The 1980s were dominated with the campaigns about arms reduction. These included the ongoing peace camp and internationally supported demonstrations at Greenham Common, where WILPF women played a significant part.
In 1982 WILPF launched an international campaign “Stop The Arms Race” STAR which concluded with a mass rally on 8 March 1983 in Brussels demanding that NATO cancel the decision to deploy Pershing missiles. WILPF sections all over the world collected signatures for the STAR Campaign and presented petition signatures to NATO leadership.
This was followed in 1984 with WILPF launching a worldwide campaign for a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. At the UN “Women’s Decade Conference” Nairobi 1985, WILPF was a leader of the NGO Forum and coordinated the Peace Tent.
1995 saw several British members travelling on the WILPF Peace Train from Helsinki to Beijing. The Peace Train took its passengers across borders, through countries facing economic and social transition caused by conflicts and wars in neighbouring countries, to the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women.
In 2000 WILPF led a coalition of organizations and convinced the UN Security Council to unanimously adopt Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security (UNSCR 1325) . This was the first time the Security Council directly addressed the subject of women and armed conflict. The implementation of UNSCR 1325 is an ongoing campaign for British members and at the international level WILPF’s Peace Women project advocates for its full and rapid implementation and monitors its use.
