An appeal from Ukrainian civil society organizations for peace and informed solidarity to international pacifist and peace movements.
Ukrainian civil society activists, human rights defenders and scholars, joined by the Institute for Peace and Understanding, published a Joint Statement regarding "Ukraine's Call to End the War."
"The growing strategic divergence worldwide has led certain voices, both on the left and the right, and among pacifists, to call for an end to military support for Ukraine. They also call for an immediate ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia as a 'way to end the war.' These calls to negotiate with Putin without safeguarding our state's sovereignty and territorial integrity are calls for surrender and the destruction of our country," the Statement says.
The signatories also urge the international community to consider the necessity of:
- full compliance with international humanitarian law, human rights and the UN Charter, as well as the practical ability to protect the lives of our people, our sovereignty and territorial integrity;
- in such a radically asymmetric confrontation, strong defense and sustained resistance, supported by steadfast and informed international solidarity with the Ukrainian people, are the greatest incentive to end the violence and to negotiate the withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory;
We ask the international community for continued understanding and informed solidarity. This should be accompanied by a rethinking of existing approaches and the development of a new vision for peacebuilding at the international level, based on mutual respect, an understanding of the conflict's specifics, and the support and preservation of social ties and networks for the sake of justice, peace and democracy.
"We demand that international organizations and movements respect the right of Ukrainians to play the primary role in determining how to achieve peace, protect themselves and their rights," the Ukrainian representatives said.