WRI friendly organisation

44 states have called for a prohibition on nuclear weapons at a conference in Vienna on the humanitarian impacts of nuclear weapons. The "Austrian pledge" was then delivered, in which Austria's government committed to work to “fill the legal gap for the prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons”. These announcements were given at a two-day international conference convened in Vienna to examine the consequences of nuclear weapon use, whether intentional or accidental.

On 2nd March the European antimilitarist network is taking part in blockade of Burghfield nuclear weapons factory in Britain: Burghfield Lockdown. Campaigns are building up in Britain against nuclear weapons, since the decision to replace (or decomission) the Trident nuclear weapons system will take place in 2016.

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World Leaders Take Action Now Save precious lives, give peace a chance!

 

October 2014

We are a Pan-African Network of Peacemakers from over 30 countries across the African continent and represent more than 20 organisations. Our 20-member Steering Committee has representatives from West, East, Central Africa, southern Africa and the islands. Some of our members are also from the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, with strong African connections. We work at the grassroots level, training in Nonviolence and mobilising communities for Peacebuilding.

A seven-mile pink scarf knitted by over 5,000 people from around Britain and beyond has been unfurled between the Atomic Weapons Establishments (AWE) at Aldermaston and Burghfield in Berkshire. The knitters are calling on Parliament not to renew the Trident nuclear weapons system when the decision comes up in 2016.

14 April, 2014, Athens: Global Day of Action on Military Spending action in Athens, Greece, organised by World without Wars and Violence with the support of the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection, to demand the decrease of military spending and the increase of social spending.

Many WRI friends and affiliates were involved in this conference, and here we reprint a report produced by American Quakers on the conference.

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'North Korea: It's Dangerous To Play with Fire' (Statement from the Federation of Social Defence, Germany)

Minden, 5 April 2013

The conflict of the Korean Peninsula is currently met with a measure of realpolitic, alongside the old approach of deterrence. But the price of failure is too high. Therefore, it is time to take steps towards sustainable understanding and reconciliation.

Article written for Friedensforum

In 2016 the UK government will finalise the decision to build a new nuclear weapons system to replace the present Trident system (http://actionawe.org/the-trident-system/). The nuclear submarines that carry Trident are getting old, so the government has pledged to finalise contracts to replace them in 2016 in order to build a new generation of nuclear weapons at an estimated cost of £76–100 billion. This is more than the current planned public spending cuts of £81 billion. If the contracts go ahead, the warheads would be designed and manufactured at AWE (Atomic Weapons Establishment) Aldermaston and Burghfield, in Berkshire, about 50 miles west of London ( http://actionawe.org/awe-burghfield-maps-gates/ ).

Nonviolent direct action against militarism all over Europe

The European Antimilitarist Network is not a fixed entity, but a flexible network of antimilitarist groups, based on the principle of nonviolent direct action. It inclu­des, but is not limited to, groups formally affiliated to War Resi­sters' International. As a net­work, it aims to keep an infor­mation flow going between ac­tions, and also to take decisions jointly on the focus for the coming months/year(s).

Sheena Duncan - for many years the president of the Black Sash, a nonviolent women's organisation in South Africa - has died at the age of 78.

Sheena is honoured in the first sentence of WRI's recent published anthology Women Conscientious Objectors:

Korea Solidarity for Conscientious Objection

5F., CISJD Bldg., #35 Chungjoengno 2(I)-ga, Seodaemun-gu Seoul 120-012 tel +82-2-393 9085 fax +82-2-363 9085 email corights@jinbo.net http://corights.net

WRI Korea

Dobongo-gu, Ssangmun 2- dong, 49-6, 2ndFloor, Gadis, Infoshop Seoul 132-859 tel +82-2-991-5020 fax +82-2-389-5755 email wrikorea@hotmail.com

Religious organizations Jehovah's Witnesses

Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Korea

Panorama- the Palestinian Center for the Dissemination of Democracy & Community Development

www.panoramacenter.org

Ramallah panorama@panoramacenter.org Tel: +972-2-2959618 Fax: +972-2-2981824

Jerusalem: walid@panoramacenter.org Tel: +972-2-6281151 Fax: +972-2-6283351

Gaza: panoramag@panoramacenter.org Fax: +972-8-2839188

Balkan Peace Team - International e.V. Nonviolent Intervention in the Conflicts of Former Yugoslavia: Sending Teams of International Volunteers A Final Internal Assessment of