DECLARATION OF POLITICAL AND SOCIAL LEADERS

Stop the Danger of Nuclear War

Nov. 5—The following Declaration was initially released by the Schiller Institute on October 7, 2022, after the first meeting, on October 7, of the initiating group of former and elected officials from Ibero-America and the Caribbean. As of today, there are 38 political and social leaders who have signed this declaration.

Eight months into the war between Russia and Ukraine, with the active role of the United States and NATO, there are many dead and wounded, great destruction of all sorts of property, and very damaging economic and social consequences in Europe and the whole world, creating shocks which are worsening the very profound problems of the world economy, with consequences of a worsening crisis and greater unemployment, poverty, and hunger.

It is known that this war can have far more serious consequences than what we are already suffering, including massive destruction and a crisis of global proportions never before seen, because it can lead to a confrontation with nuclear weapons between Russia and the United States and NATO.

Among the growing voices calling for a sensible approach, we highlight that of Pope Francis, calling for a negotiated, peaceful solution.

The undersigned political and social leaders, current and former legislators, and other elected officials from various countries, urge Russia, Ukraine, the United States and NATO to reach an agreement which, first of all, rejects the growing loose talk about the possible use of nuclear weapons and reaffirms the fundamental commitment of the Reagan-Gorbachev Formula of 1985, that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.” To be lasting, such an agreement must also establish a new international security architecture that recognizes and respects the legitimate security interests of all the planet’s nations.

We recognize and emphasize that Russia, like the United States, NATO, Ukraine, and all countries, has legitimate security concerns which must be taken into account and become one of the cornerstones of the new security architecture. A return to the successful principles of the 1648 Peace of Westphalia—respect for sovereignty, commitment to the good of the other, and forgiveness of debts that make true economic development impossible—is the kind of architecture we seek today.

The common good of the One Humanity is the obligatory premise for the good of each and every nation. In that way, among all the nations of the world we will be able to help build an organization of citizens in collective global action, and establish ourselves that way as a force to influence the international policy debate.

We call on people of good will around the world—notwithstanding our diverse and natural differences—to participate in this process of deliberation and search for peaceful solutions, including a thorough examination of the alternative economic policies to replace speculation, which has generated so much poverty and suffering, with a system of production and progress to meet the needs of a growing world population.

We reject all attempts to limit, intimidate, or prohibit such a deliberative process. And we call on the United States, NATO, Ukraine, and Russia to advance in the direction that we present in this respectful call.

Initiating Signers

Donald Ramotar (Guyana); former President (2011–2015), former member of parliament (1992–2011, PPP)

Helga Zepp-LaRouche (Germany); founder, Schiller Institute

Jorge Robledo (Colombia); former Senator (2002–2022, Partido Dignidad)

María de los Ángeles Huerta (Mexico); former Congresswoman (2018–2021, Morena)

Dr. Kirk Meighoo (Trinidad & Tobago); former independent Senator (2004, United National Congress)

Dr. Rodolfo Ondarza (Mexico); former Representative, Mexico City Legislative Assembly (2015–2018, PT)

Diane Sare (U.S.); candidate for the U.S. Senate from New York (2022, independent/LaRouche)

Additional Signers

Bolivia

Gen. Edwin de la Fuente Jeria; former Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Bolivia (2012–2013)

Colombia

Jennifer Pedraza Sandoval; Congresswoman

Luís Eduardo Peláez; state representative, Antioquia

Leónidas Gómez Gómez; state representative, Santander

Jorge Gómez Gallego; former Congressman

Diógenes Orjuela García; former Secretary General, CUT trade union confederation

Manuel Sarmiento Arguello; city councilman, Bogotá

Czech Republic

Vincenzo Romanello (Czech Republic/Italy); Ph.D., Senior Nuclear Researcher and Project Manager, National Radiation Protection Institute (SURO)

Dominican Republic

Ramón Emilio Concepción; former presidential precandidate (2020)

Italy

Sergio Tancredi; former member of the Sicilian Parliament (2017–2022)

Antonio Ingroia; former anti-mafia judge in Sicily; candidate for Prime Minister (2013)

Alessia Ruggeri; trade unionist, Comitato per la Repubblica

Mexico

Benjamín Robles Montoya; Congressman (2018–); former Senator (2012–2018)

Elpidio Tovar de la Cruz; former Congressman (2003–2006)

Claudia Yáñez Centeno; former Congresswoman (2014–2017)

Alberto Vizcarra Osuna; former Sonora state representative (1988–1991)

Dr. Sergio Pablo Mariscal Alvarado; former Mayor, Ciudad Obregón (2018–2021); engineering professor, Sonora Technological Institute

Emeterio Ochoa Bazúa; former Sonora state representative (2015–2021)

Antonio Valdez Villanueva; former Sonora state representative (2009–2012); Under-secretary General of the Mexican Labor Confederation (CTM) in Sonora.

Netherlands

Dr. A. J. (Guus) Berkhout; Professor-Emeritus Geophysics, Technical Univ. of Delft; President of CLINTEL

Peru

Alberto Quintanilla Chacón; former Congressman (2016–2019, 1985–1992)

Roberto Vela Pinedo, President of the Association of Economists of Peru

United States

Richard H. Black; former Virginia state Senator (2012–2020); former member Virginia House of Delegates (1998–2006)

Graham Fuller; former U.S. diplomat; former CIA official; and Islamic scholar

Dr. George Koo; International business advisor, retired

Dr. Mohammad A. Toor; Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Pakistani American Congress

Bradley Blankenship; Journalist

Bob Van Hee; Commissioner, Redwood County, Minnesota

Venezuela

Román Rojas Cabot; former Venezuelan ambassador to the European Community, Brussels

Emil Guevara Muñoz; former member of the Latin American Parliament (2006–2011)

Yemen

Dr. Fouad al Ghaffari; Advisor to the Prime Minister for BRICS Countries Affairs; President of Yemeni ALBRICS Youth Parliament