Our feminist mission, aims and principles
WILPF’s mission is to prevent war and build a global permanent peace by addressing the root causes of violence, conflict and inequality; ensuring that women are meaningfully represented at all levels in the peace-building process; defending the human rights of all; and promoting social, economic and political justice.
How we started
The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) was founded in 1915 following a meeting of 1,136 suffragists from 12 countries, who met in The Hague during the First World War to discuss the root causes of conflict and how to end the war.
After more than a century, WILPF continues to work to address the systems of oppression – patriarchy, militarism, nationalism, capitalism, racism and colonialism – that seek to dominate people and the planet through physical, psychological and economic violence and which all pose threats to our future existence.
Our structure
We are a national Section of WILPF International, a global non-governmental organisation. WILPF UK is coordinated by our national Executive Committee, in which some committee members hold specific roles and some are company directors. We also have local Branches operating in areas with a number of members, and working groups delegated to work on specific campaigns and issues.
WILPF is a global movement that includes member Sections and Groups in over 40 countries across every continent. WILPF’s International Secretariat, under the direction of the Secretary-General, works out of offices in Geneva, New York and London to coordinate WILPF work around the world.
In 1948, WILPF was part of the first group of NGOs to receive consultative status with the United Nations (UN) through the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). We also have consultative status with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), as well as special consultative relations with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and UNICEF.
Our members are involved in WILPF International working groups and networks, such as the Young WILPF Network.
WILPF UK was incorporated as a private company limited by guarantee in 2022. Its official name is Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom UK Section Limited, and the Company number is 14007981. You can download the Organisational Rules, and read more here.
The WILPF Trust is a registered charity, independent of WILPF UK. It supports raising awareness and fundraising in relation to human rights and particularly women’s rights. The Trust has provided funds for a number of WILPF UK projects and members. For more information about the WILPF Trust, contact Deirdre Leask, Secretary: leaskfleming@gmail.com. Find out more here.
Our local Branches and groups are a great way of connecting local WILPF members, and getting active in your area. When you become a member you can join your local Branch to stay updated with events and actions, and have the opportunity to meet and campaign alongside like-minded women.
Meet our people
WILPF UK is coordinated by our national Executive Committee who are all volunteers who work collectively and make decisions by consensus. Some of our Executive Committee members hold specific roles, others are also company directors. We also have members who voluntarily lead our campaigns on disarmament, women, peace and security, and climate justice, and those who run our local Branches.
Annual Report 2023-24
Our partnerships
We are affiliated to several networks and work in partnership with a number of like-minded organisations across the UK. For example, we work with other organisations to plan the annual International Conscientious Objectors’ Day, and the bi-annual Stop The Arms Fair campaign. WILPF Branches and groups also work closely with other organisations locally.
- Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy
- Anglican Pacifist Fellowship
- Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT)
- Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and Scottish CND
- Conscience: Taxes for Peace not War
- Extinction Rebellion (XR) Peace
- Fellowship of Reconciliation
- Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS)
- Gender and Development Network (GADN)
- Global Campaign on Military Spending
- Global Justice Now
- International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)
- Lakenheath Alliance for Peace
- Movement for the Abolition of War (MAW)
- National Assembly of Women
- Network for Peace
- Pax Christi
- Peace and Justice Scotland
- Peace News
- Peace Pledge Union
- Quaker Peace & Social Witness Central Committee
- Rethinking Security
- Scientists for Global Responsibility
- Stop Killer Robots
- Stop the War Coalition
- United Nations Association (UNA) UK
- War Resisters International (WRI)
- WILPF UK Trust
- Women in Black Against War and Militarism
Funding
WILPF UK seeks outside grant support for our campaigning programme. We find that the pool of charities and funders who support feminist peace-makers is quite small, so we are grateful for the organisations to which we are able to return regularly for fiscal support.
