WILPF Advocacy Documents

Date/month:

5 August 1995

Document type:

Resolution

The 26th Triennial Congress of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, August 1-6, 1995 in Helsinki, Finland:

The 26th International WILPF Congress demands:

a. that the European Commission drop moves to initiate the setting up of a multilateral set of rules governing the policies of governments on foreign direct investments and also proposing to widen the authority of the World Trade Organizations (WTO) over the regulation of terms of foreign investments worldwide;

b. that this proposal not be adopted by the World Trade Organization. (The present Trade Related Investment Measures [TRIMS] clause of the GATT Agreement does not cover all foreign investments. It only includes trade‐related foreign investments. This EC proposal calls for a blanket coverage of all forms of foreign investment, whether these are trade‐related or not).

c. that every county be allowed to continue to have sovereign rights to determine which foreign investors should come in, what sectors they can invest in, and under which conditions investments can be made. d. that multilateral regulations within the WTO and the Regional Trade Agreements (such as NAFTA, APEC, etc.) should affirm and retain the positive discrimination principles, which means giving weaker countries the needed support to enable them to compete on an equal basis with powerful countries and their corporations.

Background: The proposal, contained in a paper entitled ‘A Level Playing Field for Direct Investment Worldwide’ is

(a) that foreign corporations be given generally free access to any country in the world and be given the legal rights to invest and operate competitively in all sectors of the economy;

(b) that they be accorded national treatment, meaning equal treatment with local corporations but also the most favoured nation status (host countries granting foreign investors specific favourable conditions not available to national investors).

If these proposals are adopted, it would have very significant implications for developing countries, such as:

(a) the restriction or removal of the right to adopt their own independent policies on the conditions under which foreign investments can be made;

(b) the curtailing of freedom to choose their own particular mixture of [p;policies and conditions on foreign investments (e.g., 60% local equity and %40 foreign equity, restriction on foreign investments for strategic industries such as transportation, communication, health, joint ventures);

(c) surrender of their sovereign right to determine investment programs and policies for the benefit of their citizens. These rules would further disenfranchise the indigenous peoples, women, farmers, local communities, of their rights to have access, control and own lands and resources. They would entrench and perpetuate the domination and power of industrialized nations, and transnational corporations over the weak third world countries and thereby facilitate a return to colonialism.

Berit Aasen

Europe Alternate Regional Representative

Berit Aasen is a sociologist by training and has worked at the OsloMet Metropolitan University on Oslo. She has 40 years of experience in research and consultancy in development studies, including women, peace, and security, and in later years in asylum and refugee studies. Berit Aasen joined WILPF Norway five years ago. She is an alternate member of the National Board of WILPF Norway, and representing WILPF Norway in the UN Association of Norway, the Norwegian 1325 network and the Norwegian Women’s Lobby. Berit Aasen has been active in the WILPF European Liaison group and is committed to strengthening WILPF sections and membership both in Europe and relations across continents.

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Melissa Torres

VICE-PRESIDENT

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

VICE-PRESIDENT

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

PRESIDENT

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.

WILPF Afghanistan

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.

IPB Congress Barcelona

WILPF Germany (+Young WILPF network), WILPF Spain and MENA Regional Representative

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Demilitarisation

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.

Militarised masculinity

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.

Feminist peace

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.