Program News from the Triennial International Congress in Ghana

On the first day of Congress, WILPF welcomed five new Sections and nine new Groups. Read the article at wilpf.org. (Photo © WILPF).

By Barbara Nielsen
Chair, National Program Committee

Here is a first report of WILPF program news from the 32nd Triennial International Congress, held August 20-22, 2018, at the Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy on the vast campus of the University of Ghana in Ghana’s capital city of Accra. More to come!

Within its theme, “Building a Feminist Peace Movement,” the Congress voting delegates approved the framework of the proposed International Program for 2018-2021, which includes emphases on environmental concerns and issues as integral to human rights activism around the world.

The approved proposal had been published earlier this summer on wilpf.org at mywilpf and is available here. It calls for an end to violence in all forms as it broadly outlines the approach to be undertaken internationally and by all sections, groups, and members. It sets forth the following approach:

Practice and Theory of Change: By mobilizing women to abolish the causes of war and working to challenge militarism, advocate gender justice, rights and peace, and promote just economic and social systems, we will advance towards permanent peace.

• Permanent peace from a feminist perspective or “feminist peace” is permanent peace with justice, equality and demilitarized security for all. It requires abolishing the root causes of war. Building the movement for feminist peace is critical for taking power back to influence opinions and decision-making. How WILPF supports movement building is outlined in the proposal under Work Area: “Building the Movement.”
• Advancing feminist peace requires making known and working to abolish the root causes of violence, systems of oppression and their interconnection, including militarisation, patriarchy, and neoliberalism.
• How WILPF addresses the causes of violence is outlined in the proposal under Work Areas: “Redefining Security,” “Leveraging Feminist Perspectives on Peace,” and “Promoting Socio-Economic Justice.”

If you have not yet been able to take a look at the 2018-2021 International Program document, please do so. We will be discussing this in more detail in upcoming reports back from the Accra Congress in a future ONE WILPF call, in further eNews articles, and in upcoming national Program Committee monthly conference calls. It will also be discussed in issue committee meetings and we hope that it will be a topic at all of your upcoming branch meetings, as well!

For additional information, contact: Barbara L. Nielsen (San Francisco Branch): bln.sf.ca@gmail.com.