For all those who have died or are dying in wars, who have died or are dying because resources that could have fed or housed them have been wasted on war and preparations for war, who will die until we learn to live in peace. When will we ever learn?
WW1: The best estimates are now for 11 million military deaths and 7 million civilians. Chief causes of death: battlefield, malnutrition, disease, civil conflict and crimes against humanity.
WW2: The best estimates are now for between 21 and 25 million military deaths and between 50 and 80 million civilian deaths. Main causes of death: battlefield, bombing, malnutrition, disease, civil conflcit and crimes against humanity.
Wartime sexual violence (rape, forced prostitution and sexual slavery). WW1 - unknown numbers. WW2 - unknown numbers but documented for all forces. From antiquity onwards things have not improved. UN Resolution 1820 was passed in 2008 specifies that sexual violence constitutes a war crime, crime against humanity and/or a contributing act to genocide. The impact on children born as a result of rape is lifelong. Sexual violence has a negative impact on reconciliation attempts. It is vastly under-reported due to shame, fear of reprisal, denial and intimidation.
Bombing and minefields continue to kill people after a conflict has officially ended.
The nuclear bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed at least 129,000 people - mostly civilians. After the initial blast, effects included radiation sickness, burns and other injuries. Around 1,900 people died due to cancer and leukemia.
Timeline of British warfare
From the 11th century onwards, we have fought in Crusades 1, 2, 3 and 9, our own civil wars, the Hundred Years' War and the Eighty Years' War.
From 1707 British forces or forces with a British mandate have invaded, had some control over or fought conflicts in 171 of the worlds 193 countries (currently UN member states as of 2016). That is 89% of UN states).
Conscientious objectors in WW1:
- 16,000 men registered, of whom 6,312 were arrested and 5,970 court-martialled and imprisoned (of whom 73 died due to harsh treatment and the others were not released until May 1919, with the last release in August 1919).
- 3,400 accepted call-up into non-cobatant corps or Royal Army Medical Corps.
- Around 60,000 men and 1,000 women applied for exemption, of whom nearly 3,000 were given unconditional exemption.
- Around 5,000 men and 500 women were imprisoned, with the last ones released in 1947.
