An emergency session of the UN General Assembly has been called for by Action for UN Renewal. On ten previous occasions when the Security Council was unable to deal effectively with a threat to the peace such emergency sessions of the General assembly have been called.
The nations of the world now face a "threat to the peace" from the United States and the United Kingdom who have carried out an enormous military build-up in support of almost daily threats to attack Iraq. The Security Council has found itself unable to address this problem. It is even possible that it may vote in favour of a clear act of aggression which would be strictly outside international law as expressed in the Charter of the United Nations.
An emergency session is permissible under Resolution 377, also known as the Uniting for Peace Resolution. It can be invoked either by the call of seven members of the Security Council or by a majority of the members of the General Assembly (96).
We are today writing to Ambassadors to the United Nations urging them to call for an emergency session of the United Nations General Assembly, and call on people around the world to urge their governments to call for this emergency meeting.
Jim Addington, (Chair: Action for UN Renewal) Tel. 020-8399-2547 (UK) Action for UN Renewal campaigns for a more effective United Nations.
A U.N. ALTERNATIVE TO WAR: "UNITING FOR PEACE"
Michael Ratner, President, Center for Constitutional Rights, Jules Lobel Professor,
University of Pittsburgh Law School, Znet Daily Commentaries, February 8, 2003
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. It now seems inevitable that the United States, with some other
countries, may soon engage in armed conflict in Iraq. But for people around
the world terrified by the current conflict, there may be hope yet. That hope
lies in a little-discussed mechanism of the United Nations which, although it
seems marginalized by American power, has the potential to stop the war.
In 1950, the Security Council set up a procedure for insuring that stalemates
between countries would not prevent the United Nations from carrying out its
mission to "maintain international peace and security." With the United
States playing an important role in its adoption, the Council adopted Resolution
377, the aptly named "Uniting for Peace" in an almost unanimous vote.
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 language of Uniting
for Peace would also allow its use even if the Security Council approved the
use of force against Iraq. It can be employed "if the Security Council...fails
to exercise its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international
peace and security..."
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. (The General Assembly could also act, as stated
earlier, if the Security Council authorized a war that was a "threat to
international peace and security.") 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."
A draft resolution and other supporting Uniting for Peace documents are on www.ccr-ny.org
These are from http://www.action-for-un-renewal.org.uk/
What follows is a comma delimited list of email addresses of UN ambassadors' addresses. Please copy and paste these into the "To:" field in your email programme and send them the following (or some similar) email:
Dear Ambassador,
As the representative of a nation sitting on the UN Security Council, I request that you ask the General Assembly to invoke the Uniting for Peace Resolution (UN Resolution 377), which empowers the General Assembly to act to keep or restore the peace when the Security Council, due to lack of agreement among the permanent members, is not able to do so.
Within 24 hours of a stalemate in the Security Council, the General Assembly can meet to consider the matter. The General Assembly can recommend collective measures to "maintain or restore international peace and security.
The Uniting for Peace Resolution has been used ten times since 1950. I believe that such action would be supported by the vast majority of the citizens of all UN member nations.
Please, the fate of the world is in your hands.
for the Earth
John Seed
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, Brazil@un.int, Brunei@un.int, Bulgaria@un.int, Burkinafaso@un.int, Burundi@un.int, Cambodia@un.int, Cameroon@un.int, Canada@un.int, Capeverde@un.int, caf@un.int, Chad@un.int, Chile@un.int, China@un.int, Colombia@un.int, Comoros@un.int, Congo@un.int, Costarica@un.int, ivorycoast@un.int, Croatia@un.int, Cuba@un.int, Cyprus@un.int, Czechrepublic@un.int, Drcongo@un.int, Denmark@un.int, Djibouti@un.int, Dominica@un.int, dr@un.int, Ecuador@un.int, Egypt@un.int, ElSalvador@un.int, EqGuinea@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, Guinea-Bissau@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, Israel@un.int, Italy@un.int, Jamaica@un.int, Japan@un.int, Jordan@un.int, Kazakhstan@un.int, Kenya@un.int, dprk@un.int, Korea@un.int, Kuwait@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, Norway@un.int, Oman@un.int, Pakistan@un.int, Palau@un.int, Panama@un.int, png@un.int, Paraguay@un.int, Peru@un.int, Philippines@un.int, Poland@un.int, Portugal@un.int, Qatar@un.int, Romania@un.int, Rwanda@un.int, rsun@un.int, Samoa@un.int, SanMarino@un.int, stp@un.int, SaudiArabia@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, 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, Tanzania@un.int, uk@un.int, usa@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,
Jim Addington, (Chair: Action for UN Renewal) Tel. 020-8399-2547 (UK) Action for UN Renewal campaigns for a more effective United Nations.