1. People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD)
With performances, mock negotiations, and workshops, the South Korean organization PSPD (People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy) is raising awareness about military spending among students, civilians, activists, and political leaders through a variety of upcoming projects. In hosting an international strategy meeting in Seoul next July for peace activists from the Six Party nations, PSPD considers the Pacific Freeze campaign as “essential” to the activities of its Peace and Disarmament Center. PSPD will continue to hold their annual School for Peace and Disarmament to educate and engage university students and everyday citizens on the issue of monitoring the military budget and disarmament. In addition, as a response to the South Korea’s 2010 military budget and PKO Act legislation, PSPD plans to publish a White Paper Report that updates its 2008 report. The 2009 Peace Activists Assembly also took place on November 5-7, 2009 with around 100 participants.

PSPD Website (Korean): http://blog.peoplepower21.org/Peace
PSPD Website (English): http://blog.peoplepower21.org/English

2. Global Article 9 Campaign to Abolish War
The Global Article 9 Campaign to Abolish War, a campaign based in Tokyo, Japan, joined forces with Peace Boat to organize the International Peace Constitutions Conference for Nuclear and Foreign Military Base Abolition, which took place on November 5-6, 2009 in Ecuador. The conference discussed the functions and outcomes of peace constitutions, with particular focus on Article 9 of Japan’s constitution and Article 416 of Ecuador’s constitution. Exhibitions, cultural events, and a peace festival were also included in the program, and the conference attracted hundreds of local citizens, activists, and officials. In addition, Pax Christi International and the Japan Catholic Council for Justice and Peace recently issued a call to action for its members to join the Global Article 9 Campaign in its commitment to spread the message of “no war, no military.”

Global Article 9 Campaign Website (English): http://www.article-9.org/en/
Global Article 9 Campaign Website (Japanese): http://www.article-9.org/jp/

3. Peace Action
The Campaign for a Peace Economy at Peace Action is raising the issue of military spending by continuously advocating its petition to shift military spending, which now has nearly 2000 signatures. It also educates the public about the often overlooked workings of military budget and spending through its Military Spending Primer, available on its website. More recently, Peace Action’s Political Director Paul Kawika Martin’s article on cutting the military budget to create more jobs was published in The Hill.

Peace Action Website (The Campaign for a Peace Economy): http://www.peace-action.org/#peaceeconomy

4. National Association of Korean Americans (NAKA)
The National Association of Korean Americans sponsored the Korea Peninsula Peace Forum in September at the United States Congress. It garnered participation from key representatives from South Korean civil society organizations as well as American scholars and politicians, who shared viewpoints on promoting a peaceful settlement in the Korean peninsula. NAKA also assisted in organizing the 2009 Northeast Asian Women’s Peace Conference held in Washington, D.C. in October.

NAKA Website: http://www.naka.org/

5. Peace Network
The South Korean organization Peace Network is continuously promoting peace and security in Northeast Asia by developing a research paper on the disarmament of the Korean peninsula. It is also developing and promoting a Trilateral Denuclearization project that aims to bring together the Korean peninsula, the Northeast Asian region, and the global community in working toward a peaceful, denuclearized world.

Peace Network Website (Korean): http://www.peacekorea.org/
For English, click on the ‘ENGLISH’ tab at the upper right corner of the homepage.

6. International Peace Bureau
IPB held an annual conference in the United States (the first in the USA since 1904) (Nov. 14-18). The theme of IPB’s historic conference was Rolling back Militarism: a task for the global movement. Also, IPB was represented at the 10th Nobel Peace Summit in Berlin 9-11 November 2009 by Urban Gibson and Reiner Braun. IPB has drawn up an important Call For Action on military spending that they are distributing very widely in the hopes that it will resonate with many people’s concerns about the current financial crisis and the ongoing misappropriation of tax dollars. The first round of organizational endorsements will be sent to the upcoming UN conference on Financing for Development. IPB will then do further outreach in order to reach wider communities around the world and stimulate actions at many levels.

7. Friends Committee on National Legislation (“Our Nation’s Checkbook” Project)
Friends Committee on National Legislation’s current project titled Our Nation’s Checkbook is a coalition campaign on federal budget priorities and the military budget. According to the FCNL, “The federal budget is the central policy document of our nation; it sets our government’s priorities and is the most tangible expression of what Congress values.” The key issues addressed are: Military Spending, Domestic Human Needs, Peaceful Prevention of Deadly Conflict and more. Links on the Friends Committee National Legislation website provide current articles examining the 2010 Unified Security Budget and recent press articles on the current military budget as well as recent legislative actions to decrease military spending.

8. International Women’s Network Against Militarism
The International Women’s Network Against Militarism was formed in 1997 when 40 women activists, policy-makers, teachers, and students from South Korea, Okinawa, mainland Japan, the Philippines and the continental United States gathered in Okinawa to strategize together about the negative effects of the US military in each of our countries. In 2000, women from Puerto Rico who opposed the US Navy bombing training on the island of Vieques also joined, and in 2004 women from Hawai’i. The network has expanded during the 2007 meeting in the United States and the 2009 meeting in Guam.

Some sources regarding the 2009 conference in Guam:

Reports of the 7th International Women’s Network Against Militarism gathering which took place in Guam: http://www.genuinesecurity.blogspot.com

Guam’s Women Leaders Say No to U.S. Military Build-Up:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW5aFuw5MDM.
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3e1jM0fKrE@feature=related