War Resisters League

The War Resisters League affirms that all war is a crime against humanity. We therefore are determined not to support any kind of war, international or civil, and to strive nonviolently for the removal of all causes of war.

    WRL was organized in 1923 by men and women who had opposed WWI, many of whom had been jailed for refusing military service. The founders, including Jessie Wallace Hughan, leading suffragette, socialist, and pacifist, believed that if enough people stood in total opposition to war, governments would hesitate wage war. During WWII hundreds of members were imprisoned in the U.S. for refusing to fight. The League was radicalized when these resisters left prison after the war. Not only had the prison experience deepened their thinking, but they were impressed by the drama of Gandhi's nonviolent struggle for India's liberation.
    In the 1950s, WRL members worked in the Civil Rights movement, in opposition to nuclear testing and "civil defense" and helped launch Liberation magazine. In the 1960s, the League was the first peace group to call for U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam and played a key role throughout the war -organizing the burning of draft cards, rallies, civil disobedience at induction centers and assisting resisters. WRL sponsored the dynamic magazine WIN through the 1970s and connected work against nuclear weapons with actions against nuclear power.
    In the 1980s, WRL members were deeply involved in the women's movement, helped initiate the massive rallies and civil disobedience at 1982 UN Special Session on Disarmament, worked hard against intervention in Central America and supported South Africans organizing against the conscription laws and apartheid.
    Through its whole history the League has remained independent of any political party; opposed to conscription and authoritarianism, censorship and racism in any country; and holds to a nonaligned position in international work.
    The League's work includes: publishing pacifist literature, organizing demonstrations, cooperating with other peace and justice groups, opposing conscription, supporting men and women who resist the military at all levels and training people in civil disobedience and war tax resistance. We assist young men who for reasons of conscience do not comply with laws requiring registration for the draft. Our primary program is YouthPeace which integrates work against war toys
and military recruiting with developing a culture of nonviolence, beginning with our children.
    We have a network of local groups across the U.S. and strong international ties through membership in War Resisters' International. The WRL's quarterly magazine, Nonviolent Activist, is US$15/year for individuals in Canada and the U.S.

For more information, contact: WRL, 339 Lafayette Street, New York, NY
10012 USA.  Tel.: 212-228-0450; Email: wrl@igc.org Website: www.nonviolence.org/wrl