Dear sisters,
I am writing with an urgent request that your organizations sign on and endorse this letter to the Foreign Ministers who will be convening in Vancouver, Canada on January 16, 2018 to discuss the Korean conflict. It is being billed as THE diplomatic meeting to try to find a diplomatic solution before the Trump administration starts pursuing the military options that are now on the table.
Women Cross DMZ, Women Making Peace in South Korea, Nobel Women’s Initiative, Canadian Voice of Women for Peace, and United Church of Canada traveled to Ottawa Canada last week for intensive engagement with the Canadian Government which has expressed some interest in playing an honest backchannel broker for a diplomatic outcome on the Korean conflict. At these meetings, we asked that women peacemakers be included at the January 16 meeting, and there is some indication that the Canadian Government is working towards this. But we need to put some pressure on all the Foreign Ministers, especially some that declared feminist foreign policies (Canada, France, Netherlands).
It is our opportunity to ensure that the spirit of 1325 does not get lost or drowned or put at a side table — this is THE hard security issue that needs our intervention.
We are gathering as many civil society organizations to send to the Foreign Ministers by Friday, December 22 at 5pm EST. Could you please add your organizational name NOW!
Thank you for your prompt reply,
In solidarity and with hope,
Christine