WILPF Constitution and By-Laws set the principles and objectives of the organisation and define WILPF’s governance structure. The Constitution and By-Laws was last amended on 24 July 2022 at WILPF’s 33rd International Congress.
WILPF Constitution and By-Laws set the principles and objectives of the organisation and define WILPF’s governance structure. The Constitution and By-Laws was last amended on 24 July 2022 at WILPF’s 33rd International Congress.
WILPF’s International Programme guides the work, values, and actions of the key bodies of the
organisation – International Congress, National Sections and Groups, International Board, and
International Secretariat – as we work towards our shared vision. WILPF’S International Programme is reviewed and updated every three years. This International Programme (2022–2025) was co-created through a participatory, collaborative process involving members and staff of WILPF at all levels of the organisation and from all regions around the world. It reflects the current context in which we are working and anticipates the future based on our analysis and understanding.
Feminist perspectives and voices in international politics on issues relating to foreign policy, international security and war are growing louder as a source and site of discursive political action and policy transformation. In contribution to these sites of political action and transformation, WILPF Germany launched a toolkit on feminist foreign policy.
MenEngage Africa, Sonke Gender Justice, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, and the Institute for Peace and Security Studies at Addis Ababa University co-convened this year’s MenEngage Africa Training Initiative (MATI) and focused on the theme of advancing the WPS agenda. The course brought together academics, activists, and practitioners working for gender equality in Africa for
a ten-day virtual training course.
This background paper focuses on six structural barriers faced by diverse women peacebuilders in accessing funds to support their work, presenting concrete, innovative and practical solutions. The paper was prepared by the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP), Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN), Kvinna till Kvinna, MADRE, and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).
This policy brief addresses women’s meaningful political participation, particularly in the context of armed conflict, by centering the perspectives of women themselves on the concept of politics, notions of political participation, and their positionalities within. The brief was produced within the joint “Gender-Sensitive Transitional Justice” project and is based on a series of field consultations organised by WILPF, Dawlaty and partner organisations with Syrian women. It concludes that gender-sensitive transitional justice, including political participation, require a holistic approach to justice and addresses the root causes of violence and the conditions that legitimise it
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 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 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.
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.
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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.
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.
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.