WILPF Advocacy Documents

Ireland, United Kingdom

The Future of Ireland

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights | Human Rights | Racism
Date/month:
24 July 1989
Document type:
Resolution
Body submitted to:
Human Rights Council

The 24th Triennial Congress of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, 14-25 July 1989 in Sydney, Australia:

The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom regards Northern Ireland as one of Britain’s last remaining possessions, which it must ultimately relinquish sovereignty. The United Nations recognise the people’s right to self-determination in its Charter (article 1, Para. 2) and subsequent General Assembly resolutions and declarations.

Ireland was administered as an integral political unit before 1920 and during many centuries of British rule. The establishment of a separate political division in the North was contrary to the wishes of the great majority of Irish people, as expressed in the last all-Ireland election of 1918. The border was an arbitrary creation that suited British convenience at the time, which allowed the imposition of one-party rule in the North. It resulted in denying members of the minority community in Northern Ireland their fundamental human rights.

The British Government has signally failed to protect the minority community in Northern Ireland under its jurisdiction from discrimination at all levels. It has significantly failed over the past twenty years to protect the whole population of Northern Ireland from violence and bloodshed. WILPF believes that the only way in which the people of Northern Ireland can achieve a stable, just and peaceful resolution to their urgent problems is for the British government to announce its intention within the lifetime of one government (7 years) to withdraw from Northern Ireland and to create the conditions under which the people of Northern Ireland can decide how they wish to be governed in future. An all-Ireland constitutional conference would be called, which would include consideration of the present Constitution in the South. The civil liberties of the whole population would be protected under stringent guarantees. Arms held by extremist groups would be confiscated insofar as possible.

WILPF believes that under these circumstances, with a program of gradually diminishing subsidies from the British government, the island’s economic base could be preserved and strengthened under whatever new constitutional arrangements emerged.

WILPF wishes in 1989 to re-affirm its support as promised in the 1926 International WILPF


The Future of Ireland Group London, May 1989

“The Future of Ireland Group” was formed by the British Section of WILPF in 1987 to study and monitor events in Ireland in depth to keep WILPF members informed. It includes others as well as WILPF members. They meet from time to time to hear speakers on Ireland; in March 1988, they visited Dublin and Belfast, meeting as many different groups and individuals as possible; in July 1988, they arranged a presentation on Ireland at the WILPF meeting in Paris; a conference about the Irish Sea took place in Wales, September 1988; and now the Group have drafted this statement for discussion.

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Melissa Torres

VICE-PRESIDENT

Prior to being elected Vice-President, Melissa Torres was the WILPF US International Board Member from 2015 to 2018. Melissa joined WILPF in 2011 when she was selected as a Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women as part of the WILPF US’ Practicum in Advocacy Programme at the United Nations, which she later led. She holds a PhD in Social Work and is a professor and Global Health Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine and research lead at BCM Anti-Human Trafficking Program. Of Mexican descent and a native of the US/Mexico border, Melissa is mostly concerned with the protection of displaced Latinxs in the Americas. Her work includes training, research, and service provision with the American Red Cross, the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Centre, and refugee resettlement programs in the U.S. Some of her goals as Vice-President are to highlight intersectionality and increase diversity by fostering inclusive spaces for mentorship and leadership. She also contributes to WILPF’s emerging work on the topic of displacement and migration.

Jamila Afghani

VICE-PRESIDENT

Jamila Afghani is the President of WILPF Afghanistan which she started in 2015. She is also an active member and founder of several organisations including the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organisation (NECDO). Elected in 2018 as South Asia Regional Representative to WILPF’s International Board, WILPF benefits from Jamila’s work experience in education, migration, gender, including gender-based violence and democratic governance in post-conflict and transitional countries.

Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo

PRESIDENT

Sylvie Jacqueline NDONGMO is a human rights and peace leader with over 27 years experience including ten within WILPF. She has a multi-disciplinary background with a track record of multiple socio-economic development projects implemented to improve policies, practices and peace-oriented actions. Sylvie is the founder of WILPF Cameroon and was the Section’s president until 2022. She co-coordinated the African Working Group before her election as Africa Representative to WILPF’s International Board in 2018. A teacher by profession and an African Union Trainer in peace support operations, Sylvie has extensive experience advocating for the political and social rights of women in Africa and worldwide.

WILPF Afghanistan

In response to the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and its targeted attacks on civil society members, WILPF Afghanistan issued several statements calling on the international community to stand in solidarity with Afghan people and ensure that their rights be upheld, including access to aid. The Section also published 100 Untold Stories of War and Peace, a compilation of true stories that highlight the effects of war and militarisation on the region. 

IPB Congress Barcelona

WILPF Germany (+Young WILPF network), WILPF Spain and MENA Regional Representative

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Demilitarisation

WILPF uses feminist analysis to argue that militarisation is a counter-productive and ill-conceived response to establishing security in the world. The more society becomes militarised, the more violence and injustice are likely to grow locally and worldwide.

Sixteen states are believed to have supplied weapons to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2020 with the US supplying 74 % of weapons, followed by Russia. Much of this equipment was left behind by the US military and is being used to inflate Taliban’s arsenal. WILPF is calling for better oversight on arms movement, for compensating affected Afghan people and for an end to all militarised systems.

Militarised masculinity

Mobilising men and boys around feminist peace has been one way of deconstructing and redefining masculinities. WILPF shares a feminist analysis on the links between militarism, masculinities, peace and security. We explore opportunities for strengthening activists’ action to build equal partnerships among women and men for gender equality.

WILPF has been working on challenging the prevailing notion of masculinity based on men’s physical and social superiority to, and dominance of, women in Afghanistan. It recognizes that these notions are not representative of all Afghan men, contrary to the publicly prevailing notion.

Feminist peace​

In WILPF’s view, any process towards establishing peace that has not been partly designed by women remains deficient. Beyond bringing perspectives that encapsulate the views of half of the society and unlike the men only designed processes, women’s true and meaningful participation allows the situation to improve.

In Afghanistan, WILPF has been demanding that women occupy the front seats at the negotiating tables. The experience of the past 20 has shown that women’s presence produces more sustainable solutions when they are empowered and enabled to play a role.

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