WILPF Advocacy Documents

Date/month:

19 November 2012

Document type:

Position

The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom deeply deplores the escalation of violence between Israel and Gaza, and the new wave of Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip using US supplied bombers.

This area is still under Israeli occupation and is densely populated with 1.7 million people or more, 75% of them under the age of eighteen years and two thirds of them refugees. Most of them survive on flour, beans, oil, tea and sugar supplied by UNRWA, a diet that is barely subsistence level. They have no means to escape the bombing onslaught of the Israeli Defense Force, the fifth strongest military force in the world.

Bolstered by an annual sum of over $3 billion in US aid – much of which is tied up in special contracts to purchase U.S. weaponry – Israel is using its might to attack an impoverished population that has no way to flee the assault.

US laws forbid the sale of its weaponry for use against a civilian population; thus the US is violating its own Laws, and of course Israel is in violation of International Humanitarian Law. Under the Geneva Conventions and International Law, Israel, as an occupying power, is obliged to protect the Palestinian Arab population and is forbidden from moving its own population into the occupied area. We urge both Israel and the US to fulfil their legal obligations and protect the people of Gaza.

We deplore the use of violence by any party, but we are especially concerned about the safety of civilians in Gaza, and their desperation amidst heavy bombings on their buildings, their homes and their children, in one of the most crowded places in the world.

Violence will not lead to peace. We demand negotiations and a respect for human rights and international law, as the only means of attaining peace and security for both parties. We urge all nations to use their international influence to bring Israel and Gaza back from the brink of a disastrous war that will further inflame tensions in an already volatile Middle East.

Moreover, a UN Extraordinary Assembly should be called to condemn the Israeli attacks, and to address the desperation of the besieged people of Gaza. The international community should not abandon the people of Gaza to genocide. WILPF sections around the world will raise their voices to call for a ceasefire and for efforts to protect civilians, as well as other measures to lead the involved parties in negotiations to find a just solution.

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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.