War opponent Boris Kagarlitsky is unexpectedly released in Russia

Press release from the People and Peace Network 12 December 2023

War opponent Boris Kagarlitsky is unexpectedly released in Russia

Today, the Russian war opponent Boris Kagarlitsky was released from prison in the trial in Suktyvkar. Unlike many other prominent opponents of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, Kagarlitsky did not flee the country but continued his advocacy work from Moscow. On July 25, he was arrested by the authorities on behalf of the FSB and taken to the remote Republic of Komi and its capital Sykthyvkar.

Kagarlitsky was accused of “justifying terrorism” in a video on YouTube channel Rabkor where he talked about the first explosion on the Crimean Bridge in the summer of 2022. This is according to Article 205.2 of the Russian Criminal Code on “justifying” terrorism committed “using mass media or electronic networks or information and telecommunications networks, including the Internet”, for which the penalty can be a fine of up to one million rubles or imprisonment from 5 to 7 years. The prosecutor requested 5.5 years in prison.

The case was based on a report written by Leonid Krasnoperov, a member of the City Duma of United Russia in the city of Ukhta in the Republic of Komi. Rabkor wrote in a Telegram post when the trial started yesterday, December 11: “Despite the well-known slowness of the Russian judiciary, which is capable of considering any case for years, it seems that the trial of Kagarlitsky could be concluded as early as tomorrow.”

Boris Kagarlitsky was able to leave the court today as a free man. He is, however, sentenced not to edit any media or website for two years and a fine of 6,000 dollars. “Miracles do happen even in the darkest times of political persecution, especially when backed by widespread material, moral and political support from around the world!” writes Rabkor in a comment. “The verdict opens the way for the cooperation between the climate and peace movement against oligarchs in East and West that Boris Kagarlitskij works for,” says Tord Björk, convener of the People and Peace Network’s communication and action group. Both Kagarlitsky and the Russian environmental movement continue to be labeled as foreign agents, but both the verdict and continued environmental protests in Russia, which have been particularly strong in Suktyvkar, show the hope of bringing together the fight for peace and the environment.

The result of the trial is surprising in a time of increased repression of all voices of peace. The success may be due to several forces working together in the campaign for Kagarlitsky as an important symbol of war resistance. One was a broad rally campaigning for the release of Boris and all political prisoners in Russia. That Kagarlitsky is the international best-known left-wing intellectual who was imprisoned both during the Soviet era, Yeltsin and Putin were grateful to highlight as a symbol. Another force was academics who cooperated with Kagarlitsky but are not as critical of Russia’s current actions as he is. One of these is Radika Desai, who raised the issue of Kagarlitsky in a conversation with Putin during a Valdai meeting. A third line has been the peace and environmental movement that stood up both for Kagarlitsky and conscientious objectors in both Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, something that opposition voices in Russia saw as a tactic that makes it easier for them to defend themselves.

In Sweden, the People and Peace Network has supported Kagarlitskij in a statement. At the Peace Fair in November arranged by i.a. Artists for Peace, Friends of the Earth, Women for Peace and the People and Peace Network, the issue of repression against war opponents in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and the EU was an important theme. The People and Peace network has also participated in the peace movement’s international campaign for Boris Kagarlitskij and other war opponents in collaboration with social forum forces both from Russia and EU countries and the International Peace Bureau.

The people and peace network calls for continued support to Boris Kagarlitskij for payment of fines and to enable Rabkor to continue its operations. Donation Alerts (https://www.donationalerts.com/r/rabkortv) We also call for support for other political prisoners in Russia and work against repression in the East and West.


Tord Björk for the People and Peace Network communication and action group (Attached: )

International campaign for Kagarlitsky: https://freeboris.info

The statement of the People and Peace Network in Swedish: https://folkochfred.wordpress.com/2023/09/17/stoppa-repressionen-i-ost-och-vast/

On the International Peace Bureau website:
https://ipb.org/stop-the-repression-in-the-east-and-the-west/
About the environmental struggle in Suktyvkar and the Republic of Komi:

https://meduza.io/en/feature/2020/01/09/this-is-the-land-of-our-ancestors

Tord Björk email: tord.bjork@gmail.com, skype: tordbjork, tel: +46 (0)722 15 16 90, address: Kyrkängsbacken 8, 14135 Huddinge, Sweden

Joining Forces with the World Peace Foundation: Addressing the Intersection of Military, Climate, and Justice

We are honored to announce that IPB has been featured in the World Peace Foundation’s esteemed Movement Index. This recognition comes alongside the publication of their critical report, written by Nico Edwards, examining the complex interplay between military actions, climate change, and social justice.

The report, released in conjunction with the ongoing discussions at COP28, delves into the emerging concept of ‘Green Militarism.’ This term refers to the ways in which environmental challenges are increasingly becoming entangled with military responses, raising important questions about the future of eco-social policies and practices.

With the title “Resisting the Militarization of Eco-Social Crises,” the report is a compelling call to action. It invites us to reconsider our approaches to environmental challenges and to advocate for solutions that are not only effective but also just and equitable.

How You Can Help Amplify This Message:

  1. Retweet the Foundation’s Report: Show your support by retweeting the report from the World Peace Foundation’s Twitter account. Retweet Here
  2. Share the Report on Social Media: Use your platform to spread the word. You can use the suggested copy or create your own to highlight the importance of resisting green militarism. Read and Share the Report
  3. Use the Hashtag #RESISTgreenmilitarism: Including this hashtag in your posts will help in creating a unified voice and will enable the World Peace Foundation to easily retweet and share your support.

We are proud to be part of this critical conversation and are grateful for the World Peace Foundation’s efforts in shedding light on these pressing issues!

The military elephant in the room will lead to an unjust transition

Post-review of NATO Climate Killer Part 2: Climate Crossfire Webinar, recorded on December 2nd, 2023, during COP 28

Author: Pippa Bartolotti

As we navigate COP 28, this webinar addressed the pertinent issues of military spending and its environmental ramifications.

Ably introduced by the Canadian policy analyst IPB Vice President Steven Staples, this important webinar discussed in detail the links between the military and environmental degradation. Taking place on Day 4 of the COP 28 summit in Dubai, it was a thorough reality check.

The first speaker was Nick Buxton, Transnational Institute, who had some superb graphics and data to support his call to shrink the military, boost renewables and fund poorer nations in their efforts to combat the climate change they did not cause.

He explained that, in view of global emissions significantly exceeding the pledges to stay within 1.5 degrees of warming, (Paris Agreement 2015) we now only have a tiny window in which to take radical action. Shrinking the military was now critical is we are to deliver climate justice.

The gap between policy and action has increased. Those countries promising to make adjustments by 2050 were basically not planning to make any changes at all. In other words, 2050 pledges are the ‘do nothing’ option.

Nick pointed out that holding this COP in a petro-state such as the UAE was rather like asking the head of a tobacco company to launch an anti-smoking campaign – ludicrous. His research showed clearly that those countries with the highest military spending created the most emissions, and that fossil fuel expansion had been the real aim since the end of WW1 when the Ottoman Empire was carved up to reflect the places where oil pipelines were going. The US backed Israeli onslaught on Gaza in order to claim the gasfields off that coast are an ongoing example of this policy.

The global military spend in 2022 was $2.24 trillion. In 2028 it is expected to be $11.8 trillion. The richest countries spend 30 times more on their military than on supporting a survivable climate.

In 2015 £100 billion was promised to help poorer countries. Only half of that has been delivered to date, and that came late.

Russia spends $158b on the military, China $578b, NATO spends $2,327b – that is 55% of global military spending. Of the 2% of GDP spending goal expected from NATO countries, 20% is targeted to be spent on military equipment, thus enriching the military industrial complex.

Nick showed us a map pinpointing the 750+ US military bases across the world, most of which correlate closely with the infrastructure of resource extraction.

Every country now has Climate Security Plans. The trend is to see climate change as a security issue where the victims are seen as threats, where borders become militarised, where exploitation of the vulnerable is increased, and where any form of peaceful response is denied. Spending on borders alone is now twice the spend on climate finance. NATO is now in place to deal with the consequences of the unstable conditions they themselves have created.

The second speaker was Wendela de Vries of Stop Wapenhandle, has been looking at the lack of transparency and accountability of the military across the globe.

She spoke of hardliners evading the subject of emissions, of the NATO Arctic Command established in order to protect deep sea mining in the Arctic. Of how current discussion is fuelling a new cold war and how closely correlated military spending was to a rise in emissions.

Most military spending is now in equipment not personnel. There is not expected to be a rise in numbers of personnel. But expenditure on ships, tanks and weapons would increase.

The military carbon footprint as of 2021 was bigger than the worlds footprint from civil aviation.

Th US emissions are more than all other NATO countries combined. More than 70% of all military emissions come from the US. 50% is from the military and more than 20% is on weapons manufacture.

Future member contributions to NATO are scheduled to rise to 3% of GDP. This is important for the arms industry who want to consolidate long term contracts, but labor and environmental rights are being damaged in the upscaling of weapons production – largely being driven by the Ukraine war.

Wendela spoke of the greenwashing of military products, such as the fallacious term ‘sustainable defence’ being used to greenwash biofuels and synthetic fuels, both of which still require burning for energy, and which will not reduce emissions at all. In the case of biofuels, enormous amounts of land would be required to grow the feedstock, damaging ecosystems and compromising biodiversity. The military are not going to change their energy systems to electricity as that would make all their ships, tanks etc obsolete. Electric propulsion would require a full redesign, and as military hardware is expected to last 40 years, such a proposal is not entertained.

Nuclear, particularly the plethora of small reactors, will make it much more difficult to control the toxic waste, and is no solution at all.

The arms industry still has huge support, many people still believe that the military make the world a safer place, and that thinking has to change. We have to de-militarize to be more safe.

Some interesting points came out of the question and answer session at the end. There was discussion about health being at the heart of peace, that a peaceful world would enable a healthy and dignified life for all. Others were looking for some way out of our current trajectory of everlasting war where every problem looked like a nail, and needed a hammer to solve it.

There was concern that rich countries did not look after poor countries. On the whole the speakers were not optimistic for the future as we sink into dark circumstances in this crisis of all crises.

The real challenge is to put collaboration before competition, to find a different pathway, and to make war illegal. Hope remains with social movements and in the streets.

Co-organized by four esteemed organizations—the International Peace Bureau, Global Women’s United Against NATO, No to War, No to NATO, and the Asia-Europe People’s Forum—this series of webinars seek to provoke thoughtful dialogue and foster a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between militarism and the environment.

Watch the full Recording in IPB YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0axVq1alkkw&t=18s

It’s Giving Tuesday!

Support Peace this Giving Tuesday: Help the International Peace Bureau Create a Better World!

This Giving Tuesday, be part of a global generosity movement that has been inspiring action since 2012. Created as a day to encourage people to do good, GivingTuesday has evolved into a worldwide phenomenon celebrating radical generosity. Every year, millions come together to support causes they believe in, igniting change and fostering a spirit of giving.

Join us in this extraordinary movement by supporting our work, dedicated to promoting peace and sustainable development. Together, we can create a more peaceful, just, and sustainable world.

#GivingTuesday is not just about one day; it’s a commitment to making a difference year-round. Your support for the IPB on this special day contributes to a lasting impact on global peace and sustainability.

Your support will help us to continue to organize and mobilize our international peace network in activities such as:

Moreover, it will provide us with the necessary resources to expand the reach of our message of peace in the unprecedented difficulty of these moments.

Donate now and be a part of this global movement of generosity and hope! Thank you for sharing our belief that a more peaceful and better world is achievable.

#GivingTuesday #IPB #DisarmamentForPeace #SustainableDevelopment #DonateForPeace

Protest of the Shoes: Grieving Every Loss of Palestine

#ProtestoftheShoes: Grieving Every Loss of Palestine

Ceasefire Now! Stop the Genocide! Free Palestine!

In solidarity with the Korean Civil Society in Solidarity and Palestine led a movement, we support the Protest of the Shoes campaign. Learn more how you can continue the support through here: https://www.peoplepower21.org/english/1952104

The whole world is witnessing a genocide. From October 7 to today, more than 13,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip, 75% of the people killed are children, women, and elderly. The missing and injured persons are uncountable. More children have died in Gaza in the past month than have died in all conflict zones combined in the past year. The international community, including the UN General Assembly resolution, is calling for an immediate ceasefire from Israel, but the Israeli says there’s no ceasefire and continues to bomb.

On November 17th, 2,000 pairs of donated shoes were displayed in Bosingak Square, South Korea. A banner with the names and ages of the dead was also hung. On that day, the Urgent Action by the Korean Civil Society in Solidarity with Palestine led a movement.

Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnqkJSN6Z38

Send a Letter to the ICC: Israel is Committing War Crimes!

Join CODEPINK in sending letters to the ICC urging prosecutor Karim Khan to investigate Israel’s war crimes in Gaza.

Since October 7, Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have made multiple statements inciting genocide in Palestine. Since the start of its attack on Gaza, Israel has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, giving the International Criminal Court (ICC) jurisdiction over this case. The people of Gaza cannot bring this issue to the ICC themselves since Israel has repeatedly cut off electricity and telecommunications. 

Support and sign the petition here: https://www.codepink.org/iccgaza1

Violations of human right to conscientious objection to military service in Ukraine: from 24 February 2022 to November 2023 

 A report by Ukrainian Pacifist Movement

Overview of general situation in Ukraine 

From its introduction in 1991, alternative service in Ukraine by design was hardly accessible and limited to marginal number of religious objectors. National security and defense establishment, entrenched and intended to dominate in economy, education, politics and media, put enormous efforts into shaming people for draft evasion, making it costly informal corruption practice available only for the rich and privileged people, limiting and preventing introduction of any legal exemptions from military service, especially insisting on denial of any notion of human right to conscientious objection to military service. Absence of clear legal guarantees of the right to conscientious objection in time of national emergency, when this right is especially precious and must be strongly protected, become one of results of this uncompromising pressure for totality of military duty. 

After beginning of Russian aggression against Ukraine in 2014 and subsequent partial mobilization some conscientious objectors were prosecuted for insisting on access to alternative service. Cases of acquittal by courts in that time are known. Furthermore, Ukrainian diplomats in 2018 submitted to OHCHR a promise of changes in legislation2, based on a draft law which was never supported by the government, never included into parliamentary agenda, and in 2019 was automatically withdrawn. 

Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and strong unconditional Western support of Ukrainian defensive war effort, on the one hand, and lack of all sorts of resources, especially human resources, for achieving ambitious goal to defeat Russia, as well as growing draft evasion, on another hand, make the military desperate and ready to coerce people for military service by any means, including radical limitation or denial of human rights. Military recruiters actively initiate criminal prosecution of those few who resist to all sorts of pressure, from sophisticated psychological and procedural to brutal physical, who insist on unwilling to serve despite all promises, threats and appeals to patriotism. It resulted in trending penalization of conscientious objection: the army insists on opening criminal investigations and subsequent convictions of conscientious objectors, and officers in charge of legal affairs testify in courts that conscription in time of mobilization could not be replaced with alternative service, which expectantly lead to guilty sentences considering almost universal trust in army (setting aside doubts in reliability of public opinion polls) and recognition of its leading role in country under martial law. 

Read and download the full report here:

Common Security – Bridging divides and restoring trust

[Original post dated 31st October 2023]

The International Peace Bureau (IPB) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) are thrilled to announce their collaboration on a special 15-minute video for the 2023 Geneva Peace Week (GPW), unfolding this week. This video, themed Common Security: Bridging Divides and Restoring Trust,” aspires to unite civil society, institutional members, government officials, MPs, and all peace advocates. The focus is on the applicability of the Common Security approach in decision-making for fostering peaceful societies.


This video marks the second part of a series aimed at fortifying the tools at the disposal of decision-makers, particularly parliamentarians, to effectively address peace, security, and conflict prevention. It follows our GPW 2022 video “Perspectives on global and local applications of Common Security and Human Security”.

About the Video
Offering a thorough exploration of the Common Security concept, the video delves into its historical, philosophical, and political underpinnings, spotlighting its practical applications. Interviews with experts, parliamentarians, and seasoned peace practitioners clarify how Common Security principles tackle today’s global challenges, particularly in regions marred by conflict or tension.

The video is structured into two segments: “What Makes it Successful” and “Potential Stumbling Blocks.” The first section accentuates the positive aspects and success factors of Common Security in rebuilding trust. Conversely, the second section presents a balanced perspective by recognizing potential obstacles in peace processes rooted in Common Security, underscoring the need for humility, compromise, and checks and balances.

Case studies showcasing successful Common Security applications further illustrate its capacity to foster trust among nations and build lasting peace agreements. The video ultimately seeks to encourage an informed dialogue among policymakers, scholars, and the public, emphasizing citizen outreach as key to the approach’s sustainability.

Featured Speakers:

  • Mr. Martin Chungong, Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union;
  • H.E. Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Member of the Federal National Council of the UAE, President of the IPU Task Force for the peaceful resolution of the war in Ukraine;
  • Mr. Daniel Carden, MP of the United Kingdom, President of the IPU’s Forum of Young Parliamentarians;
  • Ms. Dr. Anuradha Chenoy, Adjunct Professor at Jindal Global University, Member of the IPB Common Security working group;
  • Mr. Reiner Braun, historian and peace activist, former Executive Director of IPB;
  • Ms. Anna Sundström, Secretary General of the Olof Palme International Center;
  • Ms. A-Young Moon, Founder of PEACEMOMO, Council Member of IPB.

We extend our deepest gratitude to our incredible speakers and our esteemed colleagues from the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). We invite you to watch, reflect, and engage with the ideas presented in the video. Good vision!

Betty Reardon: In Memoriam

The world has lost a major pillar of peace education, a great teacher and a feminist anti-war scholar and activist. We, who had the huge privilege of being her long-term friend, have lost a loving and caring friend, an inspirational and knowledgeable discussion partner and a wonderful person for joyful interaction. Betty Reardon was an exceptionally inspiring person, through her writing and teaching, as well as through her personality. She was courageous and consistent and had a huge capacity for friendship and care. She managed to bridge the personal and the political, the analytical and the practical.

When in deep sadness over the loss, it is not easy to find the right words. My first encounter with Betty was in 1984/85. I was participating on behalf of the Norwegian National Commission for UNESCO in a meeting in Oslo of an American – Russian – Norwegian education project. I felt very fortunate to meet these courageous and progressive Russian, American and Norwegian teachers, Valentina Mitina, Betty Reardon and Eva Nordland, cooperating intensely over several years in the middle of the Cold War. They impressed me profoundly. How we need such a bridge-building and cancel-culture-free project today!

My professional cooperation with Betty was primarily through UNESCO and the International Peace Bureau/IPB. In UNESCO the cooperation was centred on the major UNESCO program Towards a Culture of Peace, which, under the guidance of the inspiring Director General, Federico Mayor, became the top priority of the Organization. Betty was member of the Director General’s Advisory Group for the Women and the Culture of Peace program, that I was fortunate to chair, together with two outstanding members of the Executive Board of UNESCO, Ingrid Eide from Norway and Lourdes Quisumbing from the Philippines. Betty authored the UNESCO publication Education for a Culture of Peace in a Gender Perspective (Reardon, 2001) and edited the 1999 publication Towards a Women’s Agenda for a Culture of Peace with Dorota Gierycz from the UN Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW) and myself (Breines, Gierycz & Reardon).

Betty was not only party to the reflections in UNESCO on the culture of peace, but she was able to help translate the vision into practical educational tools, for different levels of the schools system and teacher training, as well as for adult education and study groups. And Betty had already in 1980 prepared the main working document for the important UNESCO World Congress on Disarmament Education. She was member of the Jury of the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education and in 2001 she got honourable mention of the UNESCO Peace Education prize. She authored the 3-volume UNESCO publication: Tolerance: The Threshold of Peace (1998), so needed to-day.

In May 2000 Betty lectured in Norway at the UNESCO conference at the University of Tromsø on Higher Education for Peace, Transforming a culture of war to a culture of peace.

The aim of the conference was to discuss conditions for peace and the role of institutions of higher education in promoting peace. The conference served as an opportunity to exchange research results and educational strategies that promote creative thinking about peace studies in higher education. I still remember vividly how proud I was of Betty speaking truth to male militaristic power in a big, packed auditorium. It was also interesting to observe how some people not knowing Betty, at the outset got somewhat confused, as they probably had expected a less radical and direct way of speaking from this beautiful lady, elegantly dressed with a silk scarf and none of the external progressive attributes. When I was in Pakistan as the UNESCO representative, Betty came to give a workshop on education for a culture of peace. It was so needed, and she was so well received. It gave echoes in the complex context of a post 11. September 2001 situation in Pakistan.

Many people, so also Betty, gave a lot of their time and energy in the planning of the 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing, September 1995. The overall theme was: Equality Development and Peace, in line with the three preceding UN conferences on women. We were happy from a peace activist point of view when the Beijing Declaration came to include the following: “The full participation of women in decision-making, conflict prevention and resolution and any other peace initiative are essential to the realization of lasting peace”.

UNESCO presented a Statement on Women’s Contribution to a Culture of Peace to the Beijing conference that got signed by women heads of states and governments and other leaders and peace activists. The statement was based on the report from an expert group meeting in Manila where Betty was the rapporteur. We felt gratified when the term culture of peace was used at the Beijing conference for the first time at the UN outside UNESCO. Strategic objective E.4.of the Beijing Platform for Action reads: “Promote women’s contribution to fostering a culture of peace”.

Betty had prominent roles in relation to several peace organizations, not least the International Peace Research Association (IPRA), the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and the International Peace Bureau (IPB). I have been fortunate to share many civil society activities and events with Betty. IPB was actively involved in the Global Campaign for Peace Education from the beginning, not least through the IPB President Cora Weiss and the Secretary General Colin Archer. In 2009 Betty received IPB’s Sean MacBride Peace Prize for her work, her teaching, her writing, her engagement and for establishing and running the International Institute for Peace Education. In 2016 Betty accepted an important role in IPB’s disarmament congress in Berlin: Disarm! For a Climate of Peace. Creating an Action Agenda. Betty undertook the difficult task of transforming ideas and suggestions presented to the congress into an operative peace methodology. See e.g. the publication based on the Berlin congress: Disarmament, Peace and Development. Vol. 27, Emerald Publishing, 2018. In addition, she organized with Tony Jenkins, Janet Gerson and Dale Snauwaert from the International Institute for Peace Education, a very well attended and appreciated workshop on peace education (Gerson, et. al., 2016). In 2013 Betty was nominated for the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize by the International Peace Bureau.

An archive of Betty’s published and unpublished works, the Betty A. Reardon Collection, has been established at the Center for Special Collections at The University of Toledo. It opened in 2009 and facilitates the access to her work.

Betty will continue to be with the global peace family in so many ways. May her thinking reach an ever broader audience! Thank you Betty!

In gratefulness!

Ingeborg Breines

DECLARATION SUPPORTING THE CREATION OF MINISTRIES AND INFRASTRUCTURES OF PEACE

 Through this Declaration, the International Peace Bureau (IPB), an international Non-Governmental Organization,

MANIFESTS its firm support for the creation and maintenance of Ministries of Peace and Peace Infrastructures that are organized and developed in the Latin American region and internationally with the objective of generating a peaceful, supportive and harmonious culture incorporated in sustainable and lasting way to the lives of people.

More specifically, convinced of the relevance and urgency of said government structure in the current Colombian reality and taking into account its long history of violence and armed conflict that has bled the country for more than 50 years, we adhere to the project to create the Ministry of Peace in Colombia, which will be presented by representatives of the Global Alliance for Ministries & Infrastructures for Peace -GAMIP -in Bogotá, on November 9, 2023 in the format of a Public Hearing at the Congress of the Republic.

The planification of a Ministry of Peace and the development of Peace Infrastructures in Colombia, in all the countries of the Latin American continent and the world, means an unprecedented political and strategic challenge, enabling two simultaneous processes of extraordinary importance and impact on the future of the history of the region.

Read the full Declaration here: