Open letter to Trump administration, Women Cross DMZ
President Donald Trump
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
Secretary of Defense James Mattis
H.R. McMaster, National Security Council
Dear President Trump:
We are women leaders from over 40 countries, including the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), and many from nations that fought in the Korean War. We are from academia, business, civil society and the military, and represent a diversity of ethnicities, nationalities, religions, and political views. We are united by our belief that diplomacy is the only way to resolve the nuclear crisis and threat of war now facing the Korean peninsula.
On July 27, 1953, leaders from the United States, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and China signed the Armistice Agreement to halt the Korean War. They promised to re-convene within three months to replace the ceasefire with a binding peace agreement. This never occurred and an entrenched state of war has ever since defined inter-Korean and U.S.-D.P.R.K. relations. This war must end.
Korea is the only nation to remain divided as a result of WWII. For three generations, millions of families have been separated by the world’s most militarized border. We urge you to do the following to avert war in Korea and bring about a long-desired peace on the peninsula:
-
Negotiate a freeze of North Korea’s nuclear and long-range ballistic program in exchange for a U.S. security guarantee that would include suspending U.S.-South Korea military exercises.
-
Initiate a peace process with North Korea, South Korea and China to replace the 1953 Armistice Agreement with a binding peace treaty to end the Korean War. Women must be significantly represented in the peace process in accordance with the spirit of UNSCR 1325.
-
Support citizen diplomacy to heal the legacies of the Korean War by establishing a liaison office in Washington and Pyongyang to facilitate retrieval of U.S. Korean War servicemen’s remains and Korean-American family reunions.
Since 1950, the Korean peninsula has been threatened with nuclear weapons, missile tests, and military exercises that have only served to make 75 million Korean people less secure. In the United States and on both sides of the Korean De-Militarized Zone, the absence of a binding peace accord fuels fear and economic deprivation caused by diverting public resources in preparation for war, including deploying the controversial THAAD missile defense system in South Korea. This endless militarization must stop.
Peace is the most powerful deterrent of all. We urge you to take steps now to help formally end the Korean War with a peace treaty. Doing so would lead to greater peace and security for the Korean peninsula and region and halt the proliferation of nuclear weapons. We look to you to accomplish what successive U.S. Presidents have failed to do for seven decades: establish peace on the Korean peninsula.
Sincerely Yours,
-
Abigail Disney, USA, Filmmaker and Philanthropist
-
Aimee Alison, USA, President Democracy in Color
-
Aiyoung Choi, USA, Steering Committee Member, Women Cross DMZ
-
Alana Price, USA, Editor of Truthout
-
Alice Slater, USA, Coordinating Committee Member, World Beyond War
-
Alice Walker, USA, Author and Activist
-
Alicia Garza, USA, National Domestic Workers Alliance and Black Lives Matter
-
Amina Mama, Nigeria/USA, Professor, University of California, Davis
-
Amira Ali, Ethiopia, Author and Activist
-
Ana Oliveira, USA, Philanthropist
-
Anasuya Sengupta, India, Feminist author and activist, co-founder Whose Voices?
-
Angela Chung, USA, Attorney and Human Rights Activist
-
Angela Davis, USA, Professor, University of California, Santa Cruz
-
Ani DiFranco, USA, Singer, Songwriter, Poet, Multi-instrumentalist & Businesswoman
-
Annabel Park, USA, Filmmaker
-
Ann Frisch, USA, Professor Emerita University of Wisconsin Rotary Club of White Bear Lake, 5960
-
Anne Delaney, USA, Artist and Philanthropist
-
Anuradha Mittal, USA, Executive Director, Oakland Institute
-
Ann Patterson, Northern Ireland, Peace People
-
Ann Wright, USA, Retired US Army Colonel & Diplomat
-
Anne Beldo, Norway, Lawyer and Partner of Hegg & Co. Law Firm
-
Annette Groth, Germany, Member of Bundestag
-
Annie Isabel Fukushima, USA, Professor, University of Utah
-
Audrey McLaughlin, Canada, Former President, Socialist International Women
-
Becky Rafter, USA, Executive Director, Georgia Women’s Action for New Directions (WAND)
-
Betty Burkes, USA, Cambridge Insight Meditation Center
-
Betty Reardon, USA, Founding Director of the International Institute on Peace Education
-
Bridget Burns, Co-Director, Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO)
-
Brinton Lykes, USA, Professor, Boston College
-
Caitlin Kee, USA, Attorney, Thomson-Reuters
-
Carrie Menkel-Meadow, USA, Chancellor’s Professor of Law, University of California Irvine Law School
-
Catherine Christie, Canada, United Church Canada
-
Catherine Hoffman, USA, Coordinator, Cambridge Restorative Justice Working Group
-
Carter McKenzie, USA, Springfield-Eugene Chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice
-
Charlotte Wiktorsson, Sweden, Swedish Physicians Against War
-
Christine Ahn, USA, International Coordinator, Women Cross DMZ
-
Christine Cordero, USA, Center for Story-based Strategy
-
Chung-Wha Hong, USA, Executive Director, Grassroots International
-
Cindy Wiesner, USA, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance National Coordinator
-
Clare Bayard, USA, Catalyst Project
-
Coleen Baik, USA, Twitter @Design Alumna
-
Cora Weiss, USA, President, Hague Appeal for Peace
-
Corazon Valdez Fabros, Philippines, Co-Vice President, International Peace Bureau
-
Cynda Collins Arsenault, USA, Philanthropist, Secure World Foundation
-
Cynthia Enloe, USA, Professor, Clark University
-
Darakshan Raja, USA, Executive Director, Washington Peace Center
-
Deann Borshay Liem, USA, Filmmaker
-
Don Mee Choi, USA, Poet & Translator, International Women’s Network Against Militarism
-
Dorchen A. Leidholdt, USA, Attorney, Professor, Feminist
-
Dorothy Ogle, USA, National Council of Churches
-
Dorothy J. Solinger, USA, Professor Emerita, University of California, Irvine
-
Ekaterina Zagladina, Russia, Permanent Secretariat, Nobel Peace Summit
-
Elaine H. Kim, USA, Professor, University of California, Berkeley
-
Eleana J. Kim, Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine
-
Eleanor Blomstrom, Co-Director, Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO)
-
Ellen Carol DuBois, Professor, History and Gender Studies, University of California, Los Angeles
-
Ellen-Rae Cachola, USA, Women’s Voices Women Speak
-
Emilia Castro, Canada, Co-Representative of Intl. Committee, Americas Region, World March of Women
-
Eunice How, USA, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO, Seattle chapter
-
Eve Ensler, USA, Playwright
-
Ewa Eriksson Fortier, Sweden, Humanitarian Aid Worker
-
Faye Leone, USA, Writer and Editor, International Institute for Sustainable Development
-
Fenna ten Berge, Netherlands, Director of Muslims for Progressive Values
-
Fiona Dove, Netherlands, Executive Director, Transnational Institute
-
Fragkiska Megaloudi, Greece, Journalist
-
Frances Kissling, USA, University of Pennsylvania; former President, Catholics for Choice
-
Francisca de Haan, Netherlands, Professor, Central European University
-
Gabriela Zapata Alvarez, Mexico, Consultative Group to Assist the Poor
-
Gay Dillingham, USA, Filmmaker, Former Advisor to Governor Bill Richardson
-
Gayle Wells, USA, Business owner
-
Glenda Paige, USA, Secretary, Governing Council, Center for Global Nonkilling
-
Gloria Steinem, USA, Writer and Activist, Presidential Medal of Freedom Awardee
-
Grace Cho, USA, Professor, College of Staten Island, City University of New York
-
Gwen Kim, USA, Ohana Koa, Nuclear Free and Independent Hawaii
-
Gwyn Kirk, USA, Women for Genuine Security
-
Haeyoung Yoon, USA, human rights lawyer
-
Hazel Smith, United Kingdom, Professor, University of Central Lancashire
-
Helen Caldicott, Australia, Founding President of Physicians for Social Responsibility
-
Helena Wong, USA, U.S. National Organizer, World March of Women
-
Hope A. Cristobal, Guam, Former Senator
-
Hye-Jung Park, USA, Filmmaker, Community Media Activist
-
Hyaeweol Choi, Australia, Professor, Australian National University
-
Hyunju Bae, Republic of Korea, Central and Executive Committee, World Council of Churches
-
Ingeborg Breines, Norway, Co-President, International Peace Bureau; former Director UNESCO
-
Isabella Sargsyan, Armenia, Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly
-
Isabelle Geukens, Netherlands, Executive Director, Women Peacemakers Program
-
Jaana Rehnstrom, Finland, President, KOTA Alliance
-
Jackie Cabasso, USA, U.S. Mayors for Peace
-
Jacquelyn Wells, USA, Women Cross DMZ
-
Jacqui True, Australia, Professor, Monash University
-
Jane Chung-Do, Professor, University of Hawaii Manoa
-
Jane Jin Kaisen, Denmark, Artist and Filmmaker
-
Janis Alton, Canada, Co-Chair, Canadian Voice of Women for Peace
-
Jasmine Galace, Philippines, The Center for Peace Education, Miriam College
-
Jean Chung, Republic of Korea/USA, Founder, Action for One Korea
-
Jennifer Kwon-Dobbs, USA, Professor, St. Olaf College
-
Ji-yeon Yuh, USA, Associate Professor of History, Northwestern University
-
Joanne Yoon Fukumoto, USA, Trinity United Methodist Church
-
Jodie Evans, USA, Co-founder, Code Pink
-
Joy Dunsheath, New Zealand, President, United Nations Association New Zealand
-
Judith LeBlanc, USA, Director, Native Organizers Alliance
-
Judy Hatcher, USA, Executive Director, Pesticide Action Network North America
-
Judy Rebick, Canada, Former President, National Action Committee on the Status of Women
-
Julie Young, USA, Board Chair, Korean American Story
-
Justine Kwachu Kumche, Cameroon, Executive Director, Women in Alternative Action—WAA
-
Kate Dewes, New Zealand, Former Member of United Nations Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters; Co-Director of the Disarmament and Security Centre
-
Kate Hudson, United Kingdom, General Secretary, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
-
Kathy Crandall Robinson, USA, Women in International Security
-
Kathy Kelly, USA, Voices for Creative Nonviolence
-
Kavita Ramdas, USA, Ford Foundation
-
Khin Ohmar, Burma/Myanmar, Coordinator, Burma Partnership
-
Kim Ku’ulei Birnie, Hawaii/USA, Women’s Voices, Women Speak
-
Kim Phuc, Canada/Vietnam, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador
-
Koohan Paik, USA, Journalist and Activist
-
Kozue Akibayashi, Japan, Intl. President, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
-
Krassimira Daskalova, Bulgaria, Professor, University of Sofia
-
Krishanti Dharmaraj, USA, Executive Director, Center for Women’s Global Leadership
-
Kyeong-Hee Choi, USA, Professor, University of Chicago
-
Kyung-Hee Ha, Japan, Assistant Professor, Meiji University
-
Laura Dawn, USA, filmmaker & Founder, ART NOT WAR
-
Laura Hein, USA, Professor, Northwestern University
-
Laurie Ross, New Zealand, The Peace Foundation of New Zealand Aotearoa, International Affairs and Disarmament Committee
-
Lekkie Hopkins, Australia, Professor, Edith Cowan University
-
Leymah Gbowee, Liberia, 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate
-
Linda Burnham, USA, National Domestic Workers Alliance
-
Lindsey German, United Kingdom, National Convener, Stop the War Coalition
-
Lisa Natividad, Guam, President, Guahan Coalition for Peace and Justice
-
Liza Maza, Philippines, former Parliamentarian; Gabriella Network
-
Lourdes Leon Guerrero, Guam, Fuetsan Famalao’an
-
Luisa Morgantini, Italy, Member, European Parliament
-
Lydia Alpizar, Mexico, Executive Director, AWID (Association of Women’s Rights in Development)
-
Madeline Rees, United Kingdom, Secretary General, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
-
Madelyn Hoffman, USA, Executive Director, New Jersey Peace Action
-
Maggie Martin, USA, Iraq Veterans Against the War
-
Mairead Maguire, Northern Ireland, 1976 Nobel Peace Laureate
-
Maja Vitas Majstorovic, Serbia, Gender Coordinator, Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict
-
Marevic Parcon, Philippines, Asia Regional Coordinator, Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights
-
Margaret Gerhardt, USA, University of Pennsylvania
-
Margo Okazawa-Rey, USA, Professor Emerita, San Francisco State University
-
Marilyn Waring, New Zealand, Professor of Public Policy, Auckland University of Technology
-
Marta Benavides, El Salvador, Siglo XXIII
-
Mary C. Murphree, USA, Sociologist
-
Mavic Cabrera-Balleza, Philippines, International Coordinator, Global Network of Women Peacebuilders
-
Maya Schenwar, USA, Truthout Editor
-
Medea Benjamin, USA, Co-founder, Code Pink
-
Meenakshi Gopinath, India, Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace (WISCOMP)
-
Megan Amundson, USA, Executive Director, Women’s Action for New Direction (WAND)
-
Megan Burke, USA, Director, International Campaign to Ban Landmines-Cluster Munitions Coalition
-
Melissa Giovale, USA, Founder and Board Member, Bell Garden Buddhist Center
-
Meredith Woo, USA, Open Society Foundations
-
Meri Joyce, Australia, Regional Coordinator, Global Partnership for Prevention of Armed Conflict
-
Mimi Han, Republic of Korea/USA, International Vice President, YWCA
-
Mimi Kim, USA, Professor, Cal State University, Long Beach
-
Mina Watanabe, Japan, Secretary General, Women’s Active Museum on War and Peace
-
Miranda Cahn, New Zealand, Head of Programme Development and Quality, Save the Children New Zealand
-
Musimbi Kanyoro, Kenya/USA, Executive Director of Global Fund for Women
-
Nada Drobnjak, Montenegro, Member of Parliament
-
Namhee Lee, USA, Professor, University of California, Los Angeles
-
Nan Kim, USA, Professor, University of Wisconsin
-
Nancy Ruth, Canada, Senator
-
Naomi Klein, Canada, Journalist and Activist
-
Nathalie Margie, USA, Urgent Action Fund
-
Netsai Mushonga, Zimbabwe, Commissioner, Zimbabwe Electoral Commission; African Women Active Nonviolence Initiative for Social Change
-
Nighat Said Khan, Pakistan, Executive Chair, DidiBahini
-
Nina Tsikhistavi-Khutsishvili, Georgia, Board Chair, International Center on Conflict and Negotiation
-
Noura Erakat, USA, Human Rights Attorney
-
Nunu Kidane, USA, Board Member, Priority Africa Network
-
Orysia Sushko, Ukraine, President, World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations
-
Ouypourn Khuankaew, Thailand, Founder, International Women’s Partnership for Peace and Justice
-
Pam McMichael, USA, Director of Highlander Research and Education Center
-
Pamela Brubaker, USA, Professor Emerita, California Lutheran University
-
Patricia Thane, United Kingdom, Professor, Kings College
-
Paula Garb, USA, Co-Director, Center for Citizen Peacebuilding, University of California, Irvine
-
Penny Rosenwasser, USA, Founding Board Member, Jewish Voice for Peace
-
Phyllis Bennis, USA, Director, New Internationalism Project, Institute for Policy Studies
-
Regina Munoz, Sweden, Peace Activist
-
Robina Marie Winbush, USA, Minister, Member of World Council of Churches Exec and Central Committee
-
Rose Othieno, Uganda, Executive Director, Center for Conflict Resolution
-
Saloni Singh, Nepal, Executive Chair, DidiBahini
-
Samanthi Gunwardana, Australia, Monash University
-
Sandra Moran, Guatemala, Co-Representative of Intl. Committee, Americas Region, World March of Women
-
Setsuko Thurlow, Canada, International Educator, Hibakusha/A-Bomb Survivor
-
Sharon Bhagwan Rolls, Fiji, Executive Producer, FemLINKpacific; Board Chair, Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict
-
Shirley Douglas, Canada, Actor and Activist
-
Simone Chun, USA, Journalist and Activist
-
Sophia Close, Australia, Australia National University, Canberra
-
Sophie Toupin, Canada, Women Peace and Security Network Canada
-
Soya Jung, USA, Writer and Activist
-
Sue Wareham OAM, Australia, Vice-President, Medical Association for Prevention of War
-
Sung-ok Lee, USA, Assistant General Secretary, United Methodist Women
-
Susan Cundiff, USA, Oregon Women’s Action for New Directions (WAND)
-
Susan Smith, USA, Muslim Peace Fellowship
-
Su Yon Pak, USA, Professor, Union Theological Seminary
-
Suzuyo Takazato, Japan, Okinawa Women Act Against Military Violence
-
Suzy Kim, USA, Professor, Rutgers University
-
Taina Bien-Aime, USA, Executive Director, International Coalition Against Trafficking in Women
-
Tani Barlow, USA, Professor, Rice University
-
Tanya Selvaratnam, USA, Senior Producer, Art Not War
-
Terrilee Kekoolani, Ko Pae’Aina Hawai’i, Kanaka Maoli
-
Terry Greenblatt, Israel/USA, The Ploughshares Fund
-
Una Kim, USA, Researcher
-
Unzu Lee, USA, Presbyterian Minister, Women for Genuine Security
-
Valerie Plame, USA, Former Covert CIA Operations Officer
-
Vana Kim, USA, Spiritual Teacher
-
Visaka Dharmadasa, Sri Lanka, Founder, Association of War Affected Women
-
Wei Zhang, USA, Folk Art Researcher
-
Wendi Deetz, USA, Global Fund for Women
-
Winnie Wang, USA, Center for Global Nonkilling
-
Wonhee Anne Joh, USA, Professor of Theology, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
-
Yayoi Tsuchida, Japan, General Secretary, Japan Council Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs
-
Yifat Susskind, USA, Executive Director, MADRE
-
Yoonkyung Lee, Canada, Professor, University of Toronto
-
Youngju Ryu, USA, Professor, University of Michigan
International Women’s Organizations
- Church Women United
- CODE PINK
- International Women’s Network Against Militarism
- MADRE
- Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, UK Section
- North Korean Women’s Organization
- Korea Socialist Women’s Union
South Korean Women’s and Peace Organizations
-
Women Making Peace (평화여성회)
-
Korea Women’s Association United (한국여성단체연합/7개 지부, 30개 회원단체)
-
Korean Association of Women Theologians (한국여신학자협의회)
-
The Council of Churches in Korea, Women’s Committee (한국기독교교회협의회 여성위원회)
-
The Association of Major Superiors of Women Religious in Korea (한국천주교여자수도회 장상연합회)
-
The Righteous People for Korean Unification (새로운 백년을 여는 통일의병)
-
The Gongju Women Human Rights Center (공주 여성인권)
-
The World Council of Churches (세계교회협의회)
-
The Christian Network for Peace and Unification (평화와통일을위한기독인연대)
-
beyondit (너머서)
-
Okedongmu Children in Korea (어린이 어깨동무)
-
Women History Forum (여성역사포럼)
-
Peace Mother (평화어머니회)
-
Kyunggi Women’s Association United (경기여성연합)
-
Kyunggi Goyang-Paju Women Link (경기 고양파주 민우회)
-
Kyunggi Women’s Network (경기여성네트워크)
-
The Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (한국정신대문제대책협의회)
-
Korea Women’s Political Solidarity (여세연)
-
Korean Sharing Movement (우리민족서로돕기운동)
-
People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (참여연대)
-
Iftopia (문화세상 이프토피아)
-
Ewha Women’s Alumni Meeting for Democracy (이화민주동우회)
-
Kyunggi Jinbo Women United (경기여성자주연대)
-
Kyunggi Council of Women (경기여성단체협의회)
-
Chungchung-namdo Education Center for Equality (충청남도 성평등교육문화센타)
-
21st Century Seoul Women’s Union (21세기 서울여성회)
-
Common Nourishing and Education (공동육아와 공동체 교육)
-
Ecumenical Youth Network (에큐메니칼 청년 네트워크)
-
Women Ministers Association of Presbyterian Churches Korea (대한예수교장로회 전국여교역자연합회)
-
Women Ministers’ Association of Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea
(한국기독교장로회여교역자협의회)
-
Korea Association Methodist Women in Ministry (기독교대한감리회 여교역자회)
-
Korea Methodist Women’s Leadership Institute (감리교여성지도력개발원)
-
Korea Church Women United (한국교회여성연합회)
-
Duraebang (두레방)
-
Sunlit Sisters’ Center (햇살사회복지회)
-
United for Women’s Rights Against US Military Bases’ Crime (기지촌여성인권연대)
-
United Voice for the Eradication of Prostitution: Hansori (성매매근절을위한 한소리회)
Women Cross DMZ (www.womencrossdmz.org)
Women Cross DMZ is an organization led by women working globally for peace in Korea. In May 2015, on the 70th anniversary of the division of Korea, Women Cross DMZ led a historic women’s peace walk across the De-Militarized Zone from North to South Korea to draw global attention to the urgent need to end the Korean War with a peace treaty, reunite divided families, and ensure women’s leadership in peacebuilding. Representing 15 countries, our 30-member international delegation walked with 10,000 Korean women on both sides of the DMZ.
Our mission is to:
- Promote women’s leadership in the peacebuilding process in Korea;
- Raise awareness about the urgent need for peace in Korea; and
- Expand and deepen relationships with women leaders and organizations in South Korea, North Korea, and around the world.