WILPF Advocacy Documents

Date/month:

8 September 2014

Document type:

Statement

Body submitted to:

Human Rights Council

This statement was made at the 27th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC). The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) welcomes the Report of the Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, particularly the multiple references to military expenditures as an obstacle to international peace and development.

In recent years, there has been an increasing number of states spending profusely on military activities; they continue to foster a culture of militarisation by maintaining, if not increasing, their military budgets with secrecy, minimum transparency and limited accountability. In 2013 alone, the total of global military expenditures surpassed 1700 billion USD.[1] Containing and dealing with the consequences of violence cost the world 9.8 trillion USD, which accounts for 11.3% of the global GDP.[2]

The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom regrets the stark contrast between the vast amount of resources spent in the defence sector and the drastically reduced investments in the protection of human rights. National budgets should be reoriented towards the promotion of human rights, including gender equality, health, education and the environment. Cuts in defence budgets should be carried out for the sake of the protection of human rights, not just because of an economic recession, as it is often the case.

Excessive military expenditures pose an undeniable threat to the protection of human rights, especially women’s human rights, as it is an investment, not only in the tools of war, but also in the creation of a negative masculine cultural identity inherently linked to the use of violence as a means of conflict resolution. As a result, it undermines gender equality, facilitates gender-based violence and fosters ideas of “protective men” and “passive women”. Therefore, it is urgent that States cease to promote this culture of increasing militarisation and redirect their military-first budgets towards gender-aware budgets that consider the multiple needs of women and address gender equality as a priority.

Moreover, the level of secrecy and the lack of transparency around military budgeting often prevent the consideration and implementation of more gender-aware budgets. Additionally, they make it difficult to monitor the level of implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), while the ATT should logically lead to a reduction in military spending. It is therefore necessary to involve civil society and women in particular in the budgeting process, in order to promote transparency and accountability in military budgeting.

The promotion of a democratic and equitable international order requires resolute political will that openly enhances public participation in decision-making and budgeting processes. Women’s participation is of the utmost importance to shift to gender-responsive budgets and as a result to foster conflict prevention and promote development.

Thus, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom:

Calls for the reduction of military expenditures in favour of strategic investment in gender-aware budgets that promote gender equality through education, health procurement, political participation and representation.

Encourages Member States to develop clear strategies to redirect military spending towards human rights’ protection and promotion.

Recommends the implementation of effective monitoring and follow-up means, especially those established in the Arms Trade Treaty[3], facilitating genuine transparency and accountability in the arms trade.

Calls for the establishment of national budgets that prioritize gender-responsiveness in their expenditures.

Léa Kor – Human Rights Programme Associate: lkor@wilpf.ch

Mia Gandenberger – Reaching Critical Will Programme Associate:

mia@reachingcriticalwill.org

[1] Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), 2014. Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2013: http://books.sipri.org/product_info?c_product_id=476

[2] Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), Global Peace Index Report, 2014: http://www.visionofhumanity.org/sites/default/files/2014%20Global%20Peace%20Index%20REPORT.pdf

[3] UNODA, 2014. The Arms Trade Treaty (2013) : https://unoda-web.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/English7.pdf

Matt Mahmoudi

Matt Mahmoudi (he/him) is a lecturer, researcher, and organizer. He’s been leading the “Ban the Scan” campaign, Amnesty International’s research and advocacy efforts on banning facial recognition technologies and exposing their uses against racialized communities, from New York City to the occupied Palestinian territories.

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.