Someren 2026: Final Declaration of the Emmaus World Assembly

We, the members of the Emmaus Movement, representing more than 45,000 people across 450 groups in 40 countries, gathered in Someren in the Netherlands for our World Assembly, strongly reaffirm our long-standing commitment to tackling the root causes of poverty and inequality, and our ongoing dedication to greater social and environmental justice.

Building on our experience working with the world’s most vulnerable communities, we embrace our role as privileged observers of contemporary social, economic and political realities.

We therefore make the following declarations:

• We strongly condemn the capitalist and production-focused system that fuels the war economy, strengthens imperialism and perpetuates contemporary forms of colonialism. This system leads to the accelerated depletion of resources at a global scale and will drive hundreds of millions of people into greater poverty, insecurity and forced migration.
• We condemn all forms of systemic economic, social, political and environmental violence that perpetuate injustices and hinder access to basic rights.
• We assert that combatting all forms of discrimination, particularly gender-based discrimination, is an essential prerequisite for lasting peace.
• We call for a fundamental shift towards an economy that respects people, local areas and ecosystems.
• We maintain that peace is an essential condition for achieving these goals.
• We call for compliance with international law and for the strengthening of international organisations that promote cooperation and solidarity among peoples.
• We strongly and vehemently condemn all the killings that take the lives of innocent civilians and children, as well as all the destruction of homes, goods and services essential to human life, cultural and environmental heritage, which are crimes under international law.
• We condemn any seizure or monopoly of information by states or dominant actors, which hinders freedom of expression, restricts access to independent information and erodes democratic spaces.
• We commend the younger generations, who are capable of driving transformative change through civic-minded and solidarity-based actions, and support them in their struggles. We recognise the legitimacy of forms of engagement that defend the fundamental rights of nature and humanity, including when they take the form of non-violent civil disobedience.

In the face of these challenges, we reaffirm our collective determination to take action, stand firm, and work alongside those affected to develop practical alternatives based on solidarity, sharing, dignity and justice.

Finally, we express our solidarity with all those around the world who oppose war and strive for peace, justice and dignity. We also reaffirm our solidarity with all peoples facing oppression, war and genocide, and call for respect for the right of peoples to self-determination.

The Emmaus movement urges all its groups worldwide, at every level, to take concrete action in support of this declaration.