Humanity, Peace, Climate Action and Social Justice

OGBL and Friddensplattform recently reaffirmed their future cooperation for humanity, peace, climate protection and social justice.

On the occasion of World Refugee Day, both organizations publish their positions within this cooperation in a joint statement:

The European Union is failing on asylum!

On today’s United Nations World Refugee Day, we note with shame that the European Union is failing miserably in its asylum policy. Every day, people die at the EU’s borders. People fleeing war, persecution, misery, natural and climate disasters.

What is the EU’s response? It tries to hermetically seal its borders. On some sections of the border, nation states have erected meter-high barbed wire fences, while on other sections, the EU border protection agency Frontex is deployed with unspeakable “pushbacks”. Racist violence against refugees is a reality at the EU’s external borders. Military operations are now being used to ensure that refugees do not enter the EU. Other “border protection” measures are barely visible – such as the EUROSUR system, which monitors the borders with satellites, drones and sensors.

What a shame! What a shame that nationalist and racist tones are becoming louder in many places. We are vehemently opposed to right-wing populism and racism.

We demand Humanity at last in asylum policy. Fight the causes that lead to these refugee movements. Stop senseless wars, ensure fair trade and economic relations, fight climate change and finally introduce a humane asylum system.

The current plans of the EU Commission and the EU Council will only lead to further disenfranchisement of refugees. We call on the EU Parliament to reject these plans. Say NO to a Europe of refugee detention camps.

We also support the demands of the Lëtzebuerger Flüchtlingsrot (LFR), especially the demands for a better integration of refugees.

Negotiate instead of escalate!

We are against war, worldwide. Ukraine, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Ethiopia, Sudan… War is always a crime against humanity.

Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which violates international law, has resulted in hundreds of thousands of dead and wounded and millions of refugees since February 24. It is the civilian population that is suffering most from the war. They deserve our solidarity.

We have stood and continue to stand clearly and unambiguously by the principles of the United Nations Charter. This Charter affirms Ukraine’s right to self-defense. The Charter also makes clear that everything possible must be done to achieve a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

Countering Russian aggression with more and more weapons is not the answer. There is a legitimate danger of uncontrolled escalation, and even the use of nuclear weapons can no longer be ruled out.

We demand: Negotiation instead of escalation, lay down your arms, diplomacy must take precedence over war.

We call on the Luxembourg government to consistently support diplomatic initiatives in the war in Ukraine. Instead of constantly increasing the military budget, it would be appropriate to focus on a new European security architecture in which absurd military investment funds play no role and in which the militarization of the European Union is not pushed forward. In this new security architecture, a civilian security policy must have absolute priority.

In the fall of this year, we are planning a roundtable discussion on the topic “Quo vadis peace movement? We will also organize another peace march in Luxembourg as part of the international Easter marches in 2024.

Climate action must be an absolute priority!

The climate time bomb is ticking. The latest scientific report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has issued an unprecedented warning about climate change and called for drastic action. Climate change is happening faster and its consequences are more devastating than previously thought. The 1.5C target set in Paris will be exceeded within the next few years.

We demand: The scientific work of the IPCC must be the basis for all political decisions. Shift from fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal) to renewable energy sources (such as wind, solar and hydropower). We urgently need to change our rampant consumption habits.

A clear no to nuclear energy, this form of energy is horrendously expensive, fraught with the greatest safety risks, and where to put all the nuclear waste that needs to be stored safely for a million years is the subject of embarrassing silence in many places.

We call on the Luxembourg government to act consistently on the basis of the latest IPCC report. We call on municipalities to take concrete climate protection measures into account in their daily decisions.

We will increasingly seek cooperation with Youth For Climate.

We will not solve any of our problems without social justice!

Inequalities have been growing worldwide for years, even decades. Year after year, the Oxfam report shows that the wealth created is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a small number of ultra-rich people.

In Luxembourg, too, inequality is on the rise.  The Grand Duchy has one of the highest numbers of “working poor” in Europe.

Stronger measures need to be taken. There is a need for real tax justice, a tax reform that reduces the burden on low and middle income earners, but makes wealth, very high wages and capital gains more of a burden.

Social achievements such as the index, the minimum wage, our social security and our pension system are the guarantors of our social peace. We oppose any attack on these pillars of our social system.

In the face of the ongoing housing crisis, the persistence of high inflation, especially in the food sector, and the growing risk of poverty among more and more sectors of the population, these social achievements must not be dismantled but, on the contrary, strengthened and improved.

Communicated on June 20, 2023