emissaries of peace

Aujourd’hui c’est notre devoir de défendre ces valeurs et d’éviter
l’aggravation future du conflit et la catastrophe humanitaire.

Kyiv, destroyed in 1941, was never to experience the suffering of war again. Yet, today, it is threatened with destruction. Europe was supposed to be free of nuclear conflict. Yet, today, it looms as a monstrous possibility. The European community solidified around peace and the firm rejection of war as the prevalent logic of international relations. It is our duty to uphold these values today and try to prevent further escalation of conflict and humanitarian catastrophe. 

In that spirit, we ask religious leaders to go to Kyiv as the emissaries of peace  – the good news which Ukrainians are desperate to hear today. We believe that presence of religious leaders and prayers in the squares of the city can prevent its bombing and further escalation of war. 

We need to go beyond the logic of battle camps and geopolitical blocs. We believe that the solidary presence of various religious leaders sends precisely the message of unity of nations and their strength beyond military power and destruction. Tomorrow our own lives may depend on today’s responsibility for the lives of our sisters and brothers in Ukraine. It is not too late for a response yet, but the message needs to be sent urgently.

• Slavoj Żiżek (political philosopher and cultural critic)
• Baron Maurice Glasman (House of Lords)
• Yaneer Bar-Yam (President of the New England Complex Systems Institute and World Health Network)
• John Cruddas MP (House of Commons)
• John Milbank (leading Anglican theologian)
• Carlo Ginzburg (historian, proponent of the field of microhistory )
• Yuri Andrukhovych (writer)
• Serhiy Zhadan (writer)
• Oksana Zabużko (novelist, poet, essayist)
• Marta Olesik (philosopher)
• Aleksander Kwaśniewski (former President of Poland)