In response to this morning's news, the Peace Pledge Union has released the following statement.
The Peace Pledge Union condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine. No excuses can serve to justify this murderous act of military aggression. Our thoughts are with people in Ukraine in the midst of this horror.
We demand an immediate stop to the attacks on Ukraine, the withdrawal of Russian troops and a return to the negotiating table. We call on all soldiers to lay down their arms and refuse to go to war. We demand from the European Union to open its borders for refugees and to maintain the visa-free regime for Ukrainians. The German government must accept and support deserters and conscientious objectors from Ukraine and Russia.
The European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO) strongly condemns the Russian invasion in Ukraine this morning and calls all parties to strictly adhere to international humanitarian law and international human rights law, including the right to conscientious objection to military service, and to protect civilians, including internally displaced persons and refugees.
Vladimir Putin's decision to send troops to Donetsk and Luhansk has been condemned by peace activists in Russia, Ukraine and around the world.
The DFG-VK, the oldest German peace organization, condemns the deployment of Russian troops in Eastern Ukraine. Peace activists from Germany, Russia and Ukraine call for diplomacy instead of military escalation.
War Resisters’ International condemns the preparations for war by NATO and Russia, who are currently considering military responses to the current political crisis in Ukraine. If war does start it will bring death, destruction, suffering, mass displacement, economic crisis, and many other consequences.
The Peace Pledge Union (PPU) has today (21 Jan 2022) issued the following statement with regards to the prospect of war over Ukraine. The PPU is Britain's leading pacifist organisation and the British section of War Resisters' International.
On the 7th of September 2020 the Grand Chamber panel of the European Court of Human Rights rejected the request to refer the case of Dyagilev v. Russia (no. 49972/16) to the Grand Chamber, thus rendering the judgement of 10 March 2020 final.
On 29th October, War Resisters' International (WRI), European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO), International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) and Connection e.V. released a statement on a problematic judgment by the European Court of Human Rights on the case of a Russian conscientious objector, Maksim Andreyevich Dyagilev.
The Russian Federation has started the 11th conscription campaign of residents in Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. The European Union condemned this draft attempt and has called on Russia to stop all violations of Human Rights and international law in the Crimean Peninsula.
A network of antimilitarist activists from East and North Europe has launched an online event called Antimilimarathon. For 42 consecutive days, starting on 1st June, they will share and post in social media a variety of events, workshops, discussions and webinars, promoting antimilitarist art and culture. If you want to participate in this marathon use the hashtag #Antimilimarathon.
Shares in some of the world’s biggest arms companies rose to a combined total of nearly $14bn in the wake of the US assassination of the Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, with investors expecting a wave of fresh orders.