World Peace Council EC meeting held in Canada

Image via the WPC

The Executive Committee (EC) of the World Peace Council (WPC) successfully took place in Montreal, Quebec of Canada on 31st October and 1st November 2026. This meeting, the first EC in Canada and North America, was co-hosted by the Canadian Peace Congress, le Mouvement Québécois pour la paix (MQP), and the U.S. Peace Council. The EC meeting was preceded by the regional/continental meeting of the Americas. The 33 participants from 21 organisations discussed and evaluated the situation regarding peace and security and concluded with the following statement:

We are living in an extremely complicated and dangerous moment in international affairs. The world is witnessing growing imperialist aggressiveness, prolonged wars, military interventions, the expansion of military alliances, an unprecedented escalation of the arms race, and violations of the UN Charter and international law. From Europe to the Middle East, from Asia and the Pacific to Africa and Latin America, the sovereignty of nations, the lives of millions of people and the prospects for global peace are under serious threat.

Global annual military spending has now exceeded 2 trillion dollars (US). A small part of this amount would be enough to extinguish hunger, extreme poverty and curable diseases throughout the planet. The NATO states are leading this dangerous and irresponsible spending spree, (60% of the total), with the USA military budget alone amounting to almost 40% of the world’s spending. The WPC also denounces as well the NATO targets requiring its Members to commit at least 5% of their GDP for military spending.

The WPC expresses its serious concern about the ongoing imperialist wars and acts of aggression which are causing death and destruction with huge consequences, above all for the countries and peoples involved, but also for humanity as a whole.

The NATO-Russia war on Ukrainian soil continues, with hundreds of thousands of casualties on both sides. While the WPC has never accepted the unilateral changing of international borders by principle, we condemn the fueling of the war by NATO and the EU, the military encircling of the Russian Federation and the sanctions imposed on it. We reaffirm our Assembly position in this regard and demand a political solution of the conflict by negotiations. The WPC has never supported war for the sake of control of raw materials, spheres of influence and markets. In this respect, we note that the US oil & gas monopolies are using the sanctions and instability caused by this conflict to make paramount profits with their LNG exports to Europe and the world.

At the same time, EU militarization is advancing on all fronts. 800 billion Euros for military spending in the coming years and the conversion of the economy into a War-Economy shows the imperialist character of the EU, whether acting autonomously or as a “European pillar” of NATO. This assessment is also true respectively for the increased military spending of the USA, UK and Canada.

The WPC salutes the millions of youth and students in various European countries who have been demanding decent housing and living conditions with massive street protests.

The aggression of the USA and Israel against Iran started last year in June with heavy bombardments of the country against the alleged nuclear program of Iran. Last February, the aggression passed into its second phase, with severe destruction of civilian infrastructure and thousands of people killed. The US imperialists and their allies did not even hesitate to bomb a school, killing 160 girls. The WPC condemned this aggression, whose only goal has been to control the rich energy resources of the country along with the geo-strategic control of the Persian Gulf. The arrogant and murderous attacks included the assassination of the Iranian leadership, but the people of Iran have resisted this aggression and have not allowed the dismemberment of their country. We demand an end to the military attacks and the withdrawal of the US troops, as well as the closure of the US military facilities from the region.

The Asia-Pacific continues to serve as the main arena of confrontation between the United States and the People's Republic of China. This geopolitical contest is physically manifested through the rapid militarization of the region and the consolidation of Western-aligned security blocs. The expansion and operationalization of AUKUS, alongside an increase in US-led maritime military drills, represent a profound shift toward regional militarization. At the same time the Indian Ocean is becoming a zone of conflict due to the growing militarization and increasing deployment of bases of the USA as well as China, India and European forces.

The participants of the meeting are deeply worried about the situation in the Middle East. For the WPC, the Palestinian struggle for an independent viable state of Palestine within the borders of pre-June 4, 1967 and with East Jerusalem as its capital, are the key element for any peace in the region. The genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people in the Gaza strip for past three years has left only death and devastation. This includes the destruction of hundreds of thousands of buildings, schools, mosques, churches, hospitals, and United Nations facilities. Israel has maintained control over more than 70% of the Gaza Strip, continues its siege, and prevents humanitarian aid such as food, water, medicine, and basic life necessities from entering.

Τhe daily aggression of the Israeli army and the armed settlers has now extended to the West Bank. The occupation army also enforces strict closure of areas through 1,200 iron gates and military checkpoints as well as preventing Palestinians from moving around or reaching their workplaces. All residents of the West Bank are forbidden from entering Jerusalem, and thousands are being banned from travelling abroad.

The WPC strongly rejects the US sponsored “Board of Peace” as one more imperialist initiative to dilute public opposition and continue the policies of occupation. The massive student mobilizations in the USA and the UK are encouraging signs of growing awareness of the peoples.

The WPC denounces the repeated Israeli military attacks against Lebanon and the intrusion to its land. The more than 8,000 killed Lebanese and the 30,000 injured are being added to the more than 300,000 internally currently displaced people. Especially after the violent overthrow of the Syrian government and the handing over of power to local and foreign fundamentalist forces, Israel is expanding its occupation of Arab lands in Lebanon and Syria. The WPC demands the complete and unconditional withdrawal of all Israeli forces, including the “buffer zones” and likewise we demand the reconstruction of all infrastructure and support the right for the return of all displaced people to their homes. The WPC wants to stress that the aggressive role and actions of Israel and its army over all these years, continue to be supported financed not only by repeated US administrations, but also by its EU allies, the majority of whose members who regularly equate the victim with the aggressor through the false theory of the “right to self-defense” of Israel.

The WPC underlines and denounces the role the US and NATO military bases in the region play all these years of the imperialist aggression, particularly the ones in Greece, Turkey and Cyprus which are being used as a springboard for the military attacks by air and sea. The WPC reiterates its demand for the end of the partial occupation of Cyprus by Turkey and supports the reunification of Cyprus and its people based on the relevant UN resolutions.

The Executive of the WPC reaffirms the right to self-determination for Western Sahara and condemns the US maneuver in the UN Security Council to prevent the continuation of MINURSO and the holding of the referendum. As a result, the illegal occupation by Morocco continues while the Saharawi people are being denied their national rights.

The WPC expresses its solidarity with the peoples of Africa and those of African descent who, after centuries of colonization and slavery, continue to face “neo-colonialism” and modern forms of slavery at the hands of both old and new exploiters of the wealth and resources of their lands and economies.

The Executive Committee of the WPC dealt with the situation in the American continent, both in its regional meeting and the EC. We repudiate the resurrection of the “Monroe Doctrine” which the United States formally revived in its National Security Strategy, released in late 2025, which places the Western Hemisphere among Washington’s central priorities. The document, which is overtly interventionist and imperialist in character, views Latin America and the Caribbean as an exclusive sphere of influence that must remain subordinated to the strategic, economic, and security interests of the United States.

The WPC denounces the project of the “Shield of the Americas” with the participation of some governments aligned with the USA as an effort to establish a permanent framework for militarization and a possibility for attacking sovereign countries and overthrowing democratically-elected governments.

The WPC vehemently condemns the US military aggression against Venezuela on January 3, 2026, which led to the kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro and MP Cilia Flores and tookt the lives of 32 Cuban heroes and scores of Venezuelans, as being a serious and direct violation of Venezuela’s national sovereignty. The subsequent US interference and presence of US military forces in the country create the conditions for foreign guardianship to control its natural resources, particularly oil.

The WPC also denounces the recent joint military operations between U.S. and Venezuelan military forces, U.S. military flyovers in Caracas, the bombing of fishing boats in the Caribbean that has cost countless lives, and the presence of high-ranking leaders and officials from the CIA, FBI, and U.S. Southern Command, as well as the presence of Israeli soldiers in Venezuela, all at the invitation of the Venezuelan government.The WPC vows to strengthen its solidarity with the people of Venezuela for their sovereignty.

In this context of strong US offensive against the sovereignty and the peoples’ rights in Latin America, the WPC salutes the anti-imperialist and progressive forces in the region and their struggles, particularly the people of Brazil.

The WPC meeting expresses its wholehearted solidarity with Cuba, its people and its Revolution in the year of the centenary of birth of the Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro to whom we pay our tribute.

From the beginning of the current year, the US blockade and sanctions targeting Cuba have now reached new, inhuman levels. The complete energy siege and prohibition of oil and fuel imports to Cuba has created severe suffering among the Cuban people, which is a form of collective punishment. Daily life is being affected - hospitals, schools and other public institutions are without electricity, infant mortality has doubled, the absence of basic medicines are threatening the life expectancy of the people. The USA is trying to asphyxiate a whole nation which is resisting. The aim is to bring Cuba to its knees and restore conditions which existed before the 1959 Revolution. Today, nobody can rule out even military aggression against Cuba which is less than 145 kilometres away from US territory. The US also forces these sanctions onto many other sovereign nations, that do not agree with their criminal actions on Cuba with the threat of US penalty.

We demand NO WAR ON CUBA! Lift the sanctions and the unacceptable inclusion of Cuba in the US list of ‘State Sponsors of Terrorism’ (SSOT)!

The WPC Executive Committee has discussed and decided to hold the 23rd. World Assembly of the WPC in October 2027 in Istanbul, Turkey. The Assembly will be hosted by the Peace Committee of Turkey and shall become the major world gathering of anti-imperialist peace movements!