Amman, 1970 · ruins of a refugee camp2025, verified by the UN6,266
children killed in armed conflicts in a single year.
Two men, one embraceSince launch6
hugs sent from one side of a war to the other.
A people-to-people movement for peace
Hug first. Talk after.
When words are trapped in our flags, our histories and our fears, one gesture is still possible. A hug, from one people to another, across a border. Then we find out we share the same problems, the same sorrows and the same hopes.
Non-politicalNon-religiousNon-profit
The heart of the movement
Send a virtual Hug
Choose where you are from and where your hug goes. Write a few words, add a selfie, a voice message or a video if you like, then press and hold for three seconds, the length of a real hug. Your words are translated into the other person's language.
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Add (optional)One per hug: a selfie, a voice message or a video.
Who can see itAnyone can see your hug and your message on the Hug wall.
Safe meeting places at borders, where both sides can come together. The places below are existing crossings shown as examples. No zone is open yet: we are raising donations to create them.
Ledra Street crossing, Nicosia
Nicosia · Cyprus
Ledra Palace crossing
In the UN buffer zone between the island's two communities.
Proposed zone
Evening ceremony at the Wagah gate
Wagah–Attari · India / Pakistan
Wagah border
The only road crossing between the two countries, with thousands of visitors every evening.
Figures checked by independent sources, without taking sides. Every number is a person.
Dresden, 1945Abu Shouk camp, Darfur, SudanBorodianka, Ukraine, April 2022
People killed in armed conflicts since 2010
×7 from 34,206 deaths in 2010 to 244,579 in 2025
Source: Our World in Data, based on UCDP (2026). Combatants and civilians killed in fighting, best estimate; deaths from disease and hunger are not included. The first half of 2026 (76,671) is not shown because the year is incomplete.
Children killed or maimed since 2010
14,224 children killed or maimed in 2025, the highest number the UN has ever verified, against at least 3,567 in 2010
Source: UN Secretary-General annual reports on children and armed conflict (2023, 2024, 2025). Verified cases only; 2016 and 2017 are given as "over 8,000" and "over 10,000". Before 2016 the UN published no world total: the dashed line (2010–2015) is The Hug Zone's own sum of the country-by-country figures in the same annual reports (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015). These are verified minimums, not UN totals, and real numbers were higher (Syria, for example, was barely documented before 2014).
Behind every number there is someone who needs a hug.
Film a hug, wherever you are, and share it with the world. Post your video, or a link to your post on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or X, and give a +1 to the hugs that move you.
465,000soldiers killed at most, Feb 2022–Dec 2025, and 15,364 civilians verified by the UN0hugs sent
CSIS estimate, Jan 2026: up to 325,000 Russian and 140,000 Ukrainian soldiers. UN human rights office, civilians to 28 Feb 2026 (Statista).Send a hug →
Sudan · Sudan
61,202estimated deaths in Khartoum State alone, Apr 2023–Jun 2024. No national count exists.0hugs sent
Each death toll comes from the source named on its card. Most are minimums: real numbers are higher. Hug counts are live: every hug sent from one side to the other, once approved.
A song for peace in your language that should be here? Tell us.
Millions of us, one voice.
We are gathering people from every country so that, if the signals of a third world war grow, we can act and speak together. We organise now, while we still live in peace and in democracy. Both are fragile, and it is easier to prevent than to repair. Our union is our protection.
Our charter
What holds us together
Non-political. We take no side between governments. We stand with the people who suffer on every side.
Non-religious. Everyone is welcome, whatever they believe.
Non-profit, funded by people. No state or company money. Every euro is accounted for.
Our union is our protection. Together we are millions, in every country, and we unite now, while we are still free to do so. If the signals of a world war grow, we will coordinate our actions and raise one voice, a people's deterrent made of solidarity, never of weapons.
Why I started The Hug Zone
“I'm a father of two. I'm not here to lecture anyone, or to say who is right. Like you, I watch the news and I'm afraid of the world our children could inherit. So I want to open a door: one hug, from one person to another, across the lines that divide us. If enough of us walk through it, maybe our children will never have to live through a world war.”
