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.

Additional organisations are invited to endorse this statement.

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. 

GDAMS 2026 Appeal · A Call to Action Against Global Militarization

The global security landscape has deteriorated massively in recent years: the number of wars and violent armed conflicts active today is the highest since the end of World War II, erupting across the world and drawing in an unprecedented number of states and actors. From Gaza and the West Bank, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, to Ukraine, Venezuela, Iran, and beyond, levels of violence, civilian suffering, and violations of international law have reached heinous heights, including the commission of genocide.

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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.

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Ukraine needs peace! Stop the bloodshed!

The war in Ukraine is entering its fifth year. Since Russia invaded the country in violation of international law, death and destruction have reigned. NATO’s confrontational policies and its long-standing refusal to seek a lasting and peaceful solution through diplomatic channels have contributed to the loss of so many lives.

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Joint Statement: 66 Years Since the First French Nuclear Explosion in Algeria

No Truth Without Transparency, No Justice Without Reparation

We, the undersigned organizations representing affected communities, Indigenous peoples, and advocates for the prohibition of nuclear weapons, environmental protection, human rights, and the promotion of peace, come together to commemorate the sixty-sixth anniversary of the first nuclear explosion carried out by France in the Algerian desert on 13 February 1960. On that day, France detonated its first nuclear bomb in Reggane under the name “Gerboise Bleue,” committing a historic wrongdoing that opened a dark chapter of human and environmental harm whose effects persist to this day.

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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.”

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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.

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Appeal to the Presidents of the Russian Federation and the United States of America

On 5 February 2026, the last nuclear arms control treaty between the USA and Russian Federation, The United States of America and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (New START), which has limited the nuclear arms race – albeit completely inadequately – will expire. There is a danger of an unrestrained arms race, including a nuclear arms race, with far-reaching political, strategic, economic and psychological consequences, leading to even greater confrontation and destabilisation of the already volatile international situation.

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No to War, No to Abduction: IPB Calls for Global Opposition to U.S. Intervention in Venezuela

The International Peace Bureau (IPB) firmly condemns the US military strikes in Venezuela, and the kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife to stand trial in the US. This illegal act of war has already led to the death of civilians and military personnel alike and risks throwing both Venezuela and the wider Latin American and Caribbean region into greater instability and deeper conflict. Though the US claims that the military intervention is over, we must be wary of continued military and non-military intervention in Venezuela during this sensitive and volatile moment – as we have seen in past instances such as post-Gaddafi Libya, there is likely further instability to come. 

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