“End the loss of human lives:” Nobel laureates demand ceasefire in Ukraine and Gaza ahead of Olympics

Fifty-one Nobel laureates signed an open letter to religious leaders, belligerents, and international organizations, urging an immediate ceasefire in the ongoing wars between Russia and Ukraine and in the Gaza Strip, Novaya Gazeta reports. 

This comes as the Olympic Games in Paris are approaching, with billions of people watching them worldwide, so the laureates encourage calls for peace from various leaders during the event. 

The letter emphasizes that the Russia-Ukraine war, now in its third year, has led to global consequences, including increased famine in Africa, a migration crisis in Europe, and environmental pollution affecting all continents, according to Novaya Gazeta.

The laureates argue that the escalating defense budgets worldwide are now comparable to the resources needed to combat climate change or eliminate global hunger for decades. 

“While killing each other, people are also destroying our planet,” the Nobel laureates write.

The signatories call for immediate action in both Ukraine and Gaza, proposing three key steps:

1. an immediate ceasefire
2. a comprehensive exchange of prisoners and return of the deceased
3. the initiation of peace negotiations. 

They suggest that the issue should be passed to future generations if current politicians cannot reach a peaceful resolution.

Novaya Gazeta reports that the letter also appeals to major religious leaders, including Pope Francis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Dalai Lama XIV, and representatives of Islam and Judaism.

The initiative comes at a time when, according to the letter, the number of those killed and injured in central Europe is expected to exceed one million by the end of the year, a figure not seen since World War II. The laureates argue that each life lost represents decades of potential contributions to society lost.

“Increased arms spending is also comparable to the expenditures needed to eliminate hunger throughout the world for eighty years to come. Just think of it: no one would go hungry or die of exhaustion, and no child would be left unnourished. However, instead of sustaining life, resources are wasted on spreading death,” the letter states.

The signatories, comprising some of the world’s most distinguished scientists and thinkers, include people who saved the planet from deadly diseases, discovered new physical phenomena, edited the human genome, discovered HIV and Helicobacter, and others.  Among them is a Belarusian journalist and essayist, Svetlana Alexievich, and a Russian journalist and the former editor-in-chief of the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta Dmitry Muratov.

In March, thirty-nine Nobel Prize laureates signed a letter, urging world leaders to reject the legitimacy of Vladimir Putin’s presidency and increase support for Ukraine. The call followed the Russian presidential election, which was criticized for irregularities and the exclusion of independent observers.

Oleksandra Matviychuk, head of Ukraine’s Centre for Civil Liberties and 2022 Nobel Peace Prize winner, stated there can be no political compromise with Russia, emphasizing the war as a battle between authoritarianism and democracy. 

Related:

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• Nobel Prize laureate Matviychuk: “Human rights are not won once and for all. They depend on our choices every day”
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• “Impunity has become a part of Russian culture,” Nobel Peace Prize laureate says