Appell om humanitær lettelse for befolkningen i Øst-Ukraina

To:
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko
President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin
European Parliament (contact group with Ukraine)
Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe,
Head of the OSCE monitoring mission, Alexander Hug
Appeal on humanitarian relief in the conflict in Ukraine

Dear Mr Presidents,

Ladies and gentlemen representing EU states and
Mr Alexander Hug, representing the OSCE,
On the occasion of the European conference of the International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW, Nobel Peace Laureate 1985), in Belgrade;
Given recent testimonies received from people immediately affected by the conflict in eastern Ukraine;

We, IPPNW doctors and medical students representing 15 European countries, are writing to you to express our shock and dismay about the inhumane situation and terrible plight of the affected civilian population, in particular many children suffering both physical and psychological trauma.

We appeal to you to go beyond any political considerations and to do your utmost, and also to urge all concerned parties to do their utmost, to lift the blockade of economic and humanitarian assistance imposed by the military on Donbass since January 2015. We appeal to you to guarantee access to all health services needed by the civilian population in the region, as well as to ensure facilitation of free passage of civilians through military checkpoints, for humanitarian reasons.

Furthermore, we strongly urge you to ensure that all humanitarian missions, from all states, international organizations and civil society groups, including those from both Russia and Ukraine, to have free passage of convoys solely dedicated to delivering aid to the affected civilian population.

In writing to you, the decision-makers and observing international organizations, we in IPPNW respectfully remind you of the moral and ethical standards on which co-existence in Europe is based.
We feel it is important to bring to the attention of all the parties concerned that both the UN Declaration and the European Convention on Human Rights remain the principal guidelines for policy-making. These guidelines will facilitate a return to peaceful co-existence in Europe.

Sincerely,

Dr. Angelika Claussen, IPPNW Vice-President for Europe
Dragan Velikovic, MD, President of the Serbian affiliate of IPPNW
Dr. Kati Juva, MD PhD, Chair Physicians for Social Responsibility, Finland
Prof. Abraham Behar, President AMFPGN, former IPPNW Co-President, France
Dr. Helmut Lohrer, MD, International Councillor, IPPNW Germany
Dr. Maria Arvaniti-Sotiropoulou, President of Greek affiliate of IPPNW, Greece
Sead Zeynal, MD, IPPNW Macedonia
John Gunnar Maeland, MD, IPPNW Norway
Anastasia Medvedeva, MD, IPPNW Russia
Prof Andreas Nidecker, MD, past president and board member PSR/IPPNW Switzerland
Prof. Aytug Atici, MD, Turkey
Dr. Elisabeth McElderry, Medact, UK
Yuliya Kovalevska, PhD, IPPNW Ukraine
Jonathan Lauryn, European IPPNW Student Representative
Aino Weyers, International IPPNW Student Representative