Press release

Un Ponte Per: protect the objectors, support the peacemakers in Ukraine
The fundraising campaign launched by the Italian NGO Un Ponte Per is kicking off this Christmas. The aim is to defend those who build peace in Ukraine every day, even by refusing to fight.

Rome, 28 November 2022 - "Protect the objectors, support the builders of peace": this is the appeal spread through the fundraising campaign launched by the Italian NGO Un Ponte Per, to support the legal expenses of conscientious objectors in Ukraine, and to provide those who every day engage in civil and non-violent resistance with the tools they need to make their work more effective and safe.

While the international community's attention is focused exclusively on sending armaments and humanitarian aid, Un Ponte Per - which for over 30 years has been engaged in the prevention of armed conflicts, particularly in the Middle East - has chosen to support the Ukrainian civil society that is attempting to oppose the war by peaceful means, building a lasting peace from below.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the dominant narrative keeps repeating that there is no alternative to arms. Yet in Ukraine and Russia there are thousands of people, whom no one talks about, who refuse to bear arms, kill or be killed and call for conscientious objection.

To date, according to estimates of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, there are 971 people indicted in Ukraine for choosing not to enlist and fight, on the basis of Article 336 of the Criminal Code regulating military conscription. They include Vitaliy Vasyliovych Alekseienko, sentenced last September to one year in prison; pacifist Andrii Kucher, sentenced to four years by the Mukachevo City Court in May. Or the objector Dmytro Kucherov, sentenced to 3 years in prison by the Oleksandria City Court in June. In Russia, too, there are an estimated 100,000 young people fleeing the country to avoid being forced to fight.

It is all of them who form the invisible army of peace builders in need of support.

With its campaign, Un Ponte Per intends to support the legal costs of those who refuse to fight; to provide psychological support to those who are suffering the trauma of war; to work together with psychologists and teachers in schools to prevent the spread of social rifts in the future by working in the field of peace education .

Un Ponte Per has been supporting activists and civil movements for over 30 years, particularly in Syria and Iraq, helping them to create greater impact by building strong and lasting relationships. In Ukraine, after a number of exploratory and humanitarian missions, Un Ponte Per coordinated together with the Nonviolent Movement the "Stop the War Now" peace caravan in September, through which it forged links and relationships with pacifist and nonviolent realities active in the country. Finally, it launched a peacebuilding intervention - 'Peace Support Ukraine' - thanks to the support of 8x1000 funds from the Italian Buddhist Institute 'Soka Gakkai'.

Among the initiatives organised as part of the campaign "Protect the objectors, support the peace builders" are the "Tavole di Pace", a series of convivial awareness-raising meetings to be organised by volunteers and associations throughout Italy to support the work of Un Ponte Per in Ukraine and to learn more about the commitment of peace builders and peace-makers. More information at this link: https://tavoledipace.unponteper.it/.