WRI affiliate

In recent weeks we have seen a number of significant acts of violence that have directly impacted WRI affiliates. We want to draw attention to two of them – not to compare them (they are radically different in scale, context and level of brutality), but to highlight the way different manifestations of militarism around the world are interconnected, even when they are being experienced in very different contexts nearly 14,000km apart.

"Decarbonizing is Demilitarizing" is an initiative of Centre Delàs of Peace Studies (a War Resisters’ International affiliate), Ecologistas en Acción and Extinction Rebellion Barcelona, and seeks to strengthen the links between pacifist, ecological, feminist and global justice movements by shedding light on the multiple interconnections between militarism and the climate crisis. 

Their manifesto - which you can find below - has been so far endorsed by over 40 Spanish organizations and made public on June 13, at the campaign launch. 

Christian peace-making charity, The Fellowship of Reconciliation, has condemned the Russian declaration of war against the Ukraine. We urge politicians on all sides to take action for a peaceful resolution of this situation and for Christians to speak out, to pray regularly for peace and to support any humanitarian calls for help. 

John Cooper, FoR Director said:

In response to this morning's news, the Peace Pledge Union has released the following statement.

The Peace Pledge Union condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine. No excuses can serve to justify this murderous act of military aggression. Our thoughts are with people in Ukraine in the midst of this horror.

The resistance to a new NATO radar base on Sornfelli mountain, on the Faroe Islands, is growing.

At our annual meeting (held online this year) we were very happy to welcome two new organisations to our international network.

In May we were very happy to welcome two new organisations to our international, antimilitarist network!

Sadankomitea or Committee of 100 in Finland is a long-time affiliate of War Resisters’ International, and last year it became a section of WRI. This hopefully signals the beginning of closer cooperation with the rest of the WRI family.

Icelanders have opposed military activities and NATO since the time that the country was occupied in 1940, first by the UK and then by the US. One of the demands at a huge demonstration against Iceland’s forcible incorporation into NATO in 1949 was a referendum about Iceland’s entry into NATO. Read here about the antimilitarist work of our affiliate Samtök hernaðarandstæðinga in Iceland and their ongoing campaigning against militarism.

Activists in London -including WRI affiliates Campaign Against Arms Trade and Peace Pledge Union - have taken direct action to protest and disrupt a major networking and social event held by the UK’s Aerospace, Defence, Security, and Space Trade Association.

At WRI's recent conference and meeting in Colombia, we were delighted two welcome six new affiliates to our international network.

For the 100th anniversary of World War I, activists in Brussels held an alternative remembrance ceremony and put up posters around the city to highlight Belgium and Europe’s complicity in current wars through the arms trade.