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No Peace Without Environmental Justice: WILPF Prepares for Stockholm+50!

On 1 June, WILPF International Secretariat and WILPF Sweden will host a panel discussion about the impacts of militarism on the environment. Taking place at the People’s Forum, a special event being held in advance of the United Nations’ milestone Stockholm+50 conference, the discussion will kick off a series of initiatives throughout June to highlight WILPF’s work on the environment.

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  • 2 min
WILPF International
30 May 2022

From 2–3 June, WILPF representatives will participate in the United Nations’ milestone Stockholm+50 conference to demand environmental action – and you’re invited to follow along!

Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the landmark UN Conference on the Human Environment in 1972, Stockholm+50 will mobilise activists and leaders from all over the world to accelerate solutions to the intersecting climate, nature, and pollution crises that threaten the future of humanity and all living beings on Earth.

The conference will be webcast via UNWebTV, and live updates will be shared on WILPF International Secretariat’s Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts. Check them out and engage in the conversation!

WILPF and WILPF Sweden to host panel discussion

On 1 June, prior to Stockholm+50, WILPF International Secretariat and WILPF Sweden will host a panel discussion at the People’s Forum, a civil society-organised conference.

Moderated by feminist environmentalist and scholar Joni Saeger, members of WILPF Sweden, WILPF Colombia, WILPF Zimbabwe, and WILPF Cameroon will speak about the impacts of militarism and military activity on the environment. They will also share stories from their own experiences to illustrate the links between militarism and environmental degradation and discuss feminist solutions to the crisis.

The event will take place from 2 p.m. to 3:35 p.m. CEST and will be livestreamed on YouTube. Remote participants will have an opportunity to ask questions at the end of the discussion.

Throughout the week, WILPF members will also participate in protests, exhibitions, and many other activities, including the Fossil Fuel Treaty event on 1 June where WILPF Cameroon’s Sylvie Ndongmo will be speaking.

Linking militarism and the environment

While WILPF members and Sections are taking action on climate change and environmental destruction in a wide variety of ways, as a global movement WILPF is uniquely focused on advancing environmental justice and peace by addressing the root causes of violence – specifically militarism.

Militarism, and the vicious cycle of never-ending war and conflict that it perpetuates, is among the biggest drivers of the climate and environmental crisis.

Military activity directly contributes to environmental destruction through pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, the production and dumping of massive volumes of hazardous waste, contamination from heavy metals and other toxic materials in weapons production and use, and much more.

Yet despite the devastating consequences of military activity on the environment and human security, each year governments around the world waste nearly $2 trillion on military expenditure rather than investing these resources into public infrastructure and environmental protection efforts.

Learn more about the links between militarism and the environment, and WILPF’s demands for feminist solutions, in “The military needs to be included in climate agreements but ‘greening’ the military is not enough” and a recent webinar featuring Sylvie Ndongmo of WILPF Cameroon highlighting how fossil fuels, patriarchy, and militarism are interconnected.

There’s much more to come!

We hope you’ll follow along as WILPF participates in Stockholm+50. We also invite you to keep checking back for more updates on WILPF’s efforts to call for solutions to the growing climate and environmental crisis.

On 5 June, we’ll celebrate World Environment Day by releasing new material offering a deeper look at how feminist peace activism can help lead the way towards a healthier, more sustainable future. We also look forward to sharing new web pages on wilpf.org and other exciting initiatives highlighting our work on the environment throughout the month of June.

And in the lead-up to the 27th session of the UN Climate Change Conference 2022 (COP27), which will take place from 7–18 November in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, WILPF’s Environment Working Group will be hard at work preparing WILPF’s priorities and contributions for the meeting.

Stay tuned!

If you would like to know more about WILPF’s work on the environment, our participation in COP27, or how you can get involved, please email katrin.geyer@wilpf.org.

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WILPF International

WILPF is a worldwide non-governmental organisation dedicated to bringing together women from around the world who are united in working for peace. Our approach is always non-violent, and we use existing international legal and political frameworks to achieve fundamental change in the way states conceptualise and address issues of gender, militarism, peace, and security.

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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Thank you!

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.