volunteers are welcome.
Standing Communications Committee Presentation by Lorraine Mirham on behalf of Joan Bazar, Convenor of the Standing Communications Committee. It has not be possible to get members to the Committee and Joan Bazar suggests together with the International Communications Manager to close the Committee.
Nancy Ramsden, outgoing International Treasurer, presented the Treasurer’s Report, the audits and the budget for 2016-2018 at the Congress. The Congress approved all financial reports.
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Environment Working Group Presentation by Lorraine Mirham, COConvenor of the Environment Working Group. We get depressed about militarism and the effect on natural resources and people. Our report reflects a lot of activities you have been doing in the Sections. Environmental concerns are not new to WILPF. We have books published and we participated in many fora. But there is still a lot of work to do. We need to change the dialogue. It is a plea: we want you to be involved more in the work of our working group. We try to reach out – help us and come to our session at the conference. We want to produce a centralised library with educational materials based on the newsletter this Working Group has published regularly since 2008. The Conveners (Edel Havin Beukes & Lorraine Mirham) are happy to continue in that role.
Communicators Network Presentation by Nina Hansen, WILPF International Communications Manager and Coordinator of the Communicators Network The purpose with the Communicators Network is to have a place where the Secretariat and Sections can share resources, knowledge and skills on communications. For example, then the Secretariat has developed graphic templates and formats to solidify the identity of WILPF, and those templates can be very useful for the Sections if we are able to share them. Unfortunately, it is unclear whether the organisation and all the Sections want a Communicators Network. If so that needs to be said and if not, then an alternative needs to be created. Questions, Answers, Comments & Suggestions: • Thank you for the excellent work.
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• We need instructions on how to use things. Sometimes it is not easy to download information from the network, the graphics are too heavy. Can there a light or text only option? • We support the network 100% and value the good and quick responses. The Congress decided that the Communicators Network must continue and replace the defunct Standing Communications Committee.
WILPF Academic Network Presentation by Barbara Trojanowska, Coordinator of the Academic Network. The Academic Network is strengthening WILPF presence and impact by increasing linkages between advocacy and research, to fill the gaps. The overall purpose is to strengthen WILPF’s present and impact in promoting its goals of peace, freedom and justice for all by increasing linkages. There are currently 31 members, including university professors and independent researchers. The core group consists of Catia Confortini, Joy Onyesoh, and Emma Rosengren. Emma Bürgisser is the staff liaison. The network is open to members and friends of WILPF who are active in the areas related to WILPF work (a gender perspective) connected to a research institution or university, and hold a PhD or higher. For accreditation contact Barbara Trojanowska. The network has held webinars, keeps a webpage on the international website, sends out an internal newsletter to its members, and provides support for WILPF’s ongoing work. The webinars are usually a one hour presentation followed by a one hour discussion. They have been very interactive.
Young WILPF Network Presentation by Zala Zbogar, Coordinator of the Young WILPF Network.
Maria Villellas Arino from WILPF Spain comments on one of the many presentations. Below you see Zala Zbogar, Coordinator of the Young WILPF Network, during her presentation. Marianne Laxen from WILPF Finland facilitated the session on the financial reports.
Addressing the question of how to get more young women active and in leadership in WILPF is the reason Young WILPF was established. There are a number of ideas to consider for strengthening this arm of WILPF’s membership. There is already an active Facebook group, and the time is ripe to set up sister networks between different Sections. Young WILPF is also building and sustaining the engagement of WILPF interns (and former interns). There are many women engaged in the issues WILPF deals with, but maybe they have yet to come across the work of WILPF. One of the best ways to get more exposure, and therefore more involvement, is to increase the communications presence especially on social media. WILPF can also do more to open up safe spaces for intergenerational sharing of experiences.
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Proposed Organisational Changes Margrethe Tingstad from WILPF Norway presents as the convener of the ad-hoc Committee on WILPF’s Organisation, which was appointed at 2013 International Board meeting. This is the minutes of the oral presentation. This part of the programme is a review and presentation of the proposed organisational changes. The ad-hoc report was presented and discussed in Sections and regional meetings. It concentrates on culture and communication as well as main structures and finance. The recommendations are clear that there is no quick recipes. We wanted involvement at all levels. It is about organisational development, embracing what we have and making the platform for our political work stronger. Increasing effectiveness and efficiency to achieve the goals. Much has been done and we are doing well. But there are obvious bottlenecks and suboptimal practices.
Main findings and concerns Culture What we do is defined by culture; it’s the informal structure. There is not one culture but there are some features shared and some subcultures. Culture can eat strategy. Culture is powerful; it’s a strong informal social structure. The current WILPF culture allows us to ignore decisions we do not fully agree with, to replay decisions over and over and it leads to indecisiveness, procrastination. This culture is
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not sustainable. We are culturally diverse; we have to make sure we are competent in dealing with that. We need to appreciate it, mutual respect and understanding is necessary. Disagreement can be useful. For example handled properly disagreements can lead to creative, unexpected solutions. We lack good conflict resolution methods and we currently lack the culture needed to resolve conflicts. Culture is closely linked to communication. It’s the key to successful cross-cultural understanding. The Communications Team has done a tremendous job also taking down many barriers in communication. Getting informed and getting connected is a mutual responsibility. Many just wait for information to come to them, instead of taking the responsibility for seeking it by themselves.
History WILPF history is an underdeveloped asset in our work. There is a richness and value there, which risks being lost. WILPF also needs to bridge the academic-UN-grassroots language barriers. These will help create a sense of belonging for a diverse membership. Age differences in the organisation are both an opportunity and a challenge.
Structure WILPF structure needs to be looked at particularly in three areas: governance,
operational rules and distribution of tasks. Political leadership of the Secretary General and the President needs attention - the division of responsibility is unclear. The International Board is too big. This leads members to avoid taking personal responsibility and it is more difficult to come to consensus decisions. Decision-making processes need to be strengthened and also the follow-up of decisions. The International Board meeting in Madrid (2013) was an example of how culture takes over when structure fails. But then: whose culture rules? The ad-hoc committee does not look for structures that are too rigid but somewhat more formal and prepared. A manual describing the rules and responsibilities will facilitate this. Regionalisation was felt to be an inspiring idea. The international character of WILPF as an inclusive organisation is obvious. Sections can work together on issues that are really burning for them in their region or across the organisation. Many topics require that we work together with all kinds of actors in different countries. Regional discussions can add local perspective but they have to be transparent and open. This should not be something artificial but evolve gradually through a phased approach. The idea is to experiment. Additional aspects that need attention are our continued financial sustainability and the position of Young WILPF.
Questions, Answers, Comments & Suggestions: The Colombian Section has had positive experiences with regional cooperation, but with new Sections, or Sections in countries at war, this could be challenging.
The Finnish Section noted that they already have regional cooperation, and positive experiences. The Nordic Sections support the continuation of the ad-hoc committee work; to facilitate the many questions that still need to be discussed at all levels. Note: the International Board will make decisions about new Committees or ad-hoc Committees. The German Section has seen the positive results of regional cooperation and coordination in dealing with issues like refugees or approaching regional institutions, however the Section also recognise the need to speak with women from the other side of the sea. We will not replace an international organisation with regional organisations, but regional discussions provide good opportunities to talk and work together. Regionalisation however can help with some decision-making, and perhaps increase efficiency of the International Board. From the Palestinian Section it is important to recognise that it can be difficult or impossible to travel to one another within the region. It might be more useful for WILPF to think about the Mediterranean region instead of Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The Albanian Section also wants to recognise the power of small collaborations between two or three countries. This was successful in the Balkans. Not all Sections in the Asia Pacifica are ready to do this kind of regional cooperation, noted the Philippine Section. There are concerns that this might change the nature of WILPF as a whole and be confining regionalism instead of internationalism. This could increase the existing problems about information sharing, and create additional layers. There is a desire to cooperate with others in the region, but concern about losing National Section voting rights and voice. All those who commented were thanked as this is a needed discussion. The ad-hoc committee
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appreciates the concerns raised. It does not suggest introducing a new level or creating a bureaucracy, a layer of regional leaders and paid staff. This is a working method and in time may lead towards developing a different
representation. This is mainly about joining forces, and strengthening our organisation.
Proposed Constitutional Amendments Lyn Lane and Edith Ballantyne presented the work of the Standing Constitution Committee. At the International Board meeting in Madrid, this Committee was given a broad mandate to bring the Constitution and By-Laws up to date. Since that time, it has drawn on input and comments from women throughout the organisation, examined the 1998 Rainbow Report and all current operational guidelines. The Constitution as a document should only reflect the essential features of the organisation, and shouldn’t require many changes as the years go by. The By-Laws however are more detailed and relate more towards operations, and should be updated to reflect best practices on a fairly regular basis. The By-Laws should be our day-today central reference point. An updated draft Constitution and By-Laws was circulated in September 2014, and comments were accepted until November. A revision was circulated in December, with one month open for comments. An annotation was provided for informational purposes. It is important to understand that this is not a proposal for a new Constitution, but for a revision. It is our platform to take issues further, and in no way limits further development. The suggested revisions of the By-Laws include such items as clarified role descriptions for elected leadership and financial guidelines. Questions, Answers, Comments & Suggestions: The Swedish Section raised concerns that the outcomes of the ad-hoc Committee on
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WILPF’s Organisation and the proposal from the Constitution Committee did not adequately reflect one another - and while the work has been good it is not yet complete. The Section proposes not to make any changes whatsoever at this Congress, but to revisit this issue at the next Congress. The Finnish Section, speaking on behalf of the four Nordic Sections informed the Congress that there was a proposal put forward to the International Board to discuss first the question of whether or not the documents should be changed at all; the Congress before further discussion on specifics should decide this proposal. The Australian Section supported making changes, in order to officially recognise Young WILPF and other functioning bodies of WILPF. Edith Ballantyne clarified that the mandate given to the Standing Constitution Committee in Madrid was to clean up the existing document, but not yet to include the recommendations around regionalisation, at-large membership, and so forth which are contained in the report of the ad-hoc Committee on WILPF’s Organisation. These proposals will have implications for the Constitution, but there are still necessary discussions on how to improve effectiveness of the International Board which may take much longer. A vote was called on the simple question do we change the Constitution at this Congress. The Congress decided 54/58 not to make any changes to the Constitution and By-Laws at this time.
Hiriata Brotherson participated in the Congress on behalf of WILPF Frence Polynesia.
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Sylvie Ndongmo from the new Cameroon Section addressed Congress.
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Presentation of New Sections Cameroon In Cameroon we are impressed with the work of WILPF. We are able to see how much countries invest in arms at the expense of human rights. We have a strong wish to get involved in this global human rights and justice movement. We thought it was very important for us to join with the WILPF. We were lucky to have Annie Mtundu advise us and come to Cameroon. At the national level we have done activities that include education around UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and peace education for women and youth. We had a celebration of WILPF’s 99th anniversary, which brought support from the women of Cameroon. Together we have drafted a 1325 National Action Plan for Cameroon. We are developing relationships with the media, and they have shown a growing interest in our work and the WILPF mission. Currently, we are working on popularising the 1325 National Action Plan. We are working to change mindsets. We are grateful to the support from the Women, Peace and Security Programme and WILPF International that allowed us to participate in events at the UN in New York. We are proud to be a new WILPF Section.
Ghana We are happy to be in the city of justice. WILPF Ghana started in 2011 as very small group. Over the years we have strengthened
our work on peace and other women’s issues. Ghana has been able to do quite a lot with partnership with the Kofi Annan Institute. We have had help of the Nigerian Section, and thank Joy Oneysoh for coming several times to us. We appreciate the support from the Nigerian and Swedish Sections, and from WILPF International. The absence of war does not mean there is peace. We need to make sure that Ghana remains as peaceful as it.
Israel The Israel Section is a returning section and was warmly welcomed back by Congress. The situation for peace activities in Israel is not easy. As known, there was an election a short while ago and Netanyahu was once again put in. There is ongoing racism and occupation and daily violation of human rights. Civil society has been weakened considerably, especially among the Arab minority. WILPF in Israel works in a number of coalitions and with a range of partners. Members go as small groups into Palestinian territories to monitor what is happening and publish what they see in English and in Hebrew. The Israeli army reads these reports. When they come across a problem, members give out a card with a phone number for any Palestinian who has a problem but can’t get through to authorities to connect with a WILPF member for support. We are happy to be part of WILPF again.
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Presentation of the New Executive Committee President, Kozue Akibayashi, Japan WILPF is the only peace organisation who 100 years ago already called for the need to address the root causes of war with clear analysis of the close connection between war and gender discrimination, and has advocated peace and gender equality. I think it is even more necessary to promote this analysis now and to strengthen the solidarity globally. I can contribute to this task with my expertise as a feminist peace researcher and my work with feminist peace activists particularly in the AsiaPacific region. As President, I will focus my energy on both organisational and political aspects. In the organisational aspect, I will focus my energy promoting regional cooperation particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, connecting different Sections, connecting younger members particularly from non-English speaking areas. In the political aspect, I am interested in deepening the analysis of militarism from a gender perspective and applying the analysis to policies and actions of WILPF. I will also focus on bringing together the issue of long-term foreign military stations and the impact on women.
Vice President, Joy Onyseoh, Nigeria I know that being on the Executive Committee will firstly give me an opportunity to serve in a different capacity in an organisation that has given me opportunities to nurture and be
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nurtured and also being have the opportunity of using my experiential knowledge in strengthening the diversity in the organisation. As Vice President, I will focus on my energy on supporting processes to build the capacities of new Sections and strengthen existing Sections. This will further enhance the visibility of the organisation.
Vice President, Margrethe Tingstad, Norway I am ready and motivated to devote myself to WILPF the next years. I have gotten to know the international WILPF better over the last years and I take a great interest in the development of our organisation for a greater impact. I have studied and worked with several organisations and I think my experience will contribute to WILPF’s “path finding”. My work with the ad-hoc Committee on WILPF’s Organisation made me conscious of WILPF’s organisational strengths and bottlenecks. We face, as I see it, both cultural and structural challenges which need attention and action from the new ExCom, and I am ready to roll up my sleeves. We are making headway in many ways, but there is more to accomplish and my intention is to see that we make it.
Vice President, Catia Confortini, United States
Treasurer, Kerry McGovern, Australia
As a member of the Executive Committee first, I would like to provide support to the work of the International Offices (Geneva and New York) and their holistic approach to peacebuilding, in particular in their efforts to end the war system through the promotion of gender analysis of violent conflicts and peacemaking through the UN system and outside. Second, I am deeply committed to the Secretariat’s efforts to nurture a more diverse and inclusive WILPF, in terms of age, geopolitical reach and methods. Young women, particularly those in the “two-thirds world,” have much to teach to this organisation and will be essential to guide us in our second century of peace work.
WILPF is doing important work in the world and its success affects us all. If we have an Executive Committee that is well informed about WILPF’s financial management, and the costs of alternative decisions, then the world will benefit. I look forward to identifying the current state of WILPF’s finances, strengthening its internal controls, systems, and procedures as well as developing financial management reports to ExCom and staff. I would also like to involve Section Treasurers in sharing information.
Vice President, Sameena Nazir, Pakistan It is an honour for me to work more closely with a dedicated group of women from different parts of the world with a common agenda. I look forward to strengthening the National Sections so that they have the basic tools to work with their members and also communicate and work effectively with the Executive Committee and Secretariat to promote WILPF’s mission and its Programmes.
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Congress Resolutions
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The Human Right to Health and Safe Food The 31st Triennial Congress of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, meeting 22-24 April 2015 in The Hague, the Netherlands:
devastating effects to the world and its people, political, economic and social instability results, and this undermines the very basis for peace and freedom in the world;
Recalls that health and nutrition are basic rights recognised by the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
Believes that whereas the current moratorium in the EU on herbicides containing neonicotinoids, produced by Bayer AG Germany, NIPPON Soda Ltd Japan and DuPont US among others, demonstrates that such measures are feasible and that citizen action can inspire such decisions;
Alarmed that the modern food production system that relies on inputs such as chemical fertilisers and pesticides causes damage to the soil, crops and to the whole ecosystem; Understands that since 1993, Monsanto has been aware that even middle and low doses of glyphosate, found in Roundup, can cause malformations, disease and birth defects; Notes that trace amounts of glyphosate can occur on raw, cooked and processed food and contribute to accumulating body burden of harmful chemicals over a lifetime; Highlights that critical information on the dire effects of agricultural chemicals has been withheld from the public; Highlights that women are responsible for the majority of food production and are therefore exposed to exploitation by international corporations; Argues that by allowing corporate profits based on deception, withholding of information and the failure of nations to regulate the use of harmful products, nations are denying basic human rights; Asserts that when basic human rights are denied and corporations are allowed to cause
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Calls for the ban of all glyphosate-based herbicides; Insists that those corporations and governments that have dispersed these poisons be liable for clean up and compensation for impacts on human health; Pledge to collaborate with other organisations that address these concerns.
Girl Soldiers The 31st Triennial Congress of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, meeting 22-24 April 2015 in The Hague, the Netherlands: Recognises that an estimated 300,000 children (boys and girls) under the age of 18 are involved in more than 30 conflicts worldwide, nearly half of which are girls; Notes that although international agreements prohibit the use of children as soldiers, recruiting them for armed forces continues; Is mindful that armed conflicts and the trafficking and proliferation of small arms and light weapons facilitate the use of children in combat;
Recognises that girls voluntarily or involuntarily joining irregular armed forces face very specific problems, dissimilar from what the standard perceptions of a “soldier� experiences and that challenges facing girl soldiers remain generally without recognition; Advocates for former girl soldiers to obtain asylum or residency, and that states share best practices regarding the treatment of girl soldiers that are refugees and seek asylum or residency; Press the United Nations and relevant national authorities to provide training and support for girl ex-soldiers.
Deplores that girls are used as combatants, messengers, porters and cooks and are forced into sex; Notes that trafficking of children is violence and a violation of human rights that constitutes an infringement to the Convention on the Rights of Children; Notes that in some countries child soldiers can be refused asylum on the grounds of involvement in war crimes. However there are international precedents in which residency permits and support can be provided to child soldiers as victims of human trafficking, a practice that WILPF endorses; Argues that, while some demobilization, disarmament, and reintegration (DDR) programmes pay special attention to child soldiers, in general the interests of child soldiers often remain unattended;
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Protecting Democracy and the Public Interest from Secret Trade Agreements The 31st Triennial Congress of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, meeting 22-24 April 2015 in The Hague, the Netherlands: Expresses concern that the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) encompass most of the world’s economy and affect 1.5 billion people, yet are being negotiated in secret between governments and corporate lobbyists; Believes these agreements enable the transfer of wealth from public to private sectors, putting investors’ rights over the rights of people, communities and nations; Rejects the Investor-to-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), which puts corporations on an equal footing with national governments, whereby foreign multinational corporations can bypass domestic courts to sue a national government in a secret international court, claiming national laws adversely affect their profits; Condemns the “Regulatory Coherence” provision, whereby each TPP country and the EU Commission under the TTIP must adjust their regulations to match provisions of the agreement, meaning many nations will be forced to lower their standards; Believes these agreements will exacerbate global warming and extreme weather events by increasing long-distance transport of
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goods, through moving jobs and manufacturing to countries with low labour standards and environmental laws; Believes these agreements will adversely impact families and workers by lowering safe food, agricultural and chemical use standards, decrease affordable generic medicine and healthcare, privatise and increase the cost of essential public services, challenge government protections for workers, consumers, and the environment, and reject financial regulation; Calls for the immediate public release of the complete texts of the TPPA and TTIP; Calls for the rejection of the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions; and Demands fair trade based on human rights, democratic principles and social, economic, gender and climate justice.
Yemen
The 31st Triennial Congress of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, meeting 22-24 April 2015 in The Hague, the Netherlands: Condemns the bombing and blockading of Yemen by a coalition of ten countries, the latest destabilising attack in the Middle East and North Africa region, following death and destruction in Gaza, Syria, Libya, Bahrain, Mali, Sudan, Somalia, Pakistan, Iraq, and Afghanistan; Condemns the use of explosive weapons in populated areas in Yemen, which cause severe harm to individuals and communities and further suffering by damaging vital infrastructure; Believes that while waged under the pretext of fighting “terrorism” or the so-called “responsibility to protect” these wars are motivated by access to resources and strategic power; Sees that such wars leave behind destabilized and failed states and devastated societies; Calls for an immediate, unconditional ceasefire and urgent development assistance to strengthen the sovereignty and self-government of Yemen; Calls on states to cease arms transfers to those countries involved in the bombing of Yemen and all parties involved in the conflict.
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Russia and Ukraine
The 31st Triennial Congress of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, meeting 22-24 April 2015 in The Hague, the Netherlands: Expresses concern about ongoing tension between Russia, Ukraine, and the Eastern European region, which is exacerbated and provoked by NATO military exercises and proposed expansion; Expresses alarm at aggressive and violent language that demonises leaders and sabotages dialogue and the building of diplomatic relations; Condemns the use of explosive weapons in populated areas by all parties in the Ukraine conflict, which has killed hundreds of civilians and prevented the provision of food, water, medicine, and shelter to civilians; Calls on states to cease arms transfers to all parties involved in the conflict in Ukraine; Demands the full implementation of the Minsk II ceasefire, disarmament, and dialogue agreement of February 2015 negotiated between the Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany and overseen by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
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Climate Change, Environmental Justice, and Peace The 31st Triennial Congress of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, meeting 22-24 April 2015 in The Hague, the Netherlands: Expresses alarm that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are the highest in history, the atmosphere and oceans have warmed, snow and ice cover have diminished, sea levels have risen; Expresses further alarm by the lack of action in the second half of this critical decade to avert catastrophic climate change that will have severe, pervasive, and irreversible impacts on agriculture, food security, fresh water, human health, and the ecosystems on which all life depends; Recognises that clean water is a precious resource and a fundamental human right, which needs to be protected and freely available to all;
Calls for all organisations to divest from fossil fuel investments; Calls for climate refugee status to be recognised in International Law; Demands the participation of women experts and representatives of impacted communities in climate mitigation and adaptation policy negotiations at the December 2015 Conference of Parties in Paris that will set a new global framework for combatting climate change; Calls for the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Climate Change.
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Recognises that climate change has a disproportionate effect on the poor, women, Indigenous peoples, coastal and small island communities, such as those in the Pacific, including Takuu, Kiribati and Tuvalu; Also recognise that military production, consumption, exercises and war are intensive greenhouse gas emitting accelerators of climate change and extreme weather events; Calls for governments to urgently commit to ambitious targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions towards zero carbon economies;
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Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone in the Middle East The 31st Triennial Congress of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, meeting 22-24 April 2015 in The Hague, the Netherlands: Recalling all previous resolutions supporting the urgent negotiation of a Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone in the Middle East; Notes that of the twelve countries in the Middle East, only Israel has nuclear weapons; Notes that 67% of the planet is now covered by zones free of weapons of mass destruction; Believes the conclusion of negotiations with Iran on nuclear issues provides an opportune time for an international conference on a Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone in the Middle East; Regrets that the Helsinki Conference on a Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone in the Middle East agreed by the 2010 NPT Review Conference has been postponed several times; Calls for the continuation of efforts to establish a conference to advance a WMD Free Zone in the Middle East.
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Constitution of Nepal
The 31st Triennial Congress of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, meeting 22-24 April 2015 in The Hague, the Netherlands: Notes that Nepal has been in a state of transition since 2006 and that the drafting of a democratic constitution has been prolonged while ethnic conflict and violence against women have both increased; Calls on the political parties of Nepal to complete the drafting of a new democratic and inclusive constitution and promulgate it in 2015; and Calls on the government of Nepal to end the impunity for perpetrators of unprecedented violence against women, dowry-killings, domestic violence and murder.
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Seeking Asylum is a Human Right
The 31st Triennial Congress of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, meeting 22-24 April 2015 in The Hague, the Netherlands: Alarmed by the tragic deaths of thousands of asylum seekers every year (most recently 800 people drowning off the coast of Tripoli) in the Mediterranean sea, the most deadly border worldwide; Appalled by the decisions of the special summit of European leaders held during our Congress, refusing to install a permanent European sea rescue mission and also refusing again to build legal pathways for refugees to come to Europe; Concerned by European policies attempting to deter migrants from entering Europe, and the policies of other governments persecuting those seeking the human right to asylum; Calls for • safe pathways for refugees to seek asylum when entering a new country; • increased funding for humanitarian assistance for refugees; • cessation to the demonization of migrants; • integration policies that include migrants as full-fledged members of society; and • an end to impunity for crimes against migrants and refugees.
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Sudan
The 31st Triennial Congress of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, meeting 22-24 April 2015 in The Hague, the Netherlands:
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Extremely concerned about the present situation of instability, human rights violations and armed conflict in Sudan, particularly in Darfur, Blue Nile and Kordofan; Concerned by the election in Sudan on 13 April 2015 recognised as invalid by the EU and other entities; Concerned by reports of meetings between opposition political parties and warring factions that may challenge the new government by violent force; Concerned that the government of Sudan has boycotted the African Union and internationally facilitated dialogue opportunities; Concerned that the situation in Sudan may have an impact on upcoming elections in other African countries, such as Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda and DRC; Calls for a continued national dialogue that could lead to a transitional all party government in Sudanwith the aim of avoiding more bloodshed, poverty and displacement, and creating a stable society for future generations; Calls for a continued inclusive national peace dialogue leading to conflict resolution, peace building, reconstruction and a transitional all party government in Sudan.
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Recognising Nuclear Tests in Polynesia as Crimes Against Humanity The 31st Triennial Congress of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, meeting 22-24 April 2015 in The Hague, the Netherlands: Recalls previous resolutions concerning the disastrous consequences from nuclear testing for site workers, people and the environment, including those arising from the 193 atmospheric and underground tests in Mururoa and Fangataufa between 1966 and 1996; Notes that ever since the shutdown of the nuclear testing sites there has been a lack of transparency from the French Army and no real guarantees were given at the sanitary or environmental level to the Polynesian people; Emphasises that nuclear tests are not only a burden inherited from the past, but also a “time bomb,� as recent studies show terrifying potential for seismic activity to disturb poorly secured storage of radioactive materials and release radiation into the Pacific ocean; Calls for the implementation of an international research board to study all present and future consequences of nuclear tests in French Polynesia, be they social, sanitary, environmental; and Demands that the secrecy of the Moruroa archives be lifted.
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List of Participants
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List of Participants SECTIONS Albania (6) Eriketa Kambo, Delegate Silvana Ulqinaku, Delegate Merita Bara, Delegate Olsa Ulqinaku, Delegate Megiana Hamiti, Delegate Tatiana Kurtiqi, IB Member Australia (21) Leonnie Blumson, Delegate Ruth Russell, Delegate Kerry McGovern, Delegate Janette McLeod, Delegate Fiona McAlpine, Delegate Vikki Henry, Alternate Beverley Hall, Alternate Stella Boyages, Alternate Margaret Bearlin, Alternate Del Cuddihy, Alternate Sharna De Lacy, Alternate Lynette Lane, IB Member Kate Laing Laura Dewey Leonie Ebert Pamela Lemoine Elvan Turak Felicity Ruby Angie Fangupo Randa Bali Patricia Dwyer Bolivia (1) Katia Elena Patino Uriona Canada (5) Rosie Rivera Cleta Brown Noga Gayle
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Jo Rekart Patsy George Colombia (2) Omerly Vergara Katherine Ronderos Costa Rica (1) Beatriz Schulthess Denmark (3) Tove Krag, Delegate Annelise Ebbe, Delegate Ida Harslof, IB Member Jens Ebbe DRC (11) Annie Matundu Mbambi Sandra Kanyeba Kambala Eulalie Kintenga Kiribeta Lisette Mavungu Thamba Sabine Wiawe Yu’donago Matalatala Gina-Nzuji Tabisha Mongelwa Emerite Jeanine Bandu Bahati Mburano Euphrasie Kpademogo Kandago Marcelline Mushindo Gloria Bukassa Finland (3) Marianne Laxen, Delegate Aila Auvinnen, Delegate Paula Sams-Nurmentuas, IB Member France (4) Gisele Noublanche, Delegate Genevieve Berthet, Delegate Marie Claude Mollet, Delegate Claude Vigue, IB Member
French Polynesia (1) Hiriata Brotherson, Delegate Germany (12) Heide Schütz, Delegate Anne Ley, Delegate Eleonore Broitzmann, Delegate Susanne Hertrampf, Delegate Irmgard Hpfer, Delegate Anna Kadar, Alternate Barbara Lochbihler, Alternate Susanne Stöver (+Baby), Alternate Heidi Meinzolt, IB Member Nina Althoff, Alternate Ana Werkstetter, Alternate Irene Eckert India (7) Shilpa Pandey, Delegate Amee Yajink, Delegate Ronica Bose, Delegate Samina Ghotlawala, Delegate Dr. Dipuba Devada, Delegate Jharna Patak, Alternate Krishna Ahooja Patel, IB Member Italy (6) Patrizia Sterpetti, Delegate Giovanna Pagani, Delegate Ada Donno, Delegate Annalisa Milani, IB Member Viola Giulliano Cimini Fortuniti Japan (6) Keiko Izubuchi, Delegate Kozue Akibayashi, IB Member Nagako Sugimori Taeko Okada Noriko Tada Yuuka Kageyama Lebanon (11) Rajaa Ghoussainy, Delegate Maha Malaeb, Delegate Nouha Ghosn, Delegate
Sara Baini, Alternate Sanaa Hassan, Alternate Linda Atallah, Alternate Ferial Mazkour Abou Hamdan, IB Member Nahida Ghosn Rasha Mahmoud, Delegate Zeina Abulhosn, Delegate Amani Beaini, Alternate Mexico (2) Patricia Fabiola Coutiño Osorio, Delegate Elisabeth Ballen, Delegate Nepal (2) Neelam KC Khadka Nirmala Siwakoti Sitoula Netherlands (16) Aynur Tekin, Delegate Marijke Meijers-Smals, Delegate Inge Stemmler, Delegate Han Degeller, Delegate Rosien Herweijer, Alternate Mieneke Wolffensperger, Alternate Mans Van Zandbergen, Alternate Mieke Koster, Alternate Anjo Kerkhofs, Alternate Joke Oranje, Alternate Raila Abas, IB Member Susi Snyder Lineke Schakenbos Ite van Dijk Karin Verbaken Willo Buskes New Zealand (6) Celine Kearney, Delegate Del Robie, Delegate Ruth Coombes, Delegate Irinka Britnell, Delegate Megan Hutching, IB Member Liz Remmerswaal Nigeria (6) Helen Ani, Delegate Oseji Olivia Ndidi, Delegate
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Okezie Chioma Ugochi, Delegate Ugochukwu Onwukwe, Delegate Eze Olunchi Patience, Delegate Philomina Zamani, Delegate Norway (10) Elisabeth Kristiansen, Delegate K. Margrethe Kvam Tingstad, Delegate Eva Fidjestal, Delegate Ursula Gelis, Delegate Bhanumathi Natarajan, Delegate Anne Cecilie Kjelling, Alternate Liss Schanke, Alternate Mari Holmboe Ruge, Alternate Edel Havin Beukes, IB Member Anne M. Halvorsen, Delegate Pakistan (9) Tahira Tarique, Delegate Tahira Noor, Delegate Saima Jasam Salem, Delegate Nageena Sadaf, Delegate Fatima Atif, Delegate Sameena Nazir, IB Member Akeela Naz Rehana Hashmi Rukhshanda Naz
Maria del Vigo Fernandez Amparo Bella Rando Sandra Blasco Lisa Maribel Hernandez Sandchez Maria Gloria Labarta Bertol Sweden (9) Malin Nilsson, Delegate Sofie Saterhall, Delegate Reate Frangeur, Delegate Ann-Cathrin Jarl, Delegate Linda Eitrem Holgram, Delegate Ylva Bergman, Alternate Annika Skogar, IB Member Kirsti Kolthoff Lina HjärtstrÜm Switzerland (4) Edith Ballantyne, Delegate Zora Studer, Delegate Antoinette Machtlinger, Delegate Helena Nyberg, IB Member
Philippines (1) Rosario Padilla, IB Member
UK (11) Anne Scott, Delegate Marie Lyse Numohoza, Delegate Stella Hermiston, Delegate Helen Kay, Delegate Jane Grant, Alternate Katrina Gass, Alternate Marie Claire Faray, Alternate Brigitte Morrigan, Alternate Rosalind Brunt, IB Member (joint) Keely Khoury, IB Member (joint) Cynthia Cockburn
Spain (14) Carmen Magallon, Delegate Maria Villellas Arino, Delegate Laura Alonso Cano, Delegate Pilar Trigo Dominguez, Delegate Ana Barrero Tiscar, Delegate Manuela Mesa Peinado, IB Member Carmen Sacristan Zurdo Amelia Bella Rando Pilar Lainez Claveria
US (40) Mary Hanson Harrison, Delegate Carol Urner, Delegate Jane Doyle, Delegate Regina Birchem , Delegate Barbara Nielsen, Delegate Joan Ecklein, Alternate Leah Bolger, Alternate Darien De Lu, Alternate Odile Hugonot Haber, Alternate
Palestine (3) Hanan Awwad, Delegate Shireen Far Nariman Awad
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Leah Bolger, Alternate Melissa Torres, IB Member Linda Park Elaine Nonneman Karem Pope Mary Day Kent Margaret Pecoraro Nalini Laisiewicz Patrick Pecoraro Pat Obrian Mary Jane Schutzius Ellen Barfield Cynthia MinsterCheng Anne Marie Pois Catia Confortini Hope Elizabeth May Patricia Schroeder Altaira Hatton Robin Lloyd Nancy Price Virginia Pratt Mathilde Rand Anne Hoiberg Janis Corderman Alexandria Smith Alex Zarin Lauri Zarin Alan Haber Cynthia Enloe Theresa Cote Charlotte Dennett GROUPS Cameroon (3) Nathalie Tchuenbou Wokam Sylvie Ndongmo Beatrice Arimoh Sama Eritrea (1) Sattuma Nohanid Ghana (2) Olivia Anaman Ayo Ayoola-Amale
Israel (3) Aliyah Strauss Lizi Sagie Fatchia Akafa Nicaragua (1) Mercedes Veronica Carcia Reyes Uganda (1) Rosemary Sennyondo INTERNATIONAL MEMBERS AND OTHERS Susan Bazilli Malcom Katz Tamara Lorincz EXCOM Adilia Caravaca, President Nancy Ramsden, Treasurer Kerstin Grebäck, Vice-President Martha Jean Baker, Vice-President Joy Ada Onyesoh, Vice-President Lorraine Mirham, Vice-President STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS Madeleine Rees, Secretary General Emma Bürgisser, Anniversary Coordinator Kathrin Perez, Anniversary Associate Line Favre, Office Manager Guillaume Favre, Finance and Office Management Associate Nina Maria Hansen, Communications Manager Francesca Pezzola, Communications Manager Zala Zbogar, Anniversary Communications Associate Åsa Malmberg, Communications Intern Ray Acheson, Director Disarmament programme Mia, Manager Disarmament programme Gabriella, Associate Disarmament programme Maria Munoz, Director Human Rights programme Maria Butler, Director Women, Peace and Security programme Abigiail Ruane, Manager Women, Peace and Security programme Barbro Svedberg, Director Crisis Response programme Laila Alodaat, Manager Crisis Response programme
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Simon Ott, Anniversary Intern Livia Wyss, Anniversary Intern Sarah Boukhary, Crisis Response Intern David Stallman, Disarmament Intern Barbara Trojanowska, WILPF Academic Network Coordinator, Volunteer Nela Porobic Isakovic, Consultant Lesia Pagulich, Consultant MEDIA Gordana Malesevic Jane Gabriel Marion Bowmann Jennifer Allsopp Charlotte Bill PHOTOGRAPHERS Le Greb채ck Mir Greb채ck von Melen
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Financial Statements 2014
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Appendices
The following appendices can be required by emailing secretariat@wilpf.ch:
Executive Report 2014 Report from the Standing Personnel Committee Report from the Standing Finance Committee Report from the Sub-Committee on Fundraising (Fundraising Strategy 2015-2018) Report from the Standing Constitution Committee Constitution and By-Law - proposed amendments Report from the Environment Working Group Report from the Academic Network Report from the Young WILPF Network Report from Communicators Network Report from the AdHoc Committee on the Organisation of WILPF 2013 Report from the AdHoc Committee on the Organisation of WILPF 2015 WILPF Reserve Fund Policy Section Fee Table Audits 2014 Financial Statements 2014 Budget Forecast 2015-2016-2017-2018 Please find all Section Reports 2014 on wilpf.org
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The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom is an international non-governmental organisation with National Sections covering every continent, an International Secretariat based in Geneva, and a New York office focused on the work of the United Nations. Since our establishment in 1915, we have brought together women from around the world who are united in working for peace by non-violent means and promoting political, economic and social justice for all. Our approach is always non-violent, and we use existing international legal and political frameworks to achieve fundamental change in the way states conceptualise and address issues of gender, militarism, peace and security. Our strength lies in our ability to link the international and local levels. We are very proud to be one of the first organisations to gain consultative status (category B) with the United Nations, and the only women’s anti-war organisation so recognised.
WOMEN’S INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR
PEACE & FREEDOM WILPF Geneva Rue de Varembé 1 Case Postale 28 1211 Geneva 20 Switzerland T: +41 (0)22 919 70 80 E: secretariat@wilpf.ch
www.wilpf.org
WILPF New York 777 UN Plaza, New York NY 10017 USA T: +1 212 682 1265