“A Blueprint for Peace in Ukraine”

by Alfred de Zayas,* Geneva International Peace Research Institute – GIPRI

(21 June 2024) As more and more politicians and scholars recognize that the Ukraine conflict cannot be solved militarily, that there will be no winners but only losers, we should concentrate on stopping the slaughter.

This is the only rational policy we can follow, and should be advanced by all United Nations agencies, notably the General Assembly, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Health Organization, etc.

My blueprint for peace is simple:

1. Ceasefire based on the UN Charter;
2. A ban on deliveries of weapons to the belligerents;
3. UN organized international assistance to all populations suffering because of the war, lack of energy, lack of food;
4. UN organized and monitored referenda in Crimea and Donbas;
5. Lifting of sanctions that nullified the benefits of globalization, broke supply chains, upset international trade, endangered food security;
6. Drafting of a new security architecture for Europe;
7. Coordinated efforts by States and UNHCR to facilitate the repatriation of Ukrainian refugees “in safety and dignity”;
8. A Global fund for reconstruction of infrastructures in all regions affected by the war;
9. Establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to hear grievances from all sides;
10. Investigation and punishment of war crimes by the respective governments as stipulated in the 1949 Geneva Conventions and 1977 Protocols: Ukrainian crimes to be prosecuted by Ukrainian judges, Russian crimes to be investigated and prosecuted by Russian tribunals.

There is a pre-history of this catastrophe. If we want to arrive at a viable peace settlement, we must understand the root causes and create an atmosphere of mutual trust.

We must also analyse the conflict not only from the US, Western European or Eastern European perspectives, but also take into account the views of 1.5 billion Chinese, 1.5 billion Indians, 240 million Pakistanis, 170 million Bangladeshis, 280 million Indonesians, 220 million Nigerians, 220 million Brazilians, 140 million Mexicans etc.

The stakes are too high, and we Americans and Europeans have no right to risk the survival of the planet because of an internal European dispute. Indeed, for the average African, Asian or Latin American, it is wholly irrelevant whether Crimea is in Russia or in Ukraine.

* Alfred de Zayas, jurist, international lawyer, historian and former UN Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order. Member of the Board of the Geneva International Peace Research Institute (GIPRI).