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April 2025 E-News

As international relations fray and intensify, some Western states are doubling down on militarism as the solution to the problems they have already caused through militarism. A handful of European countries announced their willingness to withdraw from the Mine Ban Treaty, while others made remarks supporting the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the continent.  The European Commission President also called forEurope’s “rearmament”—even though it is already a heavily militarised region. Meanwhile, the US government has announced that it will seek a $1 trillion military budget this year. However, despite what the leaders of these countries argue, these moves would not contribute to making people safer. Instead, more militarism will only generate instability, increase the risk of harm to civilians, and further erode multilateralism. As WILPF has been advocating for over a century, the path to a safer and more equal society is clear: disarmament and demilitarisation. This edition of our E-News offers new publications and upcoming opportunities for both!

Current and upcoming disarmament meetings

Mine Ban Treaty faces challenge as states announce withdrawal

In recent weeks, Finland and Latvia have instructed their parliaments to initiate proceedings to exit the Mine Ban Treaty. Their decisions follow a joint declaration by the Defense Ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland on 18 March recommending collective withdrawal. These announcements were met with extreme concern by civil society organisations, which signed a joint letter warning that “withdrawal would increase the risk of civilian death and injury from an indiscriminate weapon of limited military utility” and that “it would also threaten decades of progress on disarmament and international humanitarian law more broadly.”

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) strongly condemned plans by several European countries to withdraw from the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and to potentially use or produce antipersonnel mines—steps that would represent the first such reversals since the treaty’s inception. “These decisions risk dismantling over 30 years of progress in protecting civilians from one of war’s most indiscriminate and inhumane weapons,” said Tamar Gabelnick, Director of the ICBL. “To suggest that landmines can be used ‘responsibly’ is dangerously misguided—mines cannot distinguish between soldier and child, and civilians will always make up the vast majority of the victims.”

Experts pointed out that deploying landmines risks long-term civilian harm, not military advantage, and that the move ignores overwhelming evidence of the humanitarian toll of such weapons. Magnus Løvold noted, “This isn’t strategy—it’s performance. Withdrawing from treaties appears more symbolic than practical, projecting strength while increasing danger to their own people. Europe must resist this slide into militarised spectacle.”

ICBL put together resources and actions calling on states to protect lives and defend the Mine Ban Treaty, including action alerts and other campaign materials, social media toolkit, ICBL member statements and press releases, and ICBL letters to governments. Explore these resources, join the global call to #ProtectMineBan, and help ensure these indiscriminate weapons remain banned, for good.  

Concerns around nuclear proliferation in Europe 

On 5 March, in an address to the public about increasing nuclear spending, French President Macron said he had “decided to open the strategic debate on the protection of our allies on the European continent through our (nuclear) deterrence.” Macron’s offer has been seen as a response to German Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz’s call for an expansion of French and UK nuclear cooperation with others in Europe. (Photo: Artists Against the Bomb Walking Exhibition © Darren Ornitz / ICAN)

Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever added his voice to those calling for more nuclear weapons in Europe, suggesting the need for a pan-European “nuclear umbrella,” citing concern for eastern European states as a justification. Polish President Andrzej Duda, in an interview with the Financial Times, called on the United States to deploy nuclear weapons in Poland. In Finland, both the Prime Minister and the Chair of the Defence Committee of the Finnish Parliament have welcomed the possibility of an expanded role for French nuclear weapons in Europe.  The Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene also called for changing Lithuania’s constitution, which currently prohibits the deployment of any weapons of mass destruction or foreign military bases on Lithuanian soil.

Nuclear disarmament activists have been reacting strongly against this dangerous idea. Melissa Park, the Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), underlined in a video that “the future of Europe will not be written in the shadow of mushroom clouds but by those who believe in diplomacy and disarmament.” ICAN highlighted that “these weapons are meant to be launched and exploded on European soil, with all the catastrophic humanitarian consequences that entails” and that “the mere presence of nuclear weapons in Europe increases the likelihood of nuclear conflict, putting millions of innocent civilians at risk.” ICAN also reminded that the proliferation of nuclear weapons in Europe would undermine the NPT, which is already under strain. Nuclear sharing practices have been repeatedly condemned by other countries as undermining  the letter and spirit nuclear NPT, including by a group of 120 countries that expressed deep concern at “the continued and evolving nuclear weapons sharing arrangements and extended deterrence.” 

Across Europe, people have been also pushing back to the plans expressed by European leaders. Kati Juva and Arja Alho from the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War wrote that “Eurobombs would make the world a much more unstable and dangerous place.” Jean-Marie Collin from ICAN France also opposed the idea in the French media, while Florian Eblenkamp published a piece in German. The European partners of ICAN issued a press release in March condeming calls to spread nuclear weapons in Europe. To learn how to take part in efforts against Eurobomb, check out ICAN’s related resources and talking points.

WILPF submits inputs to the UN Secretary-General's report on artificial intelligence in the military domain

Pursuant to UN General Assembly resolution 79/239 adopted last year, WILPF made a submission to the UN Secretary-General’s report on artificial intelligence (AI) in the military domain and its implications for international peace and security. WILPF's input focuses on the following issues: (i) The need for human emotion, analysis, and judgement in relation to the use of force; (ii) The existence of gender, racial, and other bias in AI technology and the implications for digital dehumanisation; (iii) The impacts of military use of AI on privacy and personal data; (iv) The environmental harms exacerbated by the military use of AI; and (v) The dangers of war profiteering and arms racing. Overall, WILPF’s submission argues against the military use of AI. This technology, rather than placing limits on violence or harm, expands both. Governance is insufficient in the face of the profits and power the developers of these technologies seek.

Gender and Disarmament Database: Recommendation of the month

Our recommendation of the month is the publication “Beyond Oslo: Taking Stock of Gender and Diversity Mainstreaming in the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention,” published by United Nations Disarmament Research Institute (UNIDIR). The publication provides an overview of the implementation of the gender provisions of the Oslo Action Plan (OAP), adopted within the context of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. “Drawing on official reporting and statements made by States Parties, as well as on a survey conducted with key actors in mine action, this report outlines instances of progress achieved regarding gender and diversity mainstreaming, as well as challenges and areas for improvement that could be addressed in the next Action Plan.”

The Gender and Disarmament Database, created and maintained by Reaching Critical Will, features a wide range of resources such as reports, articles, books and book chapters, policy documents, podcasts, legislation, and UN documents. The database allows the exploration of relevant resources based on their references to distinctive gender aspects in disarmament, such as gender-based violence, gender norms, or gender diversity, and different related topics or types of weapon systems. It currently contains more than 800 resources. Suggestions of new additions can be sent to disarm[at]WILPF[dot]com.  

Upcoming events  

Conferences

Third Session of the Preparatory Committee for the Eleventh Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) 
28 April–9 May 2025 | New York, United States

Informal consultations on lethal autonomous weapons systems
12–13 May 2025 | New York, United States 

Informal Preparatory Meeting of the 11th Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty (CSP11)
20–21 May 2025 | Geneva, Switzerland

Events

Global Days of Action on Military Spending
10 April–9 May 2025 | Global

Under the Radar: Corruption's Role in Fueling Arms Diversion 
16 April 2025 | Online

Nuclear Security and the Nuclear Supply Chain in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
17 April 2025 | Vienna and online 

A staged reading of Exposed by Mary Dickson
30 April 2025 | New York 

Featured news 

  • OPCW finds evidence of chemical weapons use in Ukraine. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has found more evidence of chemical weapons use in Ukraine. In a report published in February, the OPCW highlighted the findings of two missions to Ukraine to collect documents, digital files, witness testimonies, and environmental samples. The laboratory analyses revealed the presence of 2-Chlorobenzylidenemalononitrile in all three investigated incidents in October 2024.

  • President Trump sends letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader about Iran’s nuclear programme. US President Donald Trump sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, expressing interest in a nuclear deal. The contents of the letter have not been made public, but  Trump told Fox News in an interview that the letter says, “I hope you’re going to negotiate because if we have to go in militarily it’s going to be a terrible thing.” Iran’s Supreme Leader has reportedly said that Iran is not interested in talks with a “bullying government” and that the US threat of military action is “irrational,” warning that Iran is capable of “delivering a reciprocal blow.”

  • Negotiations for the sale of fighter jets to Türkiye are underway. The Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) reports that over the past year, there have been reports of Türkiye’s interest in buying the Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft. The Eurofighter is produced jointly by the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Spain, and consent of all four partners is needed for any export deal. In the past, Germany objected to any potential sale, due to Türkiye’s human rights record and military occupation of parts of northern Syria, but last year these objections were lifted. CAAT stressed the sale of the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft to Türkiye would “greatly bolster a highly repressive, authoritarian regime, that has frequently violated international law and committed war crimes, and which is engaged in warfare against its own people and those of its neighbours in Iraq and Syria.” 

  • Italian government increased sales of arms in 2024. Data recently submitted to the Italian parliament, in conformity with Law 185/90, shows that Italian military exports have grown dramatically in 2024. As noted by Rete Italiana Pace e Disarmo, Italian military exports have increased 25 per cent compared to the previous year, from 6.311 million EUR in 2023 to 7.948 million EUR in 2024 (it was 5.289 million EUR in 2022). The organisation highlights that the Parliament is currently debating a law that aims to reduce transparency around arms transfers, which if adopted, would significantly hinder public access to this kind of information.

  • New study on the costs of war to journalists. Costs of War released a new study about threats to journalists in conflict zones. The research highlights that “since the 2000s, national governments and terrorist groups—from Israel, Syria’s Assad regime and the United States to the Islamic State—have found ways to curtail conflict coverage through myriad means, from repressive policies to armed attack.” The report notes, “All have killed journalists and helped to foster a culture of impunity, turning conflict zones like Syria and Gaza into ‘news graveyards.’ The war in Gaza has, since October 7, 2023, killed more journalists than the U.S. Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War (including the conflicts in Cambodia and Laos), the wars in Yugoslavia in the 1990s and 2000s, and the post-9/11 war in Afghanistan, combined. It is, quite simply, the worst ever conflict for reporters.” This research was featured in the Boston Globe and Foreign Policy.

  • Study finds that Canada supplied Israel with artillery propellant. Kelsey Gallagher of Project Ploughshares writes that “according to publicly available US Department of Defense (DOD) procurement records, in September 2024 a Canadian Crown corporation signed a contract to provide the US DOD with artillery propellants that will be supplied to Israel. This agreement was finalized while the intensive bombardment of Gaza continued, months before the signing of a ceasefire that ultimately collapsed in March 2025. This agreement was signed after Canada announced that it was suspending arms exports to Israel, which authorities stated would explicitly include weapons transfers through the United States.”

  • US government is currently drafting executive order that will reduce congressional oversight for arms exports. Nick Cleveland-Stout and William Hartung write in Responsible Statecraft that the US Presidency is currently “drafting an executive order aimed at streamlining the federal government’s process of selling weapons overseas.” They write that while the text of the executive order has not yet been released, a source familiar with the order confirmed that “it will boost arms contractor interests and reduce congressional oversight by stripping down parts of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), the law that governs the arms export process.”

  • European Commission moves to significantly strengthen EU Torture-Free Trade measures. According to the Omega Research Foundation, the European Commission has recently proposed significant measures to strengthen the EU Anti-Torture Regulation—the legally binding regional instrument controlling the EU trade in law enforcement equipment that could be used in torture. These proposals would increase the range of goods listed in Annex II of the Regulation that would be completely prohibited, and also those goods listed in Annex III, the export of which would now be controlled. The proposals respond to changes in the range, technological sophistication, and patterns of use and misuse of law enforcement equipment around the world. The proposed changes, if implemented, would help meet the challenges of increasing repression of protesters using a variety of less lethal weapons. Last week, Amnesty International and the United Against Torture Consortium both supported these Commission proposals in submissions to a public consultation. The Commission proposals must now be agreed by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. If adopted by both bodies, these changes would come into effect in all 27 EU member states, potentially as soon as July 2025.

  • Call for information about youth engagement in disarmament. Following the adoption of UN General Assembly resolution 78/31 entitled “Youth, Disarmament and Non-proliferation,” which requested the Secretary-General to seek views on the issue of the promotion of youth engagement and empowerment activities in the area of disarmament and non-proliferation, and to submit a report with his findings, the Office for Disarmament Affairs is receiving information about related activities  for the last two years (after July 2023 until June 2025). All submissions should be sent electronically, preferably through forms available here for civil society organisations and here for international organizations. In case of difficulty to do so, it is possible to send the submission in Microsoft Word format to [email protected]. The deadline is 30 May 2025.

Recommended resources

“Elon Musk Stands to Get Even Richer as Trump Backs $1 Trillion Budget for Pentagon,” Democracy Now!, 9 April 2025

Lisa Ling, “The New Military Tech Gold Rush,” Nomos Centre for Future Warfare (NCFW), 2 April 2025

William Hartung, “Can Bernie stop billions in new US weapons going to Israel?,” Responsible Statecraft, 1 April 2025

Tammy Bernasky, “Righting Wrongs, Enabling Disarmament: The role of disability rights in the search for sustainable peace,” Rethinking Security, 31 March 2025

Zoë Corbyn, “Move fast, kill things: the tech startups trying to reinvent defence with Silicon Valley values,” The Guardian, 29 March 2025

Stephen Semler, “How the Iraq War turbocharged police militarization,” Polygraph, 25 March 2025

Anna Choi and Katelyn Xiaoying Mei, “What are AI hallucinations?   Why AIs sometimes make things up,” The Conversation, 21 March 2025

“Arms transfers are not a human rights-free zone,” UN Office of the High Comissioner for Human Rights, 21 March 2025