DISARM/End Wars Committee Updates: Using Neutral Countries to End Conflicts, PEP Grants, and More
Join Us June 10: NATO and Neutrality Lecture
The WILPF DISARM Committee and the Jane Addams Branch invite you to an online lecture by the well-known neutrality speaker Pascal Lottaz. Lottaz is a professor at Kyoto University, Graduate School of Law, and has made a complete case about NATO’s overstepping of legal bounds and the crucial role neutral countries have in de-escalating proxy wars. He remarks, “NATO’s worst enemy is NATO itself. The impunity with which this rogue war machine is breaking not only International Law but also its very own charter is breathtaking.”
The meeting will occur on June 10 at 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. CT/5:00 p.m. PT. Please register to receive the Zoom link to the meeting. We hope you’ll join us!
Hold a “Project Enduring Peace” Peace Treaty Party
The DISARM/End Wars Committee supports the Project Enduring Peace (PEP), which WILPF members in San Diego are organizing. They have created a 17-minute video that shares facts proving war is not inevitable. We are asking people to hold a peace treaty video viewing party to get more people to watch this convincing video and support PEP. You can find detailed suggestions for throwing such a party here. We are offering a $40 grant each to the first five branches planning to hold a peace treaty party. Branches can use this grant to provide refreshments or door prizes. Write to disarmchair@wilpfus.org to claim your $40.
Even if you don’t hold a party, encourage your branch members and friends to sign the Project Enduring Peace petition. The petition calls upon leaders of all nations, diplomats, and global influencers to acknowledge that the continued practice of war is a form of social insanity that can no longer be tolerated.
80th Anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bombings: Start Planning Actions Now!
This August marks 80 years since the US military dropped nuclear bombs on and destroyed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Most of our sister anti-nuclear weapon organizations are planning events leading up to and on these dates. There will be a calendar of nationwide events on the Physicians for Social Responsibility website, where you can add your event (website to come).
If your branch is planning a special event around Aug. 6 or 9 to commemorate these awful attacks that killed hundreds of thousands of civilians, please send the details to disarmchair@wilpfus.org. We can send you toolkits, letter templates to your congress members, social media messages, and other resources to support your event. We can also keep track of such WILPF events and advertise them widely. The number of hibakusha (survivors of these bombs) is dwindling as many of them are over 90. Your event will honor the hibakusha and bring the public’s attention to the approximately 13,000 nuclear weapons in the hands of nine countries that need to be dismantled.
Additional Resources for Disarmament
We’ve gathered the following resources to support your activism to end nuclear weapons:
- The Costs of War project has released its latest report in the series, Consuming War: How Pop Culture Captures Our Attention and Fuels Forever Wars. The report examines the militarization of video games and how the US military uses them for training, recruitment, and public relations.
- From the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists: Biden opened the door to missile proliferation. Trump should close it.
- From the Wall Street Journal (not behind their paywall): One Nuclear War Can Ruin the Whole Climate
- Ms. Magazine on the Raging Grannies: ‘We Need a Gentle Anger’: The Triangle’s Raging Grannies are Protesting Injustice through Music
- Some video “explainers” to educate the public about the consequences of a nuclear bomb exploding near them:
Join the DISARM/End Wars Issue Committee
We welcome new members to the DISARM/End Wars Issue Committee! We meet by Zoom on the second and last Sundays of each month at 4:30 p.m. PT/6:30 p.m. CT/7:30 p.m. ET. To receive the Zoom link and request to join the DISARM listserv, write to disarmchair@wilpfus.org.
