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Reference Resolutions 2007 and 2005 Chapter, SoCal Division and UNA National
Convention Adopted Texts
Page Revised 1/10/09 UNA-USA RESOLUTIONS Final approved S.11 Iraq resolution (taken from the Final Substantive Resolutions PDF document above) NUCLEAR POWER/ NUCLEAR ARMAMENTS Sponsored
by San Fernando Valley Chapter UNA-USA The 2007 Biennial National Convention of United Nations Association
of the United States of America
PEOPLE TO PEOPLE PROMOTION OF MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS The 2007 Biennial National Convention of the United Nations Association of the United States of America ENCOURAGED that the Millennium Development Goals adopted by the
192 UN member governments, the entire world family of nations,
symbolize HOPEFUL that the pleas of hundreds of millions of men and women through all nations for cessation of people to people war and brutality, will be heard by their nation leaders as a call for transition from investment in war---to investment in people-needs. CONVINCED that attainment of the Millennium Development Goals can be the reversal change of the current global descent into poverty and degradation---can boost and enable families who are struggling to survive. CONCERNED that governments of the prosperous nations may not respond
with ACKNOWLEDGING response to the Southern California Division Annual Meeting, the Coastal Alliance (Coastline, Harbor and Long Beach Chapters) has adopted a people-to-people project on share-responsibility for immigration reform in which they, with other organizations, will begin MDG promotion in their own neighborhoods, and across the Mexican border. Designating a school in a small border town in Mexico for adoption and sponsorship, this initial project will provide materials and mentorship in an effort to meet the educational needs of an extremely impoverished community. The National Convention of the United Nations Association of the
United States OFFERS public note of appreciation, commendation through the media, through participating organizations, and other venues, to and for, corporate leaders who effect MDG progress in third or fourth world towns or cities in which the corporation operates; APPEALS to the government of the United States to establish a
Peace Department in the US federal government structure, to provide
peacebuilding information, recruitment and support for government,
corporate, foundation, educational institutions and citizen organization
people-to-people, for profit and nonprofit peacebuilding efforts;
and further ASKS that the initial thrust of the new department be public information
and public participation projects and programs toward achievement
of the Millennium Goals; and
PRE-EMPTIVE WAR AND GENEVA CONVENTION VIOLATIONS Sponsored
by San Diego Chapter UNA-USA The 2007 Biennial National Convention of the United Nations Association of the United States of America… Noting that the current administration of the United States and several other nations have violated their endorsement of the UN Charter by proclaiming an unprecedented "right," not recognized in law, to pre-emptively attack nations claimed to constitute a threat; Recalling that our nation's ratification of the UN Charter obligates our government and other member nations to avoid the use of armed force except when: a) clearly in self-defense or; b) pursuant to a Security Council Resolution; while our Constitution vests "war powers" in the Congress, not in the executive branch of government alone; Troubled that the bypassing of such obligations, as with the invasion of Iraq, has caused untold suffering and the death of hundreds of thousands of civilians, alongside thousands of American and international war participants, and the vast drain of resources needed for constructive purposes in our world; Concerned that threats of “pre-emptive war” are again being circulated with regard to other nations, thereby threatening to take our world further into needless suffering and darkness, while building great debts and deficits of goodwill to darken the horizons of succeeding generations; The National Convention of the United Nations Association of the United States Therefore I. Urges our own administration and those of other UN member nations immediately cease all movement toward additional "pre-emptive" wars; II. Requests our national political leaders to redirect our national treasure - now being wasted upon speculative wars and drained via corruption and war-profiteering - toward humane and constructive uses, including urgent humanitarian needs at home and abroad; III. Calls upon the Attorney General of our nation and the magistrates of the International Criminal Court to proceed with the conviction of any persons that have violated international war crimes statutes or the Geneva Conventions, to assist our society in re-establishing basic principles of civilized and lawful conduct; IV. Demands an end to all unjust and illegal behavior being committed "in our name," and the creation of a just and humane world in its place; the creation of a world without war, made possible via the creation of greater social, political and economic justice. SECURITY AND SELF-DETERMINATION
OF IRAQI PEOPLES Rev. 3-12-07 Note: The Southern California Division Delegation voted to support Seattle's Resolution which was approved by the Convention delegates.
CONCERNED that our government pursues an accelerating military occupation and training/equipping---build-up---of a central government army in Iraq; QUESTIONING whether the development of a militarized central government, and our on-going construction of permanent Iraqi military bases may portend, to Iraqis and to the world, intent to establish permanent domination of the Iraqi people; KNOWING that the Kurdish people have expressed apprehension that powerful militarist central government might repeat the history of central government violation of international law and disregard for the rights of the Kurdish people; RECOGNIZING l. the Kurdish people’s need to secure the “equal
rights and self determination of peoples,” principle of the
United Nations Charter, Chapter 1 Article 1, and AWARE that Sunni armed opposition, to both occupation and to strong
centralized government, is impelled by: INFORMED by the British Defense Ministry of an August 2006 release of an authoritative Iraq University research poll estimated that 82% of Iraqis “strongly opposed” the presence of coalition troops; KNOWING that successive polls show strong United Nations support expressed by the American people, and that the US November national elections signaled determination to end occupation and armed intervention in Iraq; REALIZING that exit of occupation military forces is prerequisite to United Nations truce/peace building processes; The National Convention of the United Nations Association of the United States THEREFORE, CALLS ON The houses of the United States Congress to l. restore cooperative relations with the UN Security Council
to multilaterally achieve the end of military occupation of Iraq
through transition to established United Nations peace process; REQUESTS the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission: FURTHER REQUESTS that this resolution be communicated to Dr. Hans
Blix, president of the World Federation of United Nations Associations.
President George Bush, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and other appropriate
US and UN leaders.
WORK THROUGH
THE UNITED NATIONS - Rev. 3-12-07 Recognizing the benefits to the peoples of the world that United States leadership in the United Nations could offer, Realizing that United States’ goals---expressed mutually with the peoples of the United Nations in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals---may be achieved only by “working through the UN.” Aware that peacebuilding, the priority goal of the people of the United States in the international community, must be a common endeavor of the world’s peoples, We appeal to the members and leaders of the United Nations Association-USA and its affiliated Council of Organizations to reaffirm their determination to bring the USA into alignment with the192 other nations of the United Nations, in commitment and action to achieve these goals, and Pledge to the World Federation of United Nations Associations to unite our efforts to gain US government action to ‘work through the United Nations’ to:
First Priority---The United Nations Millennium Development Goal
For your information we are including this UNA-USA approved resolution. Note: This resolution (submitted by Seattle) is one of the Final Substantive Resolutions as adopted by The United Nations Association of the USA at the 2007 Biennial National Convention - February 28-March 4, 2007. The National Convention of the United Nations Association of the United States of America, Observing that the ongoing Iraq conflict has caused enormous civil strife in Iraq, including significant infrastructure damage, extreme sectarian violence and slaughter; Noting that all Iraqis are entitled to fundamental human rights as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Recognizing the 1.8 million internally displaced persons and refugee outflow of two million persons which the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees states is a humanitarian disaster, the largest such number since the Palestinian displacement in 1948; Observing that 80 percent of Iraqis and 60 percent of Americans
believe that United States occupation of Iraq should cease, and
that further, the Iraq Study Group observes that 61 percent of
Iraqis favor armed attacks on US forces; Observing that the ongoing construction of permanent US military bases is perceived by the Iraqis as the intent of establishing permanent domination of Iraq; Finding that the frontline states bordering Iraq have no long term interest in promoting turmoil on their borders, that phased early US troop departure, coupled with a UN-sponsored regional conference on achieving stability and acceptable governance in Iraq, is more likely to achieve peace and stability than is continued US troop presence in the country; Noting that a comprehensive solution to the Iraq conflict is not
possible without constructive US engagement with Iraq's neighbors,
including Syria and Iran; Recognizing the overall US financial cost of the Iraq war may exceed $2 trillion; and Realizing that the rapid exit of occupation military forces is a prerequisite to peacemaking; Therefore, Calls upon the US government to: 1. Request the UN to organize an international conference to include all major Iraqi factions, Middle Eastern countries, particularly Syria and Iran, and other major international players, the aim of which is to devise a national reconciliation process, build stability in Iraq and distribute political power equitably in order to ease sectarian violence; 2. Recognize that an objective of the conference would be to establish a process to achieve a unified, sovereign country, ruled by a government derived by its authority from the governed, with protections for minorities, the process of which is to be guided by the UN with assistance as needed from a UN international peace-keeping force; 3. Complete the withdrawal of US military forces from Iraq by December 31, 2007; 4. Declare that it will not permanently base US troops in Iraq and discontinue the construction of all US military bases in Iraq; 5. Through the UN, fund and facilitate the reconstruction, primarily by Iraqis, of the Iraqi infrastructure and buildings damaged or destroyed as a result of the Iraq War with support of the UN Development Fund for Iraq, including a comprehensive clean-up of cluster bombs, depleted uranium, and other munitions; 6. Exert maximum effort to create employment for Iraqis; 7. Ensure that negotiations by Iraqis on oil issues, particularly distribution of revenues, are conducted on an open, not secretive basis; 8. Facilitate a level playing field for all commercial ventures; 9. Assure sufficient funding to the UNHCR to assist Iraqi refugees and internally displaced persons, and accept Iraqi refugees into the US as needed in concert with the UNHCR; and Calls upon the UN Security Council to: 1. Provide, under UN direction and supervision, for such international security presence as may be agreed to by the international conference recommended above and by the contending Iraqi forces; 2. In accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1325, ensure that women from all sectors of Iraqi society be included in any and all negotiations which will affect their lives and futures; and Calls upon the association to communicate this resolution to the President, the Secretary of State and other relevant officials in the Executive Branch, select members of the US Congress and the UN Secretary-General and other relevant UN officials and the World Federation of United Nations Associations. [Note: the following resolution was submitted by Ardishir Rashidi-Kalhur, Past President, UNA-USA Southern California Division and is pending chapter and division approvals.] OBSERVING that the ongoing Iraq conflict has caused enormous sectarian violence and division along religious, ethnic and regional constituencies. RECOGNIZING That all Iraqis are entitled to fundamental human rights as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and self-determination as established in the first article of the first chapter of the Charter of the United Nations. NOTING that the new Iraqi’s constitution calls for rights of the peoples of Iraqi Government and Kurdistan Regional Government to resolve their differences and territorial disputes through democratic process and holding of referendums. KNOWING that Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution calls for resolution to the status of the city of Kirkuk through a referendum that is to be held by the end of the year 2007. CALLS UPON the United States government to engage in an international diplomatic efforts to involve the United Nations Department of Electoral Division to facilitate an Iraqi referendum to see that the Iraqi people determine their own future peacefully. ASKING that the outcome of this Democratically held referendum be recognized, protected and safeguarded by the United Nations, United States and the regional powers. FURTHERMORE, REQUESTS that the Association communicate this resolution to the President, the Secretary of States and other relevant officials in the Executive Branch, select members of the US Congress, the UN Secretary-General and other relevant UN officials and the World Federation of the United Nations association.
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Final
Substantive Resolutions
