“With mourning hearts we stand united here ....We grieve for many brave young men who have lost their lives on the battlefield before attaining their full manhood; we mourn with the poor mothers bereft of their sons; with the thousands of young widows and fatherless children, and we feel that we can no longer endure in this twentieth century of civilization that government should tolerate brute force as the only solution of international disputes..” 
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These are the words of Aletta Jacobs as she addressed 1,150 women from Europe and North America gathered in The Hague, Netherlands from April 28th to May 1st 2105 for the first ever International Congress of Women.1
One hundred years ago, this gathering was called by women for women to “discuss an end to World War I, but also to draft a new international legal system which would prevent any future wars as well.” 2
Over 3 days they “worked out what they considered an alternative, non-violent form of conflict resolution, calling for a process of continuous mediation to be implemented, without armistice, until peace could be restored among the warring nations. This policy was set forward explicitly in a set of resolutions on May 1.” 3
After the Congress thirty delegates toured Europe to meet with government leaders to call on an end to the war. The American delegates, Jane Addams, Emily Greene Balch, and Alice Hamilton, tried to convert the USA’s neutral position into a peace initiative. These women paid for their own travel costs. Some critics labeled the delegates "sensationalists" and "Peacettes," implying the women’s cause could not be taken seriously. Many of the women endured personal and professional attacks because of their stance. Others were not permitted by their governments to attend. However, one government official highlighted their effectiveness: "Of all the thousands of people that have come to intercede since the war opened, you are the only ones that seem to have something sensible to say." 4
This really remarkable event has been largely ignored in WW1 histories. Why?
- Women at the Hague, The International Congress of Women and Its Results, Jane Addams, Emily G. Balch, Alice Hamilton: Forward by Harriet Hyman Alonso, University of Illinois Press, 2003
- International Congress of Women (1915), Freya Baetens March 2011 in Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law [MPEPIL] http://opil.ouplaw.com/view/10.1093/law:epil/9780199231690/law-9780199231690-e2102
- http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/international-congress-of-women-opens-at-the-hague
- How Did Women Activists Promote Peace in Their 1915 Tour of Warring European Capitals? [2]
By Anne Lanyon
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