Spain (State of)

We are pleased to announce our international gathering in Barcelona: “Disarming Militarism: Resisting War, Building Peace", a meeting point for our wide and diverse network of antimilitarist and pacifist activists from across the world.

This article, written by two participants from the Canary Islands in the Global March to Gaza, recounts the experience of a self-organised international mobilisation that brought together over 4,000 people from around the world to denounce the genocide in Gaza and the occupation of Palestine. Through a non-violent and collective action, they reflect on the lessons learned, challenges faced, and future prospects of a global struggle for justice, dignity, and human rights.

The anti-militarist group from Bilbao and WRI's affiliate, KEM-MOC, carried out a nonviolent direct action outside the BBVA headquarters on Gran Vía in Bilbao. The aim of the protest was to denounce that the record profits announced by the bank at its shareholders' meeting largely stem from financing the arms industry.

"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. 

MOC Valencia – an antimilitarist group in Spain - are facing fines of nearly €45,000 as a consequence of nonviolent actions they have taken over the last year.

In December 2001, the last recruits abandoned military barracks across Spain after having completed the final nine months of obligatory military service. In many European states, the end of forced recruitment had been motivated almost exclusively by the military forces' evolution towards global intervention operations, whilst in Spain the system of forced recruitment had collapsed despite years of government efforts.

According to a new report published by Centre d’Estudis per la Pau to analyse the way banks, pension funds and insurers are funding the arms industry, the total financing to the arms industry by financial institutions operating in Spain reached nearly €11,969 million between the years 2014 and 2019. The largest armed banks operating in Spain are again BBVA, Santander, ING, Deutsche Bank, Banco Sabadell, Bankia and Caixabank.

Falken SA is a Spanish company specialising in "less lethal" weapons and other equipment used by the police and security forces in Spain, and countries in Latin America.

From November 1st to November 3rd, 2019 a group of activists from France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland gathered to discuss militarism in their political, social and everyday lives. Conscientious objection, among and in relation to other topics, was central to the discussions at this Antimilitarist Camp in Paris.

In the heartlands, where dominant power constructs its hegemony, war is part of the programme....

Activists have resisted and challenged arms fairs and exhibitions in Canada, Czech Republic, Israel and Spain in recent weeks.

The Spanish government has decided to go ahead with the delivery of 400 laser guided missiles to Saudi Arabia, worth more than $10m, a few weeks after saying they would cancel the order.