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Uniting for Peace to Resolve the Iraq Crisis




If the UN Security Council can't win a vote for the French-German Plan,
they can take it to the General Assembly and prevent the war!


The French and German resolution for Iraq includes increased inspections, and U.N. peacekeepers on the ground. It is the next rational step to disarming Iraq as opposed to the Bush Administration's War plans. If there is enough world wide support, it could be taken to the U.N. general assembly as outlined in Resolution 377 and thus bypass any veto by the Bush Administration.

The response to the French ambassador's speach after the latest weapons report seems to indicate that there is a high likelihood of the General Assembly accepting it. With U.N. inspectors on the ground, the goal of averting war and disarming Iraq peacefully will have been reached.

"In a Nutshell: The General Assembly could approve the Franco-German proposal for UN peacekeeping action in Iraq, which would effectively block aggression. The procedure is called the Uniting for Peace resolution. Any member of the UN can call for a peacekeeping action under this procedure if the Security Council are in disagreement."

Please act, send an E-mail, make a telephone call, send a fax, unite with the world to stop a US-preemptive-led invasion that could harm us all.



Here's a sample letter: Kofi Annan's email address is sg@un.org

Dear Kofi Annan,

I am very grateful for your recent appeals for the UN Security Council to act in unity over Iraq. Unfortunately, it may not be possible for the UNSC to agree. I am writing to ask that in that situation, you consider a further step, that is, to convene an emergency session of the General Assembly under the "Uniting for Peace" mechanism.

I know you are working hard to avoid War, and also to maintain the integrity of the United Nations. A majority of people and nations in the world support you in this.

Please consider this suggestion very urgently and seriously.

Sincerely

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Also, please write to the UN Delegates for the same objective:
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UN Delegates email addresses:

afghanistan@un.int, albania@un.int, algeria@un.int, andorra@un.int,angola@un.int, antigua@un.int, argentina@un.int, armenia@un.int,australia@un.int, austria@un.int, azerbaijan@un.int, bahamas@un.int,bahrain@un.int, bangladesh@un.int, barbados@un.int, belarus@un.int,belgium@un.int, belize@un.int, benin@un.int, bhutan@un.int, bolivia@un.int,bosnia@un.int, botswana@un.int, braun@delbrasonu.org, brunei@un.int,bulgaria@un.int, burkinafaso@un.int, burundi@un.int, caf@un.int,cambodia@un.int, cameroon@un.int, canada@un.int, capeverde@un.int,chad@un.int, chile@un.int, china@un.int, colombia@un.int, comoros@un.int,congo@un.int, costarica@un.int, croatia@un.int, cuba@un.int, cyprus@un.int,czechrepublic@un.int, delun@mfa.no, denmark@un.int, djibouti@nyct.net,dominica@un.int, dprk@un.int, dr@un.int, drcongo@un.int, elsalvador@un.int,eqguinea@un.int, ecuador@un.int, egypt@un.int, eritrea@un.int, estonia@un.int,ethiopia@un.int, fiji@un.int, finland@un.int, france@un.int, gabon@un.int,gambia@un.int, georgia@un.int, germany@un.int, ghana@un.int, greece@un.int,grenada@un.int, guatemala@un.int, guinea@un.int, guyana@un.int, haiti@un.int,honduras@un.int, hungary@un.int, iceland@un.int, india@un.int,indonesia@un.int, iran@un.int, iraq@un.int, ireland@un.int, italy@un.int,ivorycoast@un.int, jamaica@un.int, japan@un.int, jordan@un.int,kazakhstan@un.int, kenya@un.int, korea@un.int, kyrgyzstan@un.int, laos@un.int,latvia@un.int, lebanon@un.int, lesotho@un.int, liberia@un.int, libya@un.int,liechtenstein@un.int, lithuania@un.int, luxembourg@un.int, macedonia@un.int,madagascar@un.int, malawi@un.int, malaysia@un.int, maldives@un.int,mali@un.int, malta@un.int, marshallislands@un.int, mauritania@un.int,mauritius@un.int, mexico@un.int, micronesia@un.int, moldova@un.int,monaco@un.int, mongolia@un.int, morocco@un.int, mozambique@un.int,myanmar@un.int, namibia@un.int, nepal@un.int, netherlands@un.int,newzealand@un.int, nicaragua@un.int, niger@un.int, nigeria@un.int,oman@un.int, pakistan@un.int, palau@un.int, panama@un.int, paraguay@un.int,peru@un.int, philippines@un.int, png@un.int, poland@un.int, portugal@un.int,qatar@un.int, romania@un.int, rusun@un.int, rwanda@un.int, samoa@un.int,sanmarino@un.int, senegal@un.int, seychelles@un.int, sierraleone@un.int,singapore@un.int, slovakia@un.int, slovenia@un.int, solomonislands@un.int,somalia@un.int, southafrica@un.int, spain@un.int, srilanka@un.int,stkn@un.int, stlucia@un.int, stp@un.int, stvg@un.int, sudan@un.int,suriname@un.int, swaziland@un.int, sweden@un.int, syria@un.int,tajikistan@un.int, thailand@un.int, togo@un.int, tto@un.int, tunisia@un.int,turkey@un.int, turkmenistan@un.int, uganda@un.int, ukraine@un.int, uae@un.int,uruguay@un.int, uzbekistan@un.int, vanuatu@un.int, venezuela@un.int,vietnam@un.int, yemen@un.int, yugoslavia@un.int, zambia@un.int,zimbabwe@un.int, mission@palestine-un.org, Saudi-Mission@un.int, aalcc@un.int,caribcomun@un.int, RedCrossCommittee@un.int, ec@un.int, francophonie@un.int,holysee@un.int, ilo@un.int, isa@un.int, seaun@un.int, las@un.int, oau@un.int,oic@un.int, switzerland@un.int

Dear Ambassador,

I am very grateful for your recent resistance to a proposed 2nd resolution leading to War. Unfortunately, it may not be possible for the UNSC to agree, despite the efforts of all those for Peace. I support your position that peaceful disarmament can still be achieved. I am writing to ask that in the current situation, you consider a further step, that is, to request the convening of an emergency session of the General Assembly under the "Uniting for Peace" mechanism.

The General Assembly can stop 'the scourge of war'. I know you are working to maintain the integrity of the United Nations. A majority of people and nations in the world support you in this. Please consider this suggestion very urgently and seriously.

Yours sincerely



3) Uniting for Peace - Demand a UN Emergency Session

If ever there was a need for the United Nations to rise to the challenge it was conceived to meet, now is that time. . . Through Resolution 377A, the "Uniting for Peace" resolution, the General Assembly may be the last hope for disarming Iraq peaceably and stopping the US war machine." You can link to the Greenpeace action to contact your UN ambassadors to support this resolution!

Demands for a UN emergency session is on the rise, but no nation has yet stepped forth to get the ball rolling. However many have expressed their support for the Uniting for Peace resolution, which would bring all nations of the General Assembly together to demand an end to the war. But the resolution needs even more support NOW, because the US has begun an active lobbying campaign against it.

In March 2003 the Russian Duma, the President of Indonesia, several European countries and the vast majority of African, Asian, and Latin American countries have expressed support for an emergency session.

UN General Assembly President Jan Kavan of the Czech Republic said he thought it "very likely" that a special session would be called. But we can't just leave this to "likely." It's important that a Uniting for Peace resolution passes to show the overwhelming opposition of the world's countries to this war and to make abundantly clear its illegality.

We're part of what the New York Times has called the "new second superpower": world opinion, and it is time our voices were listened to.

Urge your UN Ambassador to support an emergency session under the Uniting for Peace resolution:

http://act.greenpeace.org/aas/e?a=ufp&s=amb_s

Send an E-card to your friends, colleagues, fellow students, and family asking them to take action too: http://act.greenpeace.org/ecs/s2?i=730&sk=std

Urgent Peace Opportunity

Thanks to an initiative from the Arab League, the UN is not hiding its head in the sand over the war in Iraq. We now have a crucial opportunity for the world to condemn the war in Iraq.

On Wednesday, 26 March, there was an 'open session' of the UN Security Council, and members are expected to put forward a resolution condemning the war and calling for a ceasefire. The debate is expected to carry on until Thursday, but it is clear that any such resolution will be vetoed by the US and UK.

Arab League Foreign Ministers, as well as their colleagues in the non-Aligned Movement, have said that if there is no Security Council resolution, they will invoke Resolution 377 ('Uniting for Peace'), and call for an Emergency Session of the UN General Assembly, where a resolution calling for an end to the war would get overwhelming support.

We have chosen several countries whose support for this move is key to its success. Any country that puts this forward, will have to be able to withstand diplomatic and economic blackmail from the US and the UK in order to exercise their democratic right to speak on behalf of their people.

Please use this link:

http://act.greenpeace.org/ams/e?a=733&s=wr

to write to the Foreign Ministers of Cuba, South Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia, Nigeria, New Zealand, Switzerland, Fiji, Mexico, Chile, Germany, Russia, and France, and ask them to support 'Uniting for Peace'.

For more details on Uniting for Peace from Greenpeace, see:
http://www.greenpeace.org/international_en/news/details?item_id=179491



Center for Constitutional Rights – Action Alert!

Stop The War on Iraq


CCR is asking for your help in a very important action. We hope to create a movement in support of the adoption of a Uniting for Peace Resolution by the United Nations General Assembly to prevent an attack on Iraq by the United States, the United Kingdom and other nations. If even one country requests such a meeting, that alone can trigger this procedure. 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. We are hoping to find the requisite support for the convening of such a session. The United States and the United Kingdom have become increasingly vocal about their willingness to use force against Iraq without explicit Security Council authorization. Because of the veto power of these two countries, the Security Council will be stymied in its responsibility to maintain international peace and security in the Persian Gulf. In these circumstances, the General Assembly has the right and indeed the responsibility to assume this duty.

We urge you to contact your U.N. representative, other members of your government, and other governments to request that they write to the Secretary-General to call for an emergency special session under the Uniting for Peace Resolution. Please also circulate these materials to other groups and individuals and encourage them to do the same.

To find e-mail addresses of UN Permanent Missions go to:
http://home.online.no/~oelpeleg/email.htm

To find postal addresses of UN Permanent Missions go to:
http://www.rhsmun.org/papers/Permanent_Mission_Addresses.pdf

To read more about this initiative, see this following URL link:
http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/whatsnew/report.asp?ObjID=0hZHHegENn&Content=186

For further information, please contact:
smwatt@ccr-ny.org


A U.N. Alternative to War: "Uniting for Peace"

In the last few months, the Bush Administration has been unyielding in its march towards war, over the objections of some allies and despite the efforts of the United Nations. In response to France's threat that it would veto efforts by the United States to obtain a U.N. resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq, President Bush said the United States would lead a "coalition of the willing to disarm Saddam Hussein." Prime Minister Tony Blair stated that the United States and Britain reserved the right to use force against Iraq--- even if a Security Council member vetoed a resolution authorizing the use of force. It now seems obvious that the United States, with some other countries, may soon go to war despite a veto; or, alternatively, go to war without returning to the Security Council and risking a veto. But for people around the world terrified that a new war in Iraq is inevitable, there may yet be hope. And that hope lies in a little-discussed mechanism of the United Nations itself—which, although it seems marginalized by American power, has the potential to stop the war.

The Charter gives the Security Council "the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security." But the Security Council is currently unable to carry out this responsibility in light of U.S. plans to attack Iraq. The Council is stymied: The United States may bypass the Council entirely. And, if the Council tries to obtain passage of a resolution prohibiting the United States from using unauthorized force against Iraq, the United States or Britain will surely veto it.

Long ago, the members of the United Nations recognized that such impasses would occur in the Security Council. They set up a procedure for insuring that such stalemates would not prevent the United Nations from carrying out its mission to "maintain international peace and security." In 1950, the United Nations by an almost unanimous vote adopted Resolution 377, the wonderfully named "Uniting for Peace." The United States played an important role in that resolutions adoption, concerned about the possibilities of vetoes by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Uniting for Peace provides that if, because of the lack of unanimity of the permanent members of the Security Council (France, China, Russia, Britain, United States), the Council cannot maintain international peace where there is a "threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression," the General Assembly "shall consider the matter immediately…." The General Assembly can meet within 24 hours to consider such a matter, and can recommend collective measures to U.N. members including the use of armed forces to "maintain or restore international peace and security."

The Uniting for Peace resolution procedure has been used ten times since 1950. Its first use was by the United States. After Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956 Britain and France attacked and occupied parts of the canal. Cease-fire resolutions in the Security Council were quickly vetoed by Britain and France. The United States went to the General Assembly calling for a cease-fire and a withdrawal of forces. An emergency session was held under the "Uniting for Peace" resolution; the U.S. resolution and subsequently an even stronger resolution passed the General Assembly. In the face of these resolutions it took less then a week for Britain and France to withdraw.

Uniting for Peace was next used by the United States to pressure the Soviet Union to cease its intervention in Hungary in 1956. The Soviet Union had used its veto to prevent the passage of an anti-intervention resolution in the Security Council. Again, an emergency session of the General Assembly was held and the Soviet Union was ordered to stop its intervention in Hungary.

In the current impasse over Iraq in the Security Council, Uniting for Peace can and should be used. The General Assembly should consider taking action with regard to the threat to the peace posed by U.S. military action against Iraq taken without U.N. authority. It could require that no military action be taken against Iraq without the explicit authority of the Security Council. It could mandate that the inspection regime be permitted to complete its inspections. It seems unlikely that the United States and Britain would ignore such a measure. A vote by the majority of countries in the world, particularly if it were almost unanimous, would make the unilateral rush to war more difficult.

Uniting for Peace can be invoked either by seven members of the Security Council or by a majority of the members of the General Assembly. This gives those who oppose unilateral war a real opportunity for activism. People everywhere in the world can lobby their governments to bring on such a resolution. This effort can become a worldwide effort to, as the UN Charter so eloquently states, "save succeeding generations form the scourge of war."

Michael Ratner
President, Center for Constitutional Rights
212 243 3805

Jules Lobel
Professor, Univ. of Pittsburgh Law School
1 412 648 1375

http://www.danirak.dk/english/ratner_final_op_ed_uniting.htm




(Please send a copy of your letters to info@flybynews.com for possible posting. Please mention if you wish for us to post your name and/or contact information.)

Sample letters:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Ambassador Greenstock:

As an American citizen who has been trying to change my government's position by demonstrating and other means, I implore you to do anything in your power to stop a military solution to the situation in Iraq. I support any resolutions for extended/stepped-up
inspections, and, if necessary, a veto of any war resolution presented by my government.

Thank you,

Richard
IL, USA

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Honorable United Nations Representatives:

I urge you to write to the Secretary-General to call for an emergency special session under the Uniting for Peace Resolution.

I sincerely applaud your determination to present the people of the world with a new vision for conflict resolution and to lead all nations' leaders toward building a safer, more just and sustainable world.

Because of the terrible arsenal of weapons humanity has devised, it is not necessary to even raise the detestable euphemism of "collateral damage" in any argument against the use of force. It is simply pain, devastation and death we are talking about. Let's avoid needlessly being the cause of unimaginable suffering for other beings. If we can. Any time the seeds of force are sown excessively or unnecessarily, the fruit brought forth are grapes of wrath.

The evolution of life, the occupation of ever higher elevations on the fitness landscape, cannot continue lest we forego use of deadly weapons of mass destruction as a start, and then devote our creative energies to solving the many other critical problems that we as a species are presently facing. Growing numbers of people recognize this: Our children's future ultimately demands that all weapons of this kind be put away for good.

There is really only one source of security, and that is the peace of trust and justice when all the world's people live with respect for each other's right to self-determination.

Personally, I've always been most powerfully persuaded when led by example.

Please continue to be guided by love of this precious planet, all the life forms here and of our own flawed, but tremendously creative species. May you lead us all toward peace.

Sincerely
Hank Whitsett
Deer Isle Maine USA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear United Nations Member and Government Leaders,

I am writing to reqest your input for a pro-active role for a peaceful resolution regarding the crisis in Iraq. Please support the German-French plan for increased inspections and continued containment of Iraq's potential weapons of mass destruction. Please encourage your country to support a plan for a united world where preemptive attacks that can harm thousands or millions of innocent people are outlawed and discouraged. As an USA citizen, I implore you to stop my country of making a bad precedent that would increase terror in our world. Please help stop this war and maintain a united peace.

Please consider exploring the resources on this issue at FlybyNews.com.

With kind regards,

Jonathan Mark
editor, publisher
http://www.flybynews.com


THE APOLOGY

[Editor's note: The APOLOGY had circulated widely over the web, forming a sort of a consensus, with many agreeing that the likely rationale behind the Bush foreign policy is to engage Armageddon, and maintain a corrupt power over the US and world. Please feel free to copy and send this anonymously written statement to UN member states and request a pro-active "Uniting for Peace" action to stop a US invasion on Iraq!]


THE APOLOGY - From the heart of the United States, we extend a profound apology to the rest of the world for the serious failure of our political system.

While not receiving a majority of the popular vote and selected by the Supreme Court rather than elected, we nevertheless have ended up with a sociopath as President surrounded by religious fanatics who actively seek war and others who seek to destroy our democracy and impose authoritarian values.

This group is taking the world down the path to an Armageddon that they believe is the necessary and appropriate end to the world as we know it.

They hate life, believe themselves to be flawed by sin, and long for a divine intervention that will make them rulers of an Earth transformed by the absence of earthiness.

They care nothing for the environment because there won't be an environment when they are done.

They do not care about international law and a preemptive U.S. strike as precedent because there will be no such law under the elevated "Christian" rule.

They do not worry that an invasion of Iraq may cause outrage in the Muslim world and spread the conflict because such an expansion is part of the necessary script.

They do not worry about later retaliation by those angered at an invasion of Iraq because all such lesser beings will be under their unbreakable domination after the final battle.

They do not worry about how to govern a post-war Iraq because they will be ruling the entire world and everyone will appear before them on bended knee. They do not worry about Iraq or the U.S. initiating the use of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction because use of such weapons is part of the Armageddon script.

They only thing they worry about is getting the war started before some force can prevent their usurpation of everyone's future.

At home, civil liberties are quickly being erased in favor of absolute government to prevent democratic discussion of and opposition to the coming holocaust and to practice for their coming domination of the world.

We lack an appropriate political mechanism for removing these dangerous people from power. We do not have the opportunity to vote no confidence, as the Australian Senate did.

The once proud Democratic Party is coopted and corrupted by corporate contributions and eager to beat the drums of war in hopes of being popular.

The once independent media is now a corporate conglomerate that closes more doors to truth than it opens.

Our people are fed lies big and small and lack access to the information they need to understand what is happening in our country.

Flush with the wealth exploited from the planet they seek to kill, our government and corporations bribe, buy, or otherwise coerce smaller and more fragile governments into ignorantly supporting the coming destruction.

All we can do is appeal to those outside our country to save the world from our government. Even though we will not hear about it from our media, march in your streets. Even though we will not hear about it from our media, expose the lies being told by our government and others. Even though we will not hear about it in our media, talk about Armageddon so people will know where the madness is leading. Urge your government to vote no on any U.N. resolution furthering the Armageddon agenda.

We will continue to reach out to our fellow citizens within the limitations imposed on our society and do our part to bring sanity back to the human family and protect all life. Our apology is an expression of our love for and unity with that family and the living Earth.

-- Concerned Citizens of America -- BREATHE in and BREATHE out
LIGHT and LOVE daily. ALL IS WELL.


What Can the World Do if the US Attacks Iraq?

by Jeremy Brecher -
published by portside
March 7, 2003

If the US attacks Iraq without support of the UN Security Council, will the world be powerless to stop it? The answer is no. Under a procedure called "Uniting for Peace," the UN General Assembly can demand an immediate ceasefire and withdrawal. The global peace movement should consider demanding such an action.

When Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956, Britain, France, and Israel invaded Egypt and began advancing on the Suez Canal. U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower demanded that the invasion stop. Resolutions in the UN Security Council called for a cease-fire - but Britain and France vetoed them. Then the United States appealed to the General Assembly and proposed a resolution calling for a cease-fire and a withdrawal of forces. The General Assembly held an emergency session and passed the resolution. Britain and France withdrew from Egypt within a week.

The appeal to the General Assembly was made under a procedure called "Uniting for Peace." This procedure was adopted by the Security Council so that the UN can act even if the Security Council is stalemated by vetoes. Resolution 377 provides that, if there is a "threat to peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression" and the permanent members of the Security Council do not agree on action, the General Assembly can meet immediately and recommend collective measures to U.N. members to "maintain or restore international peace and security." The "Uniting for Peace" mechanism has been used ten times, most frequently on the initiative of the United States.

The Bush Administration is currently promoting a Security Council resolution that it claims will authorize it to attack Iraq. However, huge opposition from global public opinion and most of the world's governments make such a resolution's passage unlikely.

What will happen if the US withdraws its resolution or the resolution is defeated? The US is currently indicating that it will attack Iraq even without Security Council approval. The US would undoubtedly use its veto should the Security Council attempt to condemn and halt its aggression. But the US has no veto in the General Assembly.


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The views expressed herein are the writers' own and not necessarily those of Flyby News.

Your feedback, networking Flyby News, and forwarding us articles of interest, are welcomed and appreciated. You can write to the publisher/editor Jonathan Mark info@flybynews.com



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