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International Day of Peace: WILPF’s Demands for a Future of Peace  

Today is International Day of Peace — an opportunity for governments and citizens across the globe to recommit to fostering a more peaceful future for people and the planet.

Image credit: WILPF
  • 3 min
WILPF International Secretariat
21 September 2024

Today is International Day of Peace — an opportunity for governments and citizens across the globe to recommit to fostering a more peaceful future for people and the planet.  

This year, International Day of Peace falls on the eve of the United Nations’ Summit for the Future. From 22 to 24 September, world leaders will gather in New York for the Summit to negotiate and adopt the Pact for the Future — an actionable document that will guide global efforts for peace in the years ahead.  

With this roadmap for peace in its final stages, there has never been a more crucial time to ensure our collective demands for peace are heard. 

WILPF has contributed extensively to the process of developing the Pact for the Future. Today, we are resharing our key demands for world leaders as they negotiate the key points of this critical document.  

We invite you to help spread the word by sharing this post using #peaceday and #wilpf and by joining our movement for feminist peace!  

Our Demands for Peace  

  1. Abolish the United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC) veto power.  

The permanent members of the UNSC have remained the same since the Second World War, reflecting historical and present legacies of imperialism and colonialism. They are the same countries that have nuclear weapons and are among the biggest arms traders and military spenders in the world.  

The veto, which allows permanent members to veto any decision other than procedural decisions, means power remains in the hands of the few. It also means that permanent members get to keep their power regardless of the outcomes of their votes and decisions. This is an inherent and grave conflict of interest. 

The veto must be abolished as a step toward decolonising peace and creating a more democratic, transparent and accountable multilateral system.  

  1. Urgent and complete disarmament and demilitarisation.  

The United Nations was founded on the principle of peace — a commitment to end war, ensure peace, resolve issues through dialogue and work for a world that is demilitarised and free from war.  

We therefore demand urgent and complete disarmament and demilitarisation to uphold the principles of the UN Charter. This includes the abolition of nuclear weapons, banning autonomous weapons systems, divesting from weapons and war, reducing military spending, an end to the arms trade, foreign military bases and the use of explosive weapons and armed drones in populated areas. 

At WILPF, we believe that our peaceful future rests on our collective commitment to challenge and transform root causes of violence, including militarism, patriarchy and capitalism. We must all step up to demand change, shift mindsets and build a future where people and the planet truly thrive in peace, freedom and justice.  

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WILPF International Secretariat

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.

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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.

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