Witness for Peace (WFP) is a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

-based grassroots organization founded in 1983 that opposed the

Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

administration's support of the

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

n ''

Contras The Contras were the various U.S.-backed and funded right-wing rebel groups that were active from 1979 to 1990 in opposition to the Marxist Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction Government in Nicaragua, which came to power in 1979 fol ...

'', denouncing widespread atrocities by these counterrevolutionary groups. Witness for Peace Solidarity Collective brought U.S. citizens to Nicaragua to see the effects of their government's military policy firsthand. Since the end of the Contra war, they have broadened their focus to other

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

n and

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

countries, including

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

and

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

. Within Latin America, the organization is known by the Spanish name ''Accion Permanente por la Paz''.

History

WFP was founded in 1983, as the

Contra War The Nicaraguan Revolution ( es, Revolución Nicaragüense or Revolución Popular Sandinista, link=no) encompassed the rising opposition to the Somoza family, Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the campaign led by the Sandinista Nationa ...

raged in Nicaragua. The organization established an ongoing presence in this

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

n country and sent U.S. citizens to accompany the Nicaraguan people in war zones and to document the "human face" of the Reagan administration's military policy. It is widely credited with pioneering this tactic of international protective accompaniment. WFP was a leading organization working to bring

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

impact of those policies home to the U.S. public through grassroots education and media outreach. During this initial period, WFP established its organizational model of merging the powerful forces of on-the-ground documentation, assertive media strategies, a dynamic delegations program, and stateside grassroots mobilization.

Current operations

WFP has expanded its work beyond Nicaragua to other

n and

countries, answering calls from local partners to accompany people affected by U.S. policies and corporate practices. WFPSC currently has international offices in Honduras,

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, and

. WFP maintains a nationwide base of over 30,000 members, and has sent more than 20,000 people to Latin American and the Caribbean on short-term transformative delegations.

Policy focus

Since its inception, WFP has opposed U.S. military intervention and meddling in

. The organization currently seeks to end U.S. military aid and training for the

Colombian military The Military Forces of Colombia ( es, Fuerzas Militares de Colombia, links=no) are the unified armed forces of the Republic of Colombia. They consist of the Colombian Army, the Colombian Navy and the Colombian Air Force. The National Police of C ...

. WFP also seeks to close the

Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), formerly known as the School of the Americas, is a United States Department of Defense school located at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia, renamed in the 2001 National Defens ...

(WHINSEC), formerly the

School of the Americas The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), formerly known as the School of the Americas, is a United States Department of Defense school located at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia, renamed in the 2001 National Defens ...

(SOA), and end all U.S. military training for Latin American militaries as the organization claims this training has been turned against Latin American civilians. Since 1990, the organization has sought to influence regional U.S. economic policy, aiming to end

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

and structural adjustment conditions placed on loans from multilateral banks such as the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

and the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

. The organization supports

fair trade Fair trade is an arrangement designed to help producers in developing countries achieve sustainable and equitable trade relationships. The fair trade movement combines the payment of higher prices to exporters with improved social and enviro ...

policies and unconditioned economic aid.

Mission and principles

According to the organization's website:

The WFP formation was inspired by the analysis and vision of Berta Cáceres, including the need for movements to inherently reflect the intertwining struggles against capitalism, racism, and patriarchy. The collective brings together grassroots organizers across the hemisphere, stateside regions, international human rights accompaniers, and our advisors to campaign for peace, justice and sustainable economies in the Americas.

External links

www.solidaritycollective.org
Website of the Solidarity Collective, Witness for Peace's international teams on the ground in Latin America.
www.witnessforpeace.org
Website for Witness for Peace's domestic, administrative office. "Witness for Peace: A Story of Resistance", Ed Griffin-Nolan, Westminster Press, Lexington, KY 1991 {{Authority control Peace organizations based in the United States Central America solidarity movement Nicaragua–United States relations 1983 establishments in the United States Organizations established in 1983