Every person on Earth has the right to life.

The UN Human Rights Committee has stated that the threat or use of weapons of mass destruction, especially nuclear weapons, is incompatible with the right to life and may amount to a crime under international law (General Comment No. 36 (2018) to Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, para. 66).

Today this principle is being challenged.

The Russian leadership has repeatedly made explicit nuclear threats while conducting a war of aggression against a sovereign state. At the same time, the person responsible for these actions remains effectively beyond the reach of justice because any attempt to stop him by military means risks triggering a nuclear catastrophe.

Humanity now faces an unprecedented legal deadlock.

Military escalation is unacceptable because of the nuclear threat.

Doing nothing allows nuclear blackmail to become an effective shield against international justice.

Neither option protects humanity.

International law must not allow nuclear weapons to become immunity from justice.

A peaceful legal solution already exists.

It requires no military intervention, no new international treaty, and no change to the UN Charter.

The UN General Assembly can act under the "Uniting for Peace" procedure (Resolution 377 A), which cannot be blocked by a veto in the Security Council.

We call on UN Member States to adopt a resolution that would:

1. Recognize the Putin regime as constituting a threat to international peace and security and as bearing responsibility for serious violations of international law.

2. Call upon all officials, military personnel and public servants not to execute manifestly unlawful orders of the regime, while encouraging Member States to provide protection from prosecution and political asylum for those who refuse.

3. Guarantee protection from prosecution and recognize as acting in defense of humanity those who lawfully assist in arresting and surrendering to international justice all individuals responsible for initiating this catastrophe.

Why this matters

Such a resolution changes the incentives inside the regime.

It removes the expectation that unlawful orders will continue to be carried out.

It creates a protected legal path for officials to refuse criminal orders.

It creates a peaceful legal pathway for executing the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court on 17 March 2023, without military escalation.

Most importantly, it establishes that nuclear weapons cannot serve as immunity from international justice.

This principle would apply equally to any future leader subject to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant, regardless of nationality or political alliances.

Why now

Nuclear threats are becoming increasingly normalized in international political discourse.

The longer the international community waits, the greater the risk that deterrence will fail and legal options will narrow.

Peaceful legal action must come before a nuclear crisis—not after one.

A majority already exists.

One hundred twenty-five States Parties to the Rome Statute are obliged to cooperate with the International Criminal Court, including in the execution of its arrest warrants.

On 2 March 2022, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution ES-11/1 condemning the aggression by 141 votes, demonstrating that an overwhelming international majority is capable of acting even when the Security Council is blocked.

The same international community can now close the legal gap that nuclear blackmail has created.

Sign this petition

Your signature is a call to defend the right to life through international law—not through war.

Every signature strengthens the principle that nuclear blackmail must never become a shield against international justice.