We, civil society groups from the five continents of the world working together for a just, peaceful, sustainable and prosperous world, jointly call for a negotiated solution to end the war in Ukraine as promptly and swiftly as possible. This must include an immediate cessation of hostilities against civilians and the removal of Russian military forces and weaponry from Ukraine, coupled with an agreed statement and provision of security assurances by and for all parties.
In a world that is already wracked by multiple crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and escalating climate change, this conflict is tearing through already fragile communities and millions of individuals face war, displacement, loss of homes and livelihoods.
A month has already passed but the longer this conflict lasts the more devastating it is likely to be for the people living in Ukraine, Russia, and all over the world. It must be stopped now.
1) Stop the war
The attack on Ukraine by the Russian army and the invasion of a sovereign country marks an unacceptable breach of international law. We call for an immediate end to the war in Ukraine, a ceasefire and a withdrawal of Russian forces, and the phased removal of all sanctions according to an agreed timeline. The devastation of many cities and the killing of innocent civilians and civilian infrastructure cannot be justified.
We call on third parties to prevent a further military escalation of the conflict and help in facilitating peace negotiations.
Furthermore, it is unacceptable and insufficient that so far only a handful of men have been involved in the peace negotiations.
We call for the peace negotiations to include civil society and representatives of those who are directly affected, particularly women, especially from Ukraine and Russia.
2) Respect international human rights
We stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine. The rights of civilians must be respected, after one month of conflict, the humanitarian impacts are leading to massive displacement of people, loss of lives and livelihoods. We are very concerned that this grave violation of international law will have an extremely adverse impact on security and democracy in Europe and the World.
We also call for respect for human rights in Russia, many Russian people have stood up to condemn violence and their voices must be heard. Peaceful protest must be recognised as a legitimate form of expression.
We call for human rights and the rule of law to be respected.
3) Stop militarism and aggression around the world
Tragically, this is not the first time that such conflicts and wars have occurred, far from it, it is crucial to reduce militarization and authoritarianism all around the world.
The current situation in Ukraine comes in a human context where armed conflict, violence in all its forms, authoritarianism, corruption and indiscriminate repression affects the lives of millions of people around the globe and violates the human rights of people young and old in countries including: Myanmar, Yemen, Palestine, Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Colombia, Brazil, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador and others.
All conflicts must be treated with the same level of concern, all lives affected by conflict are of equal value.
We call for the same level of support to end conflicts and ensure financial support for displaced peoples and refugees from other conflicts.
4) Shift military funds to a just and sustainable future
The war in Ukraine has already had a devastating impact on the world economy, especially on the Global South. There are likely to be major disruptions and significant increases in the cost of energy and production, increased food costs and at the same time budgets are being re-directed towards military spending.
The militarism of Russia is fueled by fossil fuels and it is therefore critical to stop investment in fossil fuels and shift immediately to clean forms of energy. It is crucially important that we reduce oil and gas consumption and rapidly upscale investments in renewables in order to combat the climate crisis beginning now.
We call for a specific commitment at the UN to reduce spending on military conflicts and to re-invest this spending on social protection and clean energy.
5) Establish a global peace fund
We call on member states to remember the founding vision of the United Nations and its Security Council, to deliver on the main reason it was created: to avoid any kind of war and the suffering of human kind.
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