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Greens Endorse 'Uniting for Peace' Resolution on Postwar Iraq. |
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MEDIA RELEASE Joining the Uniting for Peace Coalition, U.S. Greens call for the U.S. to withdraw from Iraq and urge the U.N. to play the central role in restoring peace and security. WASHINGTON, D.C.-- The Green Party of the United States has endorsed an international petition to the United Nations calling on the Security Council to insist that the central authority and responsibility for restoring peace and security in Iraq rest with the United Nations as stipulated by its Charter. The Uniting for Peace Coalition's petition, which many individual Greens have already signed, can be read at http://www.uniting-for-peace-net. Objecting to the draft petition by the U.S., U.K. and Spain currently before the Security Council, the Uniting for Peace Coalition calls on the Security Council to approve an alternate resolution that would give the U.N. primary authority in Iraq over humanitarian relief, Iraq's reconstruction, and the formation of a new government. "The petition recognizes that the Security Council, subject to the U.S.'s veto power, is unlikely to adopt a resolution based on measures to restore peace and security contained in the petition and in support of the U.N. Charter and international law," said Jason Crane, chair of the Green Party of Monroe County, New York. "But the member states of the U.N. may convene an Emergency Meeting of the General Assembly, under the provisions of General Assembly Resolution 377, 'Uniting for Peace' to authorize actions for peace and security." Such measures include immediate withdrawal of occupying forces and deployment of U.N. Peacekeepers; U.N. coordination of humanitarian relief services; the return of U.N. weapons inspectors; and establishment of a legitimate Iraqi government with equitable participation of women in compliance with Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000). The petition also calls for reparations to the Iraqi people for damages cause by the unlawful use of force and for the U.N. to ensure the removal of depleted uranium, cluster bombs, and un-detonated munitions. "Through the Uniting for Peace Coalition, we are speaking for millions of people in the U.S. and around the world who protested the invasion of Iraq as a violation of the U.N. Charter and a transparent attempt to secure control of Iraq's vast oil resources," said Ben Manski, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States. "While our immediate concern now is for the people of Iraq, we also seek to restore the central role of the U.N. and international law in resolving future conflicts peacefully." Greens are especially concerned that military aggression in Iraq not be rewarded. The petition urges the U.N. to prohibit the invading powers and their corporations from profiting from this war. "We want the U.N. to confirm the Nuremburg principle that 'preventive' and 'preemptive' war as practiced by the U.S. and its allies is a violation of international law, as embodied in the U.N.'s Charter and principles" said Annie Goeke, co-chair of the party's International Committee. "Without such clear affirmation, we will be thrust back into the nineteenth century world of endless national conquest in service of 'strategic interests.'" This petition urges the U.N. to make the Middle East a "zone of peace," free of all weapons of mass destruction and foreign occupation. This language is an implicit reference to US ally Israel's possession of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons and occupation of Palestinian land, as well as to the recent US occupation of Iraq. In addition to Green Party of the United States, the Uniting for Peace Coalition includes international N.G.O.s, the Center for Constitutional Law, Greenpeace, the Institute for Policy Study, and numerous human rights and peace groups. MORE INFORMATION search: fpol, dpol, irq, pce |