CIVIL: Peace must never become another word for surrender

International Day of Peace | 21 September 2026

PRESS RELEASE

Peace demands freedom, justice and accountability. It means living without fear, resisting oppression and bringing war criminals to justice. A world that rewards aggressors, silences victims and bargains away the truth is a world preparing for the next war.

On the International Day of Peace, CIVIL – Center for Freedom calls for a clear rejection of the political dishonesty that presents submission as stability, impunity as reconciliation and the abandonment of those under attack as a reasonable compromise.

Peace cannot be built by rewarding aggression. It cannot be secured by asking people to accept occupation, surrender their rights or forget those who have been killed, displaced, tortured or disappeared. Negotiations must serve a just and lasting peace, with the people whose lives and freedom are at stake having a decisive voice in their future.

Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine makes this responsibility unmistakable.

Supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty, freedom and right to defend itself is an essential commitment to peace. Solidarity with people under attack must endure beyond declarations and commemorative dates.

The same commitment to human dignity must apply everywhere.

Civilian lives have equal value. No government, army or armed group is entitled to place itself above accountability. No political alliance can justify selective outrage or indifference to human suffering.

Peace is undermined long before the first shot is fired. It is weakened when institutions are captured, journalists are threatened, discrimination is normalised and propaganda turns neighbours into enemies. In North Macedonia and across the Western Balkans, confronting nationalism, corruption, disinformation and the glorification of war criminals is essential work for peace.

For CIVIL, defending peace means defending democracy and human rights every day -- in public institutions, in the media, in schools and in every community where fear and exclusion are used to control people.

This commitment gives practical meaning to the United Nations’ 2026 theme, “Invest in Peace: For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day.” The UN’s recognition of people building peace through everyday local action speaks directly to a responsibility that governments and societies must take seriously.

Investing in peace means supporting independent journalism, civic education, human rights defenders, youth participation and institutions that serve the public. It means giving communities the resources to challenge hatred, expose manipulation and resolve disputes without violence. Those who do this work need sustained support, protection and space to act.

“For everyone” must include those pushed to the margins. “Everywhere” must reach communities beyond diplomatic attention. “Every day” must mean a lasting public commitment, backed by decisions, budgets and accountability.

CIVIL advances this commitment through its civic work, independent media and international cooperation, including the Defending Democracy Global Initiative (DDGI) and Westminster Alliance for Ukraine (WA4U). These partnerships strengthen our efforts to connect democratic resilience, solidarity with Ukraine and the defence of human dignity across borders.

We call on institutions to turn commitments into action, on international partners to sustain support for independent civic and media work, and on citizens to challenge the lies and hatred that prepare the ground for violence.

Peace needs truth. Peace needs justice. Peace needs people who refuse to surrender their freedom, or abandon the freedom of others.

CIVIL – Center for Freedom

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