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Serpaj in Paraguay have rejected the creation of the the National Council of Conscientious Objection (Consejo Nacional de Objeción de Conciencia) in Paraguay, and say they do not recognise their authority.

Are you developing a peace education initiative in your area? Have you studied how young people in your country learn about war in relation to their class, gender or ethnic status? Are you a member of a veterans for peace group who wants to share the ways in which you were initially attracted by army life?

We'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who's signed up to be a regular donor to WRI recently! We made a request in December for financial support, and are really grateful to those who have been able to respond. We're now being supported by sixteen new donors, which to an organisation with a small budget and low expenditure is a significant level of regular support.

A book on the history of War Resisters' International from its foundation in 1921 until just before the Second World War is now available. The book gives a political insight into WRI in this early stage, exploring the emergence of "active pacifism", the refusal of military service, anti-fascism in the WRI and responses to the Spanish civil war.

Across Europe, activists have been resisting arms sales to Saudi Arabia, destined to be used the ongoing war in Yemen. Saudi Arabia's bombing campaign has seen many thousands of civilians killed.

In London, activists arrested taking nonviolent direct action against the DSEI arms fair have been in court in a series of trials. A large number of the defendants – mainly accused of obstruction of the highway – have been acquitted or had their cases dropped, successfully arguing that they were acting within their human rights to protest peacefully.

Our new webshop is live! You can visit it here: wri-irg.org/en/shop As well as our usual favourites, we’ve also added some bulk purchase reductions, like five classic WRI books for £25. These would be an amazing addition to any peace library, for a new nonviolence study group, or for any budding activist.

The visible face of police militarisation is the use of militarised equipment and body armour; of sniper rifles and tanks facing down protesters in Ferguson, United States, and of heavily armoured vehicles patrolling the streets of the favelas of Rio de Janiero. But such conspicuous militarisation is merely a symptom – an end-product – of a militarised mindset that sees those being policed not as members of a community in need of protection but as a threat.

In 1967, Los Angeles Police Department Inspector Daryl Gates came up with the concept of SWAT based on his experience policing Black uprisings such as the Watts Riots. The War on Drugs saw higher rates of lethal force as the government transferred military equipment to police departments—a transfer that was motivated out of the government’s fear of Black liberation and antiwar movements.

The Turkish military has been running an operation called 'Olive Branch' in Syria since 20th January 2018. Reports from the region show the human cost of the ongoing operation, including hundreds of dead as well as injured; and show how it has fuelled conflict in the region. War Resisters' International stands in solidarity with activists in Turkey supporting peace and opposing war in Syria, Turkey and elsewhere. Here we share a statement from the Human Rights Association and Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, which WRI's Turkey Working Group endorses, on the ongoing military operation in Northern Syria.