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A Conference for Security and Cooperation in the Middle East

Commentary on the importance of a common and inclusive approach for calming various tensions in the Middle East

With the war drums on Iran sounding again and the Arab Revolts following an arduous path, the question of a sustainable perspective for a conflict-ridden region remains to be dealt with. After all, the lack of both security and cooperation is an enduring malady plaguing the region. 

[to the article on www.fairobserver.com]

No war on Iran

Online campaign of IPPNW Germany

21.11.2011 

The german section of IPPNW has launched an online campaign, addressing Catherine Ashton, European Union's High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The signatories call on Ashton, to start extensive diplomatic efforts with Iran, to prevent further escalation: "This includes on the one hand, the involvement of the USA, Russia, China and the Arab League, and on the other hand the implementation of such a strategy in the European Union itself." Take part in the campaign and send an email to Catherine Ashton.

[Email to Catherine Ashton]

News Release

Turkish doctor wins medical peace work prize

International Medical Peace Award

Sebnem Korur Financi10/16/2011 

The 2011 International Medical Peace Award has been given to Prof. Dr. Sebnem Korur Fincanci for her courageous opposition to torture and human rights abuses. Dr Fincanci, who is a coroner, high school teacher and president of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey received the award in recognition of her outstanding medical peace work.

more ...

Stop the killing in Libya

Medact sends letter to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

At the beginning of the present conflict in Libya, Medact supported the IPPNW statement calling for an immediate ceasefire and a negotiated end to the conflict. Since then Medact has written several times, and had a meeting with, the FCO's Libya Unit. They continue to be alarmed by the humanitarian consequences of the fighting in Libya, in which the UK armed forces are playing a significant role. Click here to see Medact's latest letter to the Libya Unit and do get in touch with them if you would like to be involved.

[download the Medact's letter]

Stop the killing in Libya

IPPNW Statement

03/23/2011 

International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) calls on all parties for an immediate cease fire in Libya. Having established a no fly zone, we call on the governments responsible for the international forces for an immediate halt in all military actions, and on the Libyan government and the Libyan rebels to end the fighting and to seek a peaceful conflict solution, if necessary facilitated by UN negotiators.

more ...[IPPNW Statement]

News release, 27th January 2011

European health groups launch Medical Peace Work courses

www.medicalpeacework.org

01/27/2011 

European health groups launched today seven freely available, interactive online courses in violence prevention and peacebuilding. The aim of the courses is to educate health professionals about the impact of war and other forms of violence on the health of individuals and populations, and to show how they can make a positive and particular contribution to peace building, violence prevention and conflict transformation. The courses provide the participants with new insights about the special role and responsibility of healthcare professionals in peace work.

more ...[www.medicalpeacework.org]

Civil Society CSCME Process

11/09/2010 

The basic principle that civil society can and must make an important contribution to conflict solving, as long as the states do not see their way clear to do so, is as relevant in the region of the Middle East as elsewhere. The planned civil society Regional Conference for Security and Cooperation is thought of as an on-going civil society body, consisting of experts and of NGOs from the region.

more ...

The Continuing Korean War and IPPNW

An Essay by Gunnar Westberg

11/30/2010 

To understand what is going on in Korea it is helpful to try to see the conflict from the other side, from that of North Korea. There is no peace agreement after the Korean War, which ended in 1953 with an armistice agreement. There is still a state of war between the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, DPRK, and the USA.

more ...

IPPNW brings health message to UN First Committee on Disarmament, NYC

IPPNW co-president Bob Mtonga (R) with NGO colleagues at UN First Committee on Disarmament 201011/12/2010 

IPPNW co-president Dr. Robert Mtonga participated with members of the Control Arms Coalition and the new joint Cluster Munitions Coalition (CMC)/International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) at the recent First Committee on Disarmament and International Security session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City in October.

more ...

IPPNW Raises Health Voice at the UN Programme of Action on Small Arms 4th Biennial Meeting of States

07/20/2010 

 

Aiming for Prevention coordinator Maria Valenti and PSR Philadelphia Executive Director Patricia Harner joined IPPNW physicians Sina Helbig (Germany), Robert Mtonga (Zambia), Emperatriz Crespin (El Salvador), Ime John (Nigeria), and Cathey Falvo, Vic Sidel (US) in bringing an important health perspective to the Fourth Biennial Meeting of States (BMS) in New York City, which was convened to review implementation of the UN’s Programme of Action to combat the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons. Dr. Mtonga served on the official Zambian delegation and helped inject text on the importance of health into the Zambian statement submitted to the meeting.

more ...[Photo gallery on flickr.com]

IPPNW recommends public health action plan to UN small arms meeting

18.06.2010 

 

As an NGO participant at the Fourth Biennial Meeting of States (BMS), which was convened to review implementation of the UN’s action plan to combat the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, IPPNW had an opportunity to address the conference on Thursday, June 17, during a special civil society session.

[Article on peacehealthblog.com]

Joint Statement on the Armed Assault on Ships to Gaza

06/08/2010 

 

Palestinian Physicians For the Prevention of Nuclear War (PPPNW) and the Israeli Physicians For Peace and the Preservation Of The Environment (IPPPE) Affiliates of International Physicians For the Prevention of Nuclear War agree as follows:

more ...[The statement on peacehealthblog.com]

Deutsche Bank announces divestment from Elbit

05/27/2010 

 

Germany’s biggest bank Deutsche Bank has divested the bank’s 2% stake in Elbit Systems, an Israeli arms company that supplies the Israeli military and provides components for the Apartheid Wall in Occupied Palestinian Territory that was found to be in violation of international law by the International Court of Justice. The announcement at the Bank’s AGM today follows a concerted campaign from German human rights organisations.

more ...[Homepage of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee]

Medical Peace Work

Internet course starts on its second round

03/18/2010

The internet course for Medical Peace Work starts on its second round. The cost-free training offer for physicians, healthcare professionals and medical students is online since two years. The course is subdivided into seven modules, which provide the participants with new insights about the role of healthcare professionals in peace progress.

more ...[Online course on medicalpeacework.org]

Global Response 2010

International conference on violent conflict and health

01/26/2010

The conference took place in Copenhagen from the 22nd to the 25th of January 2010 and we are happy to announce that is has been a great success and that we have received lots of positive feedback.

We are currently working in the upload of all material from the conference which will be made available to you during the coming month. Through the link below you can find abstracts, the official conference programm, links to themed issues of scientific journals and all press coverage from the conference. More will follow, including videos of all speaker, conference newsletters and the power point presentations of speakers. We are working on a final report which will be available online.

[homepage of Global Response 2010]

IPPNW Press Release from 18. January 2010

USA are seeking alternatives for Depleted Uranium (DU)

IPPNW demands ban of Depleted Uranium

01/18/2010 

The United States are seeking alternatives for depleted uranium (DU) ammunition. According to Dave Cullen from the “International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons” (ICBUW), the Maneuver Ammunition Systems – an government body which manages ammunition procurement for the US military  – intends to stop the use of DU in weapons.“This is a first step in the right direction. Depleted uranium was used systematically in both Gulf Wars and is most likely a main cause for the increased numbers of cancer among the Iraqi population”, says IPPNW chair Dr. Angelika Claußen. IPPNW urges the German government to follow the example of Belgium and to stop the production and use of DU.

more ...

Book edited by Neil Arya, Joanna Santa Barbara

Peace through Health

How Health Professionals Can Work for a Less Violent World

10/12/2009 

We typically define and talk about wars using the language of politics, but what happens when you bring in a doctor’s perspective on conflict? Can war be diagnosed like an illness? Can health professionals participate in its mitigation and prevention? The contributors to Peace through Health: How Health Professionals Can Work for a Less Violent World engage with these ground-breaking ideas and describe tools that can further peace once war is understood as a public health problem.

more ...[Kumarian Press homepage]

Explosive Violence

New report reveals threat to civilians from use of ‘explosive weapons’

Calls for the use of explosive weapons in populated areas to be restricted on humanitarian grounds

01/08/2009 

A new report, released today by Landmine Action in collaboration with Medact, shows that explosive weapons kill and injure more civilians than military personnel worldwide.

more ...[Link to Medact-article]

Basrah Epidemiology Study team meets in Turkey

Reliable cancer registry

21.07.2009 

Members of ICBUW and IPPNW-Germany have met with experts from the Basrah Cancer Research Group (BCRG) in Istanbul, Turkey for an update on the activities of an epidemiological study project in Basrah and to discuss future research plans, which will be funded partly by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Three experts from the BCRG attended the meeting held in Istanbul on July 13th and 14th, together with members of IPPNW-Germany and two German epidemiologists who have given scientific support to members of the Iraqi group.

[Read more]

War crimes in Gaza - the case of DU

Report of the meeting

07/08/2009 

On July 8, 2009 a meeting of NGO’s and Press took place successfully in Athens about "War crimes in Gaza – the case of DU". Maria Arvaniti Sotiropoulou President of the Greek Affiliate of IPPNW explained why we organized this meeting. She made a short review of DU weapons. IPPNW Greece was the first NGO which published the issue (1991) and in 2001 informed the press about the use of these weapons in Yugoslavia before NATO did. In the same year we forced the Greek government to accept that that the Greek army not only possessed but had already used these weapons in exercises of the Greek Navy.

more ...

Medical Voices Against Violence

A project of IPPNW's Aiming for Prevention Program

06/15/2009 

IPPNW's new "Medical Voices Against Violence" project features stories of personal experiences with violence, especially gun violence, from IPPNW members - doctors, nurses, medical students and and other heath professionals. We will use these stories to educate others about the human costs of violence via IPPNW's "Aiming for Prevention" campaign, and to advocate for violence prevention using a public health approach.

more ...

Statement on the Use of White Phosphorus by Israeli Forces in Gaza

International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW)

02/06/2009 

IPPNW notes with grave concern the use of white phosphorus by Israeli forces in the recent war against Gaza.  As physicians committed to reducing the suffering brought by warfare, we recognise the inhumane and indiscriminate effects of white phosphorus, and strongly condemn its use in armed conflict under any circumstances. 

more ...

Stop the bloodshed!

IPPNW Statement on the Violence in Gaza and the conflict between Israel and Palestine

01/06/2009 

We, physicians who have the mission to protect life and promote health, cannot accept the present suffering and bloodshed taking place in Gaza. We urge all parties to immediately take all the necessary steps to achieve an immediate, complete, and stable ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the South of Israel, and to provide sufficient medical care for all the victims who suffer from severe injuries.

more ...

IPPNW-founder honored with “Lown Peace Bridge”

10/18/2008 

On October 17, 2008 the South Bridge connecting the cities Lewiston and Aubury in Main, USA was renamed after the IPPNW-founder Bernard Lown. Governor John E. Baldacci of Main expressed his hope that by renaming the bridge future generations will remember Bernard Lown and be inspired by his “incredible humanitarian efforts”.

more ...[Link zum Artikel im "Sunjournal"]

No to War - No to NATO

Appeal agreed in Stuttgart 5th October 2008

10/05/2008 

On the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of the NATO military organisation, we appeal to all people to come to Strasbourg and Kehl in April 2009, to protest against NATO’s aggressive military and nuclear policies, and assert our vision of a just world free of war. 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”.

more ...

Culture of Peace

A Small Report from the Congress

09/25/2008 

From September 12th to 14th IPPNW Germany held its 3rd Open Congress for a Culture of Peace in the Urania in Berlin.  For three days 700 participants and experts were debating to identify paths to recovery and to promote constructive proposals for more peaceful world order. More than 50 experts from all over the world gave lectures, from Ecuador, Kenya, Canada, South Africa or Palestine.

more ...[Congress Website]

Medicine Conflict and Survival

09/15/2008 

An international journal for all those interested in political violence, health and human rights.  Abstracts and contents can be viewed through the web site  http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/mcs

more ...

IPPNW calls for Ceasefire between Russia and Georgia

World Court Submission recommended

08/11/2008 

The armed conflict between Russia and Georgia is extremely dangerous and needs to be brought to a halt immediately. The impact on innocent civilians is mounting and, if allowed to continue, could spiral out of control. Further, were this territorial dispute to draw in neighboring European countries and the United States, the conflict could escalate into a confrontation between the two largest nuclear-armed states.

more ...

Medical Peace Work

Launch of e-learning course

03/11/2008 

The course is the world´s first of its kind and it applies the latest e-learning technology in offering seven separate but interlinked modules, available free of charge to physicians, health workers and students globally. The MPW-partnership is built on an already existing European network of medical peace organizations and teaching institutions that gathered during The Hague Appeal for Peace Conference in 1999 and the IPPNW World Congress in Paris in the year 2000.

more ...

Health Hazards of Use of Depleted Uranium in Wars

18th World Congress of IPPNW

03/10/2008 

We, the health specialists, who have been working for peace, disarmament and nuclear abolition from all over the world, have been deeply concerned about the potentially harmful effects on the environment and human health, which may be caused by the radioactive and chemical toxicity of DU following the use of DU weapons.

more ...

Globalisation and War

Speech of Susan George

03/10/2008 

"IPPNW was founded in the context of the Cold War and the nuclear arms race. So it may seem to many of you a kind of heresy to say that those times, although surely terrifying in their own way, also provided a strange kind of stability. No place on earth could be considered unimportant by the super-powers because any place could become a base, a staging area, a strategic pawn for the other side. Today the situation is utterly changed. There are a great many places that are not worth bothering about; they are full of losers, of the excluded, the hundreds of millions of rubbish people."

more ...

Iraq healthcare in disarray, report says

Report by Medact

01/16/2008 

Iraq's healthcare is in disarray with doctors and nurses fleeing abroad and child death rates soaring, according to a report on Wednesday. Up to 75 percent of Iraq's doctors, pharmacists and nurses have left their jobs since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. More than half of those have emigrated, the report by health organisation Medact said.

more ...[Rehabilitation under fire: health care in Iraq]

Effects of small arms violence

IPPNW researchers document

11/15/2007 

The Journal of Public Health Policy has published an important new series of articles on small arms in Africa written by IPPNW researchers active in the Aiming For Prevention program on small arms and light weapons (SALW) violence. All of the articles in the special section of the November issue of JPHP, entitled "Small Arms and Light Weapons in Africa - A Major Challenge to Public Health and Development," were made freely available online for the first month of publication as part of a broader initiative by the Council of Science Editors.

more ...

War and Public Health

Preventing the consequences

10/15/2007 

Oxford University Press has just published the second edition of a comprehensive, authoritative and all-new book on the public health consequences of war by two long-time IPPNW leaders. War and Public Health, edited by Barry S. Levy and Victor W. Sidel, explores the effects of war on health, human rights, and the environment, and describes what health professionals can do to minimize those consequences and help prevent war altogether. The health and environmental impact of both conventional weapons and weapons of mass destruction "nuclear, chemical, and biological" is described in detail.

more ...

17th IPPNW World Congress Helsinki

Congress Statement

If you want peace, work for health!

09/10/2006 

The 17th IPPNW World Congress took place in Helsinki, Finland from 7th to 10 September 2006. The motto of the Congress was War or Health? Themes of the congress were: nuclear abolition; small arms and the public health impact of war; and energy security. A statement was issued at the close of the congress.

more ...[Speech of Hans-Josef Fell]  [Speech of Inga Blum]  [Speech of Lars Hoeglund]

Medical Peace Work

Health Personnel in Violence Prevention

"The role of physicians and other health workers in the preservation and promotion of peace is the most significant factor for the attainment of health for all." (World Health Assembly, Resolution 34.38, 1981) With the Medical Peace Work project we wish to strengthen a new field in medicine and health sciences that deals with the role and professional responsibility of health workers in violence prevention and sustainable peace building.

more ...