On December 4, 2017, the Civil Society Platform “CivilM+” was established in Vienna with the aim to unite non-government organizations and independent experts from Ukraine, Russia, Germany and other countries working in the field of human rights, humanitarian and peacekeeping spheres on issues related to the resolution of the conflict in eastern Ukraine and overcoming its consequences.

The mission of the Platform “CivilM+” is to actively promote civil society initiatives to restore Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts as peaceful, integrated and developed regions within democratic Ukraine and common European space, with the active participation of the region’s population and those who left the region because of the conflict.

The document on the establishment of the platform was signed by the following organizations of four countries.

International organizations:

German-Russian Exchange (Berlin, Germany)

Ukraine Action (Paris, France)

Ukraine:

Country of Free People (Kramatorsk)

Luhansk Regional Human Rights Center “Alternative” (Kyiv)

Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union (Kyiv)

Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (Kharkiv)

Center for Civil Liberties (Kyiv)

Ideas for Change (Kiev)

Russia:

Citizen and Army (Moscow)

Human Rights Center “Memorial” (Moscow)

Union “Women of the Don” (Novocherkassk)

Memorandum of CivilM+

Announcement of the establishment of the platform

Vienna, December 04, 2017

We, representatives of independent non-governmental civil society organizations, as well as individual experts and activists from Ukraine, Russia and other countries, working in various spheres of civic engagement (human rights, peacekeeping, humanitarian, etc.) on issues related to the peaceful resolution of the conflict in Donbas and overcoming its consequences,

understanding the depth of contradictions and grievances that have arisen as a result of the armed conflict,

being aware of the need to strengthen peaceful arrangements for resolving contradictions and the armed conflict,

recognizing the priority of human rights in the course of the conflict resolution,

establish the open European Civil Society Platform “CivilM+” as an independent initiative.

The mission of the Platform “CivilM+” is to actively promote civil society initiatives to restore Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts as peaceful, integrated and developed regions within democratic Ukraine and common European space, with the active participation of the region’s population and those who left the region because of the conflict.

The Platform “CivilM+” operates on the basis of democratic values, namely respect for and protection of human dignity, observance and implementation of fundamental human rights and freedoms, including non-discrimination on any grounds. The Platform “CivilM+” provides its participants with the opportunity to collaborate in joint initiatives and projects, develop and express common positions, provide mutual support and solidarity, systematize knowledge, improve skills and improve coordinated work. The Platform “CivilM+” sets the following tasks:

• Intensifying trust and cooperation between civil societies of different countries and in various areas of activity,
• Monitoring the compliance with and documenting violations of human rights, hate crimes, and war crimes,
• Providing civil society support for official peace negotiations and strengthening the influence of civil society representatives on them,
• Involving inhabitants, including those who left the region due to the conflict, in the process of restoration of the region and introducing the principles of transitional justice,
• Protecting victims of human rights violations, proving assistance in bringing to justice of violators of such rights from all sides of the conflict,
• Involving citizens residing in the conflict zone in other regions of Ukraine, Russia and other countries in the dialogue aimed at overcoming the conflict and its consequences, including using methods of people’s diplomacy,
• Activating citizenship in the society, involving internally displaced persons and population in the areas of Donetsk and Lugansk Oblasts that are not controlled by the Ukrainian government, as well as their reintegration into Ukrainian society,
• Raising public awareness about the conflict in Donbas at the regional, national and international levels and cooperation with media,
• Developing communication and cooperation of civil society institutions with regional and international institutions of the state, economic, educational and other spheres,
• Promoting transparency in conflict resolution processes,
• Countering misinformation, language of hostility and hatred,
• Supporting projects, programs and activities related to various aspects of the platform,
• Holding educational and awareness raising activities, projects and programs aimed at strengthening civil society organizations involved in resolving the conflict in Donbas and contributing to the solution of the tasks mentioned above.