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Boris Kagarlitsky awarded 2025 Seán MacBride Peace Prize:’Courage endures where repression tries to break the human spirit’

Media Statement By: Boris Kagarlitsky International Solidarity Campaign, January 29, 2026

The Boris Kagarlitsky International Solidarity Campaign is proud that Boris Kagarlitsky was awarded the 2025 Seán MacBride Peace Prize, in company with the brave Palestinian human rights activists, Hania Bitar and Randa Siniora.

The prize is awarded annually by the International Peace Bureau (IPB), of which Seán MacBride, co-founder of Amnesty International, was the chairperson from 1969 to 1974.

In her comment on the recipients of the prize, IPB co-president Corazon Valdez Fabros said: “In a world scarred by occupation, genocide, and war, Hania, Randa, and Boris light the path forward. They show us that peace is not the quiet after violence, but the fire of resistance to injustice. Their voices rise where others are silenced. Their courage endures where repression tries to break the human spirit. We honour them and the organizations and sectors they represent — and every person who believes that justice is the only path to peace.”

IPB Statement in Solidarity with Education International and Palestinian Educators

The International Peace Bureau (IPB) stands with Education International (EI) in condemning the Israeli occupation authorities for denying entry to, detaining, interrogating, and forcibly removing a delegation of education workers’ leaders who planned to mark the International Day of Education alongside Palestinian colleagues.

The actions of Israel demonstrate their increasing efforts to isolate Palestinians from international solidarity and support and must be unequivocally rejected. The IPB emphasizes that the right to education, academic freedom, trade union rights, and solidarity must be upheld for all peoples.

The IPB stands with Palestinian educators. We therefore join EI’s call on the international community to mobilize and speak out in defense of education, peace, freedom, and justice for Palestinians and those who stand in solidarity with them.

IPB_EI_29.01.2026 Download

The Doomsday Clock is now set at 85 seconds to midnight

For the first time in history, the symbolic clock has moved to its most perilous point ever—just 85 seconds from global catastrophe. This historic move was announced by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Science and Security Board, citing a critical “failure of leadership” in the face of escalating existential threats.

The time was moved closer to midnight due to a dangerous convergence of crises in the past year:

Nuclear Risks: The collapse of arms control, three regional conflicts involving nuclear powers, and an accelerating arms race.
Climate Change: Record-breaking global temperatures and CO₂ levels, met with insufficient and often destructive policy responses.
Biological Threats: New warnings about “mirror life” and AI-aided pathogen design, alongside degraded public health defenses.
Disruptive Technologies: The unregulated rush to militarize AI and its role in supercharging global disinformation.

This is a wake-up call, not a verdict. As Maria Ressa, Nobel Laureate and Bulletin speaker, stated: “We cannot solve problems we cannot agree exist… The clock is ticking.”

The Bulletin outlines clear steps world leaders must take to turn back the Clock, including resuming nuclear diplomacy, enacting meaningful AI guidelines, and committing to science-based climate action.

Read the full 2026 Doomsday Clock Statement here and see what can be done.

Trump’s Board of Peace, the UN, Gaza and Opportunism

By Anuradha Chenoy

Anuradha Chenoy is an IPB Board member. The thoughts in this article are
her own and do not necessarily reflect those of the IPB.

Nothing can be more cynical than President Donald Trump’s proposal for a new “Board of Peace” (BoP). Marketed as an international peace-building organization, this initiative would enact a self-serving mechanism that bypasses established international institutions while offering a premium seat on the table of global affairs in exchange for a $1 billion membership fee.

The BoP originates from Security Council Resolution 2803, 2025, which calls for a comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict, establishing a transitional body until 2027. This resolution contains specific mandates: an international stabilization force to facilitate the Israeli Defense Forces’ withdrawal and the full resumption of humanitarian aid through UN cooperation.

While the BoP is presented as a nimble and effective peace-delivering body, its Charter nevertheless omits any mention of Gaza. Instead, it transforms the peacekeeping mandate of the 2803 Resolution into a self-serving and self-gratifying body that criticizes the United Nations. Trump’s claim of the need to depart from approaches and institutions that have too often failed is his way of delegitimizing the UN. This criticism of international institutions is consistent with the US withdrawal from approximately 60 UN bodies under Trump’s administration.

Trump: Self-proclaimed emperor of world peace

The BoP Charter establishes Trump as the “inaugural Chairman” and the US representative with extraordinary powers that effectively create a lifetime position. The Chairman possesses exclusive authority to create, modify or dissolve any entity within the BoP, control membership invitations and dismissals and designate successors. Only if the Chairman is incapacitated can the Executive Board unanimously decide on a replacement. In other words, these provisions essentially declare Trump the emperor of world peace with his handpicked council.

The founding Executive Board reveals the nature of his intents. Members include Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, builder friend Steve Witkoff, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, World Bank President Ajay Banga and billionaire private equity chief Marc Rowan, blending family connections, political allies and corporate power, exposing the BoP’s private interests.

The $1 billion fee

While member states will serve a three-year term, they can secure permanent seats for over $1 billion. This creates a two-level system, where wealthy states using taxpayer money can purchase permanent influence over international peace efforts. Member states will be the funders of the BoP, along with unspecified “organizations”, which will likely be major technology companies openly supporting Trump and profit from global affairs.

The Charter declares that the BoP possesses “international legal personality with authority to enter contracts for its missions and for financial purposes. Disputes between members will be solved through “amicable collaboration”, with the Chairman having the final say. For example, both India and Pakistan have been invited to join; they could resolve disputes here, with the Chairman having the final say. This framework privatizes international diplomacy, transforming peace-building into a commercial opportunity controlled by those who can afford its entry.

Gaza: a real estate opportunity

The White House announced a Gaza Executive Board consisting of Kushner, Witkoff, Blair, Bulgarian billionaire Nikolai Mladenov, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatari diplomat Ali al-Thawadi. Israel has vociferously objected to the Turkish and Qatari names and is lobbying to reject this Board.

This Board will oversee a National Committee for the Administration of Gaza comprising Palestinian technocrats as administrators. What is notably absent from these arrangements is any reference to Palestinian rights, interests, rehabilitation, land, livelihood or statehood. The focus appears directed toward reconstruction contracts rather than justice or self-determination.

Meanwhile, the Israeli genocide continues in Gaza, sometimes under cover of other international events like Greenland’s fate or Ukraine’s dark bitter winter. On January 21, 2026, Israel seized and destroyed the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine, a blatant violation of international law that leaves Gaza with minimum support for its besieged population. Gaza health authorities report 70,000 people have been killed in this strip, with survivors being traumatized and besieged. So, the reconstruction question becomes: who benefits from rebuilding what some consider prime Mediterranean real estate?

Global reactions to the BoP

Countries such as Pakistan, Israel, UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, Argentina, Hungary and Belarus have announced their intent to join the BoP. These are countries hoping to secure lucrative reconstruction contracts while accessing Trump’s inner circle. Russia is considering using frozen European-held assets to pay the $1 billion permanence fee. France’s refusal to join has been met with immediate threats of 200% tariffs on French wine and champagne, which demonstrates the coercive element behind an allegedly voluntary entry.

Others are still mulling over the invitation. For countries like India to join and become party to a neo-colonial venture that resembles a theatre of the absurd would not be prudent. China, on the other hand, has emerged as the primary defender of multilateral institutions against Trump’s unilateral reconstruction of the world order.

The larger pattern

The BoP initiative follows Trump’s 20-point plan from October 2025, which envisioned Gaza as a real investment bonanza: a new Riviera on the Mediterranean for rich Arabs and others. This reveals the BoP’s true purpose is not genuine peace-building but creating mechanisms for US hegemonic control through privatized international relations that dismantle established institutions.

The fundamental question for the international community is how many countries will fall in line with Trump’s vision and who will resist. The ones that stand by the UN will be the historic winners in this game of cloak and dagger, while those who purchase seats at Trump’s table will contribute to the erosion of international law and be complicit in the commodification of human suffering.

References

Charter of the Board of Peace, Full Text, The Times of Israel, 18 January, 2026, at: https://www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-charter-of-trumps-board-of-peace/#:~:text=The%20following%20is%20the%20full,by%20US%20President%20Donald%20Trump.

United nations Security Council Resolution 2803 (2025) UN, New York, 17 November 29025 at: https://press.un.org/en/2025/sc16225.doc.htm#:~:text=Security%20Council%20Authorizes%20International%20Stabilization,Gaza%2C%20Adopting%20Resolution%202803%20(2025)&text=Adoption%20Marks%20’New%20Course’%20for,Middle%20East

Demand the Immediate Release of Grzegorz Gawel

This petition calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Grzegorz Gawel, a Polish citizen unlawfully detained in Belarus. His imprisonment represents a clear violation of international human rights standards, including freedom of conscience, due process, and protection from arbitrary detention.

Grzegorz Gawel, a Polish Catholic monk and humanitarian, has been unlawfully detained in Belarus and recognized by human rights defenders as a political prisoner. He is being held incommunicado under fabricated espionage charges. We demand his immediate release and full respect for international human rights law.

Petition demands

Immediately and unconditionally release Grzegorz Gawel and drop all charges against him.
Guarantee immediate access to an independent lawyer and to representatives of the Polish consular services.
Disclose his place of detention and ensure independent medical supervision.
Cease the practice of forced confessions and propaganda broadcasts involving detainees.
End the misuse of “espionage” charges against religious figures, humanitarian workers and foreign nationals.
Respect international human rights obligations, including the ICCPR and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

Why is this important?

We call for the immediate and unconditional release of Grzegorz Gawel, a Polish citizen, Catholic monk of the Carmelite Order, and a recognized political prisoner unlawfully detained in the Republic of Belarus.

Grzegorz Gawel was detained on 4 September 2025 by officers of the Belarusian State Security Committee (KGB) and charged under Article 358 of the Criminal Code of Belarus (“Espionage”). These accusations are manifestly unfounded and politically motivated, and have been officially rejected by the Government of the Republic of Poland.

Belarusian human rights organizations, including Our House and the Viasna Human Rights Center, have recognized Grzegorz Gawel as a political prisoner.

Since his detention, he has been held incommunicado. His place of detention has not been officially disclosed. There is no confirmed access to an independent lawyer or to Polish consular representatives. No court hearings have been scheduled. State media have broadcast so-called “confession” videos characteristic of coercion and psychological pressure.

As a religious figure engaged in humanitarian and missionary work, Grzegorz Gawel is being persecuted for reasons related to his identity, beliefs, and the broader repressive policies of the Belarusian authorities toward foreign nationals, religious actors, and civil society.

Recipients

This petition is formally addressed to:

United Nations Human Rights Committee
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)

Copies of this petition are sent to:

UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus
UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief
European Union institutions responsible for human rights policy
Council of Europe bodies and monitoring mechanisms
Government of the Republic of Poland
Governments of democratic states

References

Full Article Here

Nuclear weapons in Europe do not make us safer – they make the world more dangerous

Oscar Ernerot of the Olof Palme International Center responds to Daniel Färm’s editorial in AiP arguing that Europe may need its own nuclear umbrella as America’s can no longer be trusted.

Nuclear weapons are increasingly discussed not as an existential threat to humanity, but as security-providing. Even within our own movement. This is an ominous development. More actors today have access to nuclear weapons, and the treaties that previously limited their proliferation have been weakened or are about to expire. Disarmament has stalled amidst dramatically increasing geopolitical tensions, where rhetoric surrounding the use of nuclear weapons is progressively worsening.

Yurii Sheliazhenko*, Conscientious Objector to Military Service and Human Rights Defender, under Immediate Threat

JOINT PRESS RELEASE | 23 January 2026

The undersigned organizations express serious concern regarding the continued persecution of Ukrainian human rights defender Yurii Sheliazhenko, a conscientious objector to military service. He is currently under an alarming threat of being arrested and forcibly conscripted under Ukraine’s system of universal military registration, which is enforced through coercive measures including arbitrary detentions and forced transfers to conscription offices. Such practices effectively compel conscientious objectors to act against their beliefs and directly violate Article 18(2) of the ICCPR, which prohibits coercion impairing freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

In answer to his appeals against the summon recently received at Christmas time, Yurii Sheliazhenko was sent a communication from a number of authorities, all stating in writing that there is not recognition of conscientious objection to military service in Ukraine in times of war. The Secretariat of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets replied to a related complaint, “mobilization by the State of Ukraine is the only necessary and urgent measure to prevent aggression by another state, during which the possibility of alternative service is excluded (since mobilization itself is aimed not simply at performing military service, but at protecting the Motherland from military invasion by another state). At the same time, the current legislation provides for the liability of persons guilty of violating the legislation on military duty and military service.”

Inputs for OHCHR: Conscientious objection to military service in Belarus

Belarus systematically suppresses conscientious objection, expanding criminal penalties, militarization, and coercive recruitment while undermining international human rights standards.

January 15, 2026

1. Brief summary

Belarus maintains compulsory military service for male citizens of conscription age (18-27 years), with conscription generally taking place twice a year. IIn 2025, this is confirmed by official documents on spring and autumn conscription.¹ ²

After completing their fixed-term military service, citizens are subject to enlistment in the reserve and continue to perform military duties until they reach the maximum age for remaining in the reserve, as established by the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Military Duty and Military Service.” Depending on the reserve category and military category, this age is in some cases up to 60 years, and for certain categories of conscripts, up to 65 years.³ ⁴

In wartime or when mobilization is declared, the law allows for the expansion of the age range for conscripts.⁵

IPB Statement on Iran Protests

The International Peace Bureau (IPB) expresses our deep concern for the situation in Iran, even as the most recent protests are reported to be winding down. The repeated cycle of protests have become more regular and have been met by disproportionate and unacceptable levels of violence against legitimate demands. The thousands of Iranians killed, injured, and arrested during the past month should shock and concern everyone, even while the complete information blackout makes it difficult to determine totals. The IPB unequivocally condemns the violence of the Iranian state against protesters.

Quantum Scientists Publish Manifesto Against the Militarization of Research

Quantum technologies are often presented in public discourse as one of the most promising scientific frontiers of the twenty-first century. The so-called “second quantum revolution” encompasses developments such as quantum computing, quantum cryptography, and quantum sensing—technologies that are now transitioning from fundamental research to early industrial applications. While large-scale commercial deployment is still limited, concrete uses are already emerging, particularly in sensing and secure communications.