War Resisters International

War Resisters League is an affiliate of War Resisters' International (WRI).

Founded in 1921, WRI works for a world without war. They are a global pacifist and antimilitarist network with over 80 affiliated groups in 40 countries. WRI is committed to its 1921 founding declaration that says: 'War is a crime against humanity. I am therefore determined not to support any kind of war, and to strive for the removal of all causes of war'. All wars, including wars of 'liberation' and 'humanitarian military intervention' are used to serve some power ­political or economic interest. All war leads to suffering, destruction, and new structures of domination.

WRI is primarily a network of organisations, groups and individuals. They facilitate mutual support, by:

  • Linking people together through publications, events and actions
  • Initiating nonviolent campaigns that actively involve local groups and individuals
  • Supporting those who oppose war and who challenge its causes
  • Promoting and educating people about pacifism and nonviolence

WRI's programs focus on supporting the network and organizing on particular themes:

The Right to Refuse to Kill programme

  • Supports conscientious objectors (COs), especially those facing repression. This includes attending trials, visiting COs in prison, lobbying governments to hear their demands, and mobilising advocacy support.
  • Monitors and documents military service and recruitment around the world, especially human rights abuses. We present analysis to international bodies, such as United Nations committees, to support refusers against their own governments.
  • Counters the militarisation of youth by identifying and challenging ways that young people are encouraged to accept war and militarism as normal.

The Nonviolence Programme

WRI embraces and promotes nonviolence, from active resistance to militarism and non­cooperation with systems of oppression to the use of dialogue and the building of alternatives. Our Nonviolence Programme connects movements using nonviolent methods for social change (e.g. through organising workshops and exchanges on nonviolence training).

  • Pooling resources, for instance through our 'Handbook for Nonviolent Campaigns'.
  • Runs a War Profiteers project, on activities exposing the economics of war­making.

Learn more about WRI on their website and connect with them on Twitter and Facebook

War Resisters' International
5 Caledonian Rd
London N1 9DX, Britain
phone: +44-20-7278 4040
fax: +44-20-7278 0444
email: info [at] wri-irg.org
website: http://wri-irg.orga>