Summary of Decisions taken at the 2008 International Board Meeting of WILPF

International Board Roles and Responsibilities
The following additions were agreed during this meeting:

• Find a contact person in her section for each Committee and Working Group of WILPF
• IB members will ensure that section members are aware of the section fees as this is necessary to help finance the organisation.

WILPF Finances:
The 2009 basic budget was passed.
International Travel Policy was amended.
Quasi-Endowment Policy was adopted.
IB Agreed to implement 6 (six) fundraising ideas

• Annual letter from international presidents to go to every member
• Recruit to the Committee of 100
• 28 April fundraising birthday celebrations
• Internships & Summer schools
• Use programme proposals generated by Geneva in a coordinated way
• Build WILPF’s Endowment

2007 Audits were approved.
Nancy Ramsden (US) was appointed as Treasurer.
Sliding Scale International Membership Fee was approved, based on purchasing power parity, with a minimum fee set at 10chf per year.

WILPF Programme:
The following programmatic priorities were agreed by the IB, with a commitment by IB members to encourage their sections to implement them nationally.

Challenge Militarism
You Get What You Pay For
Using materials developed and circulated by the international offices, sections will advocate for alternatives to military madness.   National sections will develop materials specific to their national spending in order to advocate specific changes in national budgeting priorities. 

The International Board also agreed to circulate materials developed by the Reaching Critical Will project on Article 26 of the UN Charter to increase national lobbying efforts to implement this important article.

Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty 2010 Review Conference Preparations

• Use Reaching Critical Will resources including forwarding them to other organizations in the region working on nuclear weapons issues
• Lobby at the national level for a nuclear weapons convention
• Work with the International Campaign Against Nukes (ICAN)
• Work with Mayors for Peace

UN Security Council Resolution 1325
The IB agreed to support sections in conflict areas to develop their own action plans on implementing 1325, including recommendations for implementation, and that these will be used as a lobby tool in sections that have troops in these conflict areas.  WILPF sections will also encourage their governments to create National Action Plans on implementing 1325, and will continue monitoring the status of implementation in those countries that already have them. 

Strengthening Multilateralism
WILPF & Durban Review Conference
It was agreed that IB members would encourage their sections to answer the survey that was created and distributed by the WILPF working group against racism, and would lobby their governments to participate in the Durban Review conference.

CEDAW
The IB agreed that it would encourage sections to lobby their governments to withdraw reservations to (or in the case of some countries- ratify) the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women.  In addition, it was agreed that WILPF should advocate for a general recommendation from the CEDAW committee on the issue of women in conflict.   It was also agreed that sections would become familiar with the CEDAW optional protocol as well as the African Women’s protocol.

WILPF UN Committee
This committee was created by the IB in order to:

• Support better understanding of the UN Charter & ALL bodies of the UN
• Share information with sections about what their government is saying at the UN-  does it match what they say at home?
• Alert Sections to when their government is appearing before a specific body
• The committee will include all current UN Representatives (and representatives to specialized agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organisation and UNESCO).

Investing in Peace
Climate Security = Human Security
The co-convenors of the Environment Working Group are attending a meeting in Poland on climate change and will report back to the whole of WILPF.  This information will be used to further develop education materials and an advocacy strategy towards the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change in December 2009.  WILPF’s unique contribution to these discussions relate to the impact on the climate from military production, but additional materials and resources are needed to elaborate on this. 

It was also recognized that WILPF needs additional materials, along the lines of the “You Get What You Pay For” materials on the environment that will be developed from the Geneva office in coordination with the Environmental Working Group

Food and Water – WILPF needs a more visible policy. 
WILPF Norway bringing a 100 page book out about water and an English version should be developed. 
WILPF members should find funding for themselves to attend the World Water Forum, 16-22 March 2009 in Turkey. 

CSD 17 – Commission on Sustainable Development, 4- 15 May 2009
Funding will be sought by members of the Environment Working Group to hold an event on the DRC and the link between resource consumption and conflict.  Africa is one of the issues on the CSD agenda, so this ties in very well.  In addition, information on coltan [a valuable black mineral combining niobite and tantalite; used in cell phones and computer chips] extraction in the DRC could be a focus, as well as the accountability of multi-national companies that fuel conflict through resource extraction.

Gender budgeting
Educate membership on what this means and how it could be used nationally.  The Dutch section is preparing some educational materials on this issue that should be available by the end of February 2009 and circulated to all sections.

Promoting Global Economic Justice
WILPF understands economic injustice as root cause of conflict and inequalities in the world and we stress our sections especially in the rich North to show solidarity with our sections in developing countries to make their campaigns central to theirs.  The global economic justice working group will work on the following action areas and report their progress to the next IB meeting.

Actions: 

• Develop analyses and theories linking economic systems, development models and poverty and threat for working people, linking these issues with a broad concept of Human Security and Dignity (Food, Health, housing, ability to meet basic needs, through a dignified job) and freedom from  armed conflict. 
• Exchange information for campaigns with WILPF Geneva Office and sections and vice versa. 
  Network with other NGOs working around these themes.

To demand accountability of those causing economic damages to people including the European Union, Bretton Wood institutions, U.S., our governments and campaign to prevent the continuation of their policies.

Actions: 

• Oppose bilateral agreements of the European Union with different countries in the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia (ACP).   Support efforts to rescind lopsided trade agreements between the U.S. and other countries and support renegotiations of approved trade agreements between the U.S. and other countries, as promised by elected president of U.S. and ensure that renegotiated trade agreements favour the majority of the world’s people.   
• Take advantage of European Parliament election time in 2009, and lobby around these issues and try to obtain commitments of changes regarding this matter.
• Develop analyses and theories linking economic systems, development models and poverty and threat for working people with a broadened concept of Security (Food, Health, housing, ability to meet basic needs).
• Exchange information for campaigns with WILPF Geneva Office and sections and vice versa.

To promote and make visible alternative development models, such as cooperation between the South, fair trade options.  Offer solidarity to initiatives in that direction that might help people fight poverty and improve livelihoods. 

•  Promote the regulation of mineral extracts (eg. CRC) Trade (research and elicit lessons from experiences such  as the "Kimberly Process" –certification of diamonds to ensure they are not from conflict zones,  follow up of such initiatives and other similar out of which we can support or out of which we can learn in our educational processes.
• Follow up of initiatives in the UN such as meetings of UNCTAD and see that the voices of civil society organizations, women’s, and particularly of WILPF can be brought there and affect decisions.
• Network with other NGOs working around these themes.

Corporate Connections
It was recognized during discussions that AREVA is active in the entire nuclear fuel/fool cycle and is also operating in many countries where WILPF has sections.  It was agreed that sections would coordinate with the Environmental Working Group to develop specific campaign materials about this corporation to advocate for better adherence to environmental justice and human rights laws.  In addition, countries seeking to enter into partnerships with AREVA would be lobbied to refuse those contracts. 

The Environment working group requested help from interested members in developing the following materials:

• Why Nuclear Energy is not Carbon Free
• Health Effects of entire nuclear Fool Cycle (including uranium mining)
• The link between nuclear weapons and nuclear energy
• Women, Water, War.

Building WILPF
100th Anniversary
By next Congress, each section will present it’s own national action plan for 2015
Sections, right now, begin asking for ideas for logo, slogan, and title of the event
Recognize and honour those who have been part of WILPF’s vision as part of national birthday celebrations

• Information will be put on web page when sent by section
• Honouring voluntary service

Organisational Development
It was agreed that communications is at the heart of WILPF’s work and vitally important.  However, since the Communications committee is not as functional as it hopes to be, it was agreed that the Communications Committee would become a sub-committee of the Organisational Development Committee.

It was agreed that Y-WILPF would also become a subcommittee with a mandate that states:  The Y-WILPF sub-committee of the organisational development committee will be responsible for coordinating the international Y-WILPF network. Each national contact person will be a member of the committee. The committee will build on the 2006 Y-WILPF programme for action, for building Y-WILPF and building the strength of WILPF

The Organisational Development Committee agreed to ensure that a racism / diversity workshop will be held at each IB meeting- and would coordinate with sections so that it is organized by a different section each time.

Constitution Committee
The mandate of this committee was changed to include:

• Explaining the constitution to sections and members
• Review national by-laws for coherence with the international constitution
• Review of constitution before next Congress and a review of WILPF practices to be sure that they are constitutionally correct

Personnel Committee
The revised personnel policies were adopted with the understanding that the personnel committee would clarify the unclear language the Executive Committee identified.  The clarified and complete policies will be circulated before the end of 2008.  The following work plan for the committee was presented to the IB.

The Personnel Committee will:

• progress the provision of a loose leaf Personnel Manual;
• receive and discuss reports from the SG as required in the Policies, reporting then upon these to the Executive Committee;
• offer assistance in the areas given in the Policies including updating job descriptions, appointment processes and annual appraisals;
• review salary schedules and make recommendations to the Executive Committee on increases, adjustments and benefits;
• offer guidance in appointment and appraisal procedures, staff training and career development assisting the organization on all parts set up in the policy document and will closely follow the performance of the work and assist the organization and the staff when asked for by any part;
• The committee will keep in touch via e-mails and as needed phone conferencing;
• The committee will evaluate annually, in co-operation with staff members, the effectiveness of current staff functions and organization in internet communication with all staff and Personnel Committee members;
• Report to the IB in 2009, the progress that has been made.

WILPF Manifesto
Edith Ballantyne reviewed the original manifesto proposal that was agreed at the 2007 Bolivia Congress.  A discussion ensued about possible next steps and a core committee was approved, consisting of Krishna AhoojaPatel (India), Cherry Padilla (Philippines), Julia Federico (residing Switzerland) and Monika Kinkel (USA), to work in conjunction with the group approved by the 2007 Congress (Joan Ecklein, USA; Sue Gilbey, Australia and Krishna) to re-invigorate the discussion and put forward a paper to stimulate the work of this visioning group.  It was agreed that the resolutions adopted by the 1915 Congress should be reviewed to help stimulate this discussion and Adilia Caravaca (Costa Rica) agreed to translate those into Spanish.