International Peace Bureau
The International Peace Bureau, founded in 1891, is one of the world's oldest international peace federations. The organisation was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1910 for acting "as a link between the peace societies of the various countries". In 1913, Henri La Fontaine was also awarded the Prize " head of the International Peace Bureau"., eleven other Nobel Peace Prize laureates have been members of the IPB.
Its membership consists of 300 organizations in 70 countries. IPB's headquarters are located in Berlin, Germany, with offices in Barcelona, Spain, and Geneva, Switzerland. Prior to 2017, the headquarters were in Geneva.
Its main programmes are the Global Campaign on Military Spending and disarmament for sustainable development, which focuses both on nuclear and conventional weapons, as well as biological weapons, landmines, and small arms.
IPB holds Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council and associate status with the United Nations Department of Global Communications.
IPB was founded under the name Permanent International Peace Bureau. From 1912 onward it used the name International Peace Bureau. Between 1946 and 1961, it was known under the name International Liaison Committee of Organizations for Peace – ILCOP.
Global Campaign on Military Spending
The Global Campaign on Military Spending is a permanent, global, year-round campaign that was created in December 2014 by the IPB to tackle the worldwide issue of excessive military spending.The aim of the campaign is to pressure the world's governments to invest money in the sectors of health, education, employment and climate change rather than military. It also calls for an annual, minimum reallocation of 10% from the military budgets of all states. Finally, it advocates the reduction of arms production and international weapons trade.
The campaign organises the Global Day of Action on Military Spending to bring public, media and political attention to the costs of military spending and the need to invest in new priorities.
GCOMS is managed from the decentralised Barcelona, Spain, office of IPB in coordination with Centre Delàs of Peace Studies. More than 100 organisations from 35 countries have joined the campaign.
Nuclear disarmament activism
IPB has been in the forefront of nuclear disarmament activities since 1945, including:- Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
- Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
- World Court Project
- Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
Seán MacBride Peace Prize
Established in 1992, the Seán MacBride Peace Prize is awarded by the International Peace Bureau to a person or organisation that "has done outstanding work for peace, disarmament and/or human rights." It is named after Seán MacBride, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who was chairman of the IPB from 1968 to 1974 and president from 1974 to 1985.Recipients
The following are the recipients of the Seán MacBride Peace Prize since its inception in 1992:Leadership
At the Triennial Assembly held in Ghent on 15 October 2022, a new group of IPB officials was elected.President
The current co-presidents are:| Country | Name | |||||||||||
United KingdomTreasurerThe current Treasurer is:Vice-presidentsThe vice-presidents deputise for the president when necessary. The current vice-presidents are:
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United Kingdom
France
Ghana
India
United States