From our earliest campaigns in South Africa and Latin America to our work to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq and prevent war with Iran, Global Exchange has been a leader of the peace movement.  In Colombia, East Timor, Nigeria, Guatemala and Chiapas, we have supported peaceful communities whose lives were in danger by sending fact finding delegations, publishing reports, providing witness and accompaniment so that human rights workers are protected by an international spotlight.

We continue to build global people-to-people ties through our Reality Tours program – traveling to Iran, Palestine/Israel, North Korea, Burma, Cuba and more. Sign up for one of our citizen delegations today. 

Highlights from our nearly 30 years of work for peace and justice include:

No Blood for Oil: In 1990, recognizing that the first U.S. invasion of Iraq was rooted in our dependence on oil, Global Exchange launched the No Blood For Oil Campaign, rallying millions of Americans to march under banners that made the link between U.S. oil addiction and war. We organized nationwide college teach-ins to raise awareness of the true costs of the war, providing toolkits and training for student activists to mobilize their campuses against the war.

Afghanistan: Global Exchange responded immediately to the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, organizing a delegation of family members of September 11 victims to Afghanistan and calling on the U.S. government to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghan victims. Following the invasion, Global Exchange sent monthly citizen delegations to Afghanistan, to lend skills and resources in helping to rebuild the country.

Building the Peace Movement – Co-Founding the largest Peace Coalition in U.S. History: In the aftermath of 9/11, Global Exchange immediately launched “No Hate Zones,” to help communities come together to stop hate crimes. A year later, we joined with several national peace organizations, community centers, and churches to organize peace events to commemorate the anniversary of September 11. The response to our idea was overwhelming. By September 11, 2002, we had succeeded in co-founding United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ), a network of peace activists and organizations that sponsored over 300 peace events in more than 40 states and 10 countries. According to the New York Times, UFPJ has become “the largest anti-war coalition in the U.S.”

 CODEPink:  Launched in 2002, in rejection of the Bush Administration’s color-coded security alerts, Code Pink was founded by Global Exchange’s Medea Benjamin, Jodie Evans and other women to fight the direction of U.S. foreign and domestic policy with pink-tinted creativity and a flair for getting attention. Since then, CODEPINK has proven itself as a powerhouse in the peace movement, confronting warmongers in the halls of Congress, at Republican and Democratic National Conventions, and outside the houses of key government officials. CODEPINK continues to be a constant presence on Capital Hill.  You can find their latest campaigns and work here www.codepink.org.

Palestine & Israel: Since 1996, Global Exchange has brought hundreds of people to the Middle East to witness firsthand the consequences of the Israeli occupation and the resulting conflict for both Palestinians and Israelis. Our fact-finding delegations have sought to expand understanding of the region by conversing with Palestinians living under occupation and Israeli citizens. We hope that through growing public understanding we can cultivate peace in the region.