Open letter from PhD students in Peace Studies

On 23 June 2025, 46 researchers of the Doctorate of National Interest in Sciences for Peace, moved by the urgency to denounce the horror normalised by multiple wars, presented an open letter in which they address various actors of the Italian State to commit themselves to building peace, as peace is not neutrality, but an active choice to defend constitutional and international law.

The Italian institutions are asked to respect the values enshrined in the Constitution, starting with the repudiation of all wars, and to act in accordance with international law also in executing the sentences of the International Criminal Court and respecting arrest warrants.

The Italian government is asked to speak out for the recognition of the State of Palestine and to actively act to stop the genocide and other crimes taking place by assuming the role of spokesperson for policies of mediation and not rearmament that are encouraged in the context of the European Union. Furthermore, the government is asked to commit to global nuclear disarmament by signing and ratifying the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPAN)(TPNW).

Academic institutions are asked to take a stand and mediate with civil society. Universities are required to ensure access to information and research that is accessible, ethical, free and transparent, and to sever relations with companies and governments that favour the militarisation of research and public education.

Finally, the letter addresses civil society, which is asked not to remain indifferent to the increasing proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, to mobilise, demonstrate, strike and defect from war.

The researchers strongly argue that peacebuilding should be done through education, rather than through an 800 billion euro rearmament plan. These resources could instead be allocated to the public sectors of research, education, health and employment policies.