Ukraine
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Arrêtez la guerre: Déclaration de solidarité
Nous, groupes de la société civile des cinq continents, qui travaillons ensemble pour un monde juste, pacifique, durable et prospère, appelons conjointement à une solution négociée pour mettre fin à la guerre en Ukraine aussi rapidement que possible. Cela doit inclure une cessation immédiate des hostilités contre les civils et le retrait des forces militaires et des armes russes d’Ukraine, associées à une déclaration commune et à la fourniture de garanties de sécurité par et pour toutes les parties.
Dans un monde déjà ravagé par de multiples crises, telles que la pandémie de COVID-19 et l’escalade du changement climatique, ce conflit déchire des communautés déjà fragiles et des millions d’individus sont confrontés à la guerre, au déplacement, à la perte de leurs maisons et de leurs moyens de subsistance.
Un mois s’est déjà écoulé, mais plus ce conflit dure, plus il est susceptible d’être dévastateur pour les personnes vivant en Ukraine, en Russie et partout dans le monde. Il faut l’arrêter maintenant.
1) Arrêtez la guerre
L’attaque contre l’Ukraine par l’armée russe et la guerre contre un pays souverain marquent une violation inacceptable du droit international. Nous appelons à la fin immédiate de la guerre en Ukraine, à un cessez-le-feu et au retrait des forces russes, ainsi qu’à la suppression progressive de toutes les sanctions selon un calendrier convenu. La dévastation de nombreuses villes et le meurtre de civils innocents et d’infrastructures civiles ne peuvent être justifiés.
Nous demandons aux tierces parties d’empêcher une nouvelle escalade militaire du conflit et d’aider à faciliter les négociations de paix.
En outre, il est inacceptable et insuffisant que jusqu’à présent seule une poignée d’hommes ait été impliquée dans les négociations de paix.
Nous appelons à ce que les négociations de paix incluent la société civile et les représentants de ceux qui sont directement concernés, en particulier les femmes, notamment d’Ukraine et de Russie.
2) Respectez les droits humains internationaux
Nous sommes solidaires du peuple ukrainien. Les droits des civils doivent être respectés. Après un mois de conflit, les impacts humanitaires entraînent des déplacements massifs de personnes, des pertes de vies et de moyens de subsistance. Nous sommes très inquiets que cette grave violation du droit international ait un impact extrêmement négatif sur la sécurité et la démocratie en Europe et dans le monde.
Nous appelons également au respect des droits de l’homme en Russie, de nombreux Russes se sont levés pour condamner la violence et leurs voix doivent être entendues. La protestation pacifique doit être reconnue comme une forme d’expression légitime.
Nous appelons au respect des droits de l’homme et de l’État de droit.
3) Arrêtez le militarisme et l’agression dans le monde
Tragiquement, ce n’est pas la première fois que de tels conflits et guerres se produisent, loin de là – il est donc crucial de réduire la militarisation et l’autoritarisme partout dans le monde.
La situation actuelle en Ukraine intervient dans un contexte humain où les conflits armés, la violence sous toutes ses formes, l’autoritarisme, la corruption et la répression aveugle affectent la vie de millions de personnes dans le monde et violent les droits humains des personnes jeunes et âgées dans des pays tels que : Myanmar, Yémen, Palestine, Syrie, Soudan du Sud, République centrafricaine, Éthiopie, Colombie, Brésil, Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Guatemala, El Salvador et autres.
Tous les conflits doivent être traités avec le même niveau de préoccupation, toutes les vies affectées par un conflit ont la même valeur.
Nous appelons au même niveau de soutien pour mettre fin aux conflits et assurer un soutien financier aux personnes déplacées et aux réfugiés d’autres conflits.
4) Réorienter les fonds militaires vers un avenir juste et durable
La guerre en Ukraine a déjà eu un impact dévastateur sur l’économie mondiale, en particulier sur les pays du Sud. Il y aura probablement des perturbations majeures et des augmentations significatives du coût de l’énergie et de la production, une augmentation des coûts alimentaires et, en même temps, les budgets seront réorientés vers les dépenses militaires.
Le militarisme de la Russie est alimenté par les combustibles fossiles et il est donc essentiel d’arrêter les investissements dans les combustibles fossiles et de passer immédiatement à des formes d’énergie propres. Il est d’une importance cruciale que nous réduisions la consommation de pétrole et de gaz et augmentions rapidement les investissements dans les énergies renouvelables afin de lutter contre la crise climatique qui commence maintenant.
Nous appelons à un engagement spécifique de l’ONU pour réduire les dépenses consacrées aux conflits militaires et réinvestir ces dépenses dans la protection sociale et l’énergie propre.
5) Établir un fonds mondial pour la paix
Nous appelons les États membres à se souvenir de la vision fondatrice de l’ONU et de son Conseil de sécurité, à respecter la principale raison pour laquelle cet organisme international a été créé : éviter toute forme de guerre et la souffrance de l’humanité.
L’Agenda 2030 trace la voie vers un monde pacifique, juste, durable et prospère ; et des étapes et des actions beaucoup plus ambitieuses doivent être entreprises pour s’assurer que les cibles et les objectifs sont atteints.
Nous appelons les États membres à créer un fonds mondial pour la paix afin de renforcer le rôle des médiateurs internationaux et des forces de maintien de la paix, l’ONU doit agir !
Les 191 signataires: (Signez cette déclaration)
Global- Action for Sustainable Development
- CIVICUS
- GCAP
- SDG Watch Europe
- SHERPA Institute
- Vivat International
- Academics Stand Against Poverty
- Gaia U International, Global Ecovillage Network US
- VIVAT International
- International Movement of Catholic Students (IMCS) Pax Romana, Asia Pacific.
- Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs
Asie
- Farmers’ Voice (Krisoker Sor), Bangladesh
- Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights(BIHR), Bangladesh
- JusticeMakers Bangladesh, Bangladesh
- Circular Economy Alliance India, India
- Kethoseno Peseyie, India
- CHIKKA FEDERATION OF INDIA, India
- Independent Individual freelancer named Hitesh BHATT & MS JALPA PATEL-INDIA., India
- Sikshasandhan, India
- Sustainable Development Council, India
- Association For Promotion Sustainable Development, India
- Peace in Education, India
- THE CATALYSTS CO, India
- SOCIETY FOR ORPHAN, NEGLECTED AND YOUTHS (SONY), India
- FAUDAR RURAL EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY FOR HARIJANS, India
- GIRL UP CHIKKA, India
- International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development, Indonesia
- Sustainable agriculture and environment, Iran
- Japan Youth Platform for Sustainability(JYPS), Japan
- UNISC International, Japan
- Silambam Asia, Malaysia
- World Yoga Association, Malaysia
- World Silambam Association (WSA), Malaysia
- Climate Change Working Group, Myanmar
- COMMUNITY SUPPORT ASSOCIATION OF NEPAL, Nepal
- Sheni legal Service and Research Center, Nepal
- SATHI SAMUHA (Friends Group), Nepal
- Youth Advocacy Nepal (YAN), Nepal
- Restructuring Nepal, Nepal
- Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP), Pakistan
- Haakro Welfare Association, Pakistan
- SSpS, Philippines
- Lanka Fundamental Rights Organization, Sri Lanka
- Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit, Viet Nam
- AwazCDS, Pakistan
- Korean Advocates for Global Health, Korea
- National Campaign For Sustainable Development (NACASUD-Nepal), Nepal
- Tarayana Foundation, Bhutan
- General Secretary Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee, Pakistan
- Think Centre Singapore, Singapore
Europe
- Missionsprokur St. Gabriel International, Austria
- Greenskills, Austria
- Mikel Díez Sarasola, España
- Circular Initiatives Roadmap (CIR), Estonia
- Pekka Kuusi Ecofoundation, Finland
- World Family Organization, France
- ONG (Nouveau Point de vue ), France outre-mer
- Association for Farmers Rights Defense, AFRD, Georgia
- Global Ecovillage Network, Germany
- Forum on Environment and Development, Germany
- IAHV, Germany
- Patrick Paul Walsh, Ireland
- International Presentation Association, Ireland
- DMDA, Ireland
- Jan Martin Bang, Norway
- Norwegian Forum for Development and Environment, Norway
- Moray Carshare, Scotland
- Salisbury centre Edinburgh, Scotland UK
- Drustvo Soncni gric, Slovenija
- Alfonso Flaquer, Spain
- Centro de Transformacion del Conflicto Humano, Spain
- Findhorn Foundation Fellows, Sweden
- Justice for Prosperity Foundation, The Netherlands
- British Autism Advocates, U.K.
- Integral City Meshworks Inc., UK
- BPWUK, Uk
- Findhorn Fellows, UK
- Emerson College, Forest Row, East Sussex, UK., UK
- Barnaby Green, United Kingdom
- Dr. Colin Thomas Barnes, United Kingdom
- Development Alternatives, United Kingdom
- NAWO and the Judith Trust, United Kingdom
- Victor S Ient, United Kingdom
- Findhorn Foundation & Park Ecovillage Trust, United Kingdom
- InnerLinks, United Kingdom
- Alan Watson Featherstone, United Kingdom
- Open Circle Consulting Ltd, United Kingdom
- Poems for Parliament, United Kingdom
- Northern Ireland Women’s European Platform, United Kingdom
- Ecologia Youth Trust, United Kingdom
- Soroptimist International, United Kingdom
- Commonwealth Medical Trust, United Kingdom
- Widows for Peace through Democracy (WPD), United Kingdom
- SecurityWomen, United Kingdom
Moyen-Orient et Afrique du Nord
- Gatef, Egypt
- Junior enterprise, Tunisia
Océanie
- Plowright Studios, Australia
- Aaron Owen, Australia
- PIANGO, Fiji
- Deepti Karan Weiss, Fiji
- The New Zealand Federation of Business and Professional Women, New Zealand
- GENOA, Oceania and Asia
Afrique subsaharienne
- RESEAU SOS FEMMES EN DETRESSE – SOS FED, BURUNDI
- YUNIBF (Youth United for a Brighter Future), Cameroon
- Action pour le Développement (A4D), Cameroun
- Centre Oecuménique pour la Promotion du Monde Rural, Congo-Kinshasa
- AGIR POUR LA SÉCURITÉ ET LA SOUVERAINETÉ ALIMENTAIRE ASSA, Congo-Kinshasa( RDCONGO)
- Save the Climat, Democratic Republic of Congo
- Locate software, Ethiopia
- Michael Girimay Gebremedhine, Ethiopia
- New English private school, Ethiopia
- Taminnova, Ethiopian
- Apostolic Ministerial International Network, Ghana
- Youth Harvest Foundation Ghana, Ghana
- Abundant Grace Female Foundation, Ghana
- Elizka Relief Foundation, Ghana
- Parlement des Jeunes Leaders de la Société Civile Guinéenne, Guinée
- BASO, Kenya
- The Social Justice Centers Working Group, Kenya
- New Generation Outreach, Kenya
- Thomas Kaydor, Jr., LIBERIA
- Innovations for change, Malawi
- Action for Environmental Sustainability, Malawi
- Peoples Federation for National Peace and Development (PEFENAP), Malawi
- Association du Développement et de la Promotion de Droits de l’Homme, Mauritanie
- Dieumax Ventures, Nigeria
- Leadership Watch, Nigeria
- Initiative For Peace And Stability ( IPAS), Nigeria
- HETAVED SKILLS ACADEMY AND NETWORKS INTERNATIONAL, Nigeria
- Environment and Development Advocates (EDA), Nigeria
- ASSOCIATION COMMUNAUTAIRE POUR LE BIEN ETRE ET LA PROTECTION ENVIRONNEMENTALE /ACOBEPE ONGD, REPUBLIQUE DEMOCRATIQUE DU CONGO
- Nouveaux Droits de l’homme Congo Brazzaville, République du Congo
- GCAP-SENGAL, Senegal
- EARTH REGENERATIVE PROJECT SIERRA LEONE-NGO, SIERRA LEONE
- Volunteers Involving Organisations Network, Sierra Leone
- Mahawa Foundation, Sierra Leone
- Waste For Change NPC, South Africa
- Kadesh International, South Africa
- African Monitor Trust, South Africa
- Community Health Organization(CH), Tanzania
- VEILLE CITOYENNE TOGO, TOGO
- Espace Vie et Action-Togo (EVA-T), Togo
- Sugur Development Agency (SDA), Uganda
- Vision Centre Africa, Uganda
- Human Nature Projets Uganda, Uganda
- Step Up Youth Initiative, Uganda
- Development Education Community Project, Zambia
Amérique
- AidWatch Canada, Canada
- Vision GRAM-International, Canada and D R Congo
- Gloria Rodríguez, Colombia
- Movimiento Nacional Cimarrón, Colombia
- Alianza ONG, Dominican Republic
- Christian Acosta, Ecuador
- CECADE, El Salvador
- Union des Amis Socio Culturels d’Action en Developpement (UNASCAD), Haiti
- Jamaica Climate Change Youth Council, Jamaica
- Uso Inteligente ASV AC, México
- MY World México, México
- Humberto Soto, México
- Coordinadora por los Derechos de la Infancia y la Adolescencia de Paraguay, Paraguay
- Consorcio Agroecológico Peruano, Perú
- Raise Your Voice Saint Lucia Inc, Saint Lucia
- UNANIMA International, United States
- Congregation of the Mission, United States
- World Union for Progressive Judaism, United States
- Transdiaspora Network, United States
- Sustainably Wise, United States
- Hawai’i Institute for Human Rights, United States
- The GOOD Group, United States
- Let There Be Light International, United States
- ALICIA STAMMER, United States
- Andrea Ruiz, United States
- TRIPPINZ CARE INC, United States
- Pleading for the Widows International Foundation, United States
- Missionary Oblates of Immaculate, United States
- Oblate Ecological Initiative, United States
- United Nations Association of the National Capital Area, United States
- New Future Foundation, United States
- World Roma Federation, US
- Kosmos Journal; Unity Earth, USA
- NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, USA
- Volunteer Groups Alliance, USA
- Findhorn Foundation, USA
- TAP Network, USA
- Global Choices, USA/ UK
- REDHNNA, Venezuela
- OMEP World Organization for Early Childhood Education, Argentina
- Fundación para la Democracia Internacional, Argentina
- Fundacion para Estudio e investigacion de la Mujer, Argentina
- Reaccion Climatica, Bolivia
- Viviane Weingärtner, Brazil
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BELARUS: ‘There is a pro-democracy civil society that opposes the war and advocates for democratic reforms’
CIVICUS speaks with Anastasiya Vasilchuk of Viasna about the escalatingrepression and criminalisation of civil society in Belarus.Founded in 1996, Viasna (‘Spring’ in Belarusian) is a human rights civil society organisation (CSO) based in Minsk, the capital, with regional organisations in most Belarusian cities and around 200 members throughout the country. Its main goal is to promote respect for human rights and contribute to the development of civic society in Belarus.
What is the current situation of civil society activists and organisations in Belarus?
At the moment, the work of activists and CSOs in Belarus is practically paralysed. Those activists who remain in Belarus and try to remain active are at great risk. Volunteer activists who are not members of any CSO are being detained and charged administratively and even criminally for any form of activity, including sending parcels to political prisoners and organising solidarity meetings, and are tried under phony charges such as reposting ‘extremist materials’ found on their phones or ‘disobeying’ police officers.
Members of CSOs who have remained in Belarus are being persecuted on the basis of article 193-1 of the Criminal Code, which prohibits activities on behalf of organisations that are unregistered or have been deprived of registration. Since 2021, about 1,180 CSOS have been liquidated or are in the process of liquidation. All human rights organisations have already been deprived of registration, so it is impossible for them to work legally inside Belarus.
In order to keep functioning, most human rights CSOs, Viasna included, have been forced to leave Belarus and continue their work from abroad. Almost all meetings and legal consultations with people who have been subjected to repression are now taking place online. The regional branches of our organisation have also only been able to continue working from abroad, collecting information on repression in their regions through local volunteers who put themselves in harm’s way every day, as well as through open-source investigation techniques, which employees had to learn fast after being forcibly relocated.
Generally speaking, displacement has brought many challenges for civil society. We’ve had to search for extra funding, in light of the usually higher costs of living in host countries. We’ve had to rethink our work processes, which were previously based mainly on direct personal communication with victims of human rights violations, and shift them online. And we’ve had to focus on maintaining the visibility and significance of our activities in the eyes of victims of human rights violations in Belarus.
Despite the ongoing crackdown on dissent, Viasna and other human rights CSOs continue to document human rights violations, which are occurring on a huge scale and on a daily basis in Belarus, to make them visible and try to elicit a reaction from the international community.
How are Belarusian CSOs supporting activists under threat?
Viasna is working for persecuted activists to be recognised as political prisoners and providing further assistance to them, as well as to other victims of repression. We collect information about people detained for political motives all over the country, and alongside other CSOs that are part of our human rights coalition we highlight their cases as political prisoners and provide comprehensive support to them and their families, including providing free legal advice, sending them care packages and leading advocacy campaigns for their release. Right now, we are also looking for resources and opportunities to help political prisoners who are being released and are in need of material, psychological and medical support.
Other CSOs provide other forms of support to political prisoners and repressed activists, depending on their area of work. For example, women’s human rights organisations provide support to female political prisoners, while independent trade unions, which have also been forced to leave the country, provide assistance to their arrested colleagues. There are also specialised funds and initiatives that provide medical and psychological support to victims of repression.
What have been the impacts of Russia’s war on Ukraine on Belarusian civil society?
In the present context we can identify several impacts. Immediately after Russia invaded Ukraine, many Belarusian CSOs jointly condemned the Russian aggression and demonstrated their solidarity with the people of Ukraine, and some CSOs provided humanitarian assistance. The outbreak of war actualised the problem of Russian political influence in Belarus and highlighted the fact that Belarus is exposed to a potential military threat from Russia, which has become a key area of concern for some CSOs.
Particularly in the first months of the war, the attitude of some international actors towards Belarusian CSOs changed due to the pro-Russian position of the Belarusian illegitimate authorities, and the problem of the severe political repression ongoing in Belarus began to fade into the background. The ongoing war has meant that Belarusian CSOs have had to make additional efforts to make sure their voice is heard, reminding the outside world that there is more to Belarus than the regime of President Alexander Lukashenko. Belarus also has a pro-democracy civil society that opposes the war and advocates for democratic reforms.
What further support does Belarusian civil society need from theinternational community?
Belarusian civil society, including Viasna, has continued to receive financial and informational support from international allies. However, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine some major donors, who had helped ensure stable long-term funding for civil society, reduced or completely stopped their assistance to Belarusian civil society. We are therefore in much need of long-term, stable financial assistance.
Regarding informational support, we are currently actively working to expand the network of international actors interested in the human rights situation in Belarus. Informational support is a key element for raising awareness of systemic human rights violations in Belarus.
Civic space in Belarus is rated ‘closed’ by theCIVICUS Monitor.
Get in touch with Viasna through itswebsite or itsFacebook page, and follow@Viasna onTwitter.
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CIVICUS UN Universal Periodic Review submissions on civil society space
CIVICUS and its partners have submitted joint and stand-alone UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) submissions on 9 countries in advance of the 28th UPR session (November 2017). The submissions examine the state of civil society in each country, including the promotion and protection of the rights to freedom of association, assembly and expression and the environment for human rights defenders. We further provide an assessment of the States’ domestic implementation of civic space recommendations received during the 2nd UPR cycle over 4 years ago and provide a number of targeted follow-up recommendations.
Countries examined: Benin, Gabon, Guatemala, Pakistan, Peru, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Ukraine and Zambia.
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Civil society expresses solidarity with the Ukrainian people and condemn Putin’s War
We civil society organisations, including national umbrella bodies from across the world, stand united in our condemnation of Russia’s military aggression toward Ukraine in gross violation of international law. We deplore the targeting of civilian populations and infrastructures by Russian forces, which amounts to war crimes.
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Council must heed warning signs and address rights violations in Russia, India and elsewhere
Statement at the 49th Session of the UN Human Rights Council
Item 4 General Debate
Delivered byLisa Majumdar
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Democratising the policy dialogue on SDG localisation: the experience of the League of Professional Women in Ukraine
Open submission by Dr Olena Lazorenko, President of the League of Professional Women and Senior Researcher at the Institute of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine ()
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Es necesaria una respuesta internacional unificada y coordinada a los ataques de Rusia en Ucrania
La alianza global de la sociedad civil CIVICUS se solidariza con el pueblo ucraniano y pide una respuesta internacional rápida, unificada y dirigida a Rusia.
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Firm, unified response needed to Russia’s aggression
By Andrew Firmin, Editor in Chief, CIVICUS
It is now clear diplomacy matters little to Vladimir Putin. Despite the efforts of a string of presidents and prime ministers to prevent conflict, on 24 February, Putin started the war he’d been itching for.
What now seems evident is that Putin expects to maintain a Cold War-style sphere of influence around Russia’s borders. It isn’t only his treatment of Ukraine, seemingly punished for orienting a little more towards the west and entertaining a vague idea of joining NATO, that shows this.
In the context of conflict, there’s a need to monitor and collect evidence of human rights violations – with the aim of one day holding the perpetrators and commissioners of crimes to account in the international justice system.
Civil society can play a vital part here – not only in defending human rights and monitoring violations, but also in building peace at the local level and providing essential humanitarian help to people left bereft by conflict.
Read more on Inter Press Service
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Nous sommes solidaires de l’Ukraine !
Nous, soussignés, organisations de la société civile, pensons à vous, chers collègues, et sommes solidaires de vous et du peuple ukrainien en ces temps difficiles. Comme le reste du monde, nous avons regardé avec horreur la Russie attaquer l’Ukraine aux premières heures du 24 février. Cette attaque ne cesse pas. Nous condamnons cet acte d’agression avec la plus grande fermeté, car il constitue un crime au regard du droit international et menace l'ordre international.
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Outcomes & reflections from the UN Human Rights Council
Joint statement at the end of the 41st Session of the UN Human Rights Council
By renewing the mandate of the Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), the Council has sent a clear message that violence and discrimination against people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities cannot be tolerated. It reaffirmed that specific, sustained and systematic attention is needed to address these human rights violations and ensure that LGBT people can live a life of dignity. We welcome the Core Group's commitment to engage in dialogue with all States, resulting in over 50 original co-sponsors across all regions. However, we regret that some States have again attempted to prevent the Council from addressing discrimination and violence on the basis of SOGI.
This Council session also sent a clear message that Council membership comes with scrutiny by addressing the situations of Eritrea, the Philippines, China, Saudi Arabia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This shows the potential the Council has to leverage its membership to become more effective and responsive to rights holders and victims.
The Council did the right thing by extending its monitoring of the situation in Eritrea. The onus is on the Eritrean Government to cooperate with Council mechanisms, including the Special Rapporteur, in line with its membership obligations.
We welcome the first Council resolution on the Philippinesas an important first step towards justice and accountability. We urge the Council to closely follow this situation and be ready to follow up with additional action, if the situation does not improve or deteriorates further. We deeply regret that such a resolution was necessary, due to the continuation of serious violations and repeated refusal of the Philippines – despite its membership of the Council– to cooperate with existing mechanisms.
We deplore that the Philippines and Eritrea sought to use their seats in this Council to seek to shield themselves from scrutiny, and those States who stood with the authorities and perpetrators who continue to commit grave violations with impunity, rather than with the victims.
We welcome the written statement by 22 States on Chinaexpressing collective concern over widespread surveillance, restrictions to freedoms of religion and movement, and large-scale arbitrary detention of Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang. We consider it as a first step towards sustained Council attention and in the absence of progress look to those governments that have signed this letter to follow up at the September session with a resolution calling for China to allow access to the region to independent human rights experts and to end country-wide the arbitrary detention of individuals based on their religious beliefs or political opinions.
We welcome the progress made in resolutions on the rights of women and girls: violence against women and girls in the world of work, on discrimination against women and girls and on the consequences of child, early and forced marriage. We particularly welcome the renewal of the mandate of the Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls under its new name and mandate to focus on the intersections of gender and age and their impact on girls. The Council showed that it was willing to stand up to the global backlash against the rights of women and girls by ensuring that these resolutions reflect the current international legal framework and resisted cultural relativism, despite several amendments put forward to try and weaken the strong content of these resolutions.
However, in the text on the contribution of developmentto the enjoyment of all human rights, long standing consensus language from the Vienna Declaration for Programme of Action (VDPA) recognising that, at the same time, “the lack of development may not be invoked to justify the abridgement of internationally recognized human rights” has again been deliberately excluded, disturbing the careful balance established and maintained for several decades on this issue.
We welcome the continuous engagement of the Council in addressing the threat posed by climate changeto human rights, through its annual resolution and the panel discussion on women’s rights and climate change at this session. We call on the Council to continue to strengthen its work on this issue, given its increasing urgency for the protection of all human rights.
The Council has missed an opportunity on Sudanwhere it could have supported regional efforts and ensured that human rights are not sidelined in the process. We now look to African leadership to ensure that human rights are upheld in the transition. The Council should stand ready to act, including through setting up a full-fledged inquiry into all instances of violence against peaceful protesters and civilians across the country.
During the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial and summary executions, States heard loud and clear that the time to hold Saudi Arabia accountable is now for the extrajudicial killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. We recall that women human rights defenders continue to be arbitrarily detained despite the calls by 36 States at the March session. We urge States to adopt a resolution at the September session to establish a monitoring mechanism over the human rights situation in the country.
We welcome the landmark report of the High Commissioner on the situation for human rights in Venezuela; in response to the grave findings in the report and the absence of any fundamental improvement of the situation in the meantime, we urge the Council to adopt a Commission of Inquiry or similar mechanism in September, to reinforce the ongoing efforts of the High Commissioner and other actors to address the situation.
We welcome the renewal of the mandate on freedom of peaceful assembly and association. This mandate is at the core of our work as civil society and we trust that the mandate will continue to protect and promote these fundamental freedoms towards a more open civic space.
We welcome the renewal of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Belarus. We acknowledge some positive signs of re-engagement in dialogue by Belarus, and an attempted negotiation process with the EU on a potential Item 10 resolution. However, in the absence of systemic human rights reforms in Belarus, the mandate and resolution process remains an essential tool for Belarusian civil society. In addition, there are fears of a spike in violations around upcoming elections and we are pleased that the resolution highlights the need for Belarus to provide safeguards against such an increase.
We welcome the renewal of the quarterly reporting process on the human rights situation in Ukraine. However, we also urge States to think creatively about how best to use this regular mechanism on Ukraine to make better progress on the human rights situation.
The continued delay in the release of the UN databaseof businesses engaged with Israeli settlements established pursuant to Council resolution 31/36 in March 2016 is of deep concern. We join others including Tunisia speaking on behalf of 65 states and Peru speaking on behalf of 26 States in calling on the High Commissioner to urgently and fully fulfil this mandate as a matter of urgency and on all States to cooperate with all Council mandates, including this one, and without political interference.
Numerous States and stakeholders highlighted the importance of the OHCHR report on Kashmir; while its release only a few days ago meant it did not receive substantive consideration at the present session, we look forward to discussing it in depth at the September session.
Finally, we welcome the principled leadership shown by Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, in pursuing accountability for individual victims of acts of intimidation and reprisalsunder General Debate Item 5, contrasting with other States which tend to make only general statements of concern. We call on States to raise all individual cases at the interactive dialogue on reprisals and intimidation in the September session.
Signatories:
- International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
- DefendDefenders (the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project)
- Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
- International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
- International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
- Center for Reproductive Rights
- ARTICLE 19
- Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
- Human Rights House Foundation
- CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
- Franciscans International
- Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
- Amnesty International
- Human Rights Watch
- International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA)
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Paren la guerra: Declaración de solidaridad con la población civil
Nosotros, grupos de la sociedad civil de los cinco continentes del mundo que trabajamos juntos por un mundo justo, pacífico, sostenible y próspero, hacemos un llamado conjunto a una solución negociada para poner fin a la guerra en Ucrania lo antes posible. Esto debe incluir un cese inmediato de las hostilidades contra los civiles y la retirada de las fuerzas militares y el armamento rusos de Ucrania, junto con una declaración acordada por ambas partes y la provisión de garantías de seguridad por y para todas las partes.
En un mundo que ya está asolado por múltiples crisis, como la pandemia de COVID-19 y la escalada del cambio climático, este conflicto está desgarrando comunidades ya frágiles y millones de personas enfrentan guerras, desplazamientos, pérdida de hogares y medios de subsistencia.
Ya ha pasado un mes, pero cuanto más dure este conflicto, más devastador será para las personas que viven en Ucrania, Rusia y en todo el mundo. Debe ser detenido ahora.
1) Detener la guerra
El ataque a Ucrania por parte del ejército ruso y la guerra contra un país soberano marcan una violación inaceptable del derecho internacional. Pedimos el fin inmediato de la guerra en Ucrania, un alto el fuego y la retirada de las fuerzas rusas, y la eliminación gradual de todas las sanciones de acuerdo con un cronograma acordado. La devastación de muchas ciudades y la matanza de civiles inocentes y de la infraestructura civil no se pueden justificar.
Hacemos un llamado a la intervención de terceras partes para evitar una mayor escalada militar del conflicto y ayudar a facilitar las negociaciones de paz.
Además, es inaceptable e insuficiente que hasta ahora solo un puñado de hombres haya estado involucrado en las negociaciones de paz.
Hacemos un llamado para que las negociaciones de paz incluyan a la sociedad civil y representantes de aquellos que se ven directamente afectados, en particular las mujeres, especialmente de Ucrania y Rusia.
2) Respetar los derechos humanos
Nos solidarizamos con el pueblo de Ucrania. Los derechos de los civiles deben ser respetados, después de un mes de conflicto, los impactos humanitarios están provocando desplazamientos masivos de personas, pérdida de vidas y medios de subsistencia. Estamos muy preocupados de que esta grave violación del derecho internacional tenga un impacto extremadamente adverso en la seguridad y la democracia en Europa y el mundo.
También hacemos un llamado al respeto de los derechos humanos en Rusia, muchos rusos se han puesto de pie para condenar la violencia y sus voces deben ser escuchadas. La protesta pacífica debe ser reconocida como una forma legítima de expresión.
Pedimos que se respeten los derechos humanos y el estado de derecho.
3) Detener el militarismo y la agresión en todo el mundo.
Trágicamente, esta no es la primera vez que ocurren tales conflictos y guerras, ni mucho menos, por lo que resulta crucial reducir la militarización y el autoritarismo en todo el mundo.
La situación actual en Ucrania surge en un contexto humano donde el conflicto armado, la violencia en todas sus formas, el autoritarismo, la corrupción y la represión indiscriminada afecta la vida de millones de personas en todo el mundo y viola los derechos humanos de jóvenes y adultos en países que incluyen: Myanmar, Yemen, Palestina, Siria, Sudán del Sur, República Centroafricana, Etiopía, , Colombia, Brasil, Nicaragua, Afganistán, Guatemala, El Salvador y otros.
Todos los conflictos deben ser tratados con el mismo nivel de preocupación, todas las vidas afectadas por el conflicto tienen el mismo valor.
Pedimos el mismo nivel de apoyo para poner fin a los conflictos y garantizar el apoyo financiero para las personas desplazadas y refugiadas de otros conflictos.
4) Desplazar los fondos militares hacia un futuro justo y sostenible
La guerra en Ucrania ya ha tenido un impacto devastador en la economía mundial, especialmente en el Sur Global. Es probable que haya grandes interrupciones y aumentos significativos en el costo de la energía y la producción, mayores costos de los alimentos y, al mismo tiempo, los presupuestos se redirigen hacia el gasto militar.
El militarismo de Rusia está alimentado por combustibles fósiles y, por lo tanto, es fundamental detener la inversión en combustibles fósiles y cambiar de inmediato a formas de energía limpia. Es de vital importancia que reduzcamos el consumo de petróleo y gas y aumentemos rápidamente las inversiones en energías renovables para combatir la crisis climática que comienza ahora.
Pedimos un compromiso específico en la ONU para reducir el gasto en conflictos militares y reinvertir este gasto en protección social y energía limpia.
5) Establecer un fondo de paz mundial
Hacemos un llamado a los estados miembros a recordar la visión fundacional de las Naciones Unidas y su Consejo de Seguridad, para cumplir con la razón principal por la que fueron creados: evitar cualquier tipo de guerra y el sufrimiento de la humanidad.
La Agenda 2030 marca un camino hacia un mundo pacífico, justo, sostenible y próspero; y se deben tomar medidas y acciones mucho más ambiciosas para garantizar que se cumplan las metas y los objetivos.
Hacemos un llamado a los estados miembros para que establezcan un fondo de paz global para fortalecer el papel de los mediadores internacionales y las fuerzas de mantenimiento de la paz. La ONU debe actuar.
191 firmantes actuales (Firma esta declaración)
Global- Action for Sustainable Development
- CIVICUS
- GCAP
- SDG Watch Europe
- SHERPA Institute
- Vivat International
- Academics Stand Against Poverty
- Gaia U International, Global Ecovillage Network US
- VIVAT International
- International Movement of Catholic Students (IMCS) Pax Romana, Asia Pacific.
- Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs
Asia
- Farmers’ Voice (Krisoker Sor), Bangladesh
- Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights(BIHR), Bangladesh
- JusticeMakers Bangladesh, Bangladesh
- Circular Economy Alliance India, India
- Kethoseno Peseyie, India
- CHIKKA FEDERATION OF INDIA, India
- Independent Individual freelancer named Hitesh BHATT & MS JALPA PATEL-INDIA., India
- Sikshasandhan, India
- Sustainable Development Council, India
- Association For Promotion Sustainable Development, India
- Peace in Education, India
- THE CATALYSTS CO, India
- SOCIETY FOR ORPHAN, NEGLECTED AND YOUTHS (SONY), India
- FAUDAR RURAL EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY FOR HARIJANS, India
- GIRL UP CHIKKA, India
- International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development, Indonesia
- Sustainable agriculture and environment, Iran
- Japan Youth Platform for Sustainability(JYPS), Japan
- UNISC International, Japan
- Silambam Asia, Malaysia
- World Yoga Association, Malaysia
- World Silambam Association (WSA), Malaysia
- Climate Change Working Group, Myanmar
- COMMUNITY SUPPORT ASSOCIATION OF NEPAL, Nepal
- Sheni legal Service and Research Center, Nepal
- SATHI SAMUHA (Friends Group), Nepal
- Youth Advocacy Nepal (YAN), Nepal
- Restructuring Nepal, Nepal
- Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP), Pakistan
- Haakro Welfare Association, Pakistan
- SSpS, Philippines
- Lanka Fundamental Rights Organization, Sri Lanka
- Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit, Viet Nam
- AwazCDS, Pakistan
- Korean Advocates for Global Health, Korea
- National Campaign For Sustainable Development (NACASUD-Nepal), Nepal
- Tarayana Foundation, Bhutan
- General Secretary Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee, Pakistan
- Think Centre Singapore, Singapore
Europa
- Missionsprokur St. Gabriel International, Austria
- Greenskills, Austria
- Mikel Díez Sarasola, España
- Circular Initiatives Roadmap (CIR), Estonia
- Pekka Kuusi Ecofoundation, Finland
- World Family Organization, France
- ONG (Nouveau Point de vue ), France outre-mer
- Association for Farmers Rights Defense, AFRD, Georgia
- Global Ecovillage Network, Germany
- Forum on Environment and Development, Germany
- IAHV, Germany
- Patrick Paul Walsh, Ireland
- International Presentation Association, Ireland
- DMDA, Ireland
- Jan Martin Bang, Norway
- Norwegian Forum for Development and Environment, Norway
- Moray Carshare, Scotland
- Salisbury centre Edinburgh, Scotland UK
- Drustvo Soncni gric, Slovenija
- Alfonso Flaquer, Spain
- Centro de Transformacion del Conflicto Humano, Spain
- Findhorn Foundation Fellows, Sweden
- Justice for Prosperity Foundation, The Netherlands
- British Autism Advocates, U.K.
- Integral City Meshworks Inc., UK
- BPWUK, Uk
- Findhorn Fellows, UK
- Emerson College, Forest Row, East Sussex, UK., UK
- Barnaby Green, United Kingdom
- Dr. Colin Thomas Barnes, United Kingdom
- Development Alternatives, United Kingdom
- NAWO and the Judith Trust, United Kingdom
- Victor S Ient, United Kingdom
- Findhorn Foundation & Park Ecovillage Trust, United Kingdom
- InnerLinks, United Kingdom
- Alan Watson Featherstone, United Kingdom
- Open Circle Consulting Ltd, United Kingdom
- Poems for Parliament, United Kingdom
- Northern Ireland Women’s European Platform, United Kingdom
- Ecologia Youth Trust, United Kingdom
- Soroptimist International, United Kingdom
- Commonwealth Medical Trust, United Kingdom
- Widows for Peace through Democracy (WPD), United Kingdom
- SecurityWomen, United Kingdom
Oriente medio y norte de África
- Gatef, Egypt
- Junior enterprise, Tunisia
Oceanía
- Plowright Studios, Australia
- Aaron Owen, Australia
- PIANGO, Fiji
- Deepti Karan Weiss, Fiji
- The New Zealand Federation of Business and Professional Women, New Zealand
- GENOA, Oceania and Asia
África subsahariana
- RESEAU SOS FEMMES EN DETRESSE – SOS FED, BURUNDI
- YUNIBF (Youth United for a Brighter Future), Cameroon
- Action pour le Développement (A4D), Cameroun
- Centre Oecuménique pour la Promotion du Monde Rural, Congo-Kinshasa
- AGIR POUR LA SÉCURITÉ ET LA SOUVERAINETÉ ALIMENTAIRE ASSA, Congo-Kinshasa( RDCONGO)
- Save the Climat, Democratic Republic of Congo
- Locate software, Ethiopia
- Michael Girimay Gebremedhine, Ethiopia
- New English private school, Ethiopia
- Taminnova, Ethiopian
- Apostolic Ministerial International Network, Ghana
- Youth Harvest Foundation Ghana, Ghana
- Abundant Grace Female Foundation, Ghana
- Elizka Relief Foundation, Ghana
- Parlement des Jeunes Leaders de la Société Civile Guinéenne, Guinée
- BASO, Kenya
- The Social Justice Centers Working Group, Kenya
- New Generation Outreach, Kenya
- Thomas Kaydor, Jr., LIBERIA
- Innovations for change, Malawi
- Action for Environmental Sustainability, Malawi
- Peoples Federation for National Peace and Development (PEFENAP), Malawi
- Association du Développement et de la Promotion de Droits de l’Homme, Mauritanie
- Dieumax Ventures, Nigeria
- Leadership Watch, Nigeria
- Initiative For Peace And Stability ( IPAS), Nigeria
- HETAVED SKILLS ACADEMY AND NETWORKS INTERNATIONAL, Nigeria
- Environment and Development Advocates (EDA), Nigeria
- ASSOCIATION COMMUNAUTAIRE POUR LE BIEN ETRE ET LA PROTECTION ENVIRONNEMENTALE /ACOBEPE ONGD, REPUBLIQUE DEMOCRATIQUE DU CONGO
- Nouveaux Droits de l’homme Congo Brazzaville, République du Congo
- GCAP-SENGAL, Senegal
- EARTH REGENERATIVE PROJECT SIERRA LEONE-NGO, SIERRA LEONE
- Volunteers Involving Organisations Network, Sierra Leone
- Mahawa Foundation, Sierra Leone
- Waste For Change NPC, South Africa
- Kadesh International, South Africa
- African Monitor Trust, South Africa
- Community Health Organization(CH), Tanzania
- VEILLE CITOYENNE TOGO, TOGO
- Espace Vie et Action-Togo (EVA-T), Togo
- Sugur Development Agency (SDA), Uganda
- Vision Centre Africa, Uganda
- Human Nature Projets Uganda, Uganda
- Step Up Youth Initiative, Uganda
- Development Education Community Project, Zambia
Américas
- AidWatch Canada, Canada
- Vision GRAM-International, Canada and D R Congo
- Gloria Rodríguez, Colombia
- Movimiento Nacional Cimarrón, Colombia
- Alianza ONG, Dominican Republic
- Christian Acosta, Ecuador
- CECADE, El Salvador
- Union des Amis Socio Culturels d’Action en Developpement (UNASCAD), Haiti
- Jamaica Climate Change Youth Council, Jamaica
- Uso Inteligente ASV AC, México
- MY World México, México
- Humberto Soto, México
- Coordinadora por los Derechos de la Infancia y la Adolescencia de Paraguay, Paraguay
- Consorcio Agroecológico Peruano, Perú
- Raise Your Voice Saint Lucia Inc, Saint Lucia
- UNANIMA International, United States
- Congregation of the Mission, United States
- World Union for Progressive Judaism, United States
- Transdiaspora Network, United States
- Sustainably Wise, United States
- Hawai’i Institute for Human Rights, United States
- The GOOD Group, United States
- Let There Be Light International, United States
- ALICIA STAMMER, United States
- Andrea Ruiz, United States
- TRIPPINZ CARE INC, United States
- Pleading for the Widows International Foundation, United States
- Missionary Oblates of Immaculate, United States
- Oblate Ecological Initiative, United States
- United Nations Association of the National Capital Area, United States
- New Future Foundation, United States
- World Roma Federation, US
- Kosmos Journal; Unity Earth, USA
- NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, USA
- Volunteer Groups Alliance, USA
- Findhorn Foundation, USA
- TAP Network, USA
- Global Choices, USA/ UK
- REDHNNA, Venezuela
- OMEP World Organization for Early Childhood Education, Argentina
- Fundación para la Democracia Internacional, Argentina
- Fundacion para Estudio e investigacion de la Mujer, Argentina
- Reaccion Climatica, Bolivia
- Viviane Weingärtner, Brazil
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POLAND: ‘If lots of tiny actions are performed by many people, we can achieve big things’
CIVICUS speaks with Magdalena Demczak, co-founder and director of Akcja Menstruacja (Menstrual Action), about the work her organisation is currently doing to help Ukrainian refugees.Menstrual Action is the first Polish civil society organisation (CSO) aimed at supporting people experiencing menstrual poverty. It is estimated that limited access to menstrual products, most often for economic reasons but also due to lack of adequate hygiene conditions or education affects around 500,000 people in Poland.
What made you decide to start helping refugees?
What made us decide to start helping refugees was the fact that we felt so helpless when watching the news, that we felt the need to help in any way we could.
At the beginning it was very hard for us to plan our actions because we had no idea what would happen. We were all a bit in shock at such an extraordinary situation. But we took immediate action: we supported checkpoints, raised funds and collected products that were sent to Ukraine directly, and also to the Polish-Ukrainian border. We also supported local Polish families who are hosting Ukrainian families and sites across Poland where Ukrainian refugees can seek information and legal assistance. In these locations there are people who speak Ukrainian and provide translation services.
What are the key needs you are seeing among refugees?
People escaping war in Ukraine are arriving in Poland with their hands empty. Right now, refugees are mostly women and their children carrying small bags, since men aged 18 to 60 are banned from leaving: they must stay to defend their country. They are not bringing much – they are just trying to escape, so all they typically have is some clothes, documents and essential medicine.
They obviously need all kinds of things. First of all, they need shelter and transportation to get there. They also need food, clothing and baby products, among other things. As women make up a large proportion of refugees, there is also a lot of need for all kinds of feminine-care products. Women’s biological cycles – from periods to pregnancies – don’t stop because of a war. There is a massive need for period products, especially menstrual pads, because it’s very easy to forget all about pads when a war erupts and you must flee your country.
How is Polish civil society, and Menstrual Action more specifically, working to help refugees?
Polish civil society, and individual Polish citizens, are doing amazing things. There are lines after lines of cars at the border to pick anyone in need of transportation, willing to take them to any Polish city, free of charge of course. Hundreds of thousands are giving out rooms in their homes to Ukrainian refugees, for free and for as long as needed. There are so many amazing people and organisations out there helping refugees.
Unfortunately, we are aware that the war in Ukraine may last a long time and even after it ends, it will take time to rebuild cities so that people can come back. This means refugees may have to stay in Poland for quite a bit. So a more systemic approach is needed.
Since the early days, Menstrual Action has been shipping sanitary products to refugees; a few days ago, for instance, our volunteers brought 180 kilograms of sanitary pads to the Polish-Ukrainian border. Quite a few of our volunteers are now working directly at the border, not because we sent them but because they chose to go.
But we are now ready to undertake more long-term actions. We have talked to local manufacturers of period products to buy directly from them, and we will distribute these products in various locations and communities, as well as to CSOs working with refugees. While normally we would focus on period poverty, in such an extraordinary situation we are also supporting wider groups of refugees by providing adult diapers and other sanitary products such as toilet paper.
As an organisation, we have the capacity to provide sanitary and menstrual products. Our contribution saves other charities money that they can better spend on other humanitarian needs. Sending goods to the border can be a logistics nightmare, so if by shipping them ourselves we can save others a significant amount of money they can invest elsewhere, we feel that our work is done.
The actions of any specific organisation will always be too small to fulfil the needs of millions of people fleeing a war. But if lots of tiny actions are performed by many people, I believe we can achieve big things.
Have your existing capacities and resources from your ongoing work proved useful?
Our network has proved vital. We have intensively used our connections with menstrual product manufacturers, suppliers and other charities. We regularly support hundreds of Polish schools with menstrual products, but this year we were able to send out those packages earlier than usual to make room in our warehouses and gather menstrual products to be distributed among Ukrainian refuge centres around Poland.
Before the crisis, we started a project called Pad Sharing, which connects donors with people who need menstrual products. If you are poor and having your period, and you had to choose between food and pads, you would get food, right? So we partnered with Rossmann drugstore, put up a form for people in need to enter their name, an address to locate the closest Rossmann store, an email address and the required product and amount. We receive the form and forward it to a donor who gets the list of products needed and does the shopping. When they are done, the person in need gets a call that their order is ready for pick-up at the Rossmann drugstore of their choice. We are just intermediaries and the person who needs help remains anonymous during the whole process. We have so far supported 2,200 people this way.
This project became vital in the current situation. We translated the Pad Sharing form into Ukrainian and shared it online. We emphasised that, due to the extraordinary situation, people can request anything from the pharmacy, not just menstrual products. We don’t provide medicine but can refer them to other organisations that do. We are aware of refugees’ needs, and so are our donors.
Have you seen any evidence of non-white refugees being treated differently?
I’ve seen many clips of Black people waiting at the border and read several allegations that some were refused entry into Poland. But I’m a white woman who currently isn’t even living in Poland but in the UK, so I’m extra-privileged. I didn’t cross the border, I wasn’t there and I don’t pretend to speak for non-white people or to know about their personal experiences.
Some people have pointed out that the current attitude towards Ukrainian refugees differs from how other refugees have been treated, including Afghan refugees trying to cross to Poland from the Belarusian border. We are aware that the reaction may have been different, but Menstrual Action did help Afghan refugees at the time – we contacted and connected various organisations to help Afghan refugees.
There is a Polish organisation called Black Is Polish, established by Black Polish women from various backgrounds, which is helping Black people and other people of colour escape Ukraine. There’s been a lot of disinformation on social media. For instance, it has been said that only people with Ukrainian passports could cross the border. This is not correct: anyone can seek refuge in Poland. This disinformation was very harmful to people of colour trying to escape Ukraine.
I won’t deny we Eastern Europeans have many racism issues, but I wouldn’t want this to detract from the biggest issue we currently face: war in Ukraine and Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian regime. There is a disinformation war going on. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Relations has even said that Russia didn’t invade Ukraine. Russian-funded trolls are trying to instrumentalise racist incidents that have indeed happened on the border to put Ukraine on the ‘bad side’ and to justify the Putin regime and its war of aggression.
What could people internationally be doing to help?
The first thing they should do is follow the news through reputable sources. They must be aware of circulating disinformation and fake news. Before clicking ‘retweet’, ‘like’ or ‘subscribe’, you must think why you are getting this piece of news, where it is coming from, what the intentions are behind it and who would benefit if you spread it. Would it be beneficial for struggling people, or would it benefit the Putin regime? The international community must stay aware and cautious because it’s very easy to get lost in the news if you live far away from Ukraine.
If you have money to donate, you should support legitimate organisations helping people inside Ukraine who cannot escape and those who chose to remain there to fight for their country. We still have an international donations systems to receive donations from anywhere around the world.
People in other global regions are not taught a lot about the history of the Soviet Union, its beginnings and its end, and the establishment of countries such as Ukraine and Belarus. So if you can, try to learn this part of history and to understand why this part of the world looks the way it does. It’s very important to understand how the past influences the present and to make sure the worst of history does not repeat itself.
Civic space in Poland is rated ‘obstructed’ by theCIVICUS Monitor.
Get in touch with Akcja Menstruacja through itswebsite andFacebook andInstagram pages. -
Putin's war and the future of the rules-based international order
By Mandeep Tiwana, Chief Programmes Officer at CIVICUS
With thousands dead and millions displaced in Ukraine, Europe is now in the throes of its most acute refugee crisis since the Second World War. Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian civilian population and infrastructure have yet again exposed major weaknesses in the rules-based international order. The ability of the UN to act as the guarantor of international peace and security is being called into serious question.
Read on Diplomatic Courier
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Russian Federation: UN General Assembly should suspend Russia’s membership of the UN Human Rights Council
We, the undersigned civil society organisations, call on Member States of the United Nations to take and support action at the UN General Assembly to suspend the Russian Federation as a member of the UN Human Rights Council.
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Solidaridad con Ucrania!
Las organizaciones de la sociedad civil abajo firmantes pensamos en ustedes, apreciadas y apreciados colegas, y nos solidarizamos con ustedes y con el pueblo de Ucrania en estos momentos difíciles. Al igual que el resto del mundo, observamos con horror cómo Rusia comenzó a atacar a Ucrania en las primeras horas del 24 de febrero y cómo continúa haciéndolo. Condenamos este acto de agresión en los términos más enérgicos posibles, ya que constituye un crimen según el derecho internacional y amenaza el orden internacional.
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Solidarité avec le peuple ukrainien et condamnation de la guerre de Poutine
Nous, organisations de la société civile, parmi lesquelles des organisations faîtières du monde entier, sommes unies dans notre condamnation de l’agression militaire de la Russie contre l’Ukraine, qui constitue une grave violation du droit international. Nous déplorons les attaques ciblées des forces armées russes contre la population civile et les infrastructures, qui constituent des crimes de guerre.
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Stop the war in Ukraine: Global solidarity statement
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.
The 2030 Agenda sets out a path towards a peaceful, just, sustainable and prosperous world; and much more ambitious steps and actions must be undertaken to ensure that the targets and goals are met.
We call on member states to establish a global peace fund to strengthen the role of international mediators and peace-keepers, the UN must act!
191 current signatories (sign the statement)
Global- Action for Sustainable Development
- CIVICUS
- GCAP
- SDG Watch Europe
- SHERPA Institute
- Vivat International
- Academics Stand Against Poverty
- Gaia U International, Global Ecovillage Network US
- VIVAT International
- International Movement of Catholic Students (IMCS) Pax Romana, Asia Pacific.
- Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs
Asia
- Farmers’ Voice (Krisoker Sor), Bangladesh
- Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights(BIHR), Bangladesh
- JusticeMakers Bangladesh, Bangladesh
- Circular Economy Alliance India, India
- Kethoseno Peseyie, India
- CHIKKA FEDERATION OF INDIA, India
- Independent Individual freelancer named Hitesh BHATT & MS JALPA PATEL-INDIA., India
- Sikshasandhan, India
- Sustainable Development Council, India
- Association For Promotion Sustainable Development, India
- Peace in Education, India
- THE CATALYSTS CO, India
- SOCIETY FOR ORPHAN, NEGLECTED AND YOUTHS (SONY), India
- FAUDAR RURAL EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY FOR HARIJANS, India
- GIRL UP CHIKKA, India
- International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development, Indonesia
- Sustainable agriculture and environment, Iran
- Japan Youth Platform for Sustainability(JYPS), Japan
- UNISC International, Japan
- Silambam Asia, Malaysia
- World Yoga Association, Malaysia
- World Silambam Association (WSA), Malaysia
- Climate Change Working Group, Myanmar
- COMMUNITY SUPPORT ASSOCIATION OF NEPAL, Nepal
- Sheni legal Service and Research Center, Nepal
- SATHI SAMUHA (Friends Group), Nepal
- Youth Advocacy Nepal (YAN), Nepal
- Restructuring Nepal, Nepal
- Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP), Pakistan
- Haakro Welfare Association, Pakistan
- SSpS, Philippines
- Lanka Fundamental Rights Organization, Sri Lanka
- Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit, Viet Nam
- AwazCDS, Pakistan
- Korean Advocates for Global Health, Korea
- National Campaign For Sustainable Development (NACASUD-Nepal), Nepal
- Tarayana Foundation, Bhutan
- General Secretary Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee, Pakistan
- Think Centre Singapore, Singapore
Europe
- Missionsprokur St. Gabriel International, Austria
- Greenskills, Austria
- Mikel Díez Sarasola, España
- Circular Initiatives Roadmap (CIR), Estonia
- Pekka Kuusi Ecofoundation, Finland
- World Family Organization, France
- ONG (Nouveau Point de vue ), France outre-mer
- Association for Farmers Rights Defense, AFRD, Georgia
- Global Ecovillage Network, Germany
- Forum on Environment and Development, Germany
- IAHV, Germany
- Patrick Paul Walsh, Ireland
- International Presentation Association, Ireland
- DMDA, Ireland
- Jan Martin Bang, Norway
- Norwegian Forum for Development and Environment, Norway
- Moray Carshare, Scotland
- Salisbury centre Edinburgh, Scotland UK
- Drustvo Soncni gric, Slovenija
- Alfonso Flaquer, Spain
- Centro de Transformacion del Conflicto Humano, Spain
- Findhorn Foundation Fellows, Sweden
- Justice for Prosperity Foundation, The Netherlands
- British Autism Advocates, U.K.
- Integral City Meshworks Inc., UK
- BPWUK, Uk
- Findhorn Fellows, UK
- Emerson College, Forest Row, East Sussex, UK., UK
- Barnaby Green, United Kingdom
- Dr. Colin Thomas Barnes, United Kingdom
- Development Alternatives, United Kingdom
- NAWO and the Judith Trust, United Kingdom
- Victor S Ient, United Kingdom
- Findhorn Foundation & Park Ecovillage Trust, United Kingdom
- InnerLinks, United Kingdom
- Alan Watson Featherstone, United Kingdom
- Open Circle Consulting Ltd, United Kingdom
- Poems for Parliament, United Kingdom
- Northern Ireland Women’s European Platform, United Kingdom
- Ecologia Youth Trust, United Kingdom
- Soroptimist International, United Kingdom
- Commonwealth Medical Trust, United Kingdom
- Widows for Peace through Democracy (WPD), United Kingdom
- SecurityWomen, United Kingdom
Middle East and Northern Africa
- Gatef, Egypt
- Junior enterprise, Tunisia
Pacific
- Plowright Studios, Australia
- Aaron Owen, Australia
- PIANGO, Fiji
- Deepti Karan Weiss, Fiji
- The New Zealand Federation of Business and Professional Women, New Zealand
- GENOA, Oceania and Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
- RESEAU SOS FEMMES EN DETRESSE – SOS FED, BURUNDI
- YUNIBF (Youth United for a Brighter Future), Cameroon
- Action pour le Développement (A4D), Cameroun
- Centre Oecuménique pour la Promotion du Monde Rural, Congo-Kinshasa
- AGIR POUR LA SÉCURITÉ ET LA SOUVERAINETÉ ALIMENTAIRE ASSA, Congo-Kinshasa( RDCONGO)
- Save the Climat, Democratic Republic of Congo
- Locate software, Ethiopia
- Michael Girimay Gebremedhine, Ethiopia
- New English private school, Ethiopia
- Taminnova, Ethiopian
- Apostolic Ministerial International Network, Ghana
- Youth Harvest Foundation Ghana, Ghana
- Abundant Grace Female Foundation, Ghana
- Elizka Relief Foundation, Ghana
- Parlement des Jeunes Leaders de la Société Civile Guinéenne, Guinée
- BASO, Kenya
- The Social Justice Centers Working Group, Kenya
- New Generation Outreach, Kenya
- Thomas Kaydor, Jr., LIBERIA
- Innovations for change, Malawi
- Action for Environmental Sustainability, Malawi
- Peoples Federation for National Peace and Development (PEFENAP), Malawi
- Association du Développement et de la Promotion de Droits de l’Homme, Mauritanie
- Dieumax Ventures, Nigeria
- Leadership Watch, Nigeria
- Initiative For Peace And Stability ( IPAS), Nigeria
- HETAVED SKILLS ACADEMY AND NETWORKS INTERNATIONAL, Nigeria
- Environment and Development Advocates (EDA), Nigeria
- ASSOCIATION COMMUNAUTAIRE POUR LE BIEN ETRE ET LA PROTECTION ENVIRONNEMENTALE /ACOBEPE ONGD, REPUBLIQUE DEMOCRATIQUE DU CONGO
- Nouveaux Droits de l’homme Congo Brazzaville, République du Congo
- GCAP-SENGAL, Senegal
- EARTH REGENERATIVE PROJECT SIERRA LEONE-NGO, SIERRA LEONE
- Volunteers Involving Organisations Network, Sierra Leone
- Mahawa Foundation, Sierra Leone
- Waste For Change NPC, South Africa
- Kadesh International, South Africa
- African Monitor Trust, South Africa
- Community Health Organization(CH), Tanzania
- VEILLE CITOYENNE TOGO, TOGO
- Espace Vie et Action-Togo (EVA-T), Togo
- Sugur Development Agency (SDA), Uganda
- Vision Centre Africa, Uganda
- Human Nature Projets Uganda, Uganda
- Step Up Youth Initiative, Uganda
- Development Education Community Project, Zambia
The Americas
- AidWatch Canada, Canada
- Vision GRAM-International, Canada and D R Congo
- Gloria Rodríguez, Colombia
- Movimiento Nacional Cimarrón, Colombia
- Alianza ONG, Dominican Republic
- Christian Acosta, Ecuador
- CECADE, El Salvador
- Union des Amis Socio Culturels d’Action en Developpement (UNASCAD), Haiti
- Jamaica Climate Change Youth Council, Jamaica
- Uso Inteligente ASV AC, México
- MY World México, México
- Humberto Soto, México
- Coordinadora por los Derechos de la Infancia y la Adolescencia de Paraguay, Paraguay
- Consorcio Agroecológico Peruano, Perú
- Raise Your Voice Saint Lucia Inc, Saint Lucia
- UNANIMA International, United States
- Congregation of the Mission, United States
- World Union for Progressive Judaism, United States
- Transdiaspora Network, United States
- Sustainably Wise, United States
- Hawai’i Institute for Human Rights, United States
- The GOOD Group, United States
- Let There Be Light International, United States
- ALICIA STAMMER, United States
- Andrea Ruiz, United States
- TRIPPINZ CARE INC, United States
- Pleading for the Widows International Foundation, United States
- Missionary Oblates of Immaculate, United States
- Oblate Ecological Initiative, United States
- United Nations Association of the National Capital Area, United States
- New Future Foundation, United States
- World Roma Federation, US
- Kosmos Journal; Unity Earth, USA
- NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, USA
- Volunteer Groups Alliance, USA
- Findhorn Foundation, USA
- TAP Network, USA
- Global Choices, USA/ UK
- REDHNNA, Venezuela
- OMEP World Organization for Early Childhood Education, Argentina
- Fundación para la Democracia Internacional, Argentina
- Fundacion para Estudio e investigacion de la Mujer, Argentina
- Reaccion Climatica, Bolivia
- Viviane Weingärtner, Brazil
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Stop the war: Act for justice, climate & peace
By Lysa John, Secretary-General of CIVICUS & Oli Henman, Global Coordinator for Action 4 Sustainable Development
Russia’s war in Ukraine has left many communities facing catastrophe. In a world already wracked by multiple crises such as searing inequality and escalating climate change, this conflict is tearing through communities.
Millions of people are directly affected. They face fragile circumstances, with immeasurable sadness caused by the death of loved ones, loss of livelihoods, displacement, destruction of homes, interruption of education, and more.
The conflict has also placed huge new burdens on the multilateral system, putting a further break on progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals that has already been set back by the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read on Indian Nation
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The UN must act to protect civilians & human rights defenders & hold Russia accountable
Statement at the 49th Session of the UN Human Rights Council
Urgent Debate on Ukraine
Delivered by Susan Wilding
CIVICUS stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and calls for a swift, unified and targeted international response on Russia.
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