Notable among the follow-up projects is the Global Campaign for Peace Education, a long term effort that is likely to occupy the International Peace Bureau for some years to come. Meanwhile we have continued to be active in our ‘traditional’ areas of work, such as disarmament, human rights and certain conflict zones. The following report highlights in particular the work since the May 1999 conference.

The International Peace Bureau worked during 1998 and 1999 in the following ways:

• Advanced the conception, popularisation and planning processes.
• Carried out day to day organising – and of major financial decisions - through work with the Coordinating Committee on which the IPB General Secretary played a key role.
• Provided staff and participated in team building with partners around the world.
• Supported the Organising Committee (now called International Committee): IPB hosted the 2nd OC meeting in May 98 and ‘Cross-strand’ meeting Nov. 98.
• Conducted outreach : distribution, translation (17 languages), logistics, materials, travel etc.
• Contributions to Peace Matters newspaper.
• Supported regional efforts through management of several regional grants ; assistance with around 15 regional or so national conferences, and co-organisation of 3 conferences.
• London Nov 98 ; Geneva Nov 98 ; Quito/Guayaquil April 99.

(2)   T H E   C O N F E R E N C E   P H A S E

At the Hague Appeal Conference itself IPB staff and officers, members and volunteers all pulled together to help make the event a success. It was an extraordinary week. Among the discussions and substantive events were over 20 youth sessions across all 4 strands ; a tremendous variety of cultural presentations, (dance, theatre, video, photography, music, even basketball !) ; a very strong peace education programme, in which IPB played a central role; specific sessions on the OSCE, on the Culture of Peace and Non-violence, on peace movement history, and on globalisation ; an impressive double-size literature stand which was visited by the Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ; and meetings of the NGO Committee for Disarmament and the IPB Council.

Special mention should also be made of our President Maj Britt Theorin who gave a much-applauded speech on the Kosovo conflict in the closing plenary, and our Vice President Cora Weiss, who was the principal founding ‘mother’ of the Hague Appeal for Peace and became its President. Her contribution was simply enormous.

(3)   P O S T - C O N F E R E N C E   P H A S E

Much of the post-Hague period has been taken up with documenting what took place, and building on the connections made. This has included several editions of Peace Matters, the publication in handy size format of the Hague Agenda for Peace and Justice ; the compilation of the (rather massive) Conference Report ; the Peace Education conference report; the reorganisation of the websites, and so on.

Important events included the presentation of the Hague Agenda to the official intergovernmental commemorations of the 1899 Hague Conference centenary, in both the Hague and St Petersburg ; and its presentation at the UN General Assembly in Nov 99. (Doc no : A/54/98).

This event was the occasion for the presentation of the first Hague Appeal for Peace Prize, awarded to José Ramos Horta of E.Timor. Workshops on the Hague Appeal and also on the Global Campaign for Peace Education have been held in New York in Nov 99 and May 2000, and in Geneva at the Copenhagen +5 conference on social development in June 2000. (see 6pp report The Hague Appeal for Peace Post-Conference Update, available from New York or Geneva offices).

G L O B A L   C A M P A I G N   F O R   P E A C E   E D U C A T I O N

The International Peace Bureau is committed to advancing peace education on a global basis. It is is acting on this concern by serving as one of the two co-ordinating offices of the Hague Appeal for Peace Global Campaign for Peace Education. The other office is the Hague Appeal for Peace Office in New York. The Global Campaign for Peace Education was formally launched at the Hague Appeal for Peace Conference, although some preparatory work was done at our IPB-organised Geneva conference in November 98. The campaign has two major goals: 1) Creating civil and political support for peace education at all levels of education; and 2) Educating teachers to teach for peace. The Global Campaign promotes approaches such as human rights, development and environmental education, human security and disarmament issues, conflict resolution training, critical media awareness, gender studies, non-violence and international relations. The methodology of peace education encourages critical thinking and prepares students to act on their convictions.

The Global Campaign for Peace Education is open to the initiative of individuals and groups throughout the world. At this stage it consists of a network of dedicated educators in many countries. It has established an international advisory committee of educators and leaders and is encouraging the formation of regional, national and thematic working groups. But the main work of the campaign will be carried out in local communities. The campaign organising offices reach out to educators, researchers, politicians, the media and community activists, especially to parents and the students themselves.

The Global Campaign for Peace Education will be carried out over the coming decade. The current work of the co-ordinating offices in both Geneva and New York is part of the initial organising stage of a longer-term effort. The teacher education programme is being run from Columbia University in New York by Prof Betty Reardon and Dr Alicia Cabezudo, Latin America Representative on IPB Council.

Among the ‘products’ and activities we have worked on from the IPB office over the last 12 months or so are the following :

• Campaign Kit contains over 20 items such as contacts lists, calendar of events, campaign postcard, suggestions for actions, bibliography etc.
• Website - Many of the above items are included in the Global Campaign for Peace Education section of our IPB site. This will be further developed over the coming months.
• General brochures - Now available in French and very soon in Spanish, German and Russian.
• Conference presentations and participation - IPB staff/board members have presented the Global Campaign at many international events over the past 12 months, including: Millennium Forum (New York), International Association of Educators for Peace (Paris), International Peace Research Association (Tampere), Conflict Resolution in Education (Neths), Culture of Peace and Globalisation (Barcelona), UN Social Summit +5 (Geneva 2000), The Future of our Children (Geneva), Pax Christi regional consultation (Strasbourg) and of course the IPB Triennial Conference (Paris).
• Networking - As word has spread of the development of the campaign, our network of contacts has increased, and the variety of materials collected has multiplied.
  Endorsements : a number of initial endorsements have been received, including the major international networks of peace educators, UNICEF etc. We are now about to embark on a major endorsement drive which we expect will bring in several hundred organisations. A sheet about Endorsement is now available.
• Advocacy - The main focus of the IPB secretariat’s work in this field will be developing advocacy resources and building mutual support for those who are actively promoting peace education with their education authorities. Plans for 2001 include a seminar to bring together some of those most active in the field.
• International Year for Culture of Peace - IPB staff have been in touch with the UNESCO coordinating office for the Intl Year, and have signed a Partnership Agreement. The IPB Triennial is designated a ‘flagship event’ for the International Year. We see the International Year for Culture of Peace and the Hague Appeal for Peace Global Campaign for Peace Education as complementary.

DISARMAMENT

Nuclear weapons

The IPB has a long record of work in favour of nuclear disarmament. This includes our participation in the World Court Project, which took up much our time in the first half of the 1990s, and which led to the historic ruling of the International Court of Justice in 1996. Since then our work in this field can be divided into several distinct areas :
Abolition 2000 : IPB was a founder member of this network and continues to give it support in various ways. Colin Archer is a member of the Global Council. Many of our member organisations are active in this network. We are represented on the Middle Powers Initiative by its President Doug Roche (chair of our Board of Consultants), and by Rob Green and Kate Dewes. This group has been particularly effective in promoting the New Agenda Coalition within the UN structures. We were active at the Non Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in New York in April-May, and played a central role in the Geneva pre-NPT conference organised by the NGO Committee for Disarmament in March. We continue to monitor the work of the Conference on Disarmament. Fredrik Heffermehl has continued to play a key role in the international campaign to free the Israeli nuclear whistleblower, Mordechai Vanunu. The Sean MacBride Peace Prize was awarded in 2000 to two journalist-activists, Praful Bidwai and Achin Vanaik, of the Movement in India for Nuclear Disarmament.

Landmines

IPB is a member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and participates in the Geneva Landmines Working Group, which brings together disarmament and humanitarian NGOs active on this issue. A number of presentations and dialogue sessions with government delegations have been organised over the last few years. We participated in the ICBL programme at the recent 2nd Meeting of States Parties to the Mine-Ban Treaty, held in Geneva in September 2000..

Small arms

In a similar way, IPB is a member of the International Action Network against Small Arms and has helped to form the Geneva ‘node’, GANSA. This is formally a working group of the NGO Committee for Disarmament. Its current main project is a two day seminar held in Geneva on Nov 9 and 10, the focus of which is the preparations and debates related to the 2001 World Conference on the Illegal Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons In all its Aspects. Colin Archer and others from GANSA participated in the September 2000 conference on EU small arms policies in Paris.

While we do not have the resources to focus on these topics, IPB does try to keep abreast of developments in other disarmament areas, such as larger conventional arms, chemical and biological weapons, cluster bombs and unexploded ordnance, depleted uranium, and ‘non-lethal’ weapons. Some of these are proving to be important issues for the peace movement.

Disarmament pamphlet series - Early in 2000 we decided to try out a new form of publication, a 4pp summary of a particular disarmament issue, developed for use with the general public. We have now published 4 editions, included inside IPB News , covering: NPT, Landmines, National Missile Defense, Small Arms.

CONFLICTS / HUMAN RIGHTS

Chechnya – The war in Chechnya (the second this decade) has been the conflict area to which we have devoted the most IPB resources during 1999 and 2000. This is a conflict where the voice of the international peace movement has been particularly weak, and where we were lucky to have good contacts, especially via our member organisation in Moscow, the Centre for Peace Making and Community Development. Activities involved support for Chechen civil society delegations to Geneva in November and in March, this last for the UN Human Rights Commission at which we organised, along with other NGOs, a programme including a press conference, a demonstration, a public meeting, media work, statements to the Commission, lobbying of delegates, and a joint NGO appeal. (see website). Since then we have given support for efforts to establish dialogue between the Russian and the Chechen sides, and also to prepare the way for a Chechen humanitarian office in Geneva.

On other conflicts too, the Geneva-based Human Rights Commission has been the main theatre of activity. IPB’s role is usually limited to providing accreditation, logistical support, media access, and networking with other human rights activists. Once again we have given support to the Burmese opposition, and the Tamil Human Rights Centre. In 2000, we also accredited groups from Tibet and Kashmir, plus the Kensington Welfare Rights Union, USA.

WOMEN & PEACE

For several years now IPB has co-published, together with the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, an annual booklet for International Women’s Day for Peace and Disarmament (May 24). In 1999 the focus was on women in the former Soviet Union andthis year it was on African women. We were pleased that this time it was possible to distribute a French edition as well as the English one.

SEAN MACBRIDE PEACE PRIZE

The 1999 prize was awarded to Barbara Gladysch of Mothers for Peace, Germany, at the Hague Conference in May. In 2000 it was given to Praful Bidwai and Achin Vanaik of the Movement in India for Nuclear Disarmament at the IPB Triennial Conference in Paris. These awards are always combined with efforts to obtain media coverage.

PUBLICATIONS

• IPB News continues to be our ‘flagship’ publication.
• Books : our latest are the "Peace Education Report" and "Peace is Possible" (special thanks to Verdiana Grossi and Fredrik Heffermehl)
• Hague Appeal publications (Peace Matters, Hague Agenda, Youth Agenda, Peace Education packet, brochures, etc) have greatly added to the range of our material.
• May 24 women’s booklet is much appreciated but needs staff to develop it into a networking project.
• The IPB Website was developed considerably during this three year period.

NETWORKING

A substantial part of the Secretariat’s time is spent on servicing enquiries from all over the world. Given our visibility through projects like the Hague Appeal for Peace, it is natural that activists, especially those with limited research means, should turn to us for help locating people, organisations, documents, meetings, and much else besides. Nowadays huge amounts of information can be circulated by email or obtained via the internet; however in our experience this has increased our information traffic, rather than lessened it. We are grateful to all those who have helped to cope with the incessant flow and apologise to those whose requests could not be answered quickly enough.

MEMBERSHIP

Membership of IPB has grown steadily in recent years. It now stands at over 200 member organisations, both full and associate, local, national and international. This makes for a very diverse family of peace activists. However as membership in developing and transition countries has grown, so has the cost of the membership system to the Secretariat. Put simply, we need to develop a stronger form of partnership between groups in the Global North and those in the South. This can be done by a variety of means, including fundraising approaches to a number of official and non-official sources.

UN RELATIONS

IPB has had Consultative Status (Roster grade) with the UN since the late 1970s. This status enables us to keep up to date with UN activities, to obtain access for members to UN premises in New York, Geneva and Vienna, and to observe or make interventions in certain meetings. In 1999 we made an application for upgrading to Category II, but this is still pending at the time of writing. IPB also has Associate Status with the UN’s Dept. of Public Information, and Consultative Relations with UNESCO. We recently joined CONGO, the Conference of NGOs with Consultative Status with ECOSOC, and we act as the Secretariat of the NGO Committee for Disarmament (Geneva).

ASSEMBLY, COUNCIL AND STEERING COMMITTEE

Like any democratic organisation, the IPB has to spend considerable time and resources ensuring the smooth running of its decision making system. At the same time the internet revolution (and international phone conferences) have made it possible to consult worldwide on almost any issue without always requiring a face to face meeting. This represents a sea-change in how international NGOs conduct their business. Although the IPB Secretariat has been using email for at least 11 years, it is only relatively recently that all members of the Steering Committee, for example, have become equipped and therefore able to participate on an equal basis in daily email discourse.

At present the Constitution requires a meeting of the IPB Assembly (all member organisations) every 3 years, an annual Council meeting, and the Steering Committee meets three times a year either physically or by phone. Our last Triennial Conference and Assembly were held in Moscow in 1997, and we have had Council meetings in London in 1998, and the Hague in 1999. Steering Committee meetings have often been in Geneva to save Secretariat travel costs and to coincide where possible with UN conferences and NGO Committee meetings.

Elections have been held annually for the Steering Committee, and triennially for the Council and Officer posts. In 2000 a number of Officers are subject to the rule limiting tenure to 6 years, and will therefore be retiring. This includes our President Dr Maj-Britt Theorin, who in fact took over the helm in 1992 (prior to the revision of the Constitution). Dr Theorin has seen the organisation through a difficult period on the international scene, and has represented us at countless conferences and events. She has provided us with much of the very necessary ‘visibility’ in the international NGO world. IPB has been very privileged to have as its President a former Disarmament Ambassador of Sweden, who is also a distinguished Member of the European Parliament, and the only female member of the Canberra Commission – to name only a few of her many accomplishments ! Maj-Britt Theorin will be remembered in particular for her firm opposition to military ‘solutions’ of all kinds – in particular those of the western alliance in Kosovo and the Gulf War. We thank you, Maj Britt, for your leadership and vision, and wish you well in your peace efforts in the years to come.

STAFF, INTERNS AND VOLUNTEERS (SEE LIST)

The Secretariat’s staff changes quite rapidly, if only because we are dependent on short term interns and volunteers to make up for gaps in the permanent staff. Interns bring us youthful energy, language skills, cross-cultural insights, computer technique and much more. In return we believe they gain much from being in the international Geneva environment, and experiencing first hand the pressures and challenges involved in global networking and peace campaigning. To all who have put in time helping us carry out our daily work, we extend our warmest thanks. In particular we are grateful to certain institutions who have arranged internships or volunteer placements on a regular basis: Brethren Volunteer Service, Syracuse University, the School for International Training, and the RMCAS (unemployment) service of the Hospice-Général, Canton of Geneva.

FUNDING (SEE DONORS LIST)

Apart from the endless challenges of struggling to build a peaceful world, IPB’s greatest problem is always fundraising. It is not easy to raise money for umbrella organisations of any kind, and today’s communications technologies present new and special difficulties. However the tremendous élan provided by the Hague Appeal for Peace has helped us reach unprecedented levels in our ‘platform-building’ role, and has brought us many new partners, including governments, companies and individuals. The Global Campaign for Peace Education has brought us in touch with a whole world of teachers, students and educators, and we are confident that this new endeavour will generate financial support also. Readers should note that we are always glad of new suggestions and contacts in this field. I am grateful for the fundraising support we have had from many people, staff, Board, volunteers and many others.

Colin Archer, October 2000

• Margie Graf, who hosted IPB volunteers free of charge for several months
• The International School of Geneva
• Arild Eugen Johansen, IPB publications designer (Dhaka, Bangladesh)
• Christian Roy, Treasurer
• David Atwood and Peter Herby, auditors

IPB wishes to acknowledge the following institutions and persons who have made substantial financial contributions to our work (or gifts in kind) over the last year:

Governmental/intergovernmental

• Office of Bangladesh Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina

Foundations / NGOs / companies

• A. J. Muste Memorial Institute, USA
• ILCOP Trust Fund, Switzerland
• Brethren Volunteer Service, USA
• Foundation for the Child and the Family, Greece
• Migros Cooperatives, Switzerland
• DFG-VK, Germany
• Inter-Discount, Switzerland
• Hewlett Packard, Switzerland

 Also (via shared projets)

• Hague Appeal for Peace
• World Federalist Movement

Individuals

• Mr Yussuf Harun, Bangladesh
• Ms Aline Boccardo, Switzerland

IPB OFFICIALS

Honorary President :

• Bruce KENT - UK
• Maj-Britt THEORIN - Sweden

President :

• Cora WEISS - USA

Treasurer :

• Christian ROY - Switzerland

Vice Presidents :

• Praful BIDWAI - India
• Kate DEWES - Aotearoa / NewZealand
• Tomas MAGNUSSON - Sweden
• Doug ROCHE - Canada
• Anick SICART - France
• Rae STREET - UK
• Hiroshi TAKA - Japan
• Mordechai VANUNU - Israel
  

Steering Commettee :

• Cora WEISS, President - USA
• Christian ROY, Treasurer - Switzerland
• Victor de la BARRERA - Spain / France
• Urban GIBSON - Sweden
• Fredrik HEFFERMEHL - Norway
• Chris HUNTER - UK / Russia
• Tomas MAGNUSSON - Sweden
• Mikis PERISTERAKIS - Greece
• Eva QUISTORP - Germany
• Rae STRER - UK
• Kalevi SUOMELA - Finland
• Ai TAKADA - Japan
• Alyn WARE - Aotearoa / New Zealand
  

U N   REPRESENTATIVE (NY)

• Sylvia TEMMER - USA
  

Council Members :
[ All of the above plus Regional Representatives ]

A F R I C A

• vacant * (F)
• Kingsley AYETTEY (M) - Ghana *
  

A S I A - Region 1

• vacant * (F)
• Masudul HASAN (M) - Bangladesh*
  

A S I A - Region 2

• vacant * (F)
• vacant * (M)

E U R O P A - Region 1

• Urban GIBSON (M) - Sweden
• Malla KANTOLA (F) - Finland

E U R O P A - Region 2

• vacant (F) *
• Dave KNIGHT (M) - UK*
  

E U R O P A - Region 3

• Jenny HEEB (F) - Switzerland
• Alain ROUY (M) - France
  

E U R O P A - Region 4

• vacant (F) *
• vacant (M) *
  

L A T I N - A M E R I C A

• Pablo CELI (M) - Ecuador
• Carmen VASZQUEZ (F) - Ecuador

N O R T H - A M E R I C A

• Phyllis CREIGHTON (F) - Canada
• Steve STAPLES (M) - Canada
  

O C E A N I A

• Richard SALVADOR (M) - Hawai’i
• Ellen WHELAN (F) - Australia / Fiji

I N T E R N A T I O NA L

• vacant (F) *
• vacant (M) *

Consultants :

• Ade ADENEKAN - Nigeria
• Mubarak AWAD - Palestine / USA
• Janet BLOOMFIELD - UK
• Aline BOCCARDO - Switzerland
• Göran Von BONSDORFF - Finland
• Phyllis CREIGHTON - Canada
• Stephen DANKOWICH - Canada
• Kate DEWES - New Zealand
• Jules DUFOUR - Canada
• Johan GALTUNG - Norway / France / USA
• Ann GERTLER - Canada
• Margie GRAF - Switzerland
• Rob GREEN - UK / New Zealand
• Gerd GREUNE - Germany / Belgium
• Verdiana GROSSI - Switzerland
• Guido GRÜNEWALD - Germany
• Gennady GRUSHEVOY - Belarus
• Ernst GÜLCHER - Belgium
• Mubashir HASAN - Pakistan
• Rachel JULIAN - UK
• David MACHARIA - Kenya
• David McREYNOLDS - USA
• Rodrigo MONTALUISA VIVAS - Ecuador
• Sheila OAKES - UK
• Mikis PERISTERAKIS - Greece
• Eva QUISTORP - Germany
• Anna REHIN - UK
• Adi ROCHE - Ireland
• Rainer SANTI - Sweden / Switzerland
• Georg SCHÖFBÄNKLER - Austria
• Augustin TABO - Chad
• Ilkka TAIPALE - Finland
• Rev. Junsei TERASAWA - Japan
• Robert TUROFF - USA
  

Secretary-General :

• Colin ARCHER

Interns : [ ??? ]

• Adam BERRY
• Baryl CARBY-MUTAMBIRWA
• David EASTER
• Patrick MacCARTHY (Hague Appeal for Peace)
• Olivia MARTIN (Hague Appeal for Peace)
• Jo TYLER
• Adel ZEIDAN
  

Interns : [ ??? ]

• Will BAKER
• Barrett CHAIX
• JD DOWNING
• Greg FRANTZ
• Maral MADIEVA
• Heather SCHALL
• Annemarie SCHLACK

Volunteers :

• Bruce ABRAMSON
• Victor de la BARRERA
• Mary BENNETT
• Sarah CHILDERS
• Verdiana GROSSI
• Enoch KOUMATO
• Terry JOHNSON
• Emily KEIM
• Cécile KIBONGO
• Eric LAUZON
• Rodrigo MONTALUISA VIVAS
• Timi OLAFEMI
• Jutta SEIDEL
• Joel SCHWARTZ
• Michael BORBURGER

Technical support :

• ???

N o t e s :

• (*) This is primarily a report on the work of the IPB Secretariat and Officers. There are reports on the work of many IPB member organizations on this website.