On February 24, the International Catalan Institute for Peace (ICIP) presented the 2014 ICIP Peace in Progress Award to the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) at a ceremony at the Parliament of Catalonia. The event was chaired by the president of the Parliament, Núria de Gispert, the vice-president of the Government of the Generalitat, Joana Ortega, and the president of ICIP, Rafael Grasa. It was attended by WILPF’s international president, Adilia Caravaca, and other members of the award-winning organization, as well as representatives of various pacifist feminist movements.
The 2014 ICIP Peace in Progress Award honors WILPF for “its century-long involvement in the work of women for peace, as well as its commitment to disarmament, the defense of human rights and the persistence to obtain the recognition of the role of women in the building of peace.”
The award was accepted by the international president of the organization, Adilia Caravaca, who defended the commitment of WILPF to numerous struggles over the last century, such as “the struggles for independence, the liberation of colonies, the self-determination of indigenous peoples, the struggle against apartheid and against all wars.” The president of WILPF highlighted the validity of the objectives and principles of the founders of WILPF: “We live in a world of intolerance, of permanent wars and insecurity. We are far from having societies that focus on satisfying human needs. Peace seems as elusive as ever.”
During the ceremony, a video about the award-winning organization was screened and a brief account of WILPF’s centennial history and the conferment statement were read. Afterwards, ICIP president Rafael Grasa stressed WILPF’s influence on the international agenda. In his speech, the president of ICIP recalled that WILPF “has been at the center of a pacifist internationalist feminism” and that “it has been able to accomplish an enormous amount of work in a world that is off-limits to civil society and tailor-made for men.”
Following the presentation of the award, the vice-president of the Government of the Generalitat, Joana Ortega, recalled that the ongoing crises in countries such as Iraq, Syria, Nigeria or Ukraine “make it necessary to work harder than ever for peace.” The vice-president congratulated WILPF for the ground covered in favor of peace, and ICIP for the initiative of an award that, year after year, gains international prestige.
Finally, in her closing statement, the president of the Parliament, Núria de Gispert, praised the courage of the first women of WILPF who, one hundred years ago, in the middle of the First World War, got together in a congress in The Hague to talk about peace and disarmament. De Gispert recalled the pact-based tradition of Catalan institutions and defended the need for WILPF’s struggle for peace to continue moving forward.
Previous recipients of the ICIP Award
The ICIP Peace in Progress Award originated in 2011, with an extraordinary edition of the award honoring the Parliament of Catalonia for representing the continuity and legacy of the institutions “Pau i Treva” and “Consolat de Mar.” That same year, the first regular edition of the award recognized the struggle of conscientious objectors and “insubmisos” (people who refuse to do military service or any substitute social work) represented by Pepe Beunza, the first conscientious objector to compulsory military service for ideological reasons in Spain.
Then, in 2012, the ICIP Award was granted to five Madres de Soacha (Mothers of Soacha) for their work in favor of peace and human rights in Colombia. With this award, ICIP wanted to recognize their courage and perseverance in pursuit of truth, justice, and reparations for the killings of their children by the State security forces, and other cases of extrajudicial executions known as false positives.
In 2013, the ICIP Peace in Progress Award was granted to the ex-general born in Belgrade, Jovan Divjak, for his courage in the defense of Sarajevo during the Balkans War and his work in favor of the victims of that conflict.
25.01.2015
