Czech Republic

Petition from the European Women's Conference for a Sustainable Future Celakovice, Czech Republic, March 17, 2002.
Peace is a prerequisite for sustainable development

Appeal from Women from areas stricken by war and terrorism, now and in the recent past. This appeal is strongly supported by the other participants of the European Women's Conference for a Sustainable Future and is also endorsed by the organisations listed below.

To UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and all Heads of State:

We, women from Eastern and Western Europe and Central Asia, know the real cost of war. We have seen the suffering and the destruction. Women give birth to children and have no choice but to see them fight and die.

Many of us have suffered abuse, so bad we do not wish to talk about it. We are united with all women throughout the world who are suffering from war and terrorism, and their aftermath. For example in Afghanistan, Chechnya, Colombia, Congo, India, Israel, Northern Ireland, Pakistan, Palestine, Sierra Leone, Sudan. These cruelties could not happen without the arms produced and traded by profit-seeking industrialists in many countries, whose actions are possible through the permissiveness of their Governments. Wars are fuelled by the quest for natural resources and power issues, and results in tremendous environmental and nature destruction.

Meanwhile, thousands and thousands of families are suffering, women are being raped and children lose their parents. Victims of wars are not only those who are killed on the field, but also their relatives who die of grief and trauma. Victims of wars are also those who are affected by mines, radiation from depleted uranium and chemical and biological weapons. The effects of these atrocities will last for generations to come, causing children yet unborn to suffer. It is immoral that children should witness things that children should neversee. We know that there are alternative ways to resolve conflicts and that there is never a cause to justify terrorism, armed conflict or war. These are three different faces of the same evil.

Aggression will never be stopped by aggression. Aggression will only encourage aggression.

The current escalation of wars and increase in militarization are both illegal and immoral.

We demand that all wars be stopped immediately. Funds must be redirected from current militarization to peaceful conflict resolution, to victims of war, and towards the fight to eradicate the root causes of war, such as poverty and unsustainable development - increasing inequality between nations and within nations. Further, the funds should be used for the empowerment of women and for humanitarian actions - for the future of our children and the planet.

We are left on our own to cope with the aftermath of war. We want Governments and all those responsible for terrorism and armed conflict to be made accountable for the suffering and the loss they cause our families and us. We call for those who make profit from the war to be held responsible.

We call on women around the world to join us. As long as our silence prevails, war and suffering will continue. We call on women™s active participation in decision-making on conflict resolution and peace negotiations and the implementation of the UN Resolution no. 1325 on Women Peace and Security.

We demand that the United Nations and Governments of the world, especially the governments of the European Union, USA and Russia, ratify and implement the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. We demand that Governments of the world respect the will of their people and do everything in their power to stop all wars and armed conflicts in the world.

It is our money that Governments use for war. As long as we are silent, we are also responsible. We must take action now. We ask for equal influence for women in questions of peace and security, for example through creation of a Women™s Security Council and increasing the number of women in the United Nations Security Council to 60%.
Stop war.
Stop militarization.
Stop the production, development and the trade of arms.
Make Governments and all those responsible for terrorism and armed conflict accountable for destroying the future of our children and our planet.
This appeal is endorsed by:
WECF Í Women in Europe for a Common Future

The EuropeanWomen™s conference for a Sustainable Future Celakovice, Czech Republic, March 17, 2002, was organized by WECF - Women in Europe for a Common Future in preparation for the World Summit for Sustainable Development. For more information please contact wecf@wecf.org or www.wecf.org