Ukraine Indépendance et Drapeua
2
Mar

Announcement from the Presidency of the University

Message from Patrick Scauflaire

Dear members of our university community,

I would like to share with you the statement of the International Federation of Catholic Universities of which we are a member. We fully associate ourselves with these words and strongly condemn the attack on Ukraine.

Within our institutions, distressed by this situation, we are mobilising to bring our support to the students and academics affected by it: setting up solidarity funds, proposing a spiritual time for peace, providing personalised support to Ukrainian and Russian students, helping repatriate students on mobility, etc.

In the name of the values of the University, we call for an end to the violence and for finding the path to reconciliation, with respect for all.

Patrick SCAUFLAIRE
President-Rector

International Federation of Catholic Universities

Statement of the

International Federation of Catholic Universities

on the War in Ukraine

The International Federation of Catholic Universities strongly condemns the unprecedented and unjustified attack by the Russian Federation on Ukraine, its institutions and its people. The military violence perpetrated cannot be justified by the arguments put forward by President Putin and poses a strong challenge to the peaceful coexistence of nations worldwide.

The International Federation of Catholic Universities is a global organization founded in 1924 with the mission of strengthening international academic cooperation, precisely in the wake of one of the most ravaging conflicts on the European continent, in the belief that a free and values-based higher education is crucial to the advancement of justice, human rights and the rule of law .

Sharing our members’ anguish and concern, we call on the Russian authorities to refrain from further hostile actions that would inflict even more suffering and disregard the principles of international law. War is a grave violation of human dignity and has no place in our world.

The Federation assures the Ukrainian people, and more particularly the Ukrainian academic community, of its unwavering support. IFCU expresses a special encouragement to its friends of the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) and offers assistance. We feel, as Pope Francis expressed in the general audience of February 23, great pain, concern and anguish about the conflict and, following his example, we call on all parties involved to « refrain from any action that would cause further suffering to the people », « destabilize peaceful coexistence » and « discredit international law ».

The Administrative Board of the International Federation of Catholic Universities calls on all of its member universities to express concrete support for Ukrainian scholars and students, as requested by the Catholic University of Ukraine. This can take various forms, such as hosting students and scholars, scholarships, online courses, donations.

The International Secretariat of the Federation is at the disposal of its members, and more generally of those who wish to provide support, to facilitate this assistance.

Do not hesitate to contact the IFCU Team if you wish further information:

François Mabille – IFCU Secretary General: sgfiuc@bureau.fiuc.org
Montserrat Alom – IFCU CIRAD Director: montserrat.alom@bureau.fiuc.org
Nicolas Vergier – IFCU Partnership manager: nicolas.vergier@bureau.fiuc.org
Loïc Roche – IFCU Head of the Training Department: loic.roche@bureau.fiuc.org
Corinne Mellul – IFCU Head of the Foresight Department: corinne.mellul@bureau.fiuc.org
Philippe Tan – IFCU Administrative officer: philippe.tan@bureau.fiuc.org

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