WILPF STATEMENT
WILPF 32ndInternational Triennial Congress
Accra, Ghana
22 August 2018
Statement of Support By 32nd Triennial Congress of WILPF on Issues Submitted by Sections/Groups/Members
Statements of Support and Solidarity
The Resolutions Committee of the 32nd International Triennial Congress of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, meeting 20–22 August 2018 in Accra, Ghana proposes formal votes of support by the Congress Delegates by Declaration, in recognition of and solidarity with each of the four following requests for support on the issues submitted by members and listed in the following Declaration of Support:
- WILPF POLYNESIA:
Concerning issues of sovereignty and treatment of indigenous peoples of French Polynesia (sic) in their relationships with the country of France, as stated in this summary of this submitted request:
The document submitted states that it deals with recognition of the nationhood of Tahiti, its dependencies, and all other territories currently constituting French Polynesia (sic). In the document, the peoples of Polynesia are calling for the support of their bid for independence from France. They are hoping to again become an independent state, as they do not consider themselves to be a part of France, and they do not feel that their rights are being protected under this status. They call for the recognition of their statehood, and they ask for our solidarity in an attempt to get such recognition from France. They believe that this will enhance the application of UN Resolution 1325, protect their lands, and return to them dignity and pride in their culture, which has been denied for more than 100 years. They call for the restoration of customary law and indigenous rights.
- WILPF ARGENTINA:
Concerning issues of human rights violations, as stated in this summary of the submitted request:
The document submitted by our WILPF Argentina Group for support of its requests by this International Congress is entitled, “On the Arbitrary and Illegal Preventive Detention of Milagro Sala, Graciela Lopez, Mirta Aizama, Gladys Diaz, Mirta Guerrero, Alberto Cardozo and Javier Nievas.” This document speaks to a violation of Resolution 31 of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the observations and recommendations of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. This group of indigenous people, in the Argentinian province of Jujury, belong to a collective of popular and indigenous grassroots social organisations. Milagro Sala is an elected member of the province’s Congress, but a new government arbitrarily arrested her and the others, and has refused their release. This is in violation of several international declarations and other documents. The document requests that those reading it call for Milagro Sala’s release, as she is being held in preventive detention despite the fact that there is evidence she was not even present at the event which was the basis for her incarceration. This falls under the category of arbitrary detention, which is counter to acceptable human rights practice. Although readers are being asked to declare solidarity for the release of Milagro Sala specifically, with a minimum of restoration of her civil rights, the request also asks for support of the restoration of appropriate human rights to the other named members of the Tupac Amaru Organisation, which she represents.
- WILPF ITALY:
Concerning issues of governmental (City of Rome) legal actions against an important and historic Women’s Building and participating and supporting organisations involving violations of human rights, women’s rights to health, civil rights and legal services, as stated in this summary of the submitted request:
The City of Rome is nullifying the 1995 agreement, approved by the Mayor of Rome with the Casa Internazionale della Donna de Roma, to continued use of an historic structure as a Women’s Building and the participating and supporting organisations involved in activities therein. Thousands of women have rallied in favour of the building and its cause and against the city’s announcement of the nullification. We are being asked to support the continued use of this building as a place “of female citizenship.” The building has been used continuously for these purposes since that time and we are being asked to join in solidarity with the women of Rome who are passionate in their activism around the need for this support, cultural centre, icon and its services, and are taking all actions available to them to ensure that it will be able to continue to serve their needs going forward.
- WILPF COLOMBIA, WILPF COSTA RICA, WILPF SPAIN (regarding NICARAGUA):
Concerning issues of human rights violations in Nicaragua, as stated in this summary of the submitted request:
The people of Nicaragua have recently been subjected to intensive and increasingly widespread and governmentally-instigated repressive and deadly human rights violations within the country that, according to human rights organisations, as of 27 July 2018, have resulted in no less than 448 persons dead, 2,830 wounded and more than 590 missing, all of them at the hands of paramilitary forces, most of which are protected, armed and promoted by the national government. Ninety per cent (90%) of the victims are civilians with many among them children. A recent report of the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights states that many of the dead and wounded were students who began demonstrating nonviolently against a social security law change and the government’s inefficient response to the burning of a biological reserve, “Indio Maiz.” From there, the students proceeded to demand democracy and freedoms such as those of speech, assembly and the press, as well as electoral law changes and the retaliatory actions against them became violent; after the first killing by police and police-backed armed groups, the students then requested advanced elections and justice. The existing leadership of President Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo, Vice-President, and their apparatus have shown a willingness to take extreme measures to stay in power including killing their own citizens, persecuting and incarcerating anyone in opposition groups alleged to be a “suspect” with accusations of being “vandals,” “minorities,” “terrorists” or “golpistas” (coup instigators). An oppressive climate of persecution, intimidation and terror continues.
The 32nd Triennial International Congress of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, meeting 20–22 August 2018 in Accra, Ghana, has Declared its Support of all issues as presented to it and further, recommends that the International Board and Secretariat provide such assistance to the requesting Sections, Groups and Members as may be appropriate.