Thus far, people in 187 countries have signed this pledge:
“I understand that wars and militarism make us less safe rather than protect us, that they kill, injure and traumatize adults, children and infants, severely damage the natural environment, erode civil liberties, and drain our economies, siphoning resources from life-affirming activities. I commit to engage in and support nonviolent efforts to end all war and preparations for war and to create a sustainable and just peace.”You can sign it too, at https://worldbeyondwar.org/sign
People who sign it have the option of checking various boxes to indicate how they’d most like to get involved in working for peace.
The result is not, as critics will be quick to point out, immediate peace. The result is a huge number of people, organized by location and interest area, working to end war. The result is chapters of World BEYOND War, divestment campaigns, campaigns to close bases, campaigns to halt wars and block weapons sales and promote nonviolent action and peace education — efforts that have already seen numerous successes. At the link above is also a link for organizations to sign the peace pledge.
The list of signers can also be delivered to local and national governments as part of lobbying efforts to reduce and end militarism.
Here are the countries where anywhere from 1 to 100,000 people have signed:
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, American Samoa, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bonaire, Saint Eustasia and Saba, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chad, Chile, China, Christmas Island, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia, Curacao, Cymru, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, England, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, Faroe Islands, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guam, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Jordan, Juan de Nova Island, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Malawi, Mali, Malta, Martinique, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nepal, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Polynesia, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sint Maarten, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, South Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United States, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vatican City, Venezuela, Vietnam, Virgin Islands, British, Virgin Islands, U.S., Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
On the map above, some nations stand out as lacking even a single signer: Cuba, Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Liberia, Burkina Faso, Benin, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Lesotho, Swaziland, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, North Korea, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu.
Some nations lacking a single signer of the declaration of peace may be harder to spot: Andorra, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahrain, Bermuda, Cape Verde, Comoros, Cook Islands, Dominica, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Montserrat, Nauru, Netherlands Antilles, Niue, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, East Timor, Tokelau, Tonga, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, French Guiana, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, East Africa Zanzibar, Isle of Man, Diego Garcia, Kosovo.
We need your help. People in every one of these places want peace. It’s up to us to reach out to them. Can you do so? Can you send them this link? https://worldbeyondwar.org/sign
Even as we work to complete the list of countries, we want to generate some friendly competition to see which country can produce the most signers. Can you help with that?
The weapons dealers are global. The U.S. bases are global. The peace movement must be global too. Already we’re in more countries than U.S. troops are. But we need far greater numbers. Let’s build this!
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David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is executive director of WorldBeyondWar.org and campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org. Swanson's books include War Is A Lie. He blogs at DavidSwanson.org and WarIsACrime.org. He hosts Talk Nation Radio. He is a 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee.
Follow him on Twitter: @davidcnswanson and FaceBook.
Help support DavidSwanson.org, WarIsACrime.org, and TalkNationRadio.org by clicking here: http://davidswanson.org/donate.Sign up for these emails at https://actionnetwork.org/forms/articles-from-david-swanson.