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Regulating the Work of Transnational Corporations

June 2014

This session of the Human Rights Council has seen various discussions surrounding the impact of business on human rights. A Binding Instrument? Ecuador, now alongside South Africa, presented a draft resolution on the creation of a legally binding instrument (a treaty) to regulate the work of transnational corporations and other…

Latest News

WILPF Reflects on the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict

June 2014

The Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict in London attracted worldwide media coverage, not just because of Angelina Jolie’s attendance in her role as the UNHCR Special Envoy but also because the co-chair for the conference was William Hague, the British Foreign Secretary. This was to be…

Latest News

Women Organisations in Iraq Towards Freedom From Manipulation

June 2014

The Iraqi civil society was unrecognised during Sadam Hussein’s era, civil society organisations were either incorporated in the Ba’ath associations or completely repressed and in some cases criminalised by law. Activists were either detained and abused or exiled and had little to no influence on the political sphere of…

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ABAAD: UNSCR 1325 and the Syrian Crisis

May 2013

Since September 2012, ABAAD has been actively engaged in responding to the plight of Syrian women and young girls refugees in Lebanon. In designing its emergency plan, ABAAD has incorporated UNSCR 1325, where the protection of women and girls’ human rights during conflict/post conflict and the prevention of GBV…
Advocacy Documents

Stop War in Syria

January 2013

When there is conflict it is important that WILPF, not only pays attention, but takes action. On Syria we are doing both. The following is a statement, written by our president, Adilia Caravaca, to remind us of the need to advocate for peace and end conflict.  Stop war in…
Advocacy Documents

WILPF Resolution on National Action Plans

August 2011

The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), meeting at the Quadrennial Congress in San José, Costa Rica in August 2011, Recalling WILPF’s mission and work challenging the status quo, ending conflict, and promoting women’s rights and dignity for all, and its role in advocating for the adoption…
Advocacy Documents

The Assault by the Israeli Military on the Free Gaza Flotilla

June 2010

The Women’s International League for peace and Freedom joins with civil society organisations and States in condemning the unprovoked attack on the flotilla taking aid to Gaza. This is a seminal moment in the history of the United Nations. A failure by member States to respond using all appropriate…
Advocacy Documents

WILPF Statement for WILPF’s 94th Anniversary

April 2009

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom Statement for WILPF’s 94th Anniversary 28 April 2009 On 28 April 1915 while war raged in Europe, over one thousand women from a diversity of cultures and languages came together to study, make known and eliminate the causes of war. The organisation…

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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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