INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY MESSAGE TO THE CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT,
MARCH 7TH, 1996

Esteemed members of the Conference on Disarmament:

We, women from different countries and organisations, are gathered in Geneva at the annual seminar for International Women's Day. We are honoured to address you again in 1996, the year that will be remembered, hopefully, for the successful completion of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. After forty two years of campaigning for the CTBT, we are encouraged by the progress you are making in finalising this treaty. We urge you to do your utmost to fulfill the expectations of the women and men of the world who have clearly demonstrated that nuclear testing is not acceptable. A zero yield test ban is the first step towards eradicating these atrocious weapons. We trust this treaty will be a true comprehensive test ban. To allow for any kind of nuclear explosion would undermine the credibility of the whole treaty. As chemical and biological weapons are prohibited, so must nuclear weapons be prohibited.

The focus of this year's seminar is the issue of Conversion which we consider to be an essential, practical component for effective disarmament. The Platform for Action adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing 1995 states that governments must act to "convert military resources and related industries to development and peaceful purposes". In this the International Year of the Eradication of Poverty, we are called to work to reclaim society's investment into the military in order to move from a costly culture of war to an equitable culture of peace. Conversion is about moving away from military priorities without creating unemployment and toxic or unusable land.

Conversion is not only about the conversion of military spending and military industry to civilian use, it is also about employment, social justice and environmental restoration. A comprehensive strategy for peace and disarmament involves promoting industrial and political shifts, which are the necessary preconditions for transforming present military priorities. The move towards real security could be realised by committing to an actual peace dividend.

Although the excesses of bi-polar military confrontation are in the past, they leave behind a massive array of weapons, postures and attitudes, many of them searching for new threats to justify extension of their roles at a time of declining defence budgets. However, as changes are made to political structures, industries and attitudes, an opportunity exists to reallocate significant resources to other productive activities. We should now decide to change the culture of violence that is enshrined by vast amounts of weaponry. This challenge is the inspiration for Conversion strategies.

Political systems tend to support planning which shows a social or economic return on political investment within five to ten years at the most, one to two is often the preferred. However, like any good business venture, Conversion will require significant investment over a long period of time, but not as long as it took to institute a permanent war industry. Conversion programmes to reallocate finances, reorient research and development, restructure industry, reintegrate personnel, find alternative uses for military bases and installations and dismantle, reuse or scrap surplus weapons are all projects that require planning and deserve generous funding. Mechanisms are available to governments to encourage such developments, including direct subsidies as well as incentives for industries to conduct basic research, improve technology transfer, support job training and education and environmental regulations. Inga Thorsson, once a delegate to the CD, concluded that for every job that vanishes in the military sector, two can appear in the civilian sector. Her study showed that with careful planning and adequate investment, the traditional arguments against conversion are not substantiated. All that is required is the political will to make a long term investment for a peaceful future.

In our seminar we have heard about concrete examples of Conversion undertaken by a coalition of once defence-dependent councils throughout Europe, successfully converting their economies and environments. Network Demilitarised, a project funded by the European Union, recognises that planning and community consultation are essential for the smooth conversion of military bases throughout Europe. Conversion in countries in transition has been a major focus of our seminar. It has been explained that an important condition for ensuring conversion strategies is multilateral cooperation and support, because the economic and social costs of conversion are very difficult to sustain without financial support. We have also learnt that Conversion in war-torn societies is an essential part of demobilisation and building a long-term peace. The demobilisation programme in Mozambique is an example of where, like any good venture, significant investment pays. Combatants were offered an 18 month pay-out package which gave them the security to retrain and begin a new life out of the military. The positive response to this programme was overwhelming, illustrating that assistance and incentives are required for those who have undergone prolonged warfare and perhaps know few other skills.

Disarmament has major social and economic effects, involving both costs and benefits. Global military spending is still an inappropriate and unacceptable drain on the world's resources and a danger to peace. Military expenditure in the world today is estimated to be in the region of US $1 trillion. Just one quarter of that sum can provide clean water for all, cancel the debt of developing nations, provide shelter for all, provide health care for all, prevent global warming, stabilise the world's population, stop ozone depletion, eliminate starvation and malnutrition, eliminate illiteracy, prevent soil erosion and provide clean, safe energy.

A coherent and responsible policy on global disarmament is not being pursued when aggression and the arms trade continues to be encouraged. The supply of arms to nations in situations of tension or potential tension only exacerbates feelings of mistrust between nations, thereby providing a fertile environment for the proliferation of nuclear and other weapons.

It is not feasible to aim for nuclear arms control and disarmament when a conventional arms race is encouraged.

The ongoing disarmament work done by NGO's on issues such as landmines and nuclear testing can only complement the CD's ongoing work on Disarmament. To this end, we would urge the Conference on Disarmament to consider enlarging the role of NGOs in the work of the CD. Our work represents the voices of many women around the world who are active at local and national levels working to strengthen awareness and action on disarmament matters.

We need to envision a world that has evolved from settling conflicts by warfare. As the sole multilateral negotiating body on Disarmament, the CD is a forum where changed international circumstances can really bear the fruit of disarmament. This year's International Women's Day seminar encourages you in your urgently relevant work for disarmament and peace.

Organisations signing: Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Women's World Summit Foundation, Geneve, ZONTA International, Women for Peace Switzerland, Women for Peace France, World Federation of Methodist Women, International Council of Jewish WOmen, International Baccalautate Organisation, International Peace Bureaur, Inter-African Committee, War Resisters Internatioanl, Young Women's Christian Association, Switzerland PSR/IPPNW