Global Day of Media Action to #CloseBases

July 14, 2025

How It Works:

Register for the online "actionar" on July 14 to take coordinated online action together.

In this “actionar-style” event on Zoom, we’ll take coordinated action together to simultaneously post on social media and submit letters to the editor to local newspapers to amplify the #CloseBases message worldwide. We’ll provide you with templates and assistance in real time to take action together. The day of action is timed with World BEYOND War’s release of a new global report on the impact of military bases worldwide.

This “actionar” continues the momentum from the successful Global Day of Action to #CloseBases on February 23, which had 60+ actions at military base sites in 27 countries. On July 14, we’ll hear updates from leaders of anti-bases movements from around the world!

Toolkit:

Click here to access the toolkit with sample social media posts, graphics, and a template letter to the editor. Use the toolkit to amplify the release of World BEYOND War’s new report, and add your voice to a growing global campaign.

Additional Information about Bases:

Military Empires: A Visual Guide to Foreign Military Bases: Explore the map to find a foreign military base near you
World BEYOND War’s No Bases Campaign Hub: Find reports, books, films, articles, and more resources about the impact of military bases

Top 5 Reasons Why We Need to #CloseBases

Bases often perpetuate colonialism, removing Indigenous people from their lands. From Panama to Guam to Puerto Rico to Okinawa to dozens of other locations across the world, militaries have taken valuable land from local populations, often pushing out Indigenous people in the process, without their consent and without reparations. For example, the entire population of the Chagos Islands was forcibly removed from the island of Diego Garcia by the UK so that it could be leased to the U.S. for an airbase.
Bases cost an exorbitant amount of $$. The cost of U.S. foreign military bases alone is estimated at $80 billion a year, money that could be better spent on healthcare, education, renewable energy, and so much more.
Bases exacerbate environmental damage and the climate crisis. Military emissions are exempted from climate agreements, like the Kyoto Protocol. The construction of bases has caused irreparable ecological damage, such as the destruction of coral reefs and the environment for endangered species in Henoko, Okinawa. Furthermore, it is well documented at hundreds of sites around the world that military bases leach toxic so-called “forever chemicals” (PFAS/PFOS) into local water supplies, which has had devastating health consequences for nearby communities.
Bases can have violent and harmful impacts on local communities.
Militaries have a notorious legacy of sexual violence, including kidnapping, rape, and murders of women and girls in nearby communities. Yet troops stationed at foreign bases are often afforded impunity for their crimes due to Status of Forces Agreements (SOFAs) with the so-called “host” country. Bases can also bring a rise in property taxes and inflation in areas surrounding them which has been known to push locals out.
Bases heighten tensions and provoke war-making. The presence of hundreds of thousands of troops, massive arsenals, and thousands of aircraft, tanks, and ships in every corner of the globe facilitates war-making and promotes an arms race. Additionally, bases make locations into targets for attack. And foreign bases implicate countries in the crimes of foreign militaries.