International Peace Bureau

The Global Campaign on Military Spending (GCOMS) is a permanent, global, year-round campaign that was created in December 2014 by the IPB to tackle the worldwide issue of excessive military spending.[10]

The aim of the campaign is to pressure the world's governments to invest money in the sectors of health, education, employment and climate change rather than military. It also calls for an annual, minimum reallocation of 10% from the military budgets of all states. Finally, it advocates the reduction of arms production and international weapons trade.[11]

GDAMS Actions in Halifax, Canada

The campaign organises the Global Day of Action on Military Spending (GDAMS) to bring public, media and political attention to the costs of military spending and the need to invest in new priorities.[12]

GCOMS is managed from the decentralized Barcelona, Spain office of IPB in coordination with Centre Delàs of Peace Studies. More than 100 organizations from 35 countries have joined the campaign.[13]

IPB has been in the forefront of nuclear disarmament activities since 1945, including:

• Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)
• Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)
• World Court Project
• Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)

Currently, the IPB is campaigning to encourage the signing and ratification of the TPNW so that it may enter into force.[14]

Established in 1992, the Seán MacBride Peace Prize is awarded by the International Peace Bureau to a person or organisation that "has done outstanding work for peace, disarmament and/or human rights." [15][16] It is named after Seán MacBride, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who was chairman of the IPB from 1968–74 and president from 1974–1985.[17][18]

Recipients

The following are the recipients of the Seán MacBride Peace Prize since its inception in 1992: [15]

Year	Recipient	Notes	Reference
1992	Michael D. Higgins
1993	Motarilavoa Hilda Lini	Played a key role in the WHO’s decision to approve a request to the World Court on the legal status of nuclear weapons.
1994	Mordechai Vanunu	Sentenced to 18 years solitary confinement for revealing details of Israel’s nuclear arsenal.
1995	The Committee of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia	Foremost among Russian citizens’ groups opposing the war in Chechnya.
1996	Selim Bešlagić	For "his fight against nationalism, ethnic cleansing and intolerance during his country's war."	[19]
1997	Seeds of Hope Group	For disarming a Hawk aircraft bound for Indonesia.
1998	John Hume	For "his contribution to the Northern Ireland peace process."	[20]
1999	Barbara Gladysch	For her "extraordinary and year-long commitment to disarmament and practical solidarity with victims of wars and disasters."	[21]
2000	1) Praful Bidwai 2) Achin Vanaik	For being at the "forefront of the international campaign against the nuclearisation of South Asia."	[22]
2001	Rosalie Bertell	For "her lifelong engagement to the cause of peace and for her deep concern for the well-being of peoples all over the planet.	[23]
2002	Barbara Lee	For "her sole vote against the bombing of Afghanistan."	[24]
2003	Nihon Hidankyō	Survivors of the A bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. They have devoted the rest of their lives to the elimination of nuclear weapons.
2004	Geneva Initiative on the Middle East
2005	No award made
2006	Mayors for Peace: 1) Tadatoshi Akiba 2) Iccho Itoh	For "its achievements in arousing international public demand for the abolition of nuclear weapons and lasting world peace."	[25]
2007	Jayantha Dhanapala	For "his dedication to the cause of disarmament and his initiatives towards creating the Central Asian Nuclear-Weapons Free Zone."	[26]
2008	Jacqueline Cabasso	For "her years of outstanding work with NGOs and initiatives toward peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons."	[27]
2009	Betty Reardon	For "her contribution to peace education and to the wider peace movement."	[28]
2010	Binalakshmi Nepram	For "her extraordinary efforts to promote disarmament and an end to gun violence in India."	[29]
2011	1) Hanaa Edwar 2) Dr. Peter Becker	1) For "her contribution to the advancement of democracy and human rights, as well as her firm stand against violence and war;" 2) For his work with the German section of the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (IALANA).	[30][31]
2012	1) Lina Ben Mhenni 2) Nawal El Saadawi	For showing "great courage and ... substantial contributions to what is known as the Arab Spring."	[32]
2013	Chelsea Manning	For her "courageous actions in revealing information about US war crimes."	[33]
2014	The People and Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands	For "courageously taking the nine nuclear weapons-possessing countries to the International Court of Justice to enforce compliance with the Non-Proliferation Treaty and international customary law."	[34]
2015	The People and the Island Communities of Lampedusa, Italy and Jeju Island, South Korea	For showing "a profound commitment to peace and social justice."	[35]
2016	IPB Secretary-General Colin Archer	For 26 years "in the service of peace and of the IPB community."	[36]
2017	1) All Okinawa Council Against Henoko New Base 2) Noam Chomsky 3) Jeremy Corbyn	1) For "its unflagging commitment to close the Futemna Marine Air Base, and for its nonviolent opposition to the construction of a massive new air, land and sea base in Henoko;" 2) For his "tireless commitment to peace, his strong critiques to U.S. foreign policy, and his anti-imperialism;" 3) For his "sustained and powerful political work for disarmament and peace."	[16]
2018	1) Association For Historical Dialogue and Research and Home for Cooperation 2) Helena Maleno 3) Douglas Roche	1) For its "efforts and promotion of [a] Culture of Peace and as well as the peace building activities;" 2) For her "efforts to save hundreds of lives in the Mediterranean Sea, and her strong commitment to defending human rights;" 3) For his "tireless efforts to promote international peace and disarmament."	[37]
2019	1) Bruce Kent 2) Elayne Whyte Gómez	1) An "internationally known peace activist and a 'real peace hero' who, even in his 90th year, remains an active campaigner and organizer for peace and human rights." 2) For "her invaluable contribution to the completion of the historic Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons."	[38]

International Peace Bureau World Congress Berlin 2016

At the Triennial Assembly held in London on October 19 2019, a new group of IPB officials was elected.[39]

President

The current Co-Presidents are:[39]

Country	Name
United Kingdom	Philip Jennings
Italy	Lisa Clark

Treasurer

The current Treasurer is:[39]

Country	Name
Germany	Lucas Wirl

Vice-Presidents

The Vice-Presidents deputise for the President when necessary. The current Vice-Presidents are: [39]

Country	Name
Spain	Jordi Calvo
Philippines	Corazon Valdez Fabros
United States	Joseph Gerson
United Kingdom	Dave Webb

Board Members

The board members are the following persons: [39]

Country	Name
France	Alain Rouy
France	Arielle Denis
India	Binalakshmi Nepram
Mongolia	Enkhsaikhan Jargalsaikhan
South Korea	Jun Kyu Lee
Argentina	Patricia Perez
Japan	Rieko Asato-Kodama
Canada	Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan
Canada	Steve Staples
Belgium	Etienne De Jonghe

Council Members

The Council members are the following persons:[39]

Country	Name
India	Surender Singh Rajpurohit
Ghana	Kwaku Addai
France	Lisa Silvestre
South Korea	A-Young Moon
United Kingdom	Sara Medi Jones
Belgium	Chloé Meulewaeter
Colombia	Angelo Cardona
United States	Emily Rubino
United States	Ann Wright
India	Jurvey Balkrishna
Nigeria	Ejimole Fidel Onwuekwe
Russia	Oleg Viktorovich Bodrov
Canada	Tamara Lorincz
United Kingdom	Jenny Clegg
Germany	Stephan Möhrle

Staff

The staff members are the following persons:[39]

Country	Name
Germany	Reiner Braun
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Amela Skiljan
Spain	Quique Sánchez

IPB's work was rewarded by the Nobel Peace Prize in 1910, which has also been awarded to some of its members:[40]

• 1901 : Frédéric Passy (France), IPB Council Member
• 1902 : Élie Ducommun and Albert Gobat (Switzerland), first honorary secretaries of IPB.
• 1905 : Bertha von Suttner (Austria), writer and honorary vice-president of IPB.
• 1907 : Ernesto Moneta (Italy), IPB Council Member.
• 1908 : Fredrik Bajer (Denmark), honorary president of IPB.
• 1910 : The International Peace Bureau.
• 1911 : Alfred Fried (Austria), IPB Council Member.
• 1913 : Henri La Fontaine (Belgium), president of IPB.
• 1927 : Ludwig Quidde (Germany), IPB Council Member.
• 1959 : Philip Noel-Baker (United Kingdom), IPB Vice-President.
• 1962 : Linus Pauling (United States), IPB Vice-President.
• 1974 : Seán MacBride (Ireland), IPB Chairman and President.
• 1982 : Alva Myrdal (Sweden), IPB Vice-President.

The IPB has a Co-President system that ensures for a gender-balance among leadership. Each president can currently serve up to two terms of 3 years.[41]

• Henri La Fontaine – 1907–1943[42]
• Ernst Wolf – 1963–1974
• Seán MacBride – 1974–1985
• Bruce Kent – 1985–1992
• Maj Britt Theorin – 1992–2000
• Cora Weiss – 2000–2006
• Tomas Magnusson – 2006–2013
• Ingeborg Breines – 2009–2016
• Reiner Braun – 2013–2019
• Lisa Clark – 2016–Present
• Philip Jennings – 2019–Present

IPB "Bread Tank" in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

• The Castle of Peace / Society of Peace
• Fredrik Bajer
• Élie Ducommun
• Charles Albert Gobat
• Henri La Fontaine
• Bertha von Suttner
• List of anti-war organizations
• List of peace activists

• Gobat, Albert, Développement du Bureau international permanent de la paix. Bern, 1910.
• Herz, Ulrich, The International Peace Bureau: History, Aims, Activities. Geneva, 1969.
• From Nobel Lectures, Peace 1901-1925, Editor Frederick W. Haberman, Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1972.

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• Official website
• GCOMS website
• Permanent International Peace Bureau on Nobelprize.org