WRI Statement

The War Resisters' International, an international pacifist network with affiliates in over 30 countries, discussed the war and humanitarian crisis in Kosovo/a at its Triennial conference in Porec, Croatia, 20-26 September 1998

The conference criticised the handling of the situation by intergovernmental bodies and by individual states:
their failure to provide space for negotiations during the prolonged period when the Albanians of Kosovo/a pursued a disciplined policy of nonviolent action their treatment of Milosevic as a guarantor of peace in the region rathe

Should people be bombed because their government is accused of developing weapons of mass destruction?

Should people be bombed because they live under an undemocratic regime which violates human rights and abuses minority populations?

Should people be bombed because their government's activities threaten the supply of resources to the Western nations?

"The best local peace group in France" was how one of the Parisian participants described COT d'Albi (the Collectif des Objectrices et Objecteurs Tarnais), hosts of this year's annual War Resisters' International Council meeting in Carmaux in the Tarn region.

War Resisters' International is primarily a global network of organisations ,groups, and individuals set up so that war resisters could support each other more effectively and to promote nonviolent action against militarism and the causes of war. WRI is an organisation in its own right as well. WRI has a programme: it initiates action and campaigns; it promotes nonviolence as a means of social transformation; and it supports organisations and individuals. WRI serves as a political forum to facilitate global discourse on hot topics such as new forms of conflict.

Introduction

War Resisters' International began a strategic planning process in 1995 in order to become more effective at what we do. By WRI we mean the organization in its own right as well as our Affiliates. The purpose of having such a plan is to be clear about the goals WRI should be working towards, define our priorities and inspire us to carry out the spirit of the WRI declaration above.

The development of a Strategic Plan can best be described as the process of asking four basic questions:

What is WRI's purpose?

War Resisters' International is a worldwide network of independent organisations, groups and individuals who all accept the WRI declaration:

War is a crime against humanity. I am therefore determined not to support any kind of war, and to strive for the removal of all causes of war.

It exists to promote nonviolent action against the causes of war, and to support and connect people around the world who refuse to take part in war or the preparation of war. On this basis, it works for a world without war. WRI membership is open to all those who accept the WRI Declaration.

WRI Council has now produced a Statement of Principles, a daunting task that the organisation had not managed since the 1950s. As well as introducing some of the main tenets of pacifism and nonviolence, this statement also respects the plurality of views within the organisation, and acknowledges the complexity posed by certain situations.

WRI embarked on this drafting mainly as a means of stimulating discussion rather than with confidence about producing a final text.

The War Resisters' International Women's Working Group will NOT be attending the United Nations World Conference on Women in Beijing.

While we felt that there was much that an anti-militarist women's organisation could offer to the conference, and while we particularly want to argue against the suggestion that greater involvement of women in the armed forces can in any way contribute to work for women's rights, we are so appalled by the choice of Beijing as a location that we feel we must boycott this meeting. Some of our reasons follow:

When NATO announced its ultimatum threatening air strikes if Bosnian-Serb heavy weaponry was not removed from the hills around Sarajevo by February 21, WRI published an international statement urging peace groups to refuse the narrow choice between bombing or not bombing and to campaign instead for a change in attitude from their governments, for a different kind of commitment in the long term.

War Resisters' International, the international pacifist organisation, will NOT be calling for demonstrations against the threat to bomb the hills around Sarajevo. In the choice between an international commitment to Bosnia-Hercegovina and disengagement, WRI favours international commitment. For us, however, the main goal of an international commitment should be to restore social life in the region: a long-term commitment not just to end the war but to build a peace.

The War Resisters’ International statement issued for the UN World Conference on Human Rights dealt with the Issues of refusing military conscription, the need to extend the right to asylum, and the issue of violence against women. Excerpts from the statement concerning this last issue are quoted here.

A statement from War Resisters' International

Peace can only be based on the recognition of human rights, be they individual and personal rights, economic and cultural rights, and group and gender rights. War Resisters' International not only opposes all abuse of human rights as violence, but particularly aims to support those asserting their human rights to organise themselves and to take nonviolent action against oppression and those acting in conscience who refuse to be agents of oppression or to take part in violence.