Eurasia Peace Appeal

Michael Balcomb
August 28, 2009

Moscow, Russia - The Eurasian Peace Council of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) support a global call for ceasefire and non-violence by the UN Secretary-General, under the slogan “We Must Disarm” in connection with the International Day of Peace, observed by the United Nations on 21 September. This call is even more relevant for the region of Eurasia, which is abundant with crisis and conflict situations, especially in the former Soviet Union.

Open and ‘frozen’ conflicts in Eurasia cannot be resolved by force, but only through dialogue and compromise, on the basis of the principle of territorial integrity of states, with due respect to the right of nations for self-determination.

To this regard, we the Eurasian Peace Council have to conclude that the founding goals of the Commonwealth of independent States (CIS) have not been reached, which resulted in new conflicts and escalation of the old conflicts. Undue respect to the ‘human dimension’ of relations between the CIS Member States, and the de-facto absence of the CIS ‘common humanitarian space’, has also resulted in political and economic instability at the post-Soviet territory.

By addressing the root causes of conflict, embedded in people’s heart, the Eurasian Peace Council, being supported by the UPF, hopes to build peace, harmony and cooperation between cultures and religions, based on the core human values and universal moral principles. This is the way to reconciliation, accord and effective peacemaking.

We are deeply concerned with the situation in the conflict zones of the South Caucasus, which remains tense and still threatens international peace and security. The Eurasian Peace Council call upon the sides of the conflict involving Georgia, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Russia, to comply, in due course, with the commitments, as outlined earlier in the “Dmitry Medvedev -- Nicolas Sarkozy peace plan”, and agreed with the leadership of Georgia. We also call upon the sides of the Nagorny Karabakh conflict to adhere to a peaceful resolution of the conflict, based on the Madrid principles.

The Eurasian Peace Council is ready to contribute to the resolution of the Transnistria conflict. As in the South Caucasus, we should pay special attention to Human Development and Human Security challenges. We call upon the conflict sides to discuss the issues of sovereignty, borders and territorial integrity in a broader humanitarian context.

We call upon government and non-government organizations and international institutions to jointly elaborate on the minimal Human Security standards, to be applied in the conflict zones, in accordance with the UN Human Rights standards and International Humanitarian Law. We also call for a concerted international effort aimed at providing humanitarian relief and technical assistance to those in need, including refugees, internally displaced persons and other civilian population.

The Eurasian Peace Council herein announces the launch of the Baltic Dialogue. This new Peace Initiative is aimed at establishing a new channel of communication between the populace of the Baltic nations and Russia, on the basis of shared European values, for the purpose of promoting better relations between the Russian-speaking and the native populations of the Baltic states, and also to support the process of the European integration of the peoples of Russia and the Baltics.

The Eurasian Peace Council calls all those striving for peace in the region, for mutual understanding and cooperation, and seeks a collaborative approach to peace, involving governmental and non-governmental organizations, various faith-based organizations, and the private sector, aimed at resolving crisis and conflict situations in Eurasia.

Moscow,
September 21, 2009