The International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) Board has released a statement expressing its deep shock at the events in Ukraine. In the words of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, “the use of force by one country against another is the repudiation of the principles that every country has committed to uphold… It is wrong. It is against the Charter. It is unacceptable.” IFIP condemns it.
IFIP has deep ties and many friendships in Ukraine. Our last in-person General Assembly prior to the Pandemic was hosted by our friends in Kyiv, in September 2019, and we have reached out to them in the past weeks with our sympathies – our horror – at unfolding events.
IFIP is a non-governmental organisation founded by UNESCO. Scientists around the world – including thousands in Russia itself – are appalled at the killing, displacement, destruction and disruption taking place. The impacts are felt by both Ukrainian and Russian families now mourning loved ones, Ukrainian families separated and being cradled by neighbouring countries whose impulse toward hospitality we share, organisations and businesses across Ukraine reduced to rubble, and the many millions around the world for whom the price of food is now spiralling. As our Members know well, all systems are delicate and such senseless violence all too often can have unintended and worse consequences.
We implore those who have the power to determine the course of these events: please make it stop. In the name of good sense, of humanity, make it stop! “We need peace.”
The IFIP Board