World Beyond War
World Beyond War is a global nonviolent movement to fully end the institution of war and establish a just and sustainable peace. We seek to achieve these objectives by establishing partnerships with individuals and organizations in a global campaign of education, lobbying, and nonviolent direct action.
http://worldbeyondwar.org
New Campaign Campaigns
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Pass the new bill to abolish the military draftA bureaucracy unused since Richard Nixon left office, an institution that has served no purpose since before people already too old for it were born, a machinery whose only function is to send huge numbers of unwilling young men (and some hope to expand it to include young women) into immoral actions should be abolished. This bipartisan bill would make that happen. The selective service budget is $23-26 million every year. There are also costs to the states and financial aid offices that must ensure people are registered before administering benefits. Many states automatically register men who obtain driver's licenses for selective service; that technology should remain in place but be used to automatically register men and women to vote. Opponents of war and supporters of conscientious objection back this bill. You can too. SIGNED BY David Swanson, WarIsACrime.org Kathy Kelly, Voices for Creative Nonviolence Alice Slater David Hartsough Maria Santelli, Center on Conscience and War Leah Bolger12,658 of 15,000 SignaturesCreated by David S. -
People of the U.S. and World Ask ICC to Prosecute U.S. War CrimesThe ICC is degrading rather than enhancing the idea of international justice by giving a free pass to Western war makers. The United States has itself given a free pass to its war makers, kidnappers, torturers, and assassins. The U.S. president-elect and his advisors openly plan to violate laws against war, torture, and the targeting of civilians. The people of the United States and the world need the ICC to fulfill its mission and step in where domestic justice has failed. * * * * * Preliminary ICC report on consideration of investigating U.S. crimes in Afghanistan and at secret sites in other countries: https://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/otp/161114-otp-rep-PE_ENG.pdf * * * * * New York Times report: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/world/asia/united-states-torture-afghanistan-international-criminal-court.html?_r=1 * * * * * Congressman Ted Lieu on U.S. and Saudi war crimes in Yemen: https://lieu.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/us-congressman-john-kerry-are-we-committing-war-crimes-yemen * * * * * John LaForge article: http://worldbeyondwar.org/torture-charges-us-considered-international-criminal-court/15,505 of 20,000 SignaturesCreated by David S. -
Petition Pope Francis to Formally Reject "Just War" DoctrineWe're asking everyone in the world, religious or not, to please add your name on this petition to Pope Francis. This petition is supported by World Beyond War, Fellowship of Reconciliation, World Peace Now, Coop Anti-War Cafe Berlin, American Voices Abroad Berlin, Jeannette Rankin Peace Center, and Nobel Peace Prize Watch. More information: > Statement and photos from April 11-13, 2016 Vatican Meeting http://nonviolencejustpeace.net > Howard Zinn: A Just Cause, Not a Just War http://www.progressive.org/news/2007/07/5084/just-cause-not-just-war > New book: War Is Never Just by David Swanson http://davidswanson.org/node/527714,233 of 15,000 SignaturesCreated by David S. -
Tell U.S. to Let Craig Murray into the CountryThe U.S. government, for no stated reason, and after having approved his entry in the past, has denied Craig Murray the usual approval to enter the United States without a visa that is given to UK citizens. Craig Murray was British Ambassador to Uzbekistan from 2002 to 2004. Murray was forced out of the British public service after he exposed the use of torture by Britain's Uzbek allies. Murray is scheduled to chair the presentation of this year's Sam Adams Award for Integrity in Intelligence to CIA torture whistleblower John Kiriakou, and to speak about diplomacy as an alternative to war at a World Beyond War conference planned for September 23-25 in Washington, D.C. In 2006 Murray was himself awarded the Sam Adams Award, and the citation included the following: "Mr. Murray learned that the intelligence authorities of the UK and the U.S. were receiving and using information extracted by the most sadistic methods of torture by Uzbek authorities. He protested strongly to London, to no avail. He was forced out of the British Foreign Office, but has no regrets. There are more important things than career…Mr. Murray's light has pierced a thick cloud of denial and deception. He has set a courageous example for those officials of the 'Coalition of the Willing' who have first-hand knowledge of the inhuman practices involved in the so-called 'war on terror' but who have not yet been able to find their voice." Shocked by the denial of approval to enter the United States without a visa, Murray stated: "I shall apply for a visa via the State Department as suggested but I must be on a list to be refused under the ESTA system, and in any event it is most unlikely to be completed before the conference." "It is worth noting," Murray added, "that despite the highly critical things I have published about Putin, about civil liberties in Russia and the annexation of the Crimea, I have never been refused entry to Russia. The only two countries that have ever refused me entry clearance are Uzbekistan and the USA. What does that tell you? "I have no criminal record, no connection to drugs or terrorism, have a return ticket, hotel booking and sufficient funds. I have a passport from a visa waiver country and have visited the USA frequently before during 38 years and never overstayed. The only possible grounds for this refusal of entry clearance are things I have written against neo-liberalism, attacks on civil liberties and neo-conservative foreign policy. People at the conference in Washington will now not be able to hear me speak. Plainly ideas can be dangerous. So much for the land of the free!" The following joint statement has been signed by members of the Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence listed below: News that former British Ambassador Craig Murray has been denied entry to the United States under the regular visa waiver program is both shocking and appalling. We Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence (SAAII) had invited Craig to be Master of Ceremonies at our award ceremony honoring John Kiriakou, the CIA torture whistleblower (more details at samadamsaward.ch ), this September as part of the 'No War 2016' conference. Now we're wondering which agency's long arms have reached out to disrupt our ceremony and to try to silence Craig. Whatever they intend, it will be bound to backfire, since it only makes the U.S. government look like some sort of monolithic repressive apparatus out to mimic the world's worst despotic regimes. Ambassador Murray notes in his blog that Uzbekistan -- whose government apparatchiks are notorious for torturing its citizens -- is the only other country to have barred his entry. Even Russia - which Ambassador Murray criticizes freely - allows him to travel there trouble-free. What are the implications for U.S. democratic values? We strongly urge the State Department to reverse its decision and allow Ambassador Murray freedom of travel and freedom of expression without hindrance in the United States of America. William Binney, former Technical Director, World Geopolitical & Military Analysis, NSA Thomas Drake, former Senior Executive, NSA Philip Giraldi, CIA, Operations Officer (ret.) Frank S. Grevil, former intelligence analyst with FE, the Danish equivalent of the CIA and NSA Katharine Gun, former analyst, GCHQ (the NSA equivalent in the UK) Matthew Hoh, former Capt., USMC, Iraq, & Foreign Service Officer, Afghanistan Larry Johnson, CIA and State Dept. (ret.) John Brady Kiesling, former U.S. diplomat John Kiriakou, Former CIA Counterterrorism Officer Karen Kwiatkowski, Lt. Col., U.S. Air Force (ret.) David MacMichael Ph.D., CIA, U.S. Marine Corps captain (ret.) Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst & presidential briefer Elizabeth Murray, Deputy National Intelligence Officer for Middle East, CIA (ret.) Todd E. Pierce, Maj, JA, USA (ret.) Diane Roark, former staff, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (ret.) Coleen Rowley, retired FBI agent and former Minneapolis Division Legal Counsel Peter Van Buren, U.S. Department of State, Foreign Service Officer (ret.) J. Kirk Wiebe, Senior Analyst, NSA (ret.) Larry Wilkerson, Col., U.S. Army (ret); Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell Ann Wright, retired U.S. Army Colonel and former U.S. diplomat World Beyond War, the organization behind the No War 2016 conference at which Murray is scheduled to speak, has created this petition to the State Department. David Swanson, Director of World Beyond War, said "This attempt to prevent a truth-teller from speaking in support of nonviolence is absolutely shameful. This is not a policy created to represent any view of the U.S. public, and we are not going to stand for it." This petition has been signed by: Roger Waters, Peter Kuznick, Norman Solomon, Scott Ritter, Kathy Kelly, Daniel Ellsberg,16,023 of 20,000 SignaturesCreated by David S. -
I volunteer to help the U.S. Army find its missing $6.5 trillion$30 billion a year could end starvation and hunger worldwide. $11 billion a year could provide clean drinking water to everyone who needs it. All the green energy projects ever envisioned that could preserve life on earth would collectively cost significantly less than this pocket change of yours that has gone missing. We realize you didn't drop it in the yard with your keys somewhere, that you SPENT it on things you don't really want to go into details about with us, even though it was our money to begin with. Nonetheless, we'll help you identify exactly where it all went. It shouldn't be hard if you give us proper access. Here's your report on the unaccounted for money: http://www.dodig.mil/pubs/documents/DODIG-2016-113.pdf3,987 of 4,000 SignaturesCreated by David S. -
A Path Toward Abolishing Nuclear Weapons127 countries now support creating a treaty to prohibit and ban the possession, use, transfer, or development of nuclear weapons. The Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in which five nuclear weapons states (U.S., UK, France, Russia, China) promised to make “good faith efforts” to eliminate their nuclear weapons while the rest of the world promised not to acquire them, doesn’t ban the weapons. It is expected that a special UN Working Group for Nuclear Disarmament created by the UN with the help of civil society and friendly governments will move forward on a UN resolution this fall to establish negotiations for a ban treaty! See: http://icanw.org The holdouts for supporting the ban treaty are the nuclear weapons states, as well as those countries that are part of the U.S. nuclear alliance around the world including NATO states, and in the Pacific, Australia, South Korea, and Japan. World Beyond War's work on this is led by Alice Slater who also represents the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation at the UN.13,523 of 15,000 SignaturesCreated by David S. -
Not Another U.S./NATO War on LibyaThe illegal 2011 overthrow of the Libyan government subjected the people of that nation and surrounding nations to violence, weapons proliferation, chaos, and desperate insecurity. In no way will compounding the problem with the same approach again improve matters in this case or establish good precedents.12,206 of 15,000 SignaturesCreated by David S. -
Resume reporting on weapons salesSince 2011, the United States has sold a great deal of weapons. But the U.S. government has stopped reporting on its own and other nations' arms sales. CRS has its own internal government sources of information. The report it used to produce is not duplicated by any other publication. The United States is no longer documenting one of its biggest and most deadly businesses. In 2012, Richard Grimmett retired from the Congressional Research Service. He had been the chief author of its reports on international weapons sales and transfers. It is thanks to those reports that we know, with some reliability, that as of 2011 the United States accounted for 79% of the value of transfer agreements to ship weapons to governments in the Middle East, 79% also to poor nations around the world, and 77% of the value of total agreements to ship weapons to other countries. We can compare these numbers with earlier years, but not with later ones. Even if Congress doesn't want to know, it should not get away with denying us that right. Background: CRS Report for Congress, Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress, Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 2004-2011 http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/R42678.pdf8,835 of 9,000 SignaturesCreated by David S. -
No U.S. Nuclear Weapons in EuropeThe United States keeps nuclear weapons in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Turkey, in violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which bans the transfer of nuclear weapons from a nuclear weapon state to a non-nuclear weapon state. Now, the U.S. wants to upgrade its nukes in Europe, to make them "precision" and "guided," and therefore more likely to be used, even as tensions build between the United States and Russia. The U.S. plans to deploy newly designed type B 61-12 nuclear bombs. Instead it should remove existing nuclear bombs. The NATO strategy of so-called "nuclear sharing" is a violation of Articles 1 and 2 of the NPT. Those provisions state that every party to the treaty promises "not to transfer to any recipient whatsoever nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices or control over such weapons or explosive devices directly, or indirectly" and also promises that every "non-nuclear-weapon State Party to the Treaty undertakes not to receive the transfer from any transferor whatsoever of nuclear weapons." The policy of placing U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe also violates local laws. For example, the German Parliament (the Bundestag) voted in March 2010, by a large majority, that the German Government should "press for the withdrawal of U.S. nuclear weapons from Germany."11,002 of 15,000 SignaturesCreated by David S. -
Open Letter to Ban-Ki Moon on Upcoming 70th Anniversary of U.N. CharterWorld Beyond War has outlined specific reforms that would democratize the United Nations, and make nonviolent actions the primary activity engaged in. Please read them here. http://worldbeyondwar.org/reforming-united-nations INITIAL SIGNERS: David Swanson Coleen Rowley David Hartsough Patrick Hiller Alice Slater Kevin Zeese Heinrich Buecker Norman Solomon Sandra Osei Twumasi Jeff Cohen Leah Bolger Robert Scheer2,444 of 3,000 SignaturesCreated by David S.