Join the International Peace Demonstration in The Hague on June 22, with transport organized from Brussels. Subject to a registration fee.
We are less than 90 seconds to midnight.
Genocide in Gaza. War in Ukraine. Escalation in the Congo. Bombs over Yemen. Bloodshed in Sudan. And tensions on the South China Sea.
The world is drifting toward total war — if we do not act now to prevent it.
In June, the Hague will host the 2025 NATO Summit, with its members preparing commitments to boost defence spending, ‘ReArm’ the old continent, and expand NATO’s global influence.
NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte has vowed to make the Hague Summit “a real success,” promising US President Donald Trump that it will “project American power on the world stage.”
Trump and his NATO allies have already made clear what they hope to do with that power: pursue the dominance of “Western civilization” across the planet, and enrich themselves along the way.
So as they prepare for war, we must prepare for peace.
The rapid rise of militarism on the Atlantic calls on us to build a global movement behind a common vision of dialogue, diplomacy, and sovereign equality among nations.
That is why — on 23-24 June, exactly fifty years from the signing of the Helsinki Accords — peoples from across the world will gather in Brussels for the International Forum for Peace with an objective to:
— Develop new diplomatic strategies for conflict resolution across the world
— Forge a coalition to oppose the rise of military spending on both sides of the Atlantic.
— Agitate for the immediate closure of foreign military bases on European soil.
— Challenge the narrative of a new Cold War that seeks to divide the world into irreconcilable blocs.
— Promote the policies of welfare, not warfare to deliver social and economic justice.
— Rejuvenate the movement for nuclear disarmament among all nuclear powers.
— Renew the principles of the Helsinki Accords on the occasion of their 50th anniversary.
FIRST DAY – MONDAY, JUNE 23
13:00-14:00
Registration
14:00-14:30
Opening Session
Coordination: Maite Mola
• Welcome by Maite Mola
• Video message from Claudia Sheinbaum, President of Mexico (tbc)
• Representative from the Conference on Peace and Security in Europe, European Parliament, 11–12 June
• Representative from the Peace Counter-Summit in The Hague, 21–22 June
14:30–16:30
Plenary Session: International Mobilization for Peace and Security
Coordination: Bert De Belder
With contributions from:
• Jeremy Corbyn (tbc)
• Representative from CELAC or a progressive government in Latin America
• Representative of Palestine (tbc)
• Peter Mertens, General Secretary, PTB
• Representative of Cuba
• Ambassador of South Africa (tbc)
• Walter Baier, President of the Party of the European Left (ELP)
• Esther Lynch, General Secretary, ETUC
• Embassy of Vietnam
• China Center for Contemporary World Studies
• …
18:00–19:00
Public Action for Peace
Organized by the Belgian platform Stop Militarisation
• At Place de la Monnaie
• "Die-in" action with giant PACE flag, alarm siren, placards with slogans, music, peace songs
• Short speeches by Belgian and international activists, trade unionists, and public figures from e.g. Stop Militarisation, Intal, Stop ReArm Europe
20:00–22:30
Political-Cultural Event “Struggle for Peace!”
• At BeursSchouwBurg (BSB)
• Food and drinks, video screenings
• Messages and calls of solidarity, e.g. from Marc Botenga (PTB MEP), BDS Movement Palestine, Tings Chak (IPA, Tricontinental Institute)
• Informal meetings and exchanges
• Concert for peace with the group TURIKUMWE, Brussels-based collective that performs and teaches Afro-Colombian folklore
SECOND DAY – TUESDAY, JUNE 24
09:30–11:15 | Thematic Panels 1 and 2
Theatre Room | 1 | Against Militarization, War, and the Arms Race
Coordination: Sean Conner, IPB
With contributions from:
• Marc Botenga, MEP PTB
• David Swanson, World Beyond War
• Ludo De Brabander, Vrede vzw, No to NATO
• Hillal Sor, General Secretary, MWB-FGTB (Belgian union)
• …
1b | Migration and Refugees: Consequences and Struggles
• Forum of São Paulo or CELAC Social
• Migrant organizations in Europe and solidarity with migrants/refugees
• FDIM, Women’s International Democratic Federation
• …
Workshop Room | 2 | For the Diplomatic and Negotiated Resolution of Conflicts
Coordination: Gabriel Aguirre, WBW
With contributions from:
• Sean Conner, President, IPB – International Peace Bureau
• Transnational Institute (tbc)
• Representative of Sinn Féin
• Representative of the Lebanese Communist Party (tbc)
• Pax Christi International
• Grupo de Puebla, on the peace process in Colombia (tbc)
• Manal Taha, on the dialogue process in Sudan (tbc)
• …
11:45–13:15 | Thematic Panels 3 and 4
Theatre Room | 3 | A Multipolar World: A Pact for the Future
Coordination: David Adler, Progressive International
With contributions from:
• Ingar Solty, RLS, Rosa Luxemburg Foundation Germany
• Varsha Gandikota, co-coordinator Progressive International
• Tings Chak, IPA and Tricontinental Institute
• speaker from Brazil (tbc)
• DSA, Democratic Socialists of America
• WILPF, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (tbc)
• …
Workshop Room | 4 | For an Autonomous and Peaceful Europe
Coordination: Marga Ferré, transform!europe
With contributions from/on:
• Representative from Die Linke on "A Europe Based on a Common and Shared Security Model" (tbc)
• Gavin Rae, transform!europe on "Helsinki +50"
• Representatives of peace movements:
◦ In Italy: Stop the Rearmament (tbc)
◦ In Belgium: Ansje Vanbeselaere, President of Intal
◦ In France: Mouvement de la Paix (tbc)
◦ In Norway/Nordic countries: RED Party
• Representatives of other political forces in Europe, e.g., Podemos, La France Insoumise (tbc)
• Representatives of trade unions in Europe, e.g., CGT, CCOO, ver.di, and EU trade union confederations (tbc)
• …
14:00–15:00 | Plenary Session
For a peaceful future in Europe and the world
Coordination: Jose Luis Centella
With contributions from public figures, movements, networks, parties, etc.
Presentation of the Manifesto: For a Future of Peace in the World
The International Forum for Peace is a call to action for all those who believe in a future of shared peace, progress, and prosperity.
Sign up, get involved, and help us fight the forces of war, before it is too late.
transform!europe est en partie financé par une subvention du Parlement européen. La responsabilité incombe exclusivement aux organisateurs de l’événement ; le Parlement européen n’est pas responsable de l’utilisation des informations contenues dans la présente publication.
La fondation Rosa Luxemburg est en partie financée par le ministère fédéral allemand des Affaires étrangères. Les points de vue et opinions exprimés lors de l’événement sont uniquement ceux des orateurs. Ceux-ci ne représentent pas nécessairement la position de la fondation Rosa Luxemburg, qui décline toute responsabilité en cas d’éventuelles inexactitudes.