Disarmament

Total and universal disarmament is one of the founding goals of WILPF, and our Disarmament Programme promotes human security and stigmatises the very concept of ‘military security’. The Programme provides information and research, conducts advocacy, and brings a gender perspective to the multilateral conversations on weapons and war.

We are living in a time where nine countries possess over 16,400 nuclear weapons, the global military expenditure is over 1.7 trillion USD per year, and at least 1,500 people are killed every day by armed conflict and armed violence.

It goes beyond saying that excessive military expenditure, bombing and shelling of towns and cities, poorly regulated and irresponsible global arms trade, and the threat from nuclear weapons are some of the primary obstacles to permanent peace.

WILPF’s international disarmament work is coordinated through our well known Reaching Critical Will Programme. We argue for the global reduction of military spending and militarism, challenge violent masculinities and militarism as a thought, and highlight the gendered aspects of weapons use, production, and trade.

Our activities include research, policy analysis, advocacy, monitoring, and reporting on international forums, as well as collaboration with civil society networks and campaigns — and a sharp analytic pen is indeed one of the most effective tools of the Programme.