Statement by the Nordic Peace Alliance: The Nordic Council must not be militarized
Statement by the annual meeting of the Nordic Peace Alliance
held in Mariehamn 11.8.2024
The Nordic Council must not be militarized
A working group in the Nordic Council, the main forum for mutual political cooperation in the Nordic Region, is preparing a proposal for a Defence and Security Commission within the Nordic Council.
The Commission would be a new permanent body of the Council, bringing together defence ministers, parliamentarians and experts from the countries, excluding foreign ministers. Its mandate would cover the North from the Arctic to the Baltic and all sectors of national defence. In practice, it would make the Nordic Council a new instrument for deepening NATO policy and NORDEFCO cooperation.
The Nordic countries have often been seen as ideal societies, known for democracy, equality and prosperity. They are at the top of the statistics, whether it is a question concerning stability, freedom, a sense of security or happiness. The Nordic countries should represent a value-based, and peace-enhancing integration that does not rely on military force or the threat of its use.
The Nordic Peace Alliance, representing Nordic peace organizations, objects to the militarisation of the Nordic Council. There are already more than enough military security cooperation bodies. On the contrary, we want the Nordic Council to be a vehicle of peace building and peace mediation and rather start a committee to deal with these issues. What is needed now is stronger efforts for peace, by peaceful means. Joint Nordic policy, projects, and actions are also needed for social reconstruction in Ukraine.
The Nordic Council must remain an instrument of cooperation for human security and diplomacy. It must not become subordinated to the idea of security based on arms.
We want the Nordic Council to heed the words of the Palme Commission of 1982: Nations and populations can only feel safe when their counterparts feel safe.
- The Nordic Peace Alliance proposes that instead of setting up a Defence and Security Commission, the Nordic Council should set up a committee for peace, whose tasks should include planning the establishment of a Nordic peace and arbitration institute promoting peaceful and just reconciliation in international conflicts.
Mariehamn 11.8.2024,
Annual meeting of the Nordic Peace Alliance
