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Press Release: WILPF’s Annual Report 2018 Has Been Published

WILPF’s 2018 Annual Report has been published. The report gives a snapshot of the many achievements and activities carried out by WILPF members and partners throughout the world.

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  • 3 min
WILPF International Secretariat
17 May 2019

The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)’s 2018 Annual Report has been published. The report gives a snapshot of the many achievements and activities carried out by WILPF members and partners throughout the world.

As the world’s longest standing women peace organisation, WILPF collaborates with peace activists and has activities in nearly 60 countries all over the globe. Among the stories of work selected for the Annual Report is one that specifically highlights the work done in Nigeria and in the African region.

Massive Growth in Africa

In 2018, WILPF witnessed the culmination of years of growth in Africa. Eleven out of thirteen new Sections and Groups in 2018 were from the African continent. This shows a growing interest for and understanding of the impact women’s peace activism can have in Africa – and also how African women can impact the global agenda.

“In the African region, we work across countries, we share our experiences, and we learn from one another,” says Sylvie Ndongmo, President of WILPF Cameroon.

In 2018, WILPF also hosted a Forum on the African Feminist Peace Movement and their 32ndInternational Congress in Ghana. During the Congress, members for the first time elected an international President from the African Region: Joy Onyesoh.

The Women Who Build Peace

WILPF’s aim is to advance equality and justice, and demilitarise security in order to establish the foundations for permanent peace. The members are at the core of the organisation, working at the local or global levels to build and to help to implement peace in their countries.

“Our members are really fearless and formidable women. Their stories are stories about peace and resilience. For every negative news item you read or hear, be reassured that we have a story of success that we can replace it with,” says Joy Onyesoh, WILPF international President.

For more information please contact: Nina Hansen, WILPF Communications Manager, tel: +41 22 919 70 80 / email: nina.hansen@wilpf.org

Download the PDF version of the Press Release: WILPF’s Annual Report 2018 Has Been Published.

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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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