The General Assembly of the Global Anti-War Movement called on the world to fill the streets on March 20 to demand an end to the occupation of Iraq.

The General Assembly of the Anti-War Movement convened on January 19 at the World Social Forum (WSF) in Mumbai, India.

Meeting for the whole day, the Assembly began with an assessment of the current political situation, followed by reports from various activists involved in various anti-war movements around the world. Reports were also made by many anti-war campaigns such as the World Tribunal on Iraq, the “Close the US bases” campaign, the Campaign for Disarmament, the Occupation Watch Center, the Caravans to Iraq and the Civil Missions to Palestine. It ended with a session dedicated to strategizing on ways forward and common campaigns to be supported.


Envisioned to be the biggest and most representative meeting of the anti-war movement since the invasion, the Assembly was a collective effort by anti-war coalitions spanning all continents of the globe.

The Assembly had more than 100 endorsers from the largest anti-war coalitions around the world including the European Coalitions which organised the massive marches on February 15th last year, Stop the War Coalition in the UK, United For Peace and Justice and ANSWER in the US, the Anti-War Coalition in South Africa and the Asian Peace Alliance, as well as various social movements, trade unions and farmer and peasant groups such as the CUT in Brasil, the Social Movements Network and Via Campesina.

Competing with the lively drumming of nearby cultural performers, the dust and noise from the constant flow of passing demonstrations and the general chaos of the WSF, the Assembly discussed, debated and strategized on the ways forward to globalising the resistance and ending the occupation of Iraq.

The Assembly ended with the call for an International Day of Action on March 20, the anniversary of the attack on Iraq. It calls for all movements in all continents to organize mass protests on that day to demand the end of the occupation of Iraq. Different countries will organise protests of different scales and forms; the important point is to mark the anniversary across the world.

Resistance in Iraq and around the world is growing daily and March 20 will be the day when the global resistance tells not only Bush but all the occupation troops and warmongers that the movement will not rest until the occupation of Iraq and Palestine and the “war against terror” is ended.

For more information, please contact: [email protected]

* All organizations and movements around the globe are requested to send in their plans for March 20 to [email protected] *

The General Assembly of the Global Anti-War Movement was endorsed by:

All Together – Korea

Anti-War Coalition – South Africa

Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development

Asia Pacific Movement on Debt Development

Asian Peace Alliance

Asian Peace Alliance – Japan

Asian Women’s Human Rights

ATTAC – Ag Globalisierung und Krieg, Germany

ATTAC – Japan

Bangladesh Krishok Federation

Bastaguerra, Italy

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (UK)

Campa๑a por la Desmilitarizaci๓n de las Am้ricas (CADA)

Campus Antiwar Network, US

Center for Economic Research and Social Change

Central Unica de los Trabajadores (CUT) (Brazil)

Centre for Development Studies, CIEDS Collective, India

Centro de Estudios Internacionales, Managua, Nicaragua

Chagos Refugees Group

Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (India)

Code PINK: Women for Peace

Common Action for Peace and against the War

Condi – Iraqi National Democratic Coalition

Continental Campaign Against FTAA

Corp Watch (USA)

Documentation for Action Groups in Asia

Echec a la guerre-Montreal

El Foro Social de Madrid

El Taller International

Focus on the Global South

Forum Against the War (Italy)

Freedom from Debt Coalition

Gathering for Peace – Philippines

GENSUIKIN (Japan Congress Against A & H Bombs)

GENSUIKYO (Japan Council Against A & H Bombs)

German Peace Council

Global Exchange

Global Peace and Justice Coalition of Turkey

Globalize from Below – Korea

Grassroots Peace Network (National Network to End the War Against Iraq)

Greek Social Forum

Hemispheric Social Alliance

Iniciativa Mexicana Contra la Guerra. No en Nuestro Nombre

Institute for Popular Democracy

International Association of Peace Messenger Cities

International Civilian Campaign for the Protection of the Palestinian People (CCIPPP)

International South Asia Forum (INSAF)

Iraq International Occupation Watch Center

Italian Movements of the European Social Forum

JANANEETHI

Jubilee South

KALAYAAN! (Katipunan para sa Pagpapalaya ng

Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU)

Korean Federation of Medical Groups for Health Rights

Korean People’s Action Against FTA & WTO (KoPA)

LALIT, Mauritius

Le Mouvement de la Paix

Ledikasyon pu Travayer (LPT), Mauritius

Movement for Democratic Socialism (Japan)

Movimiento por la Paz, Spain (MPDL)

MST

National Youth and Student Peace Coalition (USA)

NGO Federation of Nepal

Not in Our Name Project, USA

Nuclear Free Philippines Coalition

Peace Boat (Japan)

Peace Constitution League

Peace Initiative of Turkey

People’s Plan Study Group (Japan)

People’s Task Force for Bases Clean Up – Philippines

Polaris Institute

Promoting Enduring Peace

Red Mexicana de Accion frente al Libre Comercio

Social Movements Network

Solidarity (USA)

South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD)

Stop the War Coalition – Greece

Stop the War Coalition – UK

Stop the War Initiative, Poland

Sumpay Mindanao

Tavolla della Pace

The All India Peace & Solidarity Organisation (AIPSO)

The ASR Resource Centre

The Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases (CAAB) UK

The Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa

The No War on Iraq Coordination – Turkey

The People’s Peace Alliance (Pakistan)

The South Asian Women for Peace

The Swedish Peace Council

UN PONTE PER (Bridge to Baghdad) NGO – Italy

United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) – US

US Peace Council Vimochana, Forum For Women Rights, India

Via Campesina

Workers Democracy, Thailand

World Peace Council

World Peace Now, Japan

Xarxa de Mobilitzacio Global (Barcelona)

Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA) (India)

ZENKO (National Assembly for Peace and Democracy)