Berlin, 22 March 2024 – The recent award ceremony honored peace activists, recognizing their dedication to promoting conscientious objection and advocating for peace.
The 2023 Awardees, including Three Conscientious Objector Organizations (Russian Movement for Conscientious Objection, Our House Belarus, and the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement), were praised for supporting conscientious objectors and fostering peace in their communities.
Yurii Sheliazhenko and Asya Maruket, the 2022 Awardees, were commended for their courageous advocacy for peace in Ukraine and Russia, uniting voices for peaceful resolution following the conflict.
The International Peace Bureau (IPB) paid tribute to the legacy of Sean MacBride, highlighting the crucial role of civil society and changemakers in advancing peace worldwide.
Despite challenges, these peace and human rights activists remain committed to peace and justice, inspiring hope and resilience. Their messages emphasized the importance of dialogue, cooperation, and understanding for a better future.
Yurii Sheliazhenko | Ukrainian Pacifist Movement
When some people raise their voices against their oppressive militarist regimes, and when people on the other side of the frontline refuse to kill Ukrainians, it is your achievement. Good job.
Esset Gagiyeva (Asya Maruket)
Peace isn’t just about stopping fights. It’s about understanding why they start. This nuanced approach acknowledges that conflicts are symptoms of deeper societal, economic, and psychosocial issues. In all these cases, achieving lasting peace necessitates more than the cessation of violence. It requires a comprehensive approach that seeks to understand and remedy the root causes of conflict. This approach involves dialogue, education, policy changes, and, crucially, the promotion of social justice and equity. It means building inclusive societies where everyone has access to resources, opportunities, and rights, ensuring that the seeds of future conflicts are not sown.
Olga Karach
And finally, my lesson from this situation over the last two and a half years is that peace is solidarity. In war, as a refugee, as a soldier, you are always alone; you have to survive and you have an incredibly difficult dilemma – either kill or be killed. In peace you don’t have that dilemma and you don’t have that choice.
Read their full messages here:
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