WILPF Advocacy Documents

Date/month:

3 August 2001

Document type:

Resolution

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom IEC held in lieu of the 27th Triennial Congress, July 27-August 3, 2001 in Geneva, Switzerland:

WILPF International Executive Committee Meeting 2001 considers that the Italian authorities

by blocking the traffic (trains, ships, public transport) to prevent the public from being present in Genova to demonstrate peacefully before the G-8 summit

by criminalising persons by listing them electronically and forbidding them to enter Italy

by having secret service agents from seven countries in Genova a month before the G-8 Meeting

did not appear to prevent violence during the demonstration, but instead provoked it.

WILPF is deeply concerned that:

the police did not react properly to those who committed violence, but attacked the peaceful demonstrators who were by far the majority;

it is obvious that the police were not trained to deal with peaceful demonstrators;

the overreaction of the police escalated conflict and created frustration and provocation even within the non-violent part of the demonstration. In such a highly emotional context, Carlo Giuliani was killed;

basic human rights were violated and legal and diplomatic assistance were refused in many cases;

people were indiscriminately arrested while seeking medical attention and others declined medical treatment due to fear of arbitrary arrest;

people who were arrested were denied adequate medical treatment;

there were cases of brutal violence on the part of the police, that have been document;

materials that document abuses by the authorities have been confiscated and equipment of the Genova Social Forum was destroyed.

WILPF asks

1. for an immediate and official independent inquiry into the role and performance of the Italian Minister for the Interior, in reference to the actions of the Italian police and Carabinieri;

2. for joint efforts all over Europe (by European institutions, the European Parliament and national parliaments and governments) and in the wider world to study the disastrous and excessive forms of violence used in Genova;

3. that those arrested have access to legal advice and representation, and that they be guaranteed a fair and just trial, and be adequately compensated for the mistreatment that they received;

4. that in the future, preventive and de-escalating strategies should be seriously prepared and supported by all participants involved;

5. that, in the future, demands from the protest groups and civil society for the G-8 representatives take a sustainable future seriously into account.

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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.