[van-announce] Uniting For Peace (UN Resolution 377) Gaining Steam -- Your ActionIs Needed!

[Steve Kisby]

**************************************************

Petition the UN General Assembly to hold an
Emergency Session to:

STOP THE WAR NOW!! 

Go to: http://ufp.nucifera.org/anglais.htm
http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/reports/report.asp?ObjID=o3ONGr1exC&Content=207

According to Steve Sawyer, spokesman for
Greenpeace at the United Nations headquarters in
New York, "It's clear that the United States and
United Kingdom [could] not succeed in ramming
through a resolution to go to war. Yet it's also clear
that, even without UN backing, those countries intend
to wage a reckless war which [will] make the world a
much more dangerous place. It's now up to all the
world's countries, not just a few of the powerful, to
meet together to avert this ... war."

*******************************************************

Uniting for Peace (UN Resolution 377) empowers the
General Assembly to take collective action, as needed,
when the Security Council is blocked (as it has lately been).
If the General Assembly is not in session, any seven
members of the Security Council -- or a majority of
members of the United Nations -- can convene a special
session of the General Assembly for this purpose.

Specifically:
"[I]f the Security Council, because of lack of unanimity of the
permanent members, fails to exercise its primary
responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and
security in any case where there appears to be a threat to
the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression, the
General Assembly shall consider the matter immediately
with a view to making appropriate recommendations to
Members for collective measures, including in the case of a
breach of the peace or act of aggression the use of armed
force when necessary, to maintain or restore international
peace and security. If not in session at the time, the General
Assembly may meet in emergency special session within
twenty-four hours of the request therefor. Such emergency
special session shall be called if requested by the Security
Council on the vote of any seven members, or by a majority
of the Members of the United Nations."

Draft Resolution "Uniting For Peace" from the Center
for Constitutional Rights:

The General Assembly,

Calling to mind the United Nation's fundamental
goal since its founding to work towards international
peace and security and to end aggressive war, and
especially article 2(4) of the UN Charter which
demands that, "states shall refrain in their
international relations from the threat of use or use of
force against the territorial integrity or political
independence of any state,"

Recalling its resolution 377(A) (1950) entitled
"Uniting for Peace," which "resolves that if
the Security Council fails to exercise its primary
responsibility for the maintenance of international
peace and security in any case where there appears
to be a threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act
of aggression, the General Assembly shall consider
the matter immediately with a view to making
appropriate recommendation to Members for collective
measures,"

Recognizing that ten emergency sessions have been
called under the auspices of resolution 377(A) since its
adoption and that those sessions have contributed
towards pacification of violent or possibly violent
situations,

Convinced that each Member State has an obligation
as a UN Member to work to maintain international
peace and security,

Mindful of the long history of Security Council
resolutions about the situation in Iraq, which date back
to the invasion of Kuwait in 1991, including resolution
661 (1990), 678 (1990), resolution 687 (1991),
resolution 688 (1991), resolution 707 (1991),
resolution 986 (1995), resolution 1154 (1998), and
resolution 1284 (1999),

Noting with regret Iraq's refusal to comply with the
first weapons inspection regime after 1998,

Conscious of the recent attention to the situation in
Iraq and the consequent renewal of weapons
inspections in Iraq,

Recalling especially Security Council resolution 1441,
which called for immediate reinstatement of weapons
inspections and complete Iraqi compliance,

Recalling further the joint statement issued by Security
Council Members, France, China, and Russia in
concert with the adoption of resolution 1441 that
further UN approval would be required before military
action would be legal,

Bearing in mind the request of Hans Blix, chief United
Nations inspector for chemical and biological
weapons, and Dr. Mohamed El Baradei, director of the
U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency, for several
more months to finish the inspections,

Expressing its grave concern at the most recent
developments with regards to Iraq and their
implications for international peace and security,

Expressing further concern about the proposed use of
force by certain Member States in spite of these
findings,

Aware of the build-up of military forces by the United
States, the United Kingdom and other Member States
in the Iraq area,

Having heard the statement by the United States
Ambassador to the UN that he believes that resolution
1441 "does not constrain any Member State from
acting to defend itself against the threat posed by Iraq,
or to enforce relevant UN resolutions,"

Noting that United States President Bush's has
stated his intention to forcibly disarm Saddam Hussein
even without obtaining an additional Security Council
resolution,

Noting that officials of the governments of the United
States and the United Kingdom have stated that they
may use force against Iraq without an additional
Security Council resolution,

Noting that the Security Council is unable to adopt a
resolution preventing the use of force against Iraq
because of the exercise of the veto by some of the
Council's permanent Members,

Noting that Security Council resolution 1441 does not
authorize the use of force against Iraq,

Noting that certain Member States have indicated that
they will bypass the Security Council in using force
against Iraq,

Convinced therefore that the Security Council because
of lack of unanimity of the permanent Members cannot
exercise it primary responsibility for the maintenance
of international peace and security in a case where
there appears to be a threat to the peace, breach of
the peace, or act of aggression,

1. Reaffirms the right of the people of Iraq to human
rights in accordance with the Charter, including the
right to determine their own future and form of
government;

2. Reaffirms that territorial integrity is a fundamental
principle of the Charter of the UN, and any violation of
that principle is contrary to the Charter;

3. Reiterates the intentions and strategies approved by
the Security Council in its resolution 1441;

4. Declares that military action against Iraq without a
Security Council resolution authorizing such action is
contrary to the UN Charter and customary international
law;

5. Calls upon Iraq to comply fully with the UNMOVIC
weapons inspections regime;

6. Deplores the latest attempts by certain Security
Council Members to undermine the international
consensus achieved in Security Council resolution
1441(2002);

7. Condemns any use of force against Iraq without
Security Council approval;

8. Urges the United States, the United Kingdom and
other Member States to act according to their
obligations under the principles of the Charter and
international law, and therefore to not employ force
against Iraq without Security Council approval;

9. Calls upon Member States to act in accordance with
the principles of the UN Charter especially by
respecting state sovereignty and the principle of non-
aggression;

10. Requests Member States to cooperate fully in the
carrying out of this resolution;

11. Requests the Secretary-General to keep Member
States informed as to the progress of the
implementation of this resolution.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

JULES LOBEL lobel at law.pitt.edu
MICHAEL RATNER 212-243-3805/mratner at igc.org
STEVEN WATT 212-614-6430/smwatt at ccr-ny.org

**************************************************

Uniting For Peace
Russian Duma, Many Others, Call For UN "Uniting For Peace"

by Jeremy Brecher; March 20, 2003

US LAUNCHES PREEMPTIVE ATTACK AGAINST UN
GENERAL ASSEMBLY

All over the world, governments and civil society
groups are proposing to take the US-led attack on
Iraq to the UN General Assembly under a procedure
known as "Uniting for Peace." The US is so alarmed
that it has launched a preemptive attack with a
letter to all countries in the world which "demands"
that they avoid "calls for an emergency session of
the General Assembly.

Here's a report on the US efforts to block "Uniting
for Peace," followed by reports from around the
world on the effort to convene the UN General
Assembly to challenge US aggression against Iraq.


1. US PREMPTIVE ATTACK AGAINST A UN GENERAL
ASSEMBLY MEETING

The Chilean newspaper La Tercera reports that their
embassy in Washington received a letter from the
U.S., technically called a "non paper," that
"demands" that they "focus on the real challenges
that are to come and avoid provocative steps within
the Security Council such as condemning resolutions
or calls for an emergency session of the General
Assembly. Such steps will not change the path that
we are on, but will increase tensions, make divisions
deeper and could provoke more damage to the UN
and the Security Council."

US Ambassador to Chile Brownsfield confirmed that
the letter was sent, saying it was in the hopes of
"avoiding more diplomatic problems." He said it was
sent to all the countries of the world.

Although Ambasador Brownsfield has said that
Chile's position on the Security Council resolution
won't affect the Free Trade Deal, he publicly
criticized Chile's last-minute proposal to give Iraq
more time to disarm. La Tercera says that after the
press conference, he told individual journalists
asking about whether there would be reprisals
against Chile in the future if they don't support the
U.S.: "I don't reject or accept anything. The future
will develop however it develops."

In Barbados, diplomatic sources said the US State
Department had sent an urgent note to regional
governments stressing that the US would see the
region's participation in such a meeting as "inimical
to its national interest." In Jamaica, foreign
ministry officials confirmed that the US Embassy in
Kingston had verbally passed on a message from
Washington that the Bush administration would
prefer that Jamaica stay away if the General
Assembly is in fact called into session. "My
understanding is that we were contacted by the US
Embassy asking us to refrain from giving support in
relationship to what they understand to be a
General Assembly meeting," junior foreign minister,
Delano Franklyn, told the Jamaica Observer.


2. RUSSIAN DUMA, MANY OTHERS, CALL FOR UN
"UNITING FOR PEACE"

UNITED NATIONS
Diplomats told CNN that "members of the U.N.'s
non-aligned nations - underdeveloped countries that
make up more than two-thirds of the U.N. - had
discussed calling an emergency session of the
General Assembly under the 'Uniting for Peace'
resolution."


RUSSIA
The State Duma, the lower house of the Russian
parliament, approved 226 to 101 a resolution calling
on the Russian president to seek a UN General
Assembly emergency session "due to the military
action launched by the United States and Britain
against Iraq." The same position is reportedly
shared by the upper chamber.

Chairman of the International Affairs Committee of
the Federation Council Mikhail Margelov "said it is
necessary to call urgently a session of the U.N.
General Assembly." Head of the Defense and
Security Committee Viktor Ozerov expressed anxiety
for "an explosion in the Moslem world, and this will
lead to stepped-up operations of international
terrorists." First deputy chairman of the Industrial
Policy Committee Sergaei Shatirov said the General
Assembly should take into account the threat of a
serious ecological disaster that "can affect land, air
and water" connected with fires at oil deposits and
wells which could affect the atmosphere in Russia.


MAYLASIA
Malaysia, current chairman of the 116-nation Non
Aligned Movement, condemned a US-led attack on
Iraq as "an illegal act of aggression." Acting Prime
Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that Malaysia,
in its capacity of the Non-Aligned Movement
chairman, "Will be consulting member countries of
NAM on the appropriate course of action."


INDONESIA
Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri called
on the UN Security Council to hold an emergency
meeting to urge the US and its allies to stop the
war. "If that was not possible, the UN General
Assembly should meet to discuss the issue, Mrs.
Megawati said after a special cabinet meeting."


BRAZIL
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has
been "speaking to regional and international leaders
- including U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan -
about the possibility of summoning those world
leaders opposed to war to a meeting of the General
Assembly to discuss alternatives to armed conflict."


AUSTRALIA
Leader of the Democrats in the Australian
parliament, Senator Andrew Bartlett, called on
governments to use Resolution 377 (Uniting for
Peace) to put war in Iraq before the UN General
Assembly. "The assembly could mandate, for
example, that the inspection regime be permitted to
complete its inspections. An overwhelming vote
against war by the nations of the world would
increase the pressure on the United States, United
Kingdom and Australia to reconsider."


PAKISTAN
At a seminar in Islamabad speakers including a
former Air Force Chief and a former Secretary
General of Foreign Affairs, the speakers advocated
that "The matter should be taken to the UN General
Assembly and war should be averted by gaining
two-thirds majority in the Assembly."


VATICAN
Archbishop Renato Martino, head of the Vatican's
justice and peace council and for 16 years Vatican
representative to the UN, said that the UN General
Assembly could hold an emergency session of all its
members. "In that case, all the countries could talk
and vote, and the entire international community
would face its responsibilities."


BRITAIN
British peace organization CND said, "The authority
of the UN has been destroyed. The CND calls upon
the UN to restore its own credibility by using the
resolution uniting for peace to call for a full general
assembly of the UN and to question this war."


WOMEN
Thousands of women from women's organizations in
over 35 countries demonstrated in New Delhi,
demanding that "UN member states use their power
to carry out the emergency application of resolution
377 to convene the UN General Assembly to stop
the bombing and avoid catastrophe." Women from
Syria, Russia, China, Germany, Sweden, France,
Canada, and Turkey among others participated.


GREENPEACE
The Greepeace flagship Rainbow Warrior blocked the
U.S Navy vessel Cape Horn from delivering arms for
the war against Iraq. "Greenpeace is calling on all
members of the United Nations to prevent Spain,
the U.K. and the U.S. from undermining the UN
Charter by waging an illegal war on Iraq.
Greenpeace said all 191 members of the UN General
Assembly should use UN resolution 377, known as
'Uniting for Peace,' to call an emergency session." In
Japan, Greenpeace Japan called on the government
to promote the Uniting for Peace resolution. In
Washington DC, Greenpeace demonstrators called
for a "Uniting for Peace" resolution.


**************************************************

US Government Taking Notice of "Uniting for Peace"
Resolution
Synopsis

The United States Government has responded to the
possibility of a "Uniting for Peace Resolution"
reaching the floor of the General Assembly by sending
a pre-emptive letter to countries around the world
demanding that they ignore calls for the resolution.
The measure, first proposed by CCR and backed by
Greenpeace and other organizations, calls for invoking
a little known resolution that can prevent aggressive
wars in the event that the UN Security Council is
deadlocked.

Support for the "Uniting for Peace" Resolution
is growing through out the world. The measure allows
the United Nations General Assembly to step in and
prevent aggressive wars and acts when the Security
Council is unable to do so. While the War with Iraq
has already started, the resolution has in the past
been used to stop wars already in progress.

Seemingly very concerned about the possibility of this
resolution being brought to the UN floor and passing,
the US government has sent a letter to all nations of
the world demanding that they avoid "calls for an
emergency session of the General Assembly [which]
will not change the path that we are on, but will
increase tensions, make divisions deeper and could
provoke more damage to the UN." Chile, Barbados,
and Jamaica acknowledged receiving the high-
pressure letter and Russia's lower House of
Parliament approved 226 to 101 a resolution calling on
the Russian president to seek a UN General Assembly
emergency session. Other countries are also
supportive.

The Center for Constitutional Rights and Greenpeace
have been calling on all members of the United
Nations to uphold the UN Charter by holding an
Emergency Session of the General Assembly to avoid,
and now stop, the illegal war on Iraq by using UN
resolution 377, 'Uniting for Peace'. The resolution
allows the General Assembly to call an emergency
session because the Security Council is split on the
issue of how to maintain international peace and
security. More than 27,000 people from 119 countries
have written various UN missions.
While in the U.N. system the Security Council has the
primary responsibility for maintaining international
peace and security throughout the world, another
procedure exists to ensure peace when the Council
fails to do so. That procedure, the Uniting for Peace
resolution, allows the General Assembly to meet to
consider the threat to international peace and it can
then recommend collective measures to U.N. Members
to maintain or restore peace.

If one U.N. Member State requests that a meeting be
convened to consider adoption of such a resolution
and either seven Members of the Security Council or a
majority of the Members of the General Assembly
agree, an emergency special session will be called
and the General Assembly will come together to
discuss the threat to international peace. CCR and
Greenpeace are seeking to find the requisite support
for the convening of such a session. The resolution
has been invoked ten times in the past 50 years.
Petition the UN General Assembly to hold an
Emergency Session to:

STOP THE WAR NOW!! 

Go to: http://ufp.nucifera.org/anglais.htm
http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/reports/report.asp?ObjID=o3ONGr1exC&Content=207

According to Steve Sawyer, spokesman for
Greenpeace at the United Nations headquarters in
New York, "It's clear that the United States and
United Kingdom [could] not succeed in ramming
through a resolution to go to war. Yet it's also clear
that, even without UN backing, those countries intend
to wage a reckless war which [will] make the world a
much more dangerous place. It's now up to all the
world's countries, not just a few of the powerful, to
meet together to avert this ... war."

"If it wanted the world to be ruled by the cowboy
with the biggest guns, the international community
wouldn't have created the UN in the first
place," added Sawyer. "The UN, including the
General Assembly, was created to preserve the rule of
law and promote multilateralism. It's time the UN fully
exercises its mandate and unites as a whole to defend
its founding principles and stop the ... attack on Iraq,
which [is] the most horrific example of unilateralism. It
must take this last chance for peace," he added.


"One person can make a difference" -- Dennis Kucinich
http://Kucinich.us

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Kucinich4President-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com