NATO, the military command center of World War 3, decided to raise military spending to 5% of GDP at The Hague Summit in 2025, and NATO member states alongside pro-US warmongering nations such as the ‘Republic of Korea (ROK)’ and Japan are incrementally increasing their military budgets. As a result of enforcing the 2% GDP floor, the total military expenditure of the 32 NATO member states has surpassed $1.3 trillion annually, accounting for more than half of global military spending. Currently, the NATO Readiness Force has exploded eightfold, from the previous 40,000 to over 300,000 personnel. Pivoting from The Hague Summit, NATO has established a “Continuous Wartime Production System” that integrates the defense supply chains across all member states, subsequently subordinating pro-US warmongering nations to it. The militarization of NATO member states will further accelerate at the Ankara NATO Summit.
As the war in Ukraine escalated into full scale in February 2022, Ukrainian youths were reduced to the primary targets of the neo-Nazi regime’s ‘human-hunting’ style forced conscription. In the 3 Baltic States, conscription has been completely revived, while Germany, the UK, and France are also expanding mandatory service and compulsory military training policies targeting the youth. Germany has implemented mandatory military service for 400,000 men annually, and the UK has implemented a one-year forced service scheme. The ‘ROK’ is strengthening its forced conscription system by integrating AI technology and communication networks into the conscription framework that has persisted since its inception. The youth of NATO member states have become victims of welfare cuts caused by increased military spending—such as the ‘special defense funds’ raised by each country—bearing the direct brunt of budget slashes for university education and employment support, which is expanding the impoverished population. To suppress the justified struggle of the youth angered by this, imperialist countries, including France, are indiscriminately wielding tear gas and violence.
The anti-imperialist popular states of Latin America, where the re-colonization schemes of imperialist forces are concentrated, are suffering tens of trillions of dollars in economic losses due to economic sanctions. Cuba’s cumulative damage over 60 years is estimated at $2.1 trillion. All-out sanction schemes—including financial isolation, energy crises, asset seizures, and restrictions on mineral exports—are collapsing the labor markets of anti-imperialist independent nations. The violation of the youth’s right to survival and right to development, caused by the deprivation of educational opportunities and the worsening of employment conditions, is particularly severe.
African youth are becoming the targets of far-right fascist regimes—which are puppets of imperialism—and terrorists. Aiming at youth-centered, large-scale anti-neoliberal protests, these far-right fascist regimes cause hundreds of casualties every year through live-ammunition shootings and other brutal measures. In Kenya, during rallies opposing the IMF and neoliberalism from 2024 to 2025, officially around 60 people were murdered each year by the fascist authorities. Due to the imperialist plunder of resources and colonial schemes, the African people are struggling amid destitution and starvation; terrorist organizations exploit this vulnerability to absorb youth into their groups or reduce them to mercenaries, mobilizing them to attack anti-imperialist African regimes, such as those in the Sahel region.
The only exit to break through the military-political dominance and economic-cultural subordination by imperialism is the anti-imperialist, anti-NATO struggle. The banner of anti-imperialism and anti-NATO is the greatest cause of our era and the most urgent fighting task for the youth themselves, who are the direct victims of war. As the history of world wars demonstrates, the deeper the fascistization driven by imperialism becomes, the more the youth of each country are reduced to victims of wartime labor, cannon fodder for war, and physical and mental cripples. The youth must completely refuse forced conscription as well as wartime material production and transport, extensively organize and develop the anti-imperialist, anti-NATO struggle, and shatter the deceptive propaganda of imperialism.
At the same time, we must heighten our vigilance against the pro-imperialist revisionism and opportunism that have infiltrated the international communist movement, and consistently wage a sharper ideological warfare. This opportunist force is the very hotbed of sectarianism that borrows revolutionary phrases, deludes the youth with fine words and an insinuating countenance, approaches the youth within communist parties of other nations, and divides and weakens the communist movement. The World Anti-imperialist Youth Platform will always stand at the forefront of realizing the three major goals of the World Anti-imperialist Platform: the world anti-imperialist struggle, the ideological warfare against opportunism, and the strengthening of the international communist movement.
Historically, youth vanguards have dedicated themselves and fought strenuously for the development of the international communist movement and the progressive movement. During World War 1, the Young Communist International denounced the betrayal of social democrats and reformists; under the slogan ‘Refuse to become cannon fodder for the ruling class,’ they built organizations within armies across Europe and aroused soldiers into military production refusals and desertion struggles. Furthermore, after adopting the anti-fascist youth popular front line at the 7th Comintern Congress in 1935, youth vanguards served more actively to strengthen the anti-fascist front. The significance of the banner raised at that time, “Save the future of youth against fascism and imperialist war!,” shines even more brilliantly in the current era, which is characterized by the situation of World War 3.
Inheriting the spirit of the anti-fascist fighters in history, we will hold high the banner of anti-imperialism today and fulfill our epochal mission as the youth vanguard. On the glorious path of righteous struggle to put an end to imperialism and hasten a new, people-centered society, we, the youth, will always stand as the vanguard and the spearhead.
Disband NATO, the Military Command for World War 3!
Overthrow All Imperialism!
June 29, 2026
World Anti-Imperialist Youth Platform