Peace and Service Network Member reports on Ukraine Peace Summit
by Wendy Jones, Bangor Monthly Meeting, member of EMES Peace and Service Network
On the 10th and 11th of June an International Summit for Peace in Ukraine was held in Vienna. The conference was held in Austria as it is a neutral country and a ‘city of the United Nations’. It is also where the Secretariat of the OSCE (the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe). This organisation has been monitoring the situation in the Donbas since the signing of the Minsk 11 agreement. For reasons that were not clear, the venue was changed two days in advance. Despite this, a Conference was held and a variety of aspects were voiced dealing with the origins of the war and ways to resolve them. Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine was condemned by the Conference and at the same time, NATO’s joint responsibility for this long-term conflict was recognized as one of many examples of violations of international law. The war is destroying the country’s environment and infrastructure, causing rising food and energy prices around the world, exacerbating poverty and hunger, particularly in the global South and puts the entire world at risk of nuclear war.
One of the factors exacerbating the war that became clear was a lack of desire for peace in the press- how close the voices of the mainstream press in America, Britain, Russia and Europe are to the voices in our governments in favour of war and weapons rather than calling for peace. We are all aware now, of global warming and the challenge this poses for the continuation of humanity, which is the point made by Noam Chomsky by video link to the conference. There is a danger that this war will destroy us all.
Present were representatives of the peace movements in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, in person as well as by video link. The following was voiced by Dr. Yurii Sheliazhenko, representative of the Ukrainian Peace Movement, ‘If you don’t like the many peace plans proposed by Ukrainian and Russian negotiators in Minsk and Istanbul, by the Vatican, China and many countries of the Global South, you are welcome to propose your own peace plan’.
(Editor’s note: Yurii, pictured addressing the Summit and who frequently coordinates with members of our Peace and Service Network, was recently targeted for harassment, search and seizure by the Ukrainian government. Read the press release from PSN member European Bureau of Conscientious Objection)
Among the main conclusions of the Conference are the following:
- The organizers of the International Summit for Peace in Ukraine are calling on leaders in all countries to act in support of an immediate ceasefire and negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
- Much more death and suffering may occur again if the conflict escalates to the use of nuclear weapons, a risk that is higher today than at any time since the Cuban missile crisis.
- In condemning Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, the failure of the institutions established to ensure peace and security in Europe is also recognized, and the failure of diplomacy led to war. Now diplomacy is urgently needed to end the war before it destroys Ukraine and endangers humanity.
- The path to peace must be based on the principles of common security, respect for international human rights and the self-determination of each community.
- We support all discussions that stand for the logic of peace instead of the irrationality of war.
- We confirm our support for Ukrainian civil society that defends their rights. We commit ourselves to strengthening the dialogue with those in Russia and Belarus who risk their lives opposing war and defending democracy.
We are calling on civil society in all countries to join us in a week of global action (Saturday 30 September – Sunday 8 October 2023) for an immediate ceasefire and peace negotiations to end this war.
