Media Release
February 18, 2022
Spokesperson: Michael Beer, +1 202 244 0951
Nonviolence International (NVI) believes there is an improved chance for peace if the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine is strengthened with additional personnel and resources.
NVI calls on the US to reverse its withdrawal of OSCE monitors in the Donbas and echoes some of Sergey Lavrov Russian Foreign Minister’s criticism of the OSCE’s inneffectiveness in accurately documenting violations and attributing them to the conflicting parties. On Feb. 18th, Lavrov spoke about the OSCE monitoring mission during the press-conference with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece Nikos Dendias.
Many of the regional peace groups agree. On Feb 1st, the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) Eastern Europe strongly recommended, “Strengthening the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to a level where it will be able to quickly record, confidently attribute and immediately make public any violation of the ceasefire regime in the Donbas.”
GPPAC went on further to say that, “We believe that for a constructive and long-term resolution of the current extremely dangerous international situation, it is necessary not only to prevent any further escalation of the armed confrontation, but also to achieve a genuine, sustainable settlement of the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine. The first step toward such a settlement should be the complete cessation of hostilities on all sides along the existing line of demarcation, as well as the adoption of a set of measures to ensure the rights of people living in the region. We believe that this could be facilitated through a significant quantitative and qualitative strengthening of the corresponding OSCE observation mission to a level where it would be able to quickly record, confidently attribute and immediately make public any violation of the ceasefire regime, and carry out effective measures in response to such violations. We are sure that modern technical means and political will of the leaders of the OSCE member states make it possible to perform such a task."
NVI’s Director, Michael Beer, declared, “We need all governments to beat the drums of peace.”
Beer states, “While the US is concerned about the safety of its OSCE personnel it is at moments such as these when we most need peace monitors. It is critically important to maintain the personnel, who are currently involved in monitoring the situation along the line of contact and to take every possible measure to expand their capacity. Strengthening the Peace Monitoring Mission in Ukraine is something everyone can agree on.”
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NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations
www.nonviolenceinternational.net
For More Background Information On Ukraine, please note:
Listen to the Peace Activists in the region. https://www.nonviolenceinternational.net/listen_to_peace_activists_ukraine_russia
Support International Law Everywhere an article by NVI advisor, Stephen Zunes.
Support Diplomacy and the OSCE, an article by John Feffer.