ATHENS ANTI-WAR DECLARATION

 

Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind… J.F. Kennedy

 
The deleterious Mental Health consequences of human-made disasters are well-known and humanity stands witness to their catastrophic impact.
 
War is the worst of human-made disasters and has tragic and unacceptable consequences on the mental health of its victims. The catastrophic impact of war on mental health is longitudinal, transgenerational, and amplified by refugee crises both in countries of origin and elsewhere.
 
According to the WHO (2004) mental health promotion should include efforts for Peace, in view of the well-established mental health consequences of war conflicts. It is therefore within the rights and obligations of the international mental health community represented by the various organizations that express its views to address this issue and call for :
 
1.Termination of war conflicts, wherever they occur
 
2.Psychological and material support to the victims of war conflicts : refugees, internally displaced persons, asylum seekers, immigrants, psychologically affected or incapacitated persons and any other category of people whose mental health is at risk or who have been damaged by war
 
3.Psychosocial and humanitarian material support to the citizens of the host countries whose mental health systems are extremely challenged by the consequences of war conflicts
 
4.Call for urgent and coordinated action to attain the above goals
 
In the words of JFK “Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind”.