The Eurasian Peace Council of the Universal Peace Federation calls upon the sides of the conflict involving Georgia, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Russia, to comply, in due course, with the commitments, as outlined in the “Dmitry Medvedev – Nicolas Sarkozy peace plan” and agreed with the leadership of Georgia.
The situation in the conflict zones of the South Caucasus remains tense and dangerous. It threatens international peace and security, and brings harm and suffering to the civilian population. We feel deep sorrow for the victims and present our condolences to their relatives and friends.
By addressing the root causes of conflict, the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) hopes to build the basis for peace, harmony, and cooperation among cultures and religions. UPF will seek a collaborative approach to peace, involving governmental and non-governmental organizations, various faith-based organizations, and the private sector, aimed at resolving conflict, and promoting human development throughout the world.
In response to the recent outbreak of violence in the South Caucasus, UPF calls for an international committee to assess losses and damages inflicted by the military conflict upon the civilian population. UPF also calls for a concerted international effort aimed at providing humanitarian relief and technical assistance to those in need, including numerous refugees and internally displaced persons.
We also propose to convene a Civil Society Summit of the South Caucasus, to address the key issues of human development and human security in the region. The participants in this summit may include senior government officials in charge of public health and social services, as well as human rights commissioners of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, and also high-ranking experts and officials representing other countries and international organizations.
The Civil Society Summit participants will discuss the humanitarian rather than the political dimensions of the conflict. They will explore basic human security and human development challenges facing the people living in the Georgia/South Ossetia, Georgia/Abkhazia, and Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zones. This will give a broader humanitarian context and will provide perspectives needed to those who consider issues of territorial integrity and national self-determination in the South Caucasus.
UPF’s Eurasian Peace Council is concerned by the breach of Georgian-Russian diplomatic relations, and we hope it will not affect traditional friendly relationships between the peoples of Georgia and Russia. UPF is ready to act as a mediator, to facilitate dialogue and reconciliation. It is for this purpose that UPF Eurasia has launched the South Caucasus Peace Initiative.
For more information about the South Caucasus Peace Initiative, click here.