sean – IPB – International Peace Bureau

Yurii Sheliazhenko – arbitrarily detained to be forcibly conscripted – a victim of cruel and humiliating treatment

March 24, 2026

The undersigned organisations express their deep dismay over what happened to Mr. Yurii Sheliazhenko and strongly condemn the serious human rights violations committed against him by the Ukrainian authorities. Yurii Sheliazhenko was forcibly taken by the Ukrainian police in Kyiv on the evening of March 19th and arbitrarily deprived of his liberty for over 44 hours without his family or lawyer being able to ascertain his whereabouts or condition (see statement released on March 19th).

He was taken to the Pechersk District Police Station and later to the Svyatoshyn Military Registration and Enlistment Office.

His phone has been seized and he could not communicate, nor could he have legal assistance against the unlawful deprivation of liberty, in blatant violation of Ukrainian and international human rights law. He described his brutal experience in a video testimony on YouTube where he also reported physical violence – he has been beaten and pepper-sprayed, for instance – and humiliating treatment while arbitrarily detained. His concluding words in his video testimony are

“Now I know at least to some degree how forcibly detained conscientious objectors are feeling. And it will inspire me to work more and better”.

Yurii Sheliazhenko is a well-known conscientious objector, publicly declared since 1998, a pacifist and a human rights defender. He is also an academic, the executive secretary of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement (member organisation of War Resisters International), Director of the Institute of Peace and Law in Ukraine, Council member of the International Peace Bureau (IPB), and a Board member of the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection and of World Beyond War.

We are relieved that he is now free and no longer detained. However, he has endured a traumatic experience, and we remain extremely alarmed because he continues to remain under constant threat of forced conscription (see statement released on January 23rd), in violation of Ukrainian domestic law and international human rights standards.

Therefore, we continue to call for his immediate protection.

We urge the Ukrainian authorities to:

Promptly and duly investigate the incident, which amounts to extremely serious human rights violations, and ensure full accountability;
Withdraw from persecuting and criminalizing peace activists and conscientious objectors to military service like Mr. Yurii Sheliazhenko;
Refrain from any practices of forced mobilization;
Release all conscientious objectors to military service currently imprisoned in Ukraine.

Connection e.V.

European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO)

International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR)

International Peace Bureau (IPB)

War Resisters’ International (WRI)

World BEYOND War (WBW)

Additional organisations are invited to endorse this statement.

Add your organization’s name here.

FINAL 2026-03-24 Press Release UPDATED (24.03.2026)Download

GSPP Statement: Stop Israel’s Assault on Lebanon!

20 March 2026

*The International Peace Bureau is a member of the Global Solidarity for Peace in Palestine (GSPP) coalition

Less than two years after the 2024 Israel–Lebanon ceasefire agreement, a renewed Israeli assault on southern Lebanon, stretching to include suburbs of the capital Beirut and other more northern sites, has led to a massive humanitarian crisis, with more than one million people displaced from their homes and at least 886 people, including 111 children killed. In an area still suffering from the destruction of civilian infrastructure and massive loss of life from the last open war, this newest assault threatens to destroy even more livelihoods and take more innocent lives. It must end immediately. Those who have fled face urgent shortages of shelter, food, and medical supplies, with many families staying in makeshift shelters or overcrowded communities, adding strain and tension in an already difficult situation.

The 2024 ceasefire was in fact never truly implemented – just the day after its signing, Israel was accused of killing civilians returning home, and The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) also reported that Israel has violated the ceasefire more than 10,000 times since November 2024. Following the US and Israeli illegal war against Iran and assasination of the Ayatollah, Hezbollah returned to firing rockets toward Northern Israel, resulting in one injured civilian and two Israeli soldiers’ deaths. The Israeli response, as we have seen in Gaza over the past two and a half years, has been completely disproportionate and overwhelmingly impacted civilians, including Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

With recent news of Israel’s intentions to expand their campaign and possibly even occupy southern Lebanon, the plight of Lebanese civilians is likely to worsen in the coming days and weeks. Following the pattern of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, the country is holding Lebanon’s entire population under the threat of utter and complete destruction, occupation, and suffering. There is rightful concern about a return to an Israeli occupied “security zone” in Southern Lebanon or even an annexation.

We, as the Global Solidarity for Peace in Palestine (GSPP), firmly reject Israel’s brutality and indiscriminate attacks in Lebanon and call for an immediate halt to all attacks on Lebanon. We call for the 2024 ceasefire agreement to be fully implemented by all parties and for an end to violence in the region. We understand that peace cannot be achieved through attacks on civilians and destruction of infrastructure We also ask that negotiations include women, to ensure a durable and sustainable peace.

Furthermore, we emphasize the common strains between the struggles of the Lebanese and Palestinian peoples. Israel’s repudiation of international and humanitarian law has brought itself and the wider region into deeper conflict and cost countless innocent Palestinian and Lebanese lives.

The United Nations can and must play a role to protect civilian lives and to stop the brutal assaults, including, when necessary, by enacting UNGA Resolution 377(V) “Uniting for Peace” to bypass the ineffective security council and take action to end the genocide in Palestine and massacre in Lebanon. States must cease arms sales and transfers to Israel and ensure it complies with international law, including UNGA Resolution ES-10/24 on the occupation of Palestinian territories.

GSPP stands firmly in support of the peacebuilders on the ground in Lebanon working to care for the displaced population in these difficult moments. We encourage international solidarity and support for those on the frontlines of this unprecedented humanitarian crisis – the second in just two years.

GSPP Statement_ Stop Israel’s Assault on Lebanon Download

Urgent Action: Free Conscientious Objector Yurii Sheliazhenko

Yurii Sheliazhenko, Executive Secretary of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, IPB Council member, and a well-known conscientious objector, was detained by Ukrainian authorities in Kyiv on Thursday, March 19th. This action was taken without a proper legal basis and without compliance with the procedural safeguards required by Ukrainian law. It is a targeted human rights violation which IPB rejects completely.

Many of you have had the chance to hear Yurii speak in online events and read his work on the importance of conscientious objection and nonviolent resistance over his many years of work. Now is the moment to stand in solidarity with Yurii and demand that the Ukrainian authorities free him immediately.

We urge you to join us in demanding that the Ukrainian government drop the prosecution of Yurii by signing the petition to the Ukrainian government below.

Please Sign the peition Here

We also encourage you to contact the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) with a letter demanding they take action to secure Yurii’s freedom. A sample letter is below:

To: Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

To: Maria Telalian, Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)

Subject: Protection for Ukrainian Human Rights Defender and Conscientious Objector Yurii Sheliazhenko

Dear Commissioner Türk, dear Director Telalian,

On Thursday, 19 March 2026, Ukrainian Human Rights Defender and Conscientious Objector Yurii Sheliazhenko was apprehended by Ukrainian officers of the Pechersk District Police in Kyiv without a proper legal basis and without compliance with the procedural safeguards required by Ukrainian law. The authorities presented no clear legal grounds for the deprivation of liberty and Yurii’s access to legal counsel was obstructed. We strongly suspect that Yurii is to be transferred to a Territorial Centre of Recruitment and Social Support (TCC) without due legal procedure.

Yurii is a well-known conscientious objector, which he has publicly declared since 1998. He is the Executive Secretary of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, which has repeatedly been harassed by Ukrainian authorities in particular since the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. Since then, Yurii has been repeatedly targeted with threats of imprisonment on faulty charges and forced conscription.

It is well documented that the right to conscientious objection is a fundamental human right, as outlined in Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), based in the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. This right has likewise been recognized by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). It is important to emphasize that the right to conscientious objection is of most vital importance in active wars and conflicts.

Yurii’s case has been supported by a wide range of international and regional organizations, including Amnesty International, War Resisters International, European Bureau for Conscientious Objection, the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, Connection e.V., World Beyond War, and the International Peace Bureau (IPB). Our networks around the world are watching his case closely.

We strongly urge the United Nations and the OSCE to take urgent action to protect Yurii Sheliazhenko’s right to conscientious objection and freedom of speech in Ukraine. This may include, but is not limited to, opening investigations into the Ukrainian authorities’ violations of Yurii’s human rights, releasing public statements expressing concern for Yurii’s wellbeing, and emphasizing the inalienable right to conscientious objection and freedom of expression during war.

We count on your support to provide justice and accountability in Yurii’s case.

Further Actions to support Yurii:

Contact and write to your (and others) local Embassies in Ukraine:
Contact and write to the Ukrainian Embassy in your country: (this is a useful link https://mfa.gov.ua/en/diplomatic-missions/foreign-diplomatic-institutions-ukraine to search their contacts)
Contact political representatives in your country and in regional and international institutions
Contact the Kiev Police Department: police@kyiv.police.gov.ua, Tel. +380 44 254 94 88
Write to the Kiev Enlistment Office: pechersk_rvk@post.mil.gov.ua
Contact the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs: pgmia@mvs.gov.ua, Tel. +380 44 256 03 33
Contact the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense: admou@post.mil.gov.ua
Contact the Ukrainian Ombudsman: hotline@ombudsman.gov.ua, Tel. +380 44 253 75 89
Contact the State Bureau of Investigation: crime@dbr.gov.ua, Tel. +380 44 300 27 07
Inform the media
Share on your social media, political networks, etc.
Share with your contacts and invite other organizations, agencies, and institutions to take action
Support the “CO Alert” launched by War Resisters International

Massive US War Spending Hike Raises Debt, Taxes, Doubts

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Kuhaneetha Bai Kalaicelvan

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Feb 27 2026 (IPS) – As US President Donald Trump pushes the world to war, arms spending has been rising worldwide. Wars secure more budgetary allocations, mainly benefiting the US-dominated military-industrial complex.

US military spending increases

After bombing Venezuela, the Trump administration raised its war budget from $1.0 trillion, 47% of discretionary government spending in 2024, to $1.5 trillion!

In 2024, the US accounted for over 36% of the world’s military spending of $2.7 trillion! This exceeded the total expenditure of the next nine biggest spenders – China, Russia, Germany, India, UK, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, France, and Japan!

China’s military budget for 2025 was $250-300 billion. Most others are US allies who have pledged to increase war spending from under 2% of GDP to 5%!

US-Israel Aggression On Iran: Loop Of War And Resistance Will Continue

1 March 2026, Published at: ETV Bharat | By Anuhadra Chenoy, IPB Board Member

The US-Israel axis started an unprovoked war and aggression against Iran. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Defence Minister, Army Chief have been killed, as have been scores of civilians, including over 150 schoolgirls. The US – Israel combined operation using high-precision weapons costing millions of dollars and kamikaze drones continues to target the Iranian leadership with the objective of regime change. Iran has retaliated by bombing US bases and Israel in the fragile oil-rich Gulf region. This war of attrition escalates, lives are lost, destruction and wanton devastation underscore strategic objectives of the empire and its desire for global hegemony. Globally, countries are appealing for cease fire and de-escalation.

Save the dates for GDAMS 2026:April 10 to May 9

From Gaza, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, to Ukraine, Venezuela and Iran, levels of violence, civilian suffering, and violations of international law have reached heinous heights, including the perpetration of genocide.

This surge in conflict is not accidental or inescapable, it reflects a broader resurgence of imperialism and militarization, spearheaded by the US, in which brute force, military might and coercion have become dominant tools of international relations. Powerful states and regional actors continue to wage and fuel wars – not only through direct intervention but also through extensive arms transfers, strategic alliances and geopolitical competition – prioritizing narrow interests over human security and peace.

PSPD Statement: We Strongly Condemn Israel and the United States for Their Crime of Aggression Against Iran

1 March, 2026 | People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD)

Yesterday (February 28, local time), the regime of Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel and the administration of Donald Trump in the US launched an attack on Iran. This military assault, which President Trump himself defined as “major combat operations,” is an unlawful act that cannot be justified under any circumstances and constitutes a crime of aggression under international law. We strongly condemn Israel and the United States for carrying out this action. Israel and the United States must immediately halt their illegal act of aggression against a sovereign state.

L’IPB condamne les attaques américaines et israéliennes contre l’Iranet appelle à un retour immédiat à la table des négociations

28 Février 2026

Le Bureau International de la Paix (IPB) condamne fermement les attaques américaines et israéliennes contre l’Iran et les projets annoncés d’une « opération de plusieurs jours ». Les frappes contre l’Iran, qui auraient pour objectif un changement de régime par la décapitation de l’élite politique du pays – y compris des attaques contre des complexes militaires et des ministères –, constituent une grave violation du droit international et rappellent la guerre désastreuse menée par les États-Unis il y a vingt ans en Irak. Nous restons profondément préoccupés par l’escalade de la crise, alors que l’Iran riposte et que de nouvelles actions militaires américaines et israéliennes sont en préparation.

METO Statement on US-Israel Military Strikes on Iran

Date: 28 February 2026

Today’s attack, conducted by U.S. President Donald Trump, alongside Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, against Iran marks a dangerous turning point for the Middle East and for the international order itself.

This is not merely another episode of regional confrontation. It is a direct blow to the fragile architecture of international law. The use of force outside the framework of the United Nations Charter erodes the very rules designed to prevent war and human destruction.

IPB Condemns US and Israeli Attacks on Iran Calls for an Immediate Return to Negotiations

28 February 2026

The International Peace Bureau (IPB) strongly condemns the US and Israeli attacks on Iran and the reported plans for a “multi-day operation”. The strikes on Iran, which are reportedly aimed at regime change through the decapitation of the political elite of the country – including attacks on military compounds and ministries – constitute a grave violation of international law and are reminiscent of the US’ disastrous war two decades ago in Iraq. We remain deeply concerned with the escalation of the crisis as Iran retaliates and more US and Israeli military actions are pending.