In time for ‘Armistice Day’ -- which marks the 93rd anniversary of the end of “The War to End All Wars” on November 11 --  a new film has been released based on a presentation given at the “Humanism and Peace” conference in Oslo, in August 2011. The video “No More War: The Human Potential for Peace” captures the presentation given by Judith Hand at the World Congress of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU). It is a systematically researched and well-documented approach for ending war on earth.

El Congreso Humanista Mundial, reunido en Oslo, Noruega, del 12 al 14 de -->

The 2011 World Humanist Congress, gathered in Oslo, Norway, on 12-14 August 2011, adopted the following declaration on peace:

Erklärung der Internationalen Humanistischen und Ethischen Union (IHEU, Weltdachverband Humanistischer Organisationen) anlässlich des Symposiums „Religionen und Weltfrieden. Zum Friedens- und Konfliktlösungspotenzial von Religionsgemeinschaften“ vom 20. bis 23. Oktober 2010 in Osnabrück.

Humanists in Lower Saxony, Germany, are today holding a public discussion on peace building. The event in Osnabrueck is being held ahead of a symposium, from October 20 – 23, on the topic of Religions and World Peace: Religious Communities and Their Potential for Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution. The organizers of the symposium rejected requests to include Humanist representatives in the discussion of peace building.

IHEU president Sonja Eggerickx sent the following statement (available in German here):

One of the main goals of the International Humanist & Ethical Union is the attempt to establish an honest and peaceful world.

Whereas in 1990 we were hopeful to reach this goal within a shorter period than expected, the developments in 1991 (Gulf War) and 1992 (Chaos in the Commonwealth of Independent States and in the Balkans) are cause for great concern.

Based on the premise that the needs of war are formed in the human mind, it becomes important not to plant such seeds in the minds of children by providing them with war toys and war games;

Noting that toy soldiers, toy guns and tanks and all war games make children think of war as an acceptable part of life and a way of settling conflicts:

When children play with war toys and engage in war games, they only see the fun and excitement. They do not see the horror. In real life the dead do not get up again, and

1. The Congress notes with deep satisfaction the transformations that are going on in the Soviet Union under the leadership of secretary-general Gorbachev.

2. We support the struggle of humanistic forces in the USSR fighting for democratisation of Soviet society, for freedom of expression, for strict adherence to legality and human rights, for freedom of conscience and emigration. The vital interest of the peoples of the Soviet Union lies in a firm and constant development in the humanistic direction.

We, participants of the Tenth Humanist World Congress of the International Humanist & Ethical Union, who have assembled at Buffalo, NY (July 31 - August 4, 1988),

* Reflecting on "Building a world community: humanism in the 21st century" and "The Need for a New Global Ethic",
* Remembering that on August 6, 43 years ago, the first nuclear bombs fell on Japanese cities,
* Referring to the IHEU Declaration on Nuclear Weapons of 1983,

Whereas terrorism and counter-terrorism are both counter-productive and dangerously destabilising, and

Whereas humanist principles call for peaceful resolutions of al conflict and disputes between groups and countries,

The 1986 Humanist World Congress calls for non-violent equitable solutions to national and international conflicts and condemns anti-terrorist military strikes and terrorism of all kinds.