Press release from Feb 18th 2022

Shaping Peace and Justice – NO to war!

International Munich Peace Conference

Parallel to the Munich Security Conference, the 20th Munich Peace Conference begins today in the Old Town Hall. On this occasion, the organizers published a joint appeal for the abolition of nuclear weapons, which is supported by the mayor of Munich Dieter Reiter. Mayor Katrin Habenschaden will open the two-day event today at 7 pm. Under the permisse “Never again war”, experts from the peace and environmental movement will address the connections between nuclear armament, scarcity of resources, environmental protection and peace work.
“As Mayor of Munich and as a member of Mayors for Peace, I strongly appeal to those responsible to do everything possible to achieve the general and worldwide abolition of nuclear weapons. Any use of nuclear weapons, whether intentional or accidental, would result in catastrophic, far-reaching, and long-lasting consequences for people and the environment. This must be avoided at all costs!” said Dieter Reiter, the Lord Mayor of Munich.
The call of the Munich Peace Conference to overcome military security thinking and to build a common security through reconciliation of interests and cooperation is existential with the current Ukraine crisis. “NOW is the hour of diplomacy, the high art of multilateral diplomacy!” underlines Matthias Platzeck, Chairman of the Board of the German-Russian Forum in his guest contribution at the Munich Peace Conference.
This evening, the experts at the Peace Conference in the International Forum will discuss nuclear disarmament and a new Ostpolitik without enemy images. On Saturday, Peace for Future’s workshop “Designing Sustainable Systems” will show new ways to make our world viable and sustainable. In the evening, a panel of experts with well-known personalities from the peace and environmental movements will examine the new government coalition with a focus on “Is the traffic light coalition fit for peace and the future?” Emily Z. Binding will speak on the panel for Fridays for Future Munich.
At the same time, the Munich Security Conference (MSC) is meeting a few meters away in the luxury hotel Bayerischer Hof. The aim of the peace conference is to create a counterpoint from civil society to the meeting of heads of state and ministers as well as the representatives of the military and the arms industry.
We are happy to offer interviews with the speakers and guest contributions on the topic.
You can read the appeal of the environmental and peace organizations for the 20th Munich Peace Conference here .
You can find the digital press kit here: https: //friedenskonferenz.info/digitale-pressemappe/
More information on the conference:
www.friedenskonferenz.info

Contact:

Maria R. Feckl, Project Manager International Munich Peace Conference and local contact, mobile 0160 97 50 20 28, e-mail: office@friedenskonferenz.info
Lara-Marie Krauße, IPPNW Press and Public Relations Officer, Tel.: 030 698074-15, E-mail: krausse@ippnw.de
Christoph von Lieven, moderator and campaigner for peace and nuclear disarmament at Greenpeace, mobile: 0171 87 80 80 2, e-Mail: cvlieven@greenpeace.org
Organizations of the sponsoring group:
DFG-VK
pax christi Diocese of Munich and Freising e.V.
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War / Physicians in Social Responsibility (IPPNW)
Greenpeace e.V.
MSKchange e.V.
Peace Tax Network
NatWiss Responsibility for Peace and Sustainability e.V.
Helmut-Michael-Vogel Bildungswerk e.V.