A message from Members of the Leadership Council of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Members of the SDSN Community

Message to All UN Member States and Leaders of the United Nations (PDF)

The war in Ukraine threatens not only sustainable development but the survival of humanity. We call on all nations, operating in accordance with the UN Charter, to put diplomacy to the service of humanity by ending the war through negotiations before the war ends for all of us.

The world must urgently return to the path of peace. Blessed are the peacemakers, who teach Jesus in the Gospels. The Qur’an invites the righteous to the Dar as-Salam, the abode of peace. Buddha teaches Ahimsa, nonviolence to all living beings. Isaiah prophesizes the day when the nation will no longer fight against the nation, nor train for war anymore.

International peace and security are the first purposes of the United Nations. The world’s nations dare not fail to bring peace to Ukraine in the momentous hours ahead.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is repugnant, cruel, and sacrilegious, in the words of Pope Francis, making the search for peace our most urgent need. This is especially true as an even more devastating military confrontation builds in Eastern Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin has recently declared the peace talks at a “dead end.” The world cannot accept this. All nations and the United Nations must do all in their power to revive the peace talks and bring the parties to a successful and rapid agreement.

Peace requires dialogue and diplomacy, not more heavy weaponry that will ultimately lay Ukraine to utter ruin. The path of military escalation in Ukraine is one of guaranteed suffering and despair. Still worse, military escalation risks a conflict that spirals to Armageddon.

History shows that the Cuban Missile Crisis nearly led to nuclear war even after the leaders of the US and Soviet Union had reached a diplomatic solution. Because of misunderstandings, a disabled Soviet submarine nearly launched a nuclear-tipped torpedo that could have triggered a full nuclear response by the United States. Only the brave actions of a single Soviet party officer on the submarine halted the firing of the torpedo, thereby saving the world.

Russia and Ukraine can certainly reach an agreement that fulfills the two fundamental aims of the UN Charter: territorial integrity and security for both Ukraine and Russia.