World BEYOND War has given the 2024 Lifetime Organizational War Abolisher Award to No to War – No to NATO*, an international network that has led the way in educating on alternatives to NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and in organizing protests, demonstrations, and creative actions opposing NATO militarism since 2009. The network includes 650 organizations in over 30 countries, and has organized protests and counter-summits at NATO meetings year after year. No to War – No to NATO has been a big part of the planning of a counter-summit and rally held on July 6-7, 2024, in Washington, DC
Accepting the award at an online public award ceremony on July 22, 2024, will be five people:
Kristine Karch in Germany, Co-Chair of No to War – No to NATO, a German feminist, peace and environmental activist working nationally and internationally on gender and environmental justice, on women and militarization, militarization and environment, delegitimization of NATO, nuclear weapons, and closing military bases. She is a member of the Coordinating Committee of the Campaign Stop Air Base Ramstein, board member of the International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility (INES), and founding member and active in the women and environmental group EcoMujer, an exchange of views between women from Cuba, Latin America, and Germany.
Reiner Braun in Germany, Founding Member of No to War – No to NATO, former Executive Director of International Peace Bureau. He studied German Literature, History and Journalism. Since 1982, he has been actively involved in the Peace Movement, working in the office of the “Krefelder Appeal” against new nuclear weapons in Europe. He was the Executive Director for Scientists for Peace and Sustainability for several years starting in 1983.
Kate Hudson in the UK, Founding Member of No to War – No to NATO, General Secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament since 2010, having served as chair since 2003. She first became active in the peace movement in the early 1980s in the big upsurge of activity against cruise missiles. One of her proudest moments was helping to Embrace the Base at Greenham Common in December 1982, along with 30,000 other women. She has been a key figure in the anti-war movement nationally and internationally and considers international cooperation and solidarity to be the key to our ultimate success. By profession a historian, Kate was Head of Social and Policy Studies at London South Bank University prior to working for CND. She is author of a number of books, including a history of CND.
Ludo De Brabander in Belgium is a Belgian peace activist and spokesperson for the organisation Vrede (‘Peace’). He is a member of the international coordination committee of No to War – No to NATO. He was one of the main organisers of several NATO counter-summits in Brussels (May 2017, July 2018, June 2021 and July 2022). He is the author of several books on NATO, militarisation, nuclear weapons, the Middle East, Palestine and the Kurdish issue. He writes for several print and electronic publications.
Arielle Denis in France, Founding Member of No to War – No to NATO, Vice President of International Peace Bureau. With a University background of International and Strategic Affairs, Arielle Denis was first a journalist and an activist on peace and disarmament issues. She published books, articles, as well as several movies especially on conflicts issues. She was for 10 years the co-Chair of the French Peace Movement, Mouvement de la Paix up to 2010. From 2011 until 2016, she was the campaign Director for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) for Europe, Middle East, and Africa. She has been board member of IPB and managed the IPB Geneva office.
The award will be presented by the Executive Director of World BEYOND War David Swanson.
Kristine Karch commented: “We are very happy with the award because it recognises the importance of the fight against transatlantic militarism and the politics of war. The award comes just after the NATO summit in Washington, where agreements were made to continue the war in Ukraine with even more weapons, to further militarise Europe and to strengthen NATO’s grip on Asia in confrontation with China. Not a word about genocide in Gaza, but we know the complicity of the military alliance and its member states .
“No to War No to NATO has been fighting Global NATO on all four continents since 2009. Unfortunately, our founding declaration ‘the Stuttgart Appeal’ is more relevant than ever. NATO is an increasing obstacle to achieving world peace. Since the end of the Cold War, NATO has reinvented itself as a tool for military action by the ‘international community’, including the promotion of the so-called ‘war on terror’. In reality it is a vehicle for U.S.-led use of force with military bases on all continents, bypassing the United Nations and the system of international law, accelerating militarization and escalating arms expenditure – NATO countries account for 75% of global military expenditure.
“With its wars, NATO has produced a minimum of 1.3 million dead, plus destroyed countries and failed states. NATO belongs in the dustbin of history to be replaced by institutions and initiatives that respect common security, defend human rights, and work for peaceful international relations, disarmament, and real human security.”
The timing of the awards ceremony will be July 22, 2024, at 16:00 UTC, which is 6 am in Honolulu, 9 am in San Francisco, 10 am in Mexico City, 12 noon in Washington DC, 5 pm in Dublin, 5 pm in London, 5 pm in Yaoundé, 6 pm in Berlin, 7 pm in Rafah, 7 pm in Jerusalem, 7:30 pm in Tehran, and 9:30 pm in New Delhi.
The event is free and open to the media and the public. Register for the Zoom link here:
World BEYOND War is a global nonviolent movement, founded in 2014, to end war and establish a just and sustainable peace. The purpose of the awards is to honor and encourage support for those working to abolish the institution of war itself. With the Nobel Peace Prize and other nominally peace-focused institutions so frequently honoring other good causes or, in fact, wagers of war, World BEYOND War intends its awards to go to educators or activists intentionally and effectively advancing the cause of war abolition, accomplishing reductions in war-making, war preparations, or war culture. World BEYOND War received hundreds of impressive nominations. The World BEYOND War Board, with assistance from its Advisory Board and Staff, made the selections.
The awardees are honored for their body of work directly supporting one or more of the three segments of World BEYOND War’s strategy for reducing and eliminating war as outlined in the book A Global Security System, An Alternative to War. They are: Demilitarizing Security, Managing Conflict Without Violence, and Building a Culture of Peace.
Photo credit: Julie Dermansky