Statements by RCW
WILPF Statement to the Preparatory Meeting of States on the Global Framework for Through-life Conventional Ammunition Management
The following is the WILPF Statement to the 2025 Preparatory Meeting of States on the Global Framework for Through-life Conventional Ammunition Management, held under UN General Assembly auspices on 23-27 June 2025. The statement was delivered by Emma Bjertén, Reaching Critical Will of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). 25 June 2025 Thank you Chair. I am speaking on behalf of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), the world’s oldest global feminist peace organisation. If we want to end armed conflict, gender-based violence and armed violence more broadly, conventional ammunition cannot be ignored. This is what WILPF, and many other civil society organisations have advocated for decades. We’ve seen how the flow and proliferation of weapons, parts of weapons and their ammunition––both legal and illegal – impact societies, undermines social justice and have different impacts depending on people’s age and gender. Through-life...
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Militarism and Impunity Fuel Israel’s Unlawful War on Iran
19 June 2025 Israel’s ongoing attacks against Iran constitute unlawful military aggression, made possible only by the impunity it has so far received from Western states for its ongoing genocide of Palestinians, settler occupation and apartheid policies, and the attacks it has launched throughout the Middle East. The US administration’s announced plans to support Israel’s attack on Iran, subject to final decision, will act as a catalyst and lead to suffering of untold numbers of people Israel’s aggression. This must stop now! Israel’s bombing of nuclear installations, Iranian officials and civilian buildings in Iran violates international law. At the time of writing, Israeli airstrikes have targeted hospitals, markets, water and fuel infrastructure, killing 406 Iranians, more than 90 per cent of them civilians, including families in densely populated areas and residential neighbourhoods. The strikes have also displaced over two million people across northern and central...
Hold Israel Accountable—End the Genocide: WILPF Echoes Palestinian Demands Ahead of the UN Two-State Summit
12 June 2025 Ahead of the UN two-state conference in NYC, WILPF calls on member states to break with complicity: impose a two-way arms embargo and sweeping sanctions, uphold Palestinian self-determination and right of return, and ensure Palestinian women’s full, equal participation—because accountability is the only path to real peace. The upcoming High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, which will take place in New York in June 2025, must be a moment for UN member states to urgently uphold, without delay, their obligations under international law to ensure that the genocide in Gaza ends, that Israel is held accountable for perpetrating it, and that Israel’s apartheid regime and illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories cease. As indicated by the Palestinian Civil Society Unified call to Action, any discussion of the two-state political solution, including...
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WILPF Statement to the Informal Consultations on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
13 May 2025 The following is the WILPF Statement to the Informal Consultations on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems, held under UN General Assembly auspices on 12-13 May 2025. Thank you Chair. I am speaking on behalf of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), which is a member of the Stop Killer Robots Campaign. WILPF reiterates the unwavering call for an immediate, legally binding international treaty to prohibit the development and use of autonomous weapon systems (AWS). These weapons, which operate without meaningful human control, pose profound threats to international humanitarian law, human rights, and global peace. Our feminist and anti-militarist perspective compels us to highlight the gendered implications of AWS. These systems risk perpetuating and amplifying existing biases, including those based on gender, race, and disability. The absence of human judgment in critical decisions about life and death could lead to disproportionate harm to...
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End Genocide in Palestine Now!
20 March 2021 To mark the BDS Movement's call for a Global Day of Action on 21 March 2025, WILPF published the following statement calling for an end to Israel's genocide of Palestinians and for the end of all material, economic, and political support to this genocide. On 23 October 2023, the then Secretary General of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) warned against potential genocide being committed in Gaza, reminding States and their leaders of the duty to act. In January 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found it "plausible" that Israel was committing acts that violate the Genocide Convention and delivered interim measures requiring Israel to take immediate action to prevent genocide. Since then, Israel has continued its horrific acts of violence against the people of Palestine, comprehensively violating the ICJ interim measures. Today, Israel’s unilateral violations of the January 2025 ceasefire agreement have reached new heights: with...
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Joint Statement by 230+ Organisations Demanding That Governments Producing F-35 Fighter Jets Stop Arming Israel
In a joint letter coordinated by Campaign Against Arms Trade, over 230 global civil society organisations have called on governments producing F-35 fighter jets to immediately halt all arms transfers to Israel, including the F-35 jets. This letter has been sent to the relevant Government Ministers of F-35 programme partner nations, which include: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, UK and US. 17 February 2025 We write to you as a group of organisations from partner countries to the global F-35 jet programme, and supportive organisations, calling on our Governments to immediately halt all arms transfers to Israel, directly and indirectly, including F-35 fighter jets, components, and spare parts thereof. After 466 days of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, we welcome the limited ceasefire which came into effect on 19 January, and call on our Governments to support every effort to permanently end the ongoing atrocities. The past 16 months have...
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Joint Statement by 30 Organisations on the 65th Anniversary of the First French Nuclear Explosion in Algeria: A Global Call for Accountability and Justice
On the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the first French nuclear test in the Algerian desert, which took place on 13 February 1960 under the code name “Gerboise Bleue,” 30 organisations, including WILPF, issued a joint statement at the invitation of SHOAA Human Rights Organization. In this statement, we renewed our call for France to take historical and legal responsibility, declassify all documents related to these tests, initiate the decontamination of affected areas, and compensate the victims. We also called on Algeria to take urgent measures to protect public health and involve civil society in rehabilitation efforts. We, the undersigned organizations, representing affected communities, indigenous peoples, advocates for nuclear disarmament, environmental protection, human rights, and peace, gather today to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the first French nuclear test conducted in the Algerian Sahara on February 13, 1960. On this tragic day, France detonated its first...
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Civil Society Statement on Gender and Intersectionality to the 79th session of the UN General Assembly First Committee
This statement was delivered by Maya Mele to the 79th session of the UN General Assembly First Committee on Disarmament and International Security on 16 October 2024. The statement was written by Ray Acheson, Director of Reaching Critical Will of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and was endorsed by an additional 16 civil society organisations. 16 October 2024 Thank you, Chair. I’m delivering this statement on behalf of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and other civil society groups that have signed on. Gender is about social norms. Gender norms are socially constructed, they are not innate. Challenging gender norms is important for many reasons, including to support disarmament and demilitarisation. Gender norms perpetuate a binary construction of men who are violent and powerful and women who are vulnerable and need to be protected. The framing of war and violence as “strong” and “masculine” is often coupled with a...
WILPF Statement: Stop Arming Israel and Abetting Its Crimes
5 October 2024
Once again, Israel is unleashing unlawful, immoral and unconscionable violence against people of the Middle East. On top of its genocide of Palestinians, Israel is bombing buildings and deploying explosives inside commonly used technological devices in Lebanon. It has now begun a ground invasion that will inevitably lead to further massive civilian casualties, destruction and displacement. Families are being torn apart or seeking refuge in open air public spaces, communities displaced, and hospitals are overwhelmed, struggling to manage the increasing influx of civilians in need of urgent care.
This comes after a year of waging war against Palestinians in Gaza and in the West Bank. Using a Hamas attack on 7 October 2023 as a justification for its actions, Israel intensified the project of extermination and displacement that it has been carrying out since it began its unlawful occupation of Palestinian land. Since October last year, Israel’s bombing of homes,...
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WILPF Statement on the OHCHR Report on Arms Transfers
On 19 September 2024, WILPF made this statement to the UN Human Rights Council’s 57th session (9 September-11 October 2024) in connection with the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the “Impact of arms transfers on human rights” (A/HRC/56/42), which has a focus on access to information. 19 September 2024 The right of every individual to seek and receive information is one of the rights upon which free and democratic societies depend. In such societies, individuals can seek out and obtain information, including government data. This transparency is essential for informed decision-making, holding authorities accountable, and ensuring public participation in the democratic process. The right to seek and receive information is also essential for the enjoyment of other human rights, including the right to life and access to justice and remedy. In this context, and as highlighted in WILPF’s written submission to OHCHR on the Role of Access to...
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Joint Statement to the Tenth Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty on Arms Trade with Israel
The following joint statement from the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), the International Service for Human Rights, and Al-Haq was delivered at the Tenth Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty on 21 August 2024.
Thank you, Mr. President,
This statement is being delivered on behalf of the International Service for Human Rights, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and Al-Haq. In 2014, when the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) entered into force, those who have been actively involved in the adoption of the treaty hoped that it would make a difference in reducing the human suffering caused by weapons and war. Ten years later, it is clear that the ATT States parties have fallen short of its promise, with thousands of people around the world experiencing direct harm from the arms trade. We are faced with serious challenges in the implementation of the ATT, where actors with the power and capacity to protect people lack the...
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Civil Society Statement on Gender and Intersectionality to the 2024 NPT Preparatory Committee
23 July 2024 This statement was written and delivered by Ray Acheson, Director of Reaching Critical Will of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), to the Second Session of the Preparatory Committee for the Eleventh Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The statement was endorsed by an additional 16 civil society organisations. For many years, WILPF has been articulating the ways that gender is relevant to nuclear weapons. We will keep talking about this for as long as it takes policies to change, but it’s also important to move beyond the limited engagement with gender that has so far been allowed in draft outcome documents and summaries of meetings. What we’ve achieved so far in the NPT space is not sufficient—not in terms of transforming understanding what gender considerations bring to the table, and definitely not in terms of achieving nuclear disarmament. One way that gender is relevant for understanding nuclear weapons is...
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WILPF Statement to the Fourth Review Conference of the UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects
Emma Bjertén, the Programme Manager of Reaching Critical Will, delivered WILPF's statement to the Fourth Review Conference (RevCon4) of the UN Programme of Action (UNPoA) to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects on 20 June 2024.
20 June 2024
Thank you, Ambassador.
I am speaking on behalf of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), the world’s oldest feminist peace organisation. With 42 National Sections operating in all global regions, the issue of illicit trade and proliferation of small arms is something that in different ways impact us all.
For a long time, the UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in All Its Aspects was what we call “gender blind”. It didn’t acknowledge the differential impacts the proliferation of illicit SALW have on people of different genders and backgrounds; it did not provide...
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WILPF Statement to the Meeting of the Arms Trade Treaty Sub-Working Group on Current and Emerging Implementation Issues
21 February 2024 On 21 February 2024, the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) Working Group on Effective Treaty Implementation held the first meeting of its sub-working group on current and emerging implementation issues. One of the agenda items for this discussion was arms transfers to Israel. Due to time limitations, WILPF was not able to deliver its statement during the session but is publishing it online. Last year, during the preparatory meeting of CSP9, WILPF delivered a statement expressing concern that there had been little consideration about the humanitarian and human rights impacts of the arms trade during ATT meetings. We strongly welcome the development of this sub-working group on current and emerging implementation issues and the convening of this particular meeting on Israel’s war on Gaza. Addressing arms transfers that may violate the ATT is essential to assure the Treaty’s credibility and to concretise the ATT’s aim to reduce human suffering. The ATT sits within the existing...
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WILPF Statement on the Escalation of Violence in Palestine and Israel
WILPF is deeply saddened at the ongoing and escalating loss of life in Palestine and Israel, which take place in the context of ongoing Israeli occupation, war crimes and impunity. We denounce all attacks against civilians by all parties. Indiscriminate attacks on civilians are a crime under international law and cannot be justified.
States are a collective of peoples in all our diversity with a right to self-determination and to a free, dignified and safe life. Permanent peace is built on the foundations of freedom, justice, nonviolence, human rights and equality. Colonialism, occupation, apartheid policies, and militarised security have denied the possibilities for peace. Despite multiple UN resolutions and repeated calls, Israel has not ended its illegal occupation.
Current attacks must be seen in the context of an escalation of militarised activities in recent years by Israel's hardline new government and in conjunction with decades of continued and repeated...
Civil Society Statement to the 13th Article XIV Conference on Facilitating Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
On 22 September 2023, Emma Bjertén of Reaching Critical Will delivered a joint civil society statement, coordinated by the Arms Control Association, to the 13th Article XIV Conference on Facilitating Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
Since the conclusion of the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which has been signed by 186 countries, nuclear testing has become taboo.
All CTBT states parties agree that the treaty prohibits “any nuclear weapons test explosion, or any other nuclear explosion,” no matter what the yield. The CTBT Organization operates a fully functional International Monitoring System (IMS) to detect and deter cheating.
Most nuclear-armed states that have not signed or not ratified the CTBT, including India, Israel, and Pakistan, are currently observing nuclear testing moratoria. Even though the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) announced in January 2020 it "will no longer observe its self-imposed...
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WILPF Statement to the Human Rights Council on Disarming the Enablers of the Firearms Industry
WILPF submitted a written statement to the 54th session of the Human Rights Council in response to the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the impact of firearms. WILPF's statement calls for an end to impunity of the firearms industry and those who enable it. 23 August 2023 WILPF has long argued and demonstrated that as long as firearms exist and circulate, they will pose a threat to all human rights, including the right to life and security of person. The reports on the impact of firearms presented by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to the Human Rights Council (HRC) over the years[1] clearly illustrate the role of firearms in contributing to human rights violations and abuses. Every firearm that is used to commit any form of violence came from somewhere, and in many cases, has been transferred across borders. Thus, the irresponsible role of the firearms industry and other industries that contribute to its...
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WILPF Statement to 2023 NPT Preparatory Committee on Gender and Intersectionality
The First Preparatory Committee for the Eleventh Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) took place in Vienna from 31 July–11 August 2023. WILPF delivered a statement to the Preparatory Committee on 2 August 2023. Thank you, Chairperson. I am speaking on behalf of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), the world’s oldest feminist peace organisation. A number of other civil society organisations have endorsed this statement. The full list is available on the statement posted online. In recent years, gender has gained increasing prominence in the working papers, statements, and policies of many NPT states parties. Much of this has focused on the lack of gender diversity in the NPT sphere—in particular, the continued dominance of men and exclusion of women from discussions and decision-making on nuclear policies. There is a stark disparity in the level (seniority or rank) and the number of men as compared to women in disarmament,...
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WILPF Statement to the Working Group on Further Strengthening the Review Process of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
The Working Group on Further Strengthening the Review Process of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) took place in Vienna from 24–28 July 2023. WILPF delivered a statement to the only session open to civil society participation on 25 July 2023. Thank you, Chairperson. I am speaking on behalf of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), the world’s oldest feminist peace organisation. WILPF has participated in the work of the NPT since the Treaty’s inception—and we have consistently advocated for nuclear disarmament since 1945. Our programme Reaching Critical Will has been a leader in the NPT space for more than twenty years, coordinating civil society participation, archiving primary documentation, and providing monitoring, reporting, analysis, and advocacy for states parties, academics, activists, and others. It is thus ironic and counterproductive, in our view, to convene a Working Group to improve the working methods of the NPT and then exclude civil...
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WILPF's statement to the Preparatory Meeting of the Ninth Conference of States Parties (CSP9) to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)
The Working Group meetings and Second Informal Preparatory Meeting of the Ninth Conference of States Parties (CSP9) to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) took place in Geneva on 9–12 May 2023. WILPF delivered a statement under the discussion about the priority theme for the Korean Presidency on 'the role of industry in responsible international transfers of conventional arms’.
WILPF statement on the Working Paper by the President of CSP9 - "The role of industry in responsible international transfers on conventional arms"
12 May 2023
Delivered by Laura Varella
The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) welcomes the choice by the Korean Presidency of the role of industry in international transfers as the CSP9 President’s priority theme. Unfortunately, the President’s paper seems more concerned with “reputational risk” to weapons manufacturers than it does with the human suffering caused globally by their war profiteering.
In WILPF’s...
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WILPF's statement about the arms industry to the Preparatory Meeting of CSP9
The Working Group meetings and First Informal Preparatory Meeting of the Ninth Conference of States Parties (CSP9) to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) took place in Geneva on 14–17 February 2023. WILPF delivered a statement under the discussion about the priority theme for the Korean Presidency on ‘the role of industry in responsible international transfers of conventional arms’.
WILPF Statement on the priority theme of the Korean Presidency CSP9 PrepCom
17 February 2023
The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) welcomes the choice by the Korean Presidency of “the role of industry in responsible international transfers of conventional arms” as the CSP9 President’s priority theme. We believe that discussing the role of the industry is essential to address the impact by arms transfers, and to fulfil theATT’s purpose of reducing human suffering.
A recent valuable contribution to the topic, and one that should be considered by the ATT states parties in...
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WILPF's statement about the review of the ATT Programme of Work to the Preparatory Meeting of CSP9
The Working Group meetings and First Informal Preparatory Meeting of the Ninth Conference of States Parties (CSP9) to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) took place in Geneva on 14–17 February 2023. WILPF delivered a statement under the discussion about the review of the ATT Programme of Work.
WILPF STATEMENT ON THE REVIEW OF THE ATT PROGRAMME OF WORK CSP9 PREPCOM
17 February 2023
Delivered by Laura Varella
The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) welcomes the Management Committee’s (MC’s) preparation of the Background Paper reviewing the ATT Programme of Work (ATT/CSP9.MC/2023/MC/747/PM1.BackgrPaper), and takes note of other recent efforts which consider the impact of the Treaty’s processes and forums, such as the 2021 report by SIPRI, Taking Stock of the Arms Trade Treaty: Achievements, Challenges and Ways Forward .
WILPF believes that the current Programme of Work which consists of established working groups and intersessional preparatory meetings,...
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WILPF's statement to the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67)
WILPF's official statement to the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67)
14 December 2022
In all discussions regarding technology, gender matters. It matters because technology and innovation reflect the different visions of how societies are advancing gender equality and creating possible futures. There have been world-altering developments to help us communicate, collect data, document human rights violations, improve health and wellbeing, and enhance access to innovation. Women activists have used technology to amplify their safety and the safety of their communities.
Technology reflects, enhances, and embodies many of the same characteristics and qualities of the offline world. Therefore, technological developments often reflect the capitalist and destructive priorities of our world, which are frequently skewed towards brutal competition, violence, unsustainable production and consumption, and reinforcement of detrimental hierarchies and elite...
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WILPF statement on the final draft political declaration on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas
The fifth and final consultation on the political declaration on EWIPA took place in Geneva, on 17 June 2023. WILPF delivered the following statement. Thank you to the mission of Ireland for taking the initiative on this declaration, and for inviting civil society to participate in this process. WILPF commends you for all your efforts to hold inclusive consultations and to ensure transparency throughout. We also welcome the constructive contributions from states, international organisations, and civil society, including affected communities, which have tirelessly contributed these past years to build this declaration and strengthen the protection of civilians against the harm from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. For over a decade, we have been working together to address the unconscionable levels of death and harm caused by bombing towns, cities, and villages. The pattern of civilian harm deriving from the use of these weapons has been well documented by...
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WILPF closing statement to the fourth consultations on the draft political declaration on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas
The fourth consultations on a political declaration on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA) took place in Geneva, from 6–8 April. WILPF delivered the following statement on 8 April 2022. We thank Ireland for the efforts to drive this process forward and to ensure its transparency and inclusivity. We welcome by the constructive contributions from states, international organisations, and civil society, and we look forward to continuing this work to protect civilians through the process you’ve outlined today. As anyone can see from reading the news each day, these negotiations are not an academic exercise. Bombing is going on all around us. People are dying, living in fear, being separated from their families, struggling to survive conflict and its aftermath. This is the reality of our world. But it doesn’t have to be this way. These are political, military, and economic choices made by governments to use explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated...
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