IFOR joins "Appeal for Peace in Ukraine" at the UN

On February 28th the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council started its working session and on March 3rd and 4th an Urgent debate on the situation of human rights in Ukraine, stemming from the Russian aggression.

You can watch here the plenary meeting of the mentioned urgent debate with the interventions of member states and NGOs.

On March 8th, during the General Debate with the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Madam Bachelet, IFOR joined 20 other NGOs in an "Appeal for Peace in Ukraine", delivered by the Associazione Papa Giovanni XXIII.

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49th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council, 28 February – 1 April 2022 Item 2: General Debate with the High Commissioner on Human Rights  Joint Oral statement delivered by: Associazione Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII (APG23) Co-signing NGOs1:  

Associazione Comunita Papa Giovanni XXIII (APG23); Association Points-Cœur; AVSI  Foundation; Baptist World Alliance (BWA); Center for Global Nonkilling; Confédération  Internationale Société de Saint Vincent de Paul; Conscience and Peace Tax International  (CPTI); Dominicans for Justice and Peace (Order of Preachers); Dominican Leadership  Conference; Edmund Rice International; Foundation for the Social Promotion of Culture;  ICMICA-MIIC Pax Romana; International Catholic Child Bureau (BICE); International  fellowship of Reconciliation – IFOR; International Organization for the Right to Education  and freedom of Education (OIDEL); International Volunteerism Organization for Women  Education and Development (VIDES International); Istituto Internazionale Maria Ausiliatrice  (IIMA); MIAMSI; Mouvement contre le Racism et pour l’Amitiéentre les Peuples (MRAP);  New Humanity. 

“Appeal for Peace in Ukraine” 

Madam High Commissioner,  

I speak on behalf of 20 NGOs to express our extreme dismay at the military action that is currently  unfolding in Ukraine. We would like to echo your appeal2 of February 24 that urges an immediate halt to  hostilities that puts countless civilian lives at risk.  

We bring into this room the voice of the defenceless victims of conflicts, whose human rights are being  violated. 

We would like to recall the 2016 Declaration on the Right to Peace3 that affirms “Everyone has the right  to enjoy peace such that all human rights are promoted and protected and development is fully realized.” 

We believe that a process of disarmament is needed in order to guarantee peace. All countries involved in  the security architecture of Europe must commit to the reduction of strategic and non-strategic nuclear  weapons stored in the continent. Moreover, the Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons should be  signed and implemented by all States.  

We appeal to the UN, the international community, all parties to strive for an end to the fighting in Ukraine  by enforcing international law and finding a solution to the conflict based on the principle of peaceful  settlement of disputes. 

“War is a “scourge”… It is an adventure without return that compromises humanity's present and threatens  its future… War is always a defeat for humanity”4 

No one has the right to make a war, yet we all have the duty to build peace. 

Thank You! 

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1 NGOs not accredited to ECOSOC supporting this statement: 1. Japan Committee for the Right to Peace 2 https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=28153&LangID=E 

3 A/RES/71/189 

4 Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, paragraph 497

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Click here to download the official statement.

To watch live or recorded the Human Rights Council you can click here.

IFOR STATEMENT ON THE U.S. RECOGNITION OF MOROCCAN SOVEREIGNTY OVER WESTERN SAHARA

On this day, December 14th 2020, which marks the 60th anniversary of the Declaration on the Granting of Independ-ence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, 1 IFOR is issuing a statement on the recent developments regarding the con-flict in Western Sahara.

STATEMENT ON THE U.S. RECOGNITION OF MOROCCAN SOVEREIGNTY OVER WESTERN SAHARA

The International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) was founded over 100 years ago, and at the heart of the fellowship is the steadfast belief in multilateralism as a way to engage within the international community.

On December 10th, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation stating that the United States will recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. 2 A departure from decades of U.S. policy, the move follows last month’s breakdown of the nearly 30-year ceasefire between Morocco and Western Sahara and the resumption of hostilities.

In 1991, the United Nations and the international community made a promise to the Saharawi people that a referendum would be organized, and that they freely and fairly would get to decide their own fate. 30 years later, that promise remains unfulfilled. Neither renewed fighting nor unilateral moves that disregard interna-tional law absolves the international community of this promise. On the contrary, it highlights the urgency of finally implementing the right to self-determination. Saharawi organizations have long sounded the alarm about the consequences of continued inaction and the eroding trust in the international community that fol-lows. 3

The initial reactions to the U.S. Administration’s announcement have been somewhat encouraging, with many countries denouncing the move. IFOR calls on all UN Member States to also act collectively in demonstrating their commitment to abide by international law and to be accountable for the implementation of funda-mental rights. In 2017, following the Trump administration’s announcement that the U.S. would recognize Je-rusalem as the capital of Israel – another example of unilateral action that disregarded international law– the UN General Assembly held an emergency special session and decisively backed a resolution that rejected the move. 4 Such action is again appropriate and necessary to reaffirm the primacy of international law.

With the current administration on its way out, it is also imperative that the new leadership in the U.S. act. IFOR urges President-Elect Biden to, immediately upon taking office, reverse the Trump administration’s de-cision and reaffirm the principles of international law, as the foundation for settling international conflicts, and multilateralism to strengthen international cooperation.

Further, IFOR calls once more for the UN Secretary-General António Guterres to immediately appoint a new UN Personal Envoy for Western Sahara 5. The vacancy at this position, and the continued wait of a credible path to a peaceful resolution, leaves the door open for the kind of negative developments seen in the last month.

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1 General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/Independence.aspx

2 https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-recognizing-sovereignty-kingdom-morocco-western-sahara/

3 Open Letter to the UN Secretary General on the 45th Anniversary of the Western Sahara Conflict, released on November 14th by NOVA, a local nonviolent Saharawi youth organization. 4 General Assembly resolution 11995 of 21 December 2017, adopted at the 10th Emergency Special Session.

5 IFOR Statement on the current situation in Western Sahara, released on November 13th 2020. http://www.ifor.org/news/2020/11/13/ifor-statement-on-the-current-situation-in-western-sahara

You can download the statement by clicking here.