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Reunions and New Beginnings as the WILPF 2015 Congress Opens in The Hague

22 April 2015

Group photo for blog_ w creditWe are back where it all started – The Hague, the Netherlands – where 1,136 women gathered in 1915 to protest the atrocities of World War I. The event came to be the birth of our organisation – the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. Today, exactly 100 years later, over 280 WILPF members from all over the world are coming together here in The Hague once again, at the historic Peace Palace, to set the agenda for women’s peacebuilding. This is the first day of our highly anticipated 100th Anniversary, and the first day of our 32nd International Congress.

Delegates gather at the Peace Palace in The Hague
Delegates catching up with WILPF friends from other parts of the world. Credit: Mir Grebäck von Melen

The air was filled with expectation today as people were defying the chilly wind to gather for Congress, which is constituted by WILPF members from all National Sections and is the highest decision-making body of the organisation. We are looking forward to three hectic days here at the Peace Palace, where Congress will review the work of the Secretariat in the past three years, elect a new Executive Committee, vote on budget, the 2015 WILPF Manifesto and the International Programme, and much more. Their decisions will set the direction for the organisation to take in the coming years.

The formal opening of Congress started with former Secretary General Susi Snyder welcoming everyone, saying “You are all part of the WILPF journey.” This was followed by warm welcoming speeches by our International President Adilia Caravaca, the President of WILPF Netherlands Aynur Tekin, and Steven van Hoogstraten, Director of the Carnegie Foundation, who wished us welcome to the Peace Palace.

WILPF welcomes new Sections and continues to grow

Today, one of the first tasks for Congress has been to formally accept new National Sections. We can therefore happily announce that WILPF as of today has three new Sections: Cameroon, Ghana and Israel. “We are glad to be back,” Aliyah Strauss from Israel said as the Section, which has in fact been recreated, was once again accepted as a part of WILPF.

The Ghana Section started as a small group in 2011, and today they were represented by their President Ayo Ayoola-Amale. “The absence of war does not mean there is peace,” she said as she took the stage to present her Section’s work. “We need to keep Ghana as peaceful as it is and set an example for other African countries.”

Sylvie Ndongmo from the new Cameroon Section addressed Congress. Credit: Li Grebäck

Sylvie Ndongmo, President of the new Cameroon Section, addressed Congress on how she and her fellow Section members had recognised the importance of questioning military spending and protecting human rights, especially in the light of the growing crisis in Cameroon. “We don’t need war to start working for peace. That is why it is so important for us to join this movement.”

“It really is a dream come true,” she said afterwards, as all the delegates were mingling over a cup of coffee outside the meeting room. “This day has been a testimony of the influence WILPF has had over the last 100 years, and that it is a vital organisation that continues to grow.”

We will continue to report from each day of Congress. Stay tuned for more updates by following us on Twitter and Facebook.

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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.

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