IFOR Endorses Statement of Feminist Caucus Meeting at UN

IFOR representatives in New York attended the Sixtieth Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. During the session, a diverse group of young feminist advocates, gathered working for gender, reproductive, economic, ecological and social justice and political transformation. IFOR's representative to the United Nations, Patricia Ackerman was among those present for this feminist caucus.

The caucus produced a statement addressing several areas of concern: youth participation, climate change and justice, sexual and reproductive rights and legal barriers, sexual and reproductive health services, education, comprehensive sexuality education, and gender based violence.

The full text of the statement can be found here.

SERPAJ-AL Repudiates Assassination of Leader Berta Cáceres

The IFOR movement joins the many people around the world who continue to respond to the murder of human rights activist Berta Cáceres. IFOR in Latin America (known as SERPAJ) released the following statement shortly after news broke of the Caceres assassination. 

For the original statement in spanish click here.

El Servicio Paz y Justicia en América Latina, SERPAJ-AL, expresses their protest for the recent vile assassination of the Honduran indigenous leader Berta Cáceres Flores, who was general coordinator of the Consejo Cívico de Organizaciones Populares e Indígenas de Honduras (COPINH).

Berta Cáceres was a strong promotor of various campaigns against the construction of a hydroelectric dam meant to be built in the Rio Gualcarque, which is considered a sacred site for the Lenca ethnicity. Accomplishing with her constant campaigns that the powerful company Sinohydro, considered one of the biggest dam builders in the world, would withdraw their involvement in said project.

The project for the construction of the dam in the Gualcarque river, had the support of the International Financial Corporation, a member of the World Bank, who had strong economic investments in this ambitious project, which threatens the most of sacred places of the Lenca ethnicity.

Berta Cáceres received the Goldman environmental award, for her activities in defense of human rigths, especially those concerning the right to a healthy environment, highest acknowledgement for those that promote the protection of both nature and the global environment, both such beloved by humankind.

IFOR/MIR France Responds to Paris Attacks

Translated from original text in French

Living together in brotherhood

In recent days, Paris and Saint-Denis has been the scene of violence that has dumbstruck us. These terrorist acts were claimed by the Islamic State, which is also responsible for numerous attacks like the one against the Russian Airbus above the Sinai or the one in Beirut the day before that of Paris.

In these times marked by collective emotion at the thought of all the victims of these deadly attacks, we call to resist the fear of the other, resentment and hatred and we want to oppose all forms of amalgam or revenge that could justify and cause racist, xenophobic and anti-Muslim acts.

Fight against terrorism and their preparation must be done in compliance with the individual and collective freedoms, strengthening the cohesion of our society through greater solidarity and fraternity.

But it seems essential to break the spiral of violence. Military interventions and wars, which are based on excessive militarization and maintain the lucrative arms trade, will not bring lasting and just solution to the ongoing conflict. They will only lead to more death, destruction, refugees and bring new acts of terrorism.

Our world needs to develop a culture of non-violence and peace, of dialogue and tolerance, to strengthen democracy and social justice, and justice between peoples. It is urgent to support and empower all those who are carriers of these values o that they can take action toward their fellow citizens and their leaders. This is the best way to work for the safety of all and to take care of our lives and of all those around us.

We believe that God calls us to a disarmed love for our brothers and sisters in humanity. We call upon all believers to join us on this active nonviolence way to lay, with all the inhabitants of our planet in danger, the foundations of a world where everyone can live with dignity in an insured peace and towards an appeased future.

Paris, November 19, 2015

IFOR Responds to Paris Attacks

War will not end terrorism, reconciliation will

The International Fellowship of Reconciliation expresses deep grief and sadness for the victims of the most recent terrorist attacks in Paris, France. As a global fellowship, we recognize and lament the fact that communities around the world have already been suffering from similarly appalling violence for years. As a community opposed to violence we find these acts reprehensible and the indiscriminate killing they represent abhorrent.

As a multi-faith community we pray for and with the victims of this violence, the families who have lost loved ones, the medical and security personnel who are called upon to respond amid the chaos and the community as a whole who seek a way to move forward. As people from many faith traditions, we recognize how painful it is to experience such horrible things committed in the name of one’s faith and we express solidarity with our Muslim sisters and brothers around the world who have repeatedly denounced such acts as unrepresentative of Islam.

We express grave concern for the repeated calls for retribution and the extent to which governments and elected leaders have responded with more calls for war.  The recent acts of terrorism do not exist in a vacuum, they exist within a global context of instability caused and exacerbated by ongoing war, clandestine operations, military and police repression, poverty and neglect.

We reject the notion that more war, more „merciless“ killing can produce a solution to the problem of terrorism. We do not ignore the need for security. Security is something that all human communities desire, and one person’s security must not come at the expense of others.  IFOR remains committed to finding ways to discourage violence and build the beloved community. We are committed to finding ways to prevent young people from choosing violence as a means of forming or asserting their identity. We are committed to challenging war and the unjust structures that allow violent ideologies to flourish.

We express concern for Europe’s minority communities, some of whom are likely to experience harassment and ill treatment simply because of their perceived ethnicity or their faith.  We call upon Europeans and people of conscience everywhere to resist the temptation to respond in fear to acts of terrorism and war. We call upon all countries to continue to be hospitable to war’s victims and those fleeing the violence of hunger and persistent poverty.

We invite all people of conscience to join with us in seeking a nonviolent solution to these pressing challenges of our time.

A PDF of the statement translated into French is available here.

A PDF of the statement translated into Spanish is available here.