EFJ joins PEN America open letter in solidarity with Ukraine
We are writers, journalists, artists, human rights defenders, and those who stand in solidarity with them from around the world, including those who stay in Ukraine and made the difficult decision to leave our homes. On the one-year marking of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we write to express our collective condemnation of Russia’s multi-pronged war against the Ukrainian people and culture.
We grieve for the thousands of people killed as casualties of Russia’s campaign of violence. Russia’s war has sought to rupture Ukraine’s social fabric and culture, displacing millions of people in the destruction of cities and towns. We grieve for the deaths of writers, artists, journalists, cultural workers, and all who have cultivated Ukraine’s blooming culture and civil society sector.
In the last year, the space for free expression in Ukraine has been under attack by the Russian military’s actions. Russian soldiers have deliberately killed and kidnapped journalists and writers. Artists had to flee Ukraine in order to survive and continue their work. Russian bombardments have indiscriminately destroyed and damaged hundreds of places where Ukrainians experience culture and history, from community cultural houses to Holocaust memorial centers. There is evidence that the Mariupol Drama Theater, the 19th century Regional Youth Library in Chernihiv, and other remarkable cultural objects have been deliberately targeted. But Russia’s military actions since February 24, 2022, represent only one prong in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine.
Alongside the deliberate destruction of human life and infrastructure, Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied the existence of Ukrainian history and culture distinct from Russia. Since 2014, Russia has illegally occupied Crimea and parts of Luhansk and Donetsk, where writers, journalists, and activists have been jailed for their expression under the administration of the Russian Federation and armed separatist groups backed by Russia. Russian authorities have banned Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar language instruction and media and excavated a world heritage site to construct a revisionist history rooted in President Putin’s denial of other cultures.
Yet, despite being under attack, journalists, writers, artists, and cultural rights defenders continue to make art, write, and contribute to Ukrainian culture. Translators and members of the free press ensure that the realities of life in Ukraine and the impact of Russia’s violence are broadcast to the world. The diary entries, essays, poems, independent reporting, and street art are central to rebuilding in Ukraine when the war is over.
We, the signatories below, stand in solidarity with Ukraine’s culture and civil society sector and support its writers, artists, journalists, and cultural workers’ efforts to create life beyond Russia’s war. We reiterate our condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and call for the support of all journalists, cultural figures, and all unjustly persecuted in Ukraine for their expression.
Russia should be held accountable for its war crimes and human rights abuses. We urge the international community to support all Ukrainian efforts to investigate these crimes and ensure that the deliberate targeting of Ukrainian cultural heritage by the Russian regime is included in national accountability mechanisms as well as the international commission of inquiry for Ukraine.
We call on international governments to join us in solidarity by providing livelihood support to Ukrainian writers, artists, and journalists inside and outside the country and ensure that they can continue to create art wherever they are. Russia must be held accountable for its violations of cultural rights and human rights in Ukraine.
Signed,
Active Vista International Human Rights Festival
Academia de la Historia de Cuba en el Exilio
Amani: Africa Creative Defence Network
ARTICLE 19
Artist Protection Fund
ArtLords and Wartists, Afghanistan
Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
Avant-Garde Lawyers
Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ)
Callias Foundation
Cambodian Center for Human Rights
Cartoonists Rights Network International
Centrala – Centre for Central and Eastern European art and artists
DAKILA Philippines
English PEN
European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
Free Press for Eastern Europe
Freedom House
Freemuse
Human Rights Movement and Film Festival “Bir Duino – Kyrgyzstan”
ICOM Israel
ICOM Poland National Committee
IFEX
International Media Support (IMS)
International Press Institute (IPI)
Ithaca City of Asylum (ICOA)
On the Move
Oregon Institute for Creative Research
P.E.N.-Québec
PEN America and Artists at Risk Connection
PEN Belarus
PEN Canada
PEN Català
PEN International
PEN Uganda
Penn Cultural Heritage Center, Penn Museum
People for Accountable Governance and Sustainable Action-PAGASAph
Post-Museum, Singapore
Safe Havens | Freedom Talks
South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO)
Tanzania Artists Rights Organization (TARO)
The Swedish Museums Association
Trans Europe Halles
Ukrainian Cultural Foundation
