Our people are at the heart of the WILPF movement. As a collective, we are working tirelessly towards our ultimate goal of permanent peace for all.
Our movement consists of members from around the world, some of whom are part of a country-specific Section or Group and some who are individual members working to advance peace in their communities.
WILPF’s International Secretariat, which works under the direction of the Secretary-General, has offices in Geneva, Switzerland and New York City.
Our International Congress is the highest decision-making body of WILPF and the International Board is responsible for overall governance and leadership. We also have a number of Standing Committees and Working Groups.
Learn more about our structure and how the different parts of our movement interact with each other.
Under the direction of the Secretary-General, the International Secretariat’s role includes implementing and reporting on policies, resolutions and programmes, managing financial operations, recommending and developing new initiatives in response to emergency and/or emerging issues of primary concern for WILPF and more.
Patrizia Scannella
Human Rights Programme Director
Tessa Cerisier
Human Rights Programme Senior Advisor
Daphné Genatio
Human Rights Programme Associate
The YoungWILPF Network unites individuals from different backgrounds under the age of 35 to create a powerful voice for peace, justice and gender equality. Guided by the driving forces of empowerment, engagement and equality, the YoungWILPF Network aims to amplify the influence of young voices, invigorate the peace and justice movement with new perspectives and accelerate the journey towards gender equality. Aligned with the wider framework of WILPF, we drive a future where equality and nonviolence flourish.
Comprised of university professors, doctoral students and independent researchers, the WILPF Academic Network provides an inclusive and collaborative space for thought leaders and activists to come together, share findings and analysis and integrate their theoretical and personal knowledge and expertise to:
For more information about the WILPF Academic Network, please email academic (a) wilpf.org.
WILPF’s Environment Working Group (EWG) seeks to promote a strong focus on the environment in our work towards feminist peace. The EWG consists of diverse members and is a space for exchange, collaboration and implementation of joint projects. One of the goals of the EWG is to raise awareness about the connections between environment, gender and militarism while taking into account the wide interests of WILPF Sections and Groups on matters such as the climate crisis and impacts of militarism and armed conflict on the environment.
For more information about the WILPF Environment Working Group, please email: katrin.geyer (a) wilpf.org.
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Prior to being elected Vice-President, Melissa Torres was the WILPF US International Board Member from 2015 to 2018. Melissa joined WILPF in 2011 when she was selected as a Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women as part of the WILPF US’ Practicum in Advocacy Programme at the United Nations, which she later led. She holds a PhD in Social Work and is a professor and Global Health Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine and research lead at BCM Anti-Human Trafficking Program. Of Mexican descent and a native of the US/Mexico border, Melissa is mostly concerned with the protection of displaced Latinxs in the Americas. Her work includes training, research, and service provision with the American Red Cross, the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Centre, and refugee resettlement programs in the U.S. Some of her goals as Vice-President are to highlight intersectionality and increase diversity by fostering inclusive spaces for mentorship and leadership. She also contributes to WILPF’s emerging work on the topic of displacement and migration.
Jamila Afghani is the President of WILPF Afghanistan which she started in 2015. She is also an active member and founder of several organisations including the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organisation (NECDO). Elected in 2018 as South Asia Regional Representative to WILPF’s International Board, WILPF benefits from Jamila’s work experience in education, migration, gender, including gender-based violence and democratic governance in post-conflict and transitional countries.
Sylvie Jacqueline NDONGMO is a human rights and peace leader with over 27 years experience including ten within WILPF. She has a multi-disciplinary background with a track record of multiple socio-economic development projects implemented to improve policies, practices and peace-oriented actions. Sylvie is the founder of WILPF Cameroon and was the Section’s president until 2022. She co-coordinated the African Working Group before her election as Africa Representative to WILPF’s International Board in 2018. A teacher by profession and an African Union Trainer in peace support operations, Sylvie has extensive experience advocating for the political and social rights of women in Africa and worldwide.
In response to the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and its targeted attacks on civil society members, WILPF Afghanistan issued several statements calling on the international community to stand in solidarity with Afghan people and ensure that their rights be upheld, including access to aid. The Section also published 100 Untold Stories of War and Peace, a compilation of true stories that highlight the effects of war and militarisation on the region.
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WILPF uses feminist analysis to argue that militarisation is a counter-productive and ill-conceived response to establishing security in the world. The more society becomes militarised, the more violence and injustice are likely to grow locally and worldwide.
Sixteen states are believed to have supplied weapons to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2020 with the US supplying 74 % of weapons, followed by Russia. Much of this equipment was left behind by the US military and is being used to inflate Taliban’s arsenal. WILPF is calling for better oversight on arms movement, for compensating affected Afghan people and for an end to all militarised systems.
Mobilising men and boys around feminist peace has been one way of deconstructing and redefining masculinities. WILPF shares a feminist analysis on the links between militarism, masculinities, peace and security. We explore opportunities for strengthening activists’ action to build equal partnerships among women and men for gender equality.
WILPF has been working on challenging the prevailing notion of masculinity based on men’s physical and social superiority to, and dominance of, women in Afghanistan. It recognizes that these notions are not representative of all Afghan men, contrary to the publicly prevailing notion.
In WILPF’s view, any process towards establishing peace that has not been partly designed by women remains deficient. Beyond bringing perspectives that encapsulate the views of half of the society and unlike the men only designed processes, women’s true and meaningful participation allows the situation to improve.
In Afghanistan, WILPF has been demanding that women occupy the front seats at the negotiating tables. The experience of the past 20 has shown that women’s presence produces more sustainable solutions when they are empowered and enabled to play a role.