Protocol CivilM+

Announcement of the Platform’s Creation

Vienna, 04 December 2017

We, the representatives of independent non-governmental civil organisations, as well as individual experts and activists from Ukraine, Russia and other states, working in various spheres of civil activity (human rights, peace building, humanitarian and others) on topics connected with the peaceful resolution of the conflict in Donbas and the managing of its consequences,

• understanding the depth of the contradictions and traumas arising as a result of the armed conflict,
• recognising the need to strengthen peaceful formats for resolving conflicts and regulating the armed conflict,
• acknowledging the priority of human rights in the course of this regulation,

create CivilM+ — an open, European, civil society platform, as an independent initiative.

The mission of the CivilM+ platform is the active integration of civil initiatives and other activities to restore the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts as peaceful, integrated and developed regions as part of a democratic Ukraine and a united European space, with the active participation of the region’s population and those who have left the region due to the conflict.

The CivilM+ platform works based on democratic values – the respect for and protection of human dignity as well as the observation and realisation of fundamental human rights and basic freedoms, including the rejection of discrimination on any grounds. The CivilM+ platform offers its participants the opportunity to collaborate as part of joint initiatives and projects, to develop and express joint positions, provide mutual support and solidarity, systematise knowledge, raise levels of qualification and improve coordination, and sets itself the following tasks:

• the widening of trust and cooperation between the civil societies of various countries and in differing spheres of activity,
• the monitoring, observation and documentation of human rights violations, hate crimes and war crimes,
• the implementation of civilian accompaniment of official peace negotiations and strengthening of the influence of civil society on them,
• the engagement of the region’s citizens in the region’s recovery, include those who left the region because of the conflict and the introduction of the principles of transitional justice,
• the protection of victims of human rights violations and assistance in holding violators of such rights on all sides of the conflict accountable,
• the engagement of citizens living in the conflict zone, in other regions of Ukraine, in Russia and in other countries in a process of dialogues, aimed at managing the conflict and its consequences, including using the methods of people’s diplomacy,
• the activation of the civilian position in society, the involvement of internally displaced people and the population of the regions of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts not controlled by the Ukrainian government in civilian activity, as well as reintegrating them into Ukrainian society,
• informing the public about the conflict in Donbas on a local, national and international level and cooperation with the media,
• the development of communication and collaboration of civil society institutes with regional and international institutions from the spheres of state, economy, education and others,
• aiding the transparency of regulatory processes of the conflict,
• acting against disinformation and hate speech,
• supporting projects, programmes and events connected with various aspects of the platform’s activity,
• the organisation of educational and informational events, projects and programmes, aimed at strengthening civil organisations, taking part in the resolution of the conflict in Donbas and facilitating the realisation of the above tasks.