The Pentagon has announced that depleted uranium (DU) munitions have not, and will not, be used by US aircraft in the conflict against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The policy U-turn contrasts with statements made over previous months, where Pentagon officials claimed that DU would be used if needed; the decision reflects a growing stigmatisation of the controversial weapons.
From left to right: Dr. Gianluca Maspoli, Wim Zwijnenburg, Mark Albe, Hansjörg Eberle and Doug Weir Between February 16th and 19th, the international mine action community gathered in Geneva for the 18th International Meeting of Mine Action National Program Directors and UN Advisors. This year’s theme was “Beyond Mine Action”. The TRWP and the GICHD […]
According to PAX we can learn some historic lessons from the Balkans for Ukraine today. One of them is to put citizens first, since they are ultimately the foundation of both peace and democracy.
Sunday 1 March marked the day that the international Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) entered into force sixteen years ago. To date, 162 countries have joined this treaty that bans the production, use, stockpiling and transer of antipersonel mines and that saves lives and limbs. The good news: the number of victims is historically low. However, […]
The Syrian government should immediately free the prominent Syrian human rights defenders Mazen Darwish, Hani Al-Zitani and Hussein Gharir, 71 human rights groups including PAX said today.
Two US Representatives in the House Armed Services Committee have written to US Secretary of State John Kerry and US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to request information related to deploying US nuclear weapons into new NATO countries. PAX is urging the Dutch government to let the US government know that this would be utterly unacceptable.
PAX has been selected as a strategic partner of the Dutch Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The peace organisation submitted an application together with Amnesty International within the scope of ‘lobby and advocacy’, and today received the good news that it has been given A status, thus making it certainly eligible for selection. This will enable PAX to continue to work for peace and security in the future, together with its partners in conflict-affected areas and involved citizens in the Netherlands.
It still takes time to digest all that is said during the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons (HINW, 8-9 December) but it became clear that a lot was won. Here’s an overview of our thinking about the Vienna Conference:
US President Barack Obama should call for and support a comprehensive United Nations arms embargo on the parties to South Sudan’s brutal conflict. So 29 South Sudanese and international human rights, humanitarian and other groups including PAX said today in a letter to President Obama.
Ever since Syria and Lebanon were established as nations, residents have been able to travel freely between the two countries. But on Monday, for the first time, Lebanon implemented restrictions on its border. George Ghali, Program Officer for the Non-Governmental Organization, ALEF, a human rights organisation which partners with PAX, is involved in the discussion about the new measures of the Libanese to restrict access to Syrians.
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