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Analysis

If We Want Peace, We Have to Prepare for Peace 

Amidst recent attacks against Iran and increased internal repression, Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians, and new commitments by Western states to spend even more money on militarism and mayhem, WILPF calls for diplomacy, disarmament and demilitarisation.

A city skyline appears beneath a cloudy sky with smoke rising in the distance. Bold text across the image reads: WAR IS NOT SURGICAL, with NOT SURGICAL highlighted in yellow.
Image credit: WILPF (Photo credit: Pixabay)
  • 10 min
WILPF International
27 June 2025

In response to the United States (US) bombing three Iranian nuclear facilities and the tentative ceasefire reached between Israel and Iran, WILPF reiterates its calls to prevent any further unlawful aggression and to hold the perpetrators accountable. WILPF also stands in solidarity with all people in Iran and across the Middle East who are resisting increased internal oppression, external assault and militarism that will lead to nothing but destruction and suffering. The US and Israel’s actions are a direct result of decades of impunity for Israel’s crimes in the region and violate international law, risking catastrophic regional escalation, including nuclear confrontation. This must end immediately. 

Nuclear violence 

WILPF joins the International Campaign to Abolishing Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) in condemning the US reckless attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities, which have undermined international efforts to prevent the further proliferation of nuclear weapons. Reporting has indicated that the strikes did not destroy Iran’s uranium enrichment programme. Moreover, as WILPF noted earlier, the attacks against Iran’s nuclear programme are not justifiable or lawful. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and US intelligence agencies have consistently found that Iran does not have an ongoing nuclear weapon programme, while Israel and the United States are both nuclear-armed states.  

War is not a non-proliferation strategy. The idea that some countries can be trusted with nuclear weapons and others cannot is without merit. As the former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon said, “There are no right hands for the wrong weapons.”  

The possession of nuclear weapons by some states is the leading cause of proliferation. Theories like nuclear deterrence and strategic stability incentive proliferation because countries that feel threatened by nuclear-armed states see value in acquiring their own nuclear weapons. All countries must acknowledge that any country that relies on humanity-ending weapons in their security doctrines only makes the world less safe, and they must eliminate their nuclear weapon programmes immediately. 

Distracting from genocide 

But the rampant violence in the Middle East is not just about nuclear weapons. Israel and the United States, which are responsible for the ongoing genocide of Palestinians, are attacking Iran to incite “regime change” and to distract from their crimes against humanity in Gaza, as Israel’s ongoing bombings and occupations of Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.  

In the days that Israel and the US were attacking Iran, thousands of Palestinians were being slaughtered in Gaza. Many were trying to reach aid, only to be murdered at distribution sites. Others are dying horrifically of starvation, while more still are being killed by bombs provided by the US, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, and other states that are actively facilitating genocide. Simultaneously, Israel engaged in land grabbing in the West Bank, changing the rules of land ownership to legalise its annexation. 

Rising military spending 

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) used its recent summit as an opportunity to strengthen this criminal war profiteering, with most NATO members pledging to increase their military spending to 5 per cent of their gross domestic product. This will mean hundreds of billions more dollars going toward the companies making bombs, missiles, guns, munitions and more. And it will mean more death and destruction to the people of the world. 

NATO’s Secretary-General, who has personally congratulated US President Trump for his “truly extraordinary” action in Iran and who called Trump “Daddy” during an official press conference, has claimed that NATO needs to “become more lethal.” In an article in Foreign Affairs, he argued that “to preserve the peace, we must prepare for war.” 

But as we have seen over and over again, since WILPF’s founding in 1915, the opposite is true. When we prepare for war, we get war. When there is profit to be made from the manufacture and sale of weapons, blood will be spilled. 

Cycles of violence 

Even as a tentative ceasefire between Israel and Iran is currently in effect, Iranians continue to suffer from the government’s oppression, which has only been reinforced and entrenched by Israel’s illegal aggression. Iranian human rights groups have reported that more than 700 people have been arrested since Israel began its onslaught, and six executions have been carried out based on “espionage” charges. 

History shows that war always leads to unending cycles of violence and unintended consequences. War is not surgical, nor does it lead to “liberation,” no matter what the aggressors might assert. WILPF stands in solidarity with feminist and civil society movements in Iran and across the region who reject both internal repression and foreign aggression. 

WILPF calls on all states to: 

  • Condemn the Israel and US attacks on Iran and support diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation of violence. 
  • Impose a two-way arms embargo and comprehensive sanctions on Israel until there is full compliance with international law. 
  • End all military, intelligence, and nuclear cooperation with Israel and hold Israel accountable for committing international crimes and on the grounds that it has failed to comply with its conditions as a UN member state. 
  • Refuse to provide any logistical support for any further illegal attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities, including by denying permission for US B-2 or B-52 bombers attacking Iran to transit or refuel in their countries, and hold the US accountable for its unlawful attacks. 
  • Call on Israel, Iran and the US to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and to join or remain in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and for Israel and the US to eliminate their nuclear weapon programmes. 
  • Reduce military spending and engage in diplomacy for global disarmament and demilitarisation. 
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WILPF International

WILPF International Secretariat, with offices in Geneva and New York, liaises with the International Board and the National Sections and Groups for the implementation of WILPF International Programme, resolutions and policies as adopted by the International Congress. Under the direction of the Secretary-General, the Secretariat also provides support in areas of advocacy, communications, and financial operations.

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.

A woman in a blue, black, and white dress smiles radiantly in front of a leafy green background.

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.