Women petition for peace - World Council of Churches; International Women's Tribune Centre; petition for global 5% military budget cuts to fund social programs - On The Line - Brief Article

Progressive, The, Jan, 1998 by Stephanie Urdang

New York

A women's peace petition, circulating worldwide by mail, fax, email, the Internet, and word-of-mouth, demands that all governments of the world transfer a minimum of 5 percent of their military budgets over the next five years to health, education, and employment programs. The signatures now number more than 100,000.

The petition began when women from the World Council of Churches met with women from the United Nations to discuss what they should do to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women. They decided on a petition, and the idea quickly took off The petition demands that "governments and civil society together develop new institutions that do not resort to violence for the settlement of disputes." It concludes, "We resolve that we will inaugurate a new century that rejects warfare and promotes well-being, justice, and human rights."

Most of the signatures collected so far have come from the Third World. They arrived from India in an eight-inch-thick carefully stitched linen wrapping. They came neatly bound in book form from Holland. They came from Turkey, where activists have collected signatures with utmost caution from the Kurdish conflict zones. A single signature came from Iran.

There are stories behind the names: In Nicaragua, the participants in a course for women teachers on the issue of machismo signed the petition. In Mozambique, Graca Machel, wife of the slain president and a fighter for women's rights, organized a petition-signing campaign. The 20,000 petitions that arrived from India were collected at health-care centers. The petition has been translated and handwritten again and again on thin sheets. In New York, signatures arrive daily via mail and email to the International Women's Tribune Centre.

Organizers presented the first set of 100,000 to the president of the United Nations General Assembly, Hennadiy Udovenko of Ukraine, on United Nations Day, October 24. Udovenko pledged his strong support. They will present a second set to the General Assembly on March 8, International Women's Day.

For more information, contact the International Women's Tribune Centre, 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017. Or call (212) 687-8633.