WRI Statement

WRI strongly condemns the brutal attacks against conscientious objector Ruslan Kotsaba and stands in solidarity with him. We also join the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement (UPM) in their call to the authorities to investigate the attacks against Kotsaba thoroughly and take necessary steps to ensure his and other UPM activists’ safety. 

WRI denounces the military oppression and violence in Myanmar, calls for a nonviolent civil response to the crisis, and demands recognition and safety to the conscientious objection of military/police personnel who have refused to participate in such atrocities.

Peace is possible with the end of the occupation, the right to self-determination, an end to the plundering of resources and an end to the sale of arms to Morocco

The Executive Committee of War Resisters’ International supports the demand of NOVA, an allied organization of our pacifist, anti-militarist and non-violent network, that on the 45th anniversary of the outbreak of the conflict in Western Sahara, and the threat of a new armed conflict, a just and sustainable resolution that ensures the self-determination of the Saharawi people should be implemented.

On the 7th of September 2020 the Grand Chamber panel of the European Court of Human Rights rejected the request to refer the case of Dyagilev v. Russia (no. 49972/16) to the Grand Chamber, thus rendering the judgement of 10 March 2020 final.

The latest development in Venezuela created additional tensions not only in the country itself but across the entire region. As part pacifists and antimilitarists, War Resisters’ International Executive Committee wants to repeat, once again, that war is not an answer to any situation, and call for resistance to all preparations for war.

War Resisters’ International is about to turn 100 years old. While celebrating cultural diversity, we’re proud to say that as an International we firmly believe in the unity of humankind. The situation provoked by COVID-19 is showing us that international cooperation – and not confrontation – is the path that the world's peoples have to take, if they intend to save the lives of their members.

This statement was originally published by War Resisters League, one of WRI's affiliates in the USA, and endorsed by WRI Executive Committee.

Wednesday, January 8th, 2020

Dear friends,

Compulsory military service in Honduras, abolished in 1994, still brings painful memories of terrible human rights violations such as forced recruitment, forced disappearances and the torture and death of those who either refused to enlist or were campaigning against it. War Resisters’ International strongly believes that the initiatives to reestablish a compulsory military service are not a step in the right direction, if the desired result is to decrease the crime rate and avoid criminal organizations recruiting the youth of Honduras, which happen to be the two most commonly used arguments for reintroducing the compulsory military service.

On 29th May 2018, War Resisters' International and the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection signed a statement in support of conscientious objectors in Greece, supporting their boycott of the 'Conscience Examination Committee'. It reads:

The Antimilitarist Network of Latin America and the Caribbean (Red Antimilitarista de América Latina y el Caribe, RAMALC) have published a statement in solidarity with antimilitarists, conscientious objectors, nonviolent and pacifists in Venezuela (an English version is forthcoming). It extends support to the community of human rights defenders being persecuted for their work. The statement has been endorsed by the WRI Executive Committee.

War Resisters' International's Council have made a statement in solidarity with the Syrian civilian population who are victims of the ongoing war. We promise to act in support of individuals and grassroots' groups who, in the midst of violence, continue to resist militarisation and war, persist in the nonviolent struggle against the dictatorship and for democracy in Syria, and show the way to peace.

Read the full statement here...

La IRG ha emitido una declaración condenando el asesinato de Tahir Elçi, Presidente del Colegio de abogados Diyarbakir, importante abogado de derechos humanos y muy conocido como “enviado de paz” en Turquía. La declaración expresa la solidaridad de la IRG con la familia, amigos de Elçi así como con las activistas por la paz de Turquía. También hace un llamamiento a las autoridades turcas para que investiguen concienzudamente y de manera imparcial su asesinato.