CPNN (Culture of Peace News Network) newsletter of September 1, 2023

More peacemakers

As leaders around the world warn that the Ukraine War risks to escalate into a nuclear world war, there are new peacemakers joining with China and the Vatican that we quoted in this bulletin two months ago.

Leaders from throughout Africa who went to Russia last month proposed their peace plan for the Ukraine War. Presidents Cyril Ramaphosa of the Republic of South Africa and Macky Sall of Senegal were joined by three other African presidents and 49 delegations representing most African countries and regional organizations including the African Union. Al Jazeera quotes the Reuters news agency that the African proposal floats a series of possible steps to defuse the conflict, including a Russian troop pullback, removal of Russian tactical nuclear weapons from Belarus, suspension of an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against Putin and sanctions relief, and they quote President Putin that it could be the basis for peace in Ukraine.

And national security officers from over 40 countries, including all of the BRICS countries except Russia, converged in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for consultations and exchange of opinions for peace in Ukraine. Western media gave priority to the proposal presented to the conference by the Ukrainian delegation, a 10-point peace formula, which calls for the full withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory. But according to the DPA News Agency quoted by Russian, Macedonian and and Iranian media, informs that the Saudi’s presented their own peace proposal, which would envisage the preservation of Ukraine’s integrity, a ceasefire along the entire frontline, the beginning of UN-brokered talks, and the exchange of prisoners.

The African peace proposal, as well as the earlier peace proposal of the Chinese, was supported by the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) at their summit in Johannesburg.

Repeated remarks by Russian officials that nuclear weapons could be used if Russia’s integrity is threatened, and repeated remarks by American and NATO officials that the Ukraine War should lead to the defeat of Russia have led many leaders to demand peace in Ukraine in order to avoid a nuclear war.

UN Secretary-General Guterres warned that warned that “the drums of nuclear war are beating once again” in a message to mark the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, “The nuclear shadow that loomed over the Cold War has re-emerged. And some countries are recklessly rattling the nuclear sabre once again, threatening to use these tools of annihilation.”

In his annual peace declaration, the mayor of Hiroshima, said that “leaders around the world must confront the reality that nuclear threats now being voiced by certain policymakers reveal the folly of nuclear deterrence theory.”

And 100 top medical journals published this month an unprecedented joint call for the elimination of nuclear weapons, citing mounting nuclear tensions amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The editorial concludes that “The nuclear-armed states must eliminate their nuclear arsenals before they eliminate us.”

Can the Ukraine War be stopped? While the countries engaged in the war show no sign of being ready for a peace settlement, there are mounting contradictions in these countries that could lead them to the negotiating table, as described here. When they are finally ready to negotiate, there are many peacemakers ready to help. Let us hope that this does not come too late.