World Peace Council Collected Records

The World Peace Council (WPC) was founded in 1948 and had its first international meetings in Paris and Prague the following year. Frederic Joliot-Curie served as the first president of the WPC. The WPC currently represents over 100 nations and national peace movements. According to its website, the WPC's principles and goals include actions against imperialist wars and occupation of sovereign countries and nations; prohibition of all weapons of mass destruction; abolition of foreign military bases; universal disarmament under effective international control; elimination of all forms of colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination; respect for the right of the peoples to sovereignty and independence, which are essential for the establishment of peace; non-interference in the internal affairs of nations; peaceful co-existence between states with different political systems; and negotiations instead of use of force in the settlement of differences between nations. The headquarters of the WPC were in Finland until 1999. Since 2000, the WPC has been located in Greece. The WPC is a registered NGO at the United Nations and cooperates primarily with the Non-Aligned Movement.