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Press Release: WILPF Sweden Joins Swedish National Commission on Disarmament and International Law

2 March 2016
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WILPF Sweden’s Secretary General Malin Nilsson will be one of the delegates in the new Swedish National Commission on International Law and Disarmament. Photo Credit: WILPF Sweden.

WILPF Sweden’s Secretary General Malin Nilsson will be one of the delegates in the new Swedish National Commission on International Law and Disarmament. The commission, which had its first meeting 1 March 2016, will function as an advisory board to the Foreign Minister. It includes 15 representatives from the government, parliament, relevant authorities and institutions, and civil society as well as academic experts. Foreign Minister Margot Wallström will chair the Commission.

The purpose of the Commission will be to follow and analyse developments in the areas of humanitarian law and disarmament. It will also develop proposals for Swedish positions and initiatives on issues concerning humanitarian law and disarmament, including when these encompass or touch upon other areas of international law, such as human rights.

“We are very proud to have been invited to participate in the new Swedish National Commission on Disarmament and International law, and we look forward to working with the other delegates. WILPF’s extensive experience and expertise in addressing issues of disarmament and international law from a feminist perspective gives us a unique voice in this area, and we see great possibilities for Sweden to further advance its efforts as part of the feminist foreign policy,” said Malin Nilsson, Secretary General of WILPF Sweden.

The Commission will meet two to three times a year. It will also establish working groups that will provide analyses and serve as think-tanks. One of the questions that the Commission will discuss is nuclear weapons and the Humanitarian Pledge. The Pledge was issued on 9 December 2014 at the conclusion of the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, as a commitment by nations to fill the current “legal gap” in international law on nuclear weapons. The Humanitarian Pledge offers a platform from which states can launch negotiations on a treaty banning nuclear weapons – the only weapon of mass destruction not yet explicitly prohibited under international law. As of today, 126 states have joined the Pledge.

“There are great expectations within the international disarmament community on Sweden to join the Humanitarian Pledge as soon as possible. WILPF, as part of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), see that Sweden has great potential to contribute to progress on the basis of the Humanitarian Pledge, and actively work for negotiations to start. We look forward to discussing with the new Commission the legal and practical basis for why Sweden should join the Pledge and take a leading role in coming negotiations to ban nuclear weapons,” said Malin Nilsson, Secretary General of WILPF Sweden.

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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.

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.