16,000 Ukrainian citizens are being detained in Russia without trial, there are thousands of prisoners of war on both sides, children have been abducted, thousands of Russians and hundreds of Belarusians are imprisoned because they oppose the war. They are living – and many are dying – in inhumane conditions. These are not side issues. Peace requires justice and humanity.
The People’s 1st Campaign and Pakhuis de Zwijger are organising an evening event on this topic. We will be talking with Nobel Peace Prize winners from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, among others. They are all united by one basic principle: it must always be about people. People should never be treated as bargaining chips in political games. During the evening, we will discuss how the Netherlands and Europe can stand up for human rights and sustainable peace.
Practical
- 🗓️ When: March 27 maart, 19:30
- 📍 Where: Pakhuis de Zwijger, Piet Heinkade 179, 1019 HC Amsterdam
- 🎟️ Tickets: Admission is free, but you must reserve tickets via the Pakhuis de Zwijger website.
- Dit event is in het Engels
The panel
Sergey Davidis
Head of the “Political Prisoners Support. Memorial” Independent Human Rights Project Co-Chair of the Human Rights Defense Center
Oleksandra Matviichuk
Human rights lawyer / Head of the Сenter for Сivil Liberties
Ekaterina Sokirianskaia
Human Rights Expert
Rolien Sasse
CEO PAX
Over The People 1st Campaign
The People’s 1st Campaign unites 81 Ukrainian, Russian, and other European organisations around a simple call: human beings must not be treated as bargaining chips. A central demand of the campaign is that any negotiations related to the war prioritize the release and protection of all individuals unlawfully deprived of their liberty as a direct result of the invasion, including:
- Thousands of Ukrainian civilian unlawfully detained by the Russian state
- Thousands of Ukrainian and Russian prisoners of war held by both sides
- Thousands of Ukrainian children forcibly transferred or deported to Russia
- Hundreds of Russian political prisoners imprisoned for opposing the war
The People1st campaign emphasizes that existing peace efforts fail to address the humanitarian dimension and risk to prolong and exacerbate intolerable human suffering.
