On Monday 09 November 2020, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg hosted the NATO 2030 Youth Summit, to promote its militaristic views on security. In an open letter Young people asks NATO to be disbanded and to have a discussion in stead on how to build a more sustainable, more peaceful and fairer world.
Dear NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg,
We want to voice our opposition to the fact that you will host the NATO 2030 Youth Summit on November 9th.
As young people concerned about our future and the future of our planet, we are very concerned that the focus of the event is ‘keeping NATO strong militarily, making it stronger politically and more global’. We do not believe that strengthening NATO is the best way to secure our future. Instead we would like to see NATO disbanded.
One of the main challenges of the 21st century is to reimagine our concept of security. We are living in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, of unfolding climate change disaster and racial unrest. Addressing these challenges is the priority, by working alongside the international community and cooperation of the people, not strengthening a nuclear-armed military alliance that provokes mistrust and conflict.
NATO is committed to an interventionist military agenda and causes instability across the globe.
We urge you to use the NATO 2030 Youth Summit to discuss how we build a more sustainable, more peaceful and fairer world, and to start the discussion about how the world that we will inherit would be better served by bringing an end to your alliance.
Best wishes,
The next generation,
Bela Irina Castro, Research Manager and Junior Researcher at the Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, Portugal │ Sean Conner, Staff International Peace Bureau, USA │ Dr. med. Lisann Marie Drews, Physician and member of IPPNW & Stop Airbase Ramstein Campaign, Germany │ Eskil Grav, Staff International Peace Bureau, Norway │ Sara Medi Jones, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, UK │ Ellie Kinney, Youth and Student CND convenor, UK │Vanessa Lanteigne, National Coordinator of the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace │ Lea Launokari, Women for Peace, Finland │ Marika Lohi, Amandamaji ry, Finland │ Jennifer Menninger, Managing Director, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom Germany │ Emily Rubino, Director of Policy and Outreach at Peace Action New York State & IPB Council Member, USA │ Quique Sánchez Ochoa, Project manager at Centre Delàs of Peace Studies and GCOMS, Spain │ Lisa Silvestre, Mouvement de la Paix, France │ Lucas Wirl, International Network No to War – No to NATO, Germany │ Mikis Wulkow, Peace Activist, Germany
Sign the Open Letter to NATO GenSec Stoltenberg