No More War in Europe - An Appeal for Civic Action in Europe and Beyond


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Another war in Europe no longer seems improbable or unlikely. For some people of the continent, it has been a reality already in Ukraine, in Georgia, in Nagorno Karabakh and on the Turkish-Syrian border. So are the military build ups and threats of full scale warfare.

European security architecture, set up after World War II and then in the Helsinki agreements, has proven outdated and is facing its most serious challenge in decades.

We, civic activists from states that are signatories to the European Convention on Human Rights, members of the Council of Europe or participating in the OSCE note the urgent need to prevent war in Europe.

We believe that the connection between peace, progress and human rights is inextricable. A strong and free civil society, rule of law and real guarantees for the protection of human rights are key elements of comprehensive security within larger Europe, yet coordinated and purposeful suppression of civil society institutions in a number of countries as a theme is sidelined to the margins of international relations. Authoritarian contagion, as seen in Russia, Turkey, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Poland, Hungary, and in the Brexit and Trump phenomena, is associated with international conflict, social injustice, discrimination and division. It is a threat just as dangerous as the COVID-19 pandemic or climate change.

We are convinced those common challenges should be addressed through international dialogue of which civil society is an integral part. Such international dialogue should include three key pillars that defined Helsinki agreements: (1) security, disarmament and territorial integrity; (2) economic, social, health and environmental co-operation; (3) human rights and the rule of law.

We call upon the goodwill of states to pursue that dialogue and underline our commitment to assist those efforts.

We believe that a joint international civic movement with an anti-war and pro-human rights stance is a necessity and commit ourselves to pursue its formation throughout Europe.

Please join us!

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Еще одна война в Европе более не кажется маловероятной. Для некоторых жителей континента она уже стала реальностью: в Украине, в Грузии, в Нагорном Карабахе, на турецко-сирийской границе. Также реальностью стали и наращивание военной мощи, и угрозы развертывания полномасштабной войны.

Архитектура европейской безопасности, созданная после Второй мировой войны, а затем в рамках Хельсинкских соглашений, оказалась устаревшей и столкнулась с самым серьезными вызовами за последние десятилетия.

Мы, гражданские активисты из государств, подписавших Европейскую конвенцию о правах человека, членов Совета Европы или участвующих в ОБСЕ, подчеркиваем срочность и важность предотвращения еще одной войны в Европе.

Мы убеждены в неразрывной связи между миром, прогрессом и правами человека. Сильное и свободное гражданское общество, верховенство права и реальные гарантии защиты прав человека являются ключевыми элементами всеобъемлющей безопасности в рамках большой Европы, однако теме скоординированного и целенаправленного подавления институтов гражданского общества в ряде стран, увы, придается второстепенное внимание на периферии международных отношений. “Заражение общества авторитаризмом”, которое мы видим в России, Турции, Беларуси, Азербайджане, Польше, Венгрии, а также в феноменах Брексита и Трампа, ассоциируется с международными конфликтами, социальной несправедливостью, с дискриминацией и разделением людей и обществ. Это такая же угроза, как пандемия COVID-19 или изменение климата.

Мы убеждены, что эти общие проблемы должны решаться посредством международного диалога, неотъемлемой частью которого является гражданское общество. Такой международный диалог должен включать в себя три основных элемента, определивших в свое время Хельсинкские соглашения: (1) безопасность, разоружение и территориальная целостность; (2) экономическое и социальное сотрудничество, взаимодействие в области охраны здоровья и окружающей среды; (3) права человека и верховенство закона.

Мы призываем государства проявить добрую волю к продолжению этого диалога и подчеркиваем нашу готовность содействовать этим усилиям.

Мы считаем, что совместное международное гражданское движение с антивоенной и правозащитной позицией является необходимостью и сейчас, и в будущем, и обязуемся добиваться его формирования по всей Европе.

Присоединяйтесь к нам!

Initial signatories (alphabetical order) 

  1. Anthony Barnett, Co-founder openDemocracy
  2. Pedro Bacelar de Vasconcelos, Chairperson of Portuguese Delegation at Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
  3. András Bozóki, Professor of Political Science, CEU
  4. Luis Braga da Cruz , former Minister of Economy Portugal
  5. Ingeborg Breines, consultant, former co-president International Peace Bureau and former director of UNESCO
  6. Luke Cooper, academic and co-founder Another Europe Is Possible
  7. Guilherme d’Oliveira Martins, former Minister of Finance and Education of Portugal
  8. John Feffer, Director, Foreign Policy In Focus
  9. Ana Gomes, former MEP Portuguese Socialists and 2021 presidential candidate
  10. Renato Janine Ribeiro, former minister of education of Brazil
  11. Mary Kaldor, Professor Emeritus of Global Governance, LSE
  12. Dmitri Makarov, Council Member of the Moscow Helsinki Group
  13. Paul Mason, journalist and author
  14. Oleksandra Matviichuk, head of the Center for Civil Liberties (Kyiv)
  15. Attila Mesterhazy, Hungarian Parliament, Vice -Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee
  16. Niccolo Milanese, Director of European Alternatives
  17. Lena Nemirovskaya, School of Civic Education
  18. Kalypso Nicolaïdis, Professor at the School of Transnational Governance (EUI) and Professor of International Relations at the University of Oxford
  19. Isabel Pires de Lima , former Minister of Culture, Portugal
  20. Artur Sakunts, Head of Vanadzor office of Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly, Armenia
  21. Saskia Sassen, Professor, Columbia University, New York City
  22. Yuri Senokosov, School of Civic Education
  23. Narcís Serra, former deputy prime minister and former defence minister of Spain
  24. Rasha Shaaban, Cultural Activist, Feminist, board member European Alternatives
  25. G.C. Spivak, Professor Columbia University
  26. Alvaro Vasconcelos,  Founder of Forum Demos , former Director of the European Union Institute for Security Studies ( EUISS)
  27. Idoia Villanueva Ruiz MEP, Unidas Podemos
  28. Gert Weisskirchen (prof. ret.), MP 1976 – 2009; Spokesperson SPD Parliamentary Group 1999 – 2009
  29. Ruth Wodak, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Lancaster University/Universität Wien

Additional signatories (alphabetical order) 

  1. Itty Abraham, academic and writer
  2. Françoise Alamartine, Attac France
  3. Heinz Allgäuer-Hackl, Prof. (FH) – FH Campus Vorarlberg/Austria
  4. Laura Alonso Cano, WILPF España / President
  5. Eleni Andreouli, The Open University
  6. Rowinda Appelman, Dutch Research Council
  7. Jordi Armadans Gil, FundiPau / Director
  8. Vojkan Arsic, Center E8, Serbia / Executive director
  9. John Austin, former UK Labour MP (1992-2010)
  10. Ana Barrero Tiscar, Director, Fundación Cultura de Paz
  11. Ana Barrero Tiscar, Asociación Española de Investigación para la Paz (AIPAZ)
  12. Ana Benavente, sociologist
  13. Wolfgang Benedek, retired prof., University of Graz
  14. João Bettencourt Relva, researcher and university professor
  15. Tim Beyer Helm, Co-Founder, WorldWide Wednesday
  16. Leyla Binici, Militante écologiste
  17. Oksana Briukhovetska, MFA Candidate, University of Michigan
  18. Sally Brooks, honorary fellow, University of York
  19. Georg Blokus, Grassroots Organizer, European Alternatives
  20. Claudia Brunner, Associate Professor in Peace Studies, University of Klagenfurt
  21. Joanne Callaghan, Chair of Weaver Vale For Europe
  22. Tânia Cerqueira, Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto
  23. Vasyl Cherepanyn, Head of the Visual Culture Research Center / Kyiv Biennial
  24. Anna Chiara Forte
  25. Patricia Chilton
  26. Paul A. Chilton, Professor Emeritus, Lancaster University, Assoc. Fellow, University of Warwick
  27. Arlene Clemesha, university professor São Paulo
  28. Richard Corbett, former leader of the UK Labour Party MEPs
  29. Leonardo Costa, researcher and university professor
  30. Eva Czermak, Caritas Austria
  31. Giuseppe De Marzo, Coordinatore Nazionale, Rete Dei Numeri Pari
  32. Monica Di Sisto, Journalist, Vice President of Fairwatch Observatory
  33. Bernard Dreano, Chairperson of the CEDETIM Center for international solidarity studies and initiatives (Paris)
  34. Zsolt Enyedi, Central European University
  35. Anna Falcone, Giurista e attivista politica
  36. Eugenio Fatigante, journalist, Avvenire
  37. António Ferrari, university professor
  38. Alexia Gardner
  39. Lévy Gérard, Europe Écologie Les Verts
  40. Gian Giacomo Migone, former member of the Italian Senate
  41. David E Gibson, Peace Home Campaigns, Organizing Director
  42. Jérôme Gleizes, Conseiller de Paris Écologiste
  43. Daniel Guerrier, Journaliste Honaraire, Éditeur Spartacus
  44. El Haite, Liberal International
  45. Odile Hélier
  46. Judith Herrin, Professor Emerita
  47. Lars Hochmann, Professor for Transformation and Entrepreneurship at Cusanus Hochschule für Gesellschaftsgestaltung
  48. Bjørn Ihler, The Khalifa Ihler Institute
  49. Mikhail Ilyin, political scientist and semiotician
  50. Isabelle Ioannides, researcher and activist
  51. Jose Javier Olivas Osuna, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia and LSE
  52. María Jesús Luna, Fundación Seminario de Investigación para la Paz
  53. Lubomila Jordanova
  54. Ben Kim
  55. Gerhard Kofler, AbFaNG – Aktionsbündnis für Frieden & Gewaltfreiheit
  56. Judith Kohlenberger, Institute for Social Policy, Vienna University of Economics and Business
  57. Nomiki Konst, Matriarch, USA
  58. Kristijan Kovačić, Croatian Platform for International Citizen Solidarity
  59. Remzi Lani, Director, Albanian Media Institute
  60. Juha Leppänen
  61. Louis Mackay
  62. Denis MacShane, former UK Minister of Europe
  63. Carmen Magallón, Fundación SIP (Seminario de Investigación para la Paz /Presidenta)
  64. Walter Manoschek, University of Vienna, Professor for Political Science
  65. Jean-Louis Marolleau
  66. Lorenzo Marsili, author and director of Studio Rizoma
  67. Jean Marc Salmon, social scientist, Paris
  68. Kevin Martin, President, Peace Action (USA)
  69. Teemu Matinpuro, Executive Director, Finnish Peace Committee
  70. Josep Mayoral i Antigas, Ayuntamiento de Granollers
  71. Elena Mazzoni, Transform! Italia
  72. Maria Mayrhofer, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Aufstehn.at
  73. Heidi Meinzolt, WILPF
  74. Manuela Mesa, Director CEIPAZ
  75. Fabienne Messica, Ligue des Droits de l’Homme
  76. Irene Messinger, Professor Social Work, FH Campus Wien
  77. Jéssica Moreira, researcher Universidade Lusófona do Porto
  78. Sotiris Mousouris, Maragopoulos Human Rights Foundation
  79. Wolfgang Müller-Funk, Univ. Vienna Diplomatische Akademie
  80. Selvije Mustafi, Romano Avazi
  81. Eduarda Neves, professor, curator and researcher
  82. Arno Niesner, ARGE Gemeinwohlcontrolling
  83. András Nyirati, Power of Humanity Foundation, president
  84. Walter Oetsch, Cusanus Hochschule fuer Gesellschaftsgestaltung Koblenz
  85. Frieder Otto Wolf, Freie Universität Berlin
  86. Pere Ortega Grasa
  87. Martin Pairet, Baker
  88. Stephan Panther, Cusanus Hochschule für Gesellschaftsgestaltung, Koblenz
  89. Haris Pasovic, East West Centre, Sarajevo/artistic director
  90. Sandy Paul, activist
  91. Andrea Pisauro, researcher and activist
  92. Patrizia Pozzo, Activist and co funder Studio Rizoma
  93. Bert Preiss, University of Vienna
  94. Anne Querrien, CEDETIM
  95. Elisa Reis, Professor of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
  96. Philippe Revault, EAPLV
  97. Ana Rodrigues, jurist and researcher
  98. Fátima Ribeirinho, teacher
  99. Andy Roberts
  100. Alexander Rusetsky, CIU
  101. Birgit Schlager
  102. Thomas Schmidinger, University of Vienna
  103. Luiza Schmidt, Instituto de Ciências Sociais da Universidade de Lisboa
  104. Edgar Seca, Cooperativa Árvore
  105. Rahul Sethuram
  106. Martin Shaw, University of Sussex and Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals
  107. Marcel Siguret, Citoyen
  108. Elise Sijthoff, ChildPress.org
  109. Jacques Soncin, Journaliste – Président de Fréquence Paris Plurielle
  110. Igor Štiks, writer and political theorist
  111. Katharine Stinson
  112. Catherine Smallwood, Senior Emergencies Officer, WHO/Europe
  113. Norman Solomon, Director, RootsAction.org, based in USA
  114. Andy Stirling, Professor SPRU, University of Sussex Business School
  115. Carme Suñé Minguella, FundiPau
  116. David Swanson, Executive Director, World Beyond War
  117. Seema Syeda, Communication and Campaigns Officer, Another Europe Is Possible
  118. Fernando Vasco Chironda, Comitato 3 Ottobre – Italy
  119. Vesna Teršelič, Documenta – Center for Dealing with the Past
  120. Marcela Uchôa, researcher
  121. Yury Urnov, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia, Co-Artistic Director
  122. Viviana Valastro
  123. Isabel Valente, university researcher
  124. Tiago Veloso Dias
  125. Roberto Veneziani, Professor, QMUL
  126. José Vitor Malheiros, science communication consultant
  127. Ingrid Vorwahlner, Research Coordinator
  128. Cat Villiers, Filmmaker
  129. Olha Voropai, NGO Poruch
  130. Hilary Wainwright, co-founder, Red Pepper magazine
  131. Julie Ward, former MEP and Another Europe NC
  132. Robin Wilson, journalist and researcher
  133. Josef Weidenholzer, former MEP, em. Prof. University of Linz/Austria
  134. Shoshana J. Wodak, Prof. VUB-VIB Center for Structural Biology, Member of EMBO
  135. Kasia Wojcik, artist and activist, IIPM