UNITED AGAINST INHUMANITY (UAI)

Call to Action

United Against Inhumanity (UAI) is a growing global movement of individuals and groups outraged by the atrocities of war. We will not sit back and accept the appalling suffering of civilians, or the policies and practices that stop children, women and men fleeing today’s armed conflicts from reaching safety.

UAI’s mission is to encourage civil society to challenge warring parties, their sponsors, governments and international organisations, by initiating and facilitating local, regional and international joint action. We cannot accept that indiscriminate war and forced displacements have become normalised in our world.

• An end to the use of inhuman tactics in war, such as the indiscriminate and targeted killing of civilians or humanitarian personnel, the devastation of populated areas, ethnic cleansing, the use of people as human shields, and sieges designed to starve communities into submission.
• An end to the targeting of essential facilities such as water sources, food depots, hospitals and schools, which are vital for survival, well-being and dignity.
• An end to systematic persecution, torture, sexual violence including rape, and other crimes against humanity.
• An end to the policies and practices that are designed to prevent people fleeing for their lives from reaching a place of refuge.

UAI therefore calls on:

1. Warring parties to stop using brutal and inhuman strategies and tactics. All parties must fulfil their moral and legal obligations to ensure that everybody affected by armed conflict in the territory they control is treated with dignity and has access to basic necessities.
2. States and international organisations to take concerted action to ensure the rights of people forced to flee conflict. Those trying to reach safety must be treated with dignity and compassion at every stage of their ordeal.
3. States and international organisations to make effective use of existing mechanisms to hold those accused of crimes against humanity to account.

Produce knowledge. We will engage with partner institutions and groups to:

• Produce independently verified and credible documentation on the harms inflicted on civilians in war zones.
• Develop an Independent Humanitarian Watch (IHW) to track and document patterns of inhumanity in war and forced displacement. We will use the data to build public support for holding perpetrators to account, and to develop an (In)humanity Index to encourage compliance with international law and respect for universal human values.

Mobilise for change. We will work with others to advocate for change in the policies and practices of governments and other warring parties by:

• Promoting a sense of collective responsibility across the world, and mobilising civil society to stand united against the horrors of contemporary warfare.
• Challenging governments and international and regional organisations to fulfil their obligations and actively address both war-related atrocities and the mistreatment of people fleeing for their lives.
• Exploring new ways to hold governments, warring parties, and others who support or tolerate persistent abuses to account.
• Supporting efforts to encourage warring parties to see the benefits of restraint.

The individuals and groups that champion UAI will be supported by a small Secretariat, reporting to an International Executive Committee and an Advisory Board of prominent civil society leaders. While UAI’s overall goal will remain consistent, programmes and activities may evolve in response to feedback from the UAI network.

UAI’s overall vision is a world where all governments and warring parties fulfil their responsibility to protect civilians from the horrors of war and forced displacement.

When the voices of communities and committed individuals from around the world come together to denounce the callous brutality of war, they can be an irresistible force for change.

We must act now!

1. Go to the UAI website and register your endorsement of this Call to Action.
2. Tell your parliamentary representative or community leader that you support UAI and urge her/him to take up the cause.
3. Meet with your friends or work colleagues and start a UAI support group.
4. Make a donation to UAI.
5. Find out more. Email us at UAI contact address.