Issue Committees
Planning “Keep Space for Peace Week” October 4 to 12 2008
The U
New US WILPF Statement on the War in Iraq and Iran
TO ALL CONGRESS PEOPLE
re: WAR in IRAQ and IRAN
We condemn and oppose the United States war and occupation of Iraq, which has caused the death of over 4,000 U.S. military personnel and over 1 million Iraqis. Untold numbers of combat troops have been physically and psychologically damaged. In addition there are over 5 million Iraqi refugees, which place a strain on the economies of the receiving countries. An estimated 1 million war widows work to eke out a living for their families.
WILPF Internal Grant Program
It is designed to be flexible and fund the essential work being done by our many Issue Committees, Branches and members. We encourage collaboration between our Issue Committees and Branches, and outcome- oriented planning, so that we may more powerfully effect policy change at the local, national and international levels.
Iraq/Iran Committee Statements and Postings
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Recent statements and postings by members of the WILPF Iraq/Iran Issue Committee Mayors for Peace: PRESENTE and Future Force for Total DisarmamentA Report from the NPT Review Conference in New York
Ending the Threat of Nuclear Devastation: Mayors Conference at the United Nations Tuesday, May 3, 2005 Citizens around the globe working together to eliminate all nuclear weapons have banded together in an “Emergency Campaign to Ban Nuclear Weapons” by 2020, led by Mayors for Peace, other global associations of local authorities and supporting NGOs. They are here at the NPT RevCon, swelled from 19 mayors and deputies in 12 countries at the 2004 PrepCom to now over 100 mayors and local authority representatives. In a day-long program Tuesday it was announced that over 1000 cities around the world have joined the mobilization with the number of cities growing every day. Mayors from 23 countries making up a Delegation of 100 will present International Mayoral Statements and Public Petitions in the Great Hall of the General Assembly Wednesday. Earlier in the day they will consult with heads of their country delegations. Women and CubaThree reasons why Cuba is a peace issue and a women's issue and why WILPF members should care.
 1. The U.S. is, and has been, waging a "low-intensity war" on Cuba for over 40 years through the blockade on trade and travel, support of anti-Castro terrorists, and a U.S, media that constantly projects an image of a brutal, repressive, totalitarian dictatorship that belies the reality of Cuba. Haiti Issue CommitteeThe Haiti Issues committee focuses on familiarizing WILPF members with the history of WILPF's response to the US involvement in Haiti, starting with an official WILPF delegation to Haiti in 1929 led by Emily Greene Balch, during the US Marine Occupation of Haiti from 1916 to 1934 (see her report, "Occupied Haiti") and proposing actions that members can take in support of democracy and stability in Haiti. Following are the main priorities for the Haiti Issues committee in 2007: Debt relief; Immigration Reform; the TRUTH Act (investigation of the US role in the 2/29/04 coup d’etat); and Depoliticization of US aid to Haiti. The International Relations Center’s Americas Program features an Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti article on the TRUTH Act, U.S. Congress Should Make New Year’s Resolution for Haiti. If you would like more information about the Haiti Issues committee activities and/or receive Haiti Issues Committee action alerts, please contact: Joan Drake at joanwdrake@aol.com or Shirley Pate at haitiwilpf@haitioye.net Support Debt Cancellation for HaitiRepresentatives Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Spencer Bachus (R-AL) are calling on their colleagues to sign a bi-partisan letter to the Secretary of the Treasury urging him to 1) expedite the cancellation of Haiti’s debts to the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and other multilateral financial institutions, and 2) urge an immediate suspension of debt service payments from Haiti.
Both Representatives have gone out on a limb for the poor of Haiti, and now they need you to tell your Representative to stand up with them. Haitians need you too: recent headlines remind us of Haitians eating cookies made of salt, butter and dirt, because they cannot afford food. While Haitians are forced to eat dirt, their government is forced to send almost $1 million each week in debt service to wealthy banks that were established to fight poverty. Over half of Haiti’s outstanding loans went to dictators like Francois “Papa Doc” and Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, who spent the money on fur coats, fast cars and death squads. Haiti’s poor are now repaying the loans, by eating dirt and by foregoing elementary education and basic healthcare. HELP SAVE LOVINSKY PIERRE-ANTOINE!HELP SAVE LOVINSKY PIERRE-ANTOINE!
HALF-HOUR FOR HAITI ALERT FROM THE INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE AND DEMOCRACY IN HAITI Last Friday, October 12, was the two-month anniversary of the abduction of Haitian human rights activist Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine. Lovinsky has been one of Haiti’s most persistent and effective human rights activists in Haiti for almost 20 years. He founded several organizations, including the September 30th Foundation, which has maintained weekly vigils for justice in Haiti for over a decade, through hurricanes, coup d’états and economic privation. For more information about Lovinsky, his disappearance, and taking action to save Lovinsky's life, see our website, www.HaitiJustice.org. INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE AND DEMOCRACY IN HAITI WEEKLY ALERT - CANCELLATION OF HAITI’S DEBT, AUGUST 3, 2007FIRST – FAST FOR DEBT CANCELLATION The Jubilee USA Network (IJDH is a member) is organizing a 40-day fast for debt cancellation and economic justice from September 6 to October 15. There will be events focused on Haiti, including a lobby/call-in day, the first week of October. Jubilee USA is looking for organizations to commit to participating in the one-day fast on September 6. Joining the fast will help get the mobilization off to a good start, while also demonstrating that you care particularly about Haiti (we’ll be fasting at IJDH). For more information, see http://www.canceldebtfast.org/. DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER, KEVIN PINA, DEBUTS HIS GROUNDBREAKING HAITI FILM IN WASHINGTON, DCKevin Pina debuted his newest documentary, “Haiti: We Must Kill the Bandits,” in Washington, DC on June 4. The Haiti Issues Committee of WILPF along with the DC Branch of WILPF sponsored the showing. Pina is the founder of the Haiti Information Project and is an editor at The Black Commentator. “Bandits” details the international conspiracy that led to the kidnapping of Haiti’s democratically-elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the death of over 4,000 of his supporters, and a brutal UN occupation that continues to this day. Over 100 people attended the film. As the film closed, a stunned silence was followed by thunderous applause. For 40 minutes Pina, answered questions from the audience. Most questioned were prefaced with concerns about a serious lack of information on Haiti in the US and that the little information that is found here is so heavily biased against Aristide and seemingly mouthing the official US line. Documentary Review: Haiti: We must kill the banditshide
Where: Festival Center – 1640 Columbia Road, NW, Washington, DC Background on the film: You can see a trailer from the film on YouTube For more information: call 202-277-8252. Sponsored by the Women’s Int’l. League for Peace & Freedom-DC Branch, Fondasyon Mapou, and the Haitian Priorities Project By Tim Pelzer Documentary Review: Haiti: We must kill the bandits Haiti, MINUSTAH, and Latin America: Solidaridad?from http://americas.irc-online.org/am/4140 Mario Joseph and Brian Concannon, Jr. | April 9, 2007 Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez found a hero's welcome when he visited Haiti on March 12. People from Port-au-Prince's poor neighborhoods lined the streets of the capitol to cheer, chant, dance, and sing, with all the infectious enthusiasm of Haitian celebrations. President Chávez returned the affection. He jumped from his motorcade and joined the party, marching, even running with the crowd. At the National Palace, Chávez climbed up on the perimeter fence to slap hands like he had just scored a World Cup goal. He publicly thanked the Haitian people for their hospitality and enthusiasm, and for their historic support for liberty in the world. HAITI ACTION ALERT: If a picture is worth a thousand words . . .April 5, 2007 Updated: 2008-02-20 (from the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti) Half-Hour for Haiti: Ask Congress to Break Haiti's Chains of DebtMarch 15, 2007 Update on Last Week's Haiti Action Alert: Thanks to everyone who wrote last week in support of the Kolektif Fanmi Prizonye Politik (Political Prisoners' Families' Collective). For photos and a report-back on the Kolektif's March 8 Press Conference, as well as other International Women's Day events for Haiti including an interview with So Anne, click here. If you have not written there's still time, see last week's alert.Update on Legislative Initiatives: Good news on debt relief: Rep. Maxine Waters filed the Haiti Debt Relief Bill in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday. The bill calls for the complete and immediate cancellation of Haiti's multilateral debt (more on that below). As the bill notes, Haiti sends $56 million in debt service payments each year to International Financial Institutions that were founded to fight poverty, money that could be better spent on providing clean water, education and healthcare to Haiti's poor. Over half of the loans were given to the Duvaliers or other dictatorships, much of it never reached the poor. CONGRESSWOMAN WATERS INTRODUCES RESOLUTION TO CANCEL HAITI’S DEBTSPRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release Contact: Mikael Moore March 13, 2007 (202) 225-2201 Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Maxine Waters (CA-35) introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives to urge the IMF, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and other multilateral financial institutions to cancel Haiti’s multilateral debts immediately and completely. The resolution also urges the Secretary of the Treasury to use the voice, vote and influence of the United States within these institutions to accomplish this important goal. The resolution is cosponsored by senior members of the House Financial Services Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. CHAVEZ IN HAITI TO DELIVER $20 MILLION FOR HUMANITARIAN FUND
Hugo Chavez arrived in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Monday, March 12 to inaugurate a humanitarian fund for Haiti. The $20 million fund will help Haiti with a variety of social projects including healthcare, education, electricity generation, food production and drinking water. Haiti is already a member of Petrocaribe, a program initiated by Venezuela offering preferential financing terms for oil from Venezuela's state run oil company. DisarmDismantling the War Economy DISARM: Dismantling the War Economy Committee grew out of the six year Campaign by the same name. It was launched in 1999 with clearly stated goals. The emphasis was to be on dismantling the war economy (the war profiteers, especially in the nuclear industry), and building an economy for peace. Around this we would develop resources on disarmament issues. We would relate to the United Nations disarmament efforts through Reaching Critical Will, and we would closely follow disarmament legislation in the U.S. Congress and work for forward progress in demilitarizing the U.S. foreign policy, as well as the economy. WILPF Civil Liberties Issues CommitteeClick here for WILPF's 2004 Civil Liberties Committee Report, April 2004
Learn More about Your Rights!
National Issues/Rights:Bill of Rights:The government cannot forbid you to do something unless the Constitution says it can. However, the framers of the Constitution felt that certain rights were so important that they should be specifically guaranteed. Accordingly, ten amendments were added to the Constitution which together are known as the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights lists the most important rights that the government may never deny to its citizens. Click here for full text of Bill of Rights Building the Beloved CommunityOur mission is to provide educational information about the history and nature of systemic racism, connections between oppressions, internalized oppressions, racial justice, the struggles for racial justice. This program will encourage WILPF members, branches, interested organizations and individuals to work in coalition with people concerned about racial, economic, social, and all justice issues, radical democracy and peace local, national, and international. Six face kidnap charges in torture caseLOGAN, West Virginia (AP) -- The list of horrors allegedly endured by a woman at the hands of six people in a remote trailer grew during the suspects' court hearings -- leaving the woman's mother sobbing. Reading Tuesday from a statement 20-year-old Megan Williams gave deputies the day she was rescued from the ramshackle home, a sheriff's deputy said she had been stabbed with what she described as a butcher knife and beaten with wooden sticks and fly swatters. She said she was sexually assaulted, doused with hot water, forced to eat animal feces, and taunted with racial slurs. Among the new allegations, she said hot wax was poured on her, and that two of her captors forced her to drink a cup of their urine. Letter to Governor Blanco - Jena 6September 18, 2007 Dear Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, As human rights organizations working in the United States and around the world, we applaud the actions of Louisiana's Third Circuit Court of Appeals last Friday which vacated the conviction of Mychal Bell, although we are troubled that the District Attorney announced his intention to appeal the ruling. We also remain deeply concerned about reports surrounding the recent events in Jena, Louisiana. Specifically, we are concerned about reports that: Justice for the Jena 6from colorofchange.com
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