WILPF urges demilitarisation in the context of Canadian feminist foreign policy

The Government of Canada will formally outline its feminist foreign policy in March 2021, and WILPF staff and sections have been actively contributing to its development over the last several months.

Throughout November and December 2020, RCW’s programme manager collaborated with Canadian organisations to organise an online series of public webinars and expert roundtables on key aspects of foreign policy. In January, the organisations released a report summarising what was heard during those online consultations, which has also been shared with the Canadian government. The organisations also released a second publication containing the views and perspectives of the individuals that had been involved in the process, and calling on the government to “be brave, be bold” as it finalises the policy.

RCW’s programme director participated in the roundtable focused on peace and security issues and submitted a written submission for consideration by the government. WILPF Canada also contributed a written submission.

A resounding message from all WILPF inputs is that demilitarisation is a core principle of any feminist foreign policy. In particular, steps toward disarmament such as joining the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, reducing military expenditure, stopping arms transfers, and leading efforts toward a ban on autonomous weapons, were recommended as vital steps for the Canadian government to take as a truly feminist foreign policy.  

To learn more about these actions, visit this information page or follow on Twitter by searching #CanFFP.