Women Oppose NATO! Unite for genuine Peace! Reject NATO’s Women, Peace, and Security Facade!
The International Women’s Alliance joined with thousands to protest NATO’s 76th Summit in The Hague, Netherlands as part of the RESIST NATO Coalition. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a military alliance of 32 member states worldwide, with the U.S. playing a key role in determining the priorities of the Alliance. The main priorities for the NATO Summit included increasing each member’s NATO contribution to 5% of its GDP, and continuing to strengthen the unity against Russia in the ongoing proxy with Ukraine. During the NATO Summit, the U.S. carried out its bombing of Iran’s Nuclear Facilities – which drew attention to the U.S’s continued role as the world’s biggest war monger – and further proving that NATO is not interested in the collective security of its member states, but instead in furthering the ongoing plunder and expansion by the U.S. and its western imperialist allies across the world.
IWA, along with other organizations in Global Women United for Peace Against NATO (GWUAN), hosted a workshop and speak out that brought together voices of women from all corners of the world to oppose NATO.Countless women from around the world emphasized that NATO has been a key target for their organizations due to NATO’s aggressive policies on peace and security driving the world towards imperialist war and occupations. In 2024 alone, wars and conflict impacted more than 612 million women and girls worldwide marking a 50% increase from 2023.
Ironically, NATO claims to protect women through its ‘women, peace, and security’ (WPS) policies. WPS is a global policy framework championed by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325. NATO uses WPS to advocate for women's participation in military, peace negotiations, and national rebuilding and argues that this advances global stability. In reality, WPS is a mere facade for ensuring that U.S. and NATO interests are advanced, operations are maximized, and countries who challenge the U.S are neutralized. NATO’s WPS programs make women the “face” of military aggression in the name of women’s leadership and empowerment.
It is not in NATO's interest to protect the rights and welfare of women of in times of conflict, it is in their interest to protect only the rights of the ruling elite to control land and resources for economic and political gain. NATO's claim to protect women's rights is used as mere justification for further intervention.
When we talk of women, peace and security, we must answer the question, peace for whom? Women must not be fooled by NATO's false rhetoric of protecting women and girls in conflict zones. Real peace for women means we must participate in the broader anti-war movement for just peace, we must resist all imperialist wars of aggression that are at the root of their suffering. To achieve genuine peace, we must support the people of the world actively opposing U.S. imperialism, whether asserting its national sovereignty or waging their national liberation struggles.