Day 33 of the war Vienna hosts an OSCE Human Dimension meeting, which the Russian representative refuses to attend for not having been involved in the preparations, and which covers in contrast all the spectrum from the [theoretical] way things ‘should be’ according to international humanitarian/human rights law and the [real] way things are in […]
Acquisition of Lundin Energy’s oil and gas assets allegedly designed to protect shareholders against the consequences of criminal charges.
Between South Sudan and Kenya lies a very large area of disputed land, the Ilemi Triangle. 14,000 square kilometres of sparely inhabited terrain that both countries have competing claims on. Border disputes can easily turn into armed conflict.
An early barrage of Russian airstrikes, artillery fire and cruise missiles shook up Ukraine on the night of February 24, targeting Ukrainian military positions, navy, air force and army bases. In the northeast of the country, huge smoke plumes from burning fuel storage tankers at a nearby military airbase clouded the morning sun around Chuhuiv, as civilians rushed to their basements hiding for the shelling.
Political empowerment of women and gender minorities is currently declining around the world, directly linked to a broader pushback against democracy. Women and non-binary activists continue to protest the world over, although faced with more and gender-specific threats and backlash than male activists.
PAX is shocked by reports on the use of cluster munitions by Russian troops in Ukraine. More and more reports are coming in that cluster munitions have been fired at civilian targets in cities in Ukraine, including Kharkiv. Cluster munitions mainly cause casualties among civilians, often for many years after a war. This is also the reason why the majority of states worldwide are party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions that prohibits the use of cluster munitions. Neither Russia nor Ukraine is yet a party to the treaty. PAX calls on all parties to never use these outlawed weapons.
The Russian invasion in Ukraine coincided with the start of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) in Nairobi where Member States gather to discuss the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. In response to serious threats to public health and impact on Ukraine’s environment linked to the war, 108 civil society groups send out a strong statement to States and the UN to express solidarity and call for action.
Not only has Russia actually started a war in Ukraine, it has also threatened to use nuclear weapons to defend its sovereignty. Russia’s ambassador to the Netherlands had already hinted at this during his interview with the Dutch current affairs TV programme Nieuwsuur on 16 February, and President Putin repeated the threat in his declaration of war on 24 February. This development in the invasion of Ukraine, which Russia claims is intended to defend its own interests, is extremely disquieting. All states with nuclear weapons should instead work towards disarmament.
Today, Thursday morning 24 February, Russia invaded its neighbour Ukraine. Civilians have seen and heard explosions on the country’s eastern flank as well as in various cities. On Twitter Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, called it a full-scale invasion. Targets included Kyiv’s airport and various major buildings. According to reporters on the ground, Kyiv itself is in chaos. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine called on Russians to keep the peace following the invasion by Russian troops.
PAX firmly condemns the invasion and calls for an immediate return of all Russian troops to outside the Ukrainian sovereign territory. This is an unwarranted, ungrounded invasion, in which Russia is responsible for harm and damages. We worry about the fate of all Ukrainian citizens irrespective of their ethnic, religious, political or other affiliations, all the more so because we are aware of the repeated breaches of international humanitarian and human rights law at the hands of Russian forces and Russian backed forces, in Ukraine and in other countries such as Syria.
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