UKRAINE:TIME FOR SOLIDARITY

The  Center for Convention on Democratic Integrity (CCDI)  condemns  the  Russian  military  invasion of Ukraine.  It  is  an  illegal  act  of  aggression.  It  is  causing  the  death  of  innocent  civilians  and placing  the security  of  the entire  world  at  risk. The  threat  or  use  of  force  to  resolve  disputes  is  prohibited  under  Article  2  of  the  UN Charter.  Russia  was not  under  any  threat  that  offered  no  recourse  other  than  force.  In of  aggression.

Infact,  President  Putin,  in  ordering  military  attacks  against  Ukraine,  has  committed  a Crime Against  Peace  in  violation  of  the  UN  Charter  by  planning,  preparing,  initiating, and  waging a war Russia’s  acts  of  war  will  burden  Ukraine  with  an  enormous  cost  in  human  suffering, stimulate  a  massive  crackdown  on  the  civil  liberties  of law  and  peace, Russians  who  respect  international expand the  conflict,  and  even  place  the  entire  wo rld  at  risk  of  elevation  to a  nuclear  exchange.  President  Putin  has  threatened  to  use  nuclear  weapons  against adversaries  in  this  conflict.  Such  a  threat  places  the  entirety  of  civilization  in  jeopardy  and is  unacceptable. 

A  war  of  aggression  is  not  only illegal  and  immoral,  it  is  also  impractical.  Every  nation today  needs  to  cooperate  in  addressing  many  pressing  issues  such  as  climate  change, eliminating  poverty, protecting  the  health  of eliminating  the  pandemic all  species and  the  oceans,  curtailing  and ,  and  fulfilling  the Sustainable Development  Goals. We  regret  that  better  use  was  not  made  of  diplomacy,  mediation,  and  common  security mechanisms  earlier  in  the  conflict  to  address  and  resolve  historical  grievances.  We  now call  the  international  communi ty  to  use  all  non outlined  in  Ar ticles  33–- military  means  possible,  including  those 41 of the UN Charter  for  the  peaceful settlement  of those  disputes. These  provisions  of  the  UN  Charter  provide  a  route  to  mitigate,  contain,  and  reverse  the dangerous  presen t  situation  and  provide  diplomatic tools  to  obtain  peace. 

We respect the courage and rights of the people of Ukraine to exercise self-defense, express our solidarity with them, and encourage support for them from all peace-loving nations. Further, we decry the curtailing of civil liberties of Russians who do not agree with the policies of their leaders and honor their courage.    We encourage the utilisation of further diplomatic mechanisms available in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), in which both the US and Russia are participants. We further urge the UN Security Council and the General Assembly to remain seized of the issue of ending the violence and conflict in Ukraine, and to obtain an immediate ceasefire..

Furthermore, the deployment of a UN peacekeeping mission should be considered with the consent of all parties involved. We call on world leaders to demand an immediate cessation of hostilities in Ukraine, as requested by the international public opinion, and we urge all parties and individuals in a position of influence to renew efforts for a diplomatic solution, starting with immediate negotiations under UN aegis. 

Olufemi Aduwo

President 

..CCDI is a Maryland 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation,registered both in Nigeria and United States. Granted special consultative status by UNITED Nations/ ECOSOC