Statement to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child regarding U.S. Compliance with CRC OPAC
Feb. 7, 2008
OHCHR, Geneva

Statement made by Tzili Mor  to the CRC on behalf of WILPF

Click here to view this statement as a pdf document.

Update: 2008-02-22

Thank you for this opportunity to give voice to the experiences and concerns of members of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom in the U.S. and their allies in 30 US-based national and local grass roots organizations who are similarly engaged in peace education and advocacy on behalf of the human rights of children.

In its report to this committee, the U.S. Government fails to define what constitutes "recruitment", and even suggests that recruitment is limited to the act of a person signing the enlistment contract.  The report ignores the concerted, targeted actions taken by military recruiters, including unchecked aggressive advertising, extravagant gift giving, and false promises of benefits and harassment of pre teens and teenagers that had to take place in order to achieve this result. In 2006, the U.S. Department of Defense spent 1.5 billion dollars on military recruitment, with half of this sum used for advertising alone. Military recruitment is a process that starts long before the contract is actually signed.

WILPF Statement on the situation in Burma

The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom sends greetings, solidarity and support to citizens of Burma, who courageously and non-violently stand up for peace and freedom in their country.

A reign of terror has prevailed in Burma since 1962, the population being brutally repressed by a military dictatorship; women have suffered in terrible and specific ways.

The international community has tolerated this military junta far too long. Its silence has protected a culpable economic exploitation by actors who must be made to cease their profiteering and deal-making with the regime, currently headed by General Than Shwe. The current culture of impunity must come to an end, and those who have committed grave violations of international humanitarian law must be justly prosecuted.

a revision of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)

September 17, 2007 Constitution Day

On July 17, 2007, the U.S.Senate, in a showdown over national security measures, voted to give President Bush expanded authority to eavesdrop on suspected foreign terrorists without court warrants.The House earlier rejected a Democratic version of the bill by a vote of 218-207.

President Bush signed the latest version on August 5.WILPF strongly opposes this further intrusion on our democratic rights to privacy and urges our members, legislators and concerned citizens to work against its implementation and a further erosion of people's rights that will move us closer to dictatorship and away from democratic process.

The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF-US) recognizes that the United States is a nation of immigrants from around the world whose many contributions have enriched our lives and communities from the nation's beginning.

WILPF members march for immigrants workers' rights in April 2006

WILPF's first president, Jane Addams, founded and directed Hull House in Chicago for newly arrived immigrants "to provide a center for a higher civic and social life." An immigrant's successful integration will always depend on the wisdom and receptivity of policy-makers and the willingness of communities to promote diversity and assist the transition of newcomers. Such efforts should be guided by a commitment to equal protection, along with equal access to healthcare, employment, education and legal assistance for all residents.

The U.S. Section of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) joins with WILPF International leadership in expressing outrage at the claimed nuclear weapons test conducted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on October 9, 2006. Please see http://www.wilpf.int.ch/statements/dprk_nuke_test.html to view the statement, which WILPF US agrees with wholeheartedly.

Grassroots Campaign calls on Bush Administration to remedy humanitarian crisis

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Contact: Kate Zaidan, Program Coordinator, WILPF, 215-563-7110, kzaidan@wilpf.org

An International NGO focused on peace and human rights, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom [WILPF], has launched a grassroots campaign to pressure the Bush Administration to end the policy of restricting aid to the Palestinian people and the democratically elected government of Palestine, Hamas. The organization demands that the US government immediately restore aid to the Palestinian Authority, and intends to mobilize women across the US to end this arbitrary and unfair policy that has exacerbated the already dire situation of the Palestinian people.

(Statement issued June 6, 2006)

The U.S. Section of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom is dismayed that the Administration is again threatening military attack, this time on Iran.  Such an attack would be illegal, unjustified, counter-productive and inhumane.  Bombing of Iranian nuclear research and power sites, even with conventional weapons, would be disastrous.  It would violate Protocol I of the Geneva Convention, which prohibits such bombings because they can release lethal radiation into the environment.

Prepared by the Advancing Human Rights Issues Committee
Adopted by WILPF U.S. Section
April 2006

FOR A HEALTHIER AMERICA, we pledge to help build the movement for a single payer universal health care system that will serve every person in the United States. WILPF has always stood for economic justice and women’s equality as prerequisite to sustainable peace. In its principles and policies (1987), WILPF U.S. has clearly stated its support for “a comprehensive national health care and maintenance program for everyone” a position grounded in Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”

The United States Section of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (US WILPF) deplores the US government's continued use of military force to secure access to resources and to maintain control over other nations. The illegal wars and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, and US military and economic support for Israel's occupation of Palestine have destabilized the region, caused extensive human suffering, and destroyed the infrastructure of the occupied territories.

The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, US Section, has opposed the US led war on Iraq since before 2003, a war that has taken a heavy toll of Iraqi and US lives. Additionally, the sovereign nation of Iraq has been occupied by US military forces and Iraq's infrastructure, politically and physically, has been destroyed. The entire Middle East region has been destabilized by this illegal war.

It is now clear that Congress colluded in this Constitutional hijacking by allowing its authority to declare war to be usurped by the Executive. With revelations and developments of recent months, Congress bears a great responsibility to bring this war to an end!

The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom rejects the world vision presented last night by President George W. Bush. “The US cannot survive as a fortress state defending itself by torture abroad and surveillance at home” said WILPF Executive Director, Mary Day Kent. While many members of the House and Senate applauded the version of the world and nation outlined by the president, WILPF will continue to mobilize its US and international membership to live by the principles of global community.

President Bush wraps the patriotic banner around his disastrous Iraq policy, but 2005 saw the most violent months and the highest military death toll since the March, 2003 invasion. Additional hundreds of deaths at home in hurricane Katrina are “collateral damage” due to careless rescue efforts, inadequate warnings, and a shortage of resources and personnel that were sunk into the failing occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Although security is brandished as our national priority and enormous funds are spent for Homeland Security, our futures are mortgaged by huge tax cuts for the rich, deficits, and careless incompetence.

WILPF Iraq Statement 

February 5th, 2005

As the second term of President Bush’s neoconservative administration begins Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) rejects its claim to an electoral mandate. The majority of the people of the United States do not support the war on Iraq. They do not support the Bush administration’s disdain for human rights and international law. Bush foreign policies, masked by a stated intention to bring democracy to other countries, have led to unconscionable death and destruction. They foster greater hostility toward the United States throughout the world. Deaths of United States soldiers in Iraq now exceed 1400 and 9 times that have been injured. Involuntary extension of tours of duty for more troops has been announced. Though Iraqi deaths are not officially counted, an October report estimates that 100,000 or more Iraqis have died directly or indirectly as a result of the United States invasion and occupation of their country. Women are assaulted with impunity as they struggle to provide for basic family needs amid near total material destruction and social collapse in Iraq. Bush appointees sanction torture, and imprisonment and secret investigations without court review. U.S. corporations profit outrageously from the tragedy of the Iraqi people while U.S. soldiers are placed in harm’s way to carry out the administration’s neoconservative agenda.

WILPF calls upon the majority of our country, all who are opposed to the war on Iraq, to demand an end to the war and United States occupation of Iraq now. To promote this end, and to work for justice in a self-governing Iraq, we urge that our government, by executive action or Congressional mandate:

Prohibit further involuntary extended duty of US soldiers in Iraq, a form of draft;

(download Word document here)

The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom/US Section offers our sincerest condolences to the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. In particular, WILPF extends its support to the women, poor women and women of color, as the brunt of disaster has and will ultimately fall on the shoulders of the most oppressed. Your struggles will remain in our hearts and minds.

We demand that immediate aid and assistance be made available to those affected by this tragedy, and that long term solutions be sought out to dismantle the unjust, oppressive economic and political systems that led to much of this devastation. Katrina was a disaster created and maintained by a gross imbalance of power, one that teeters on the fault lines of race, class and gender. WILPF’s vision is a world where equality and justice, lived within a framework of ecological wisdom, shape the framework of our national life. Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath make it clear that our reality is something entirely different. WILPF see this tragedy through the lens of root causes: racism, militarism, and environmental degradation.

November 3rd, 2004

Throughout the Presidential campaign, George W. Bush has emphasized his intention to continue the key policies of his first administration:
• preemptive war
• rejection of international law
• contempt for negotiated resolution of conflict
• deception of the US people, our representatives, and the world
• building a national security state
• rolling back civil liberties-particularly for women and minorities
• redirecting the economy to serve the very rich and the corporations they control
• and the ultimate violence of reckless disregard for natural resources, the environment, and the future of the earth on which we depend.

The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom has challenged, opposed, and protested these policies for the past four years. We now call on all citizens with a commitment to peace to rededicate our efforts to policies that will:
• restore our Constitutional liberties
• bring an end to invasions and occupations
• reconnect the US to our obligations under International Treaties on disarmament, the environment, and international law.

The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, United States Section, believes depleted uranium weapons are illegal under existing treaties, and calls for the immediate cessation of their manufacture, sale and use worldwide:

Thoughts on Radical Democracy - 20 June 2004

The US-WILPF mission statement proclaims that “WILPF members create the peaceful transformation they wish to see in the world by making connections that build and strengthen relationships and movements for justice, peace, and radical democracy among people all over the world.” What do we mean by radical democracy?

Radical means “at the root,” and democracy means “rule by the people.” But combining the words together gives us something more than the sum of two parts. Radical democracy is not something modern societies have experienced in a widespread, sustained fashion, so it’s not a reality we can precisely define. But we have seen glimpses that suggest it is part of our core nature, something we can nurture and develop, so capturing its essence gives us something we can aspire to.