UN General Assembly Must Invoke 'Uniting for Peace' Resolution

Green Party of the United States
www.gp.org

Tuesday, August 8, 2006

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty@greens.org 
tarlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@greens.org 

Greens call for U.N. General Assembly to invoke 'Uniting for Peace' resolution for immediate ceasefire in Lebanon

• The U.S. veto in the U.N. is the major obstacle to peace, say Greens, who note that Bush ideologues favor attacks on Iran and a wider Middle East conflict

• Israel must withdraw troops from Lebanon immediately

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Green Party of the United States today called on the General Assembly of the United Nations to invoke Resolution 377 'Uniting for Peace' in the face of the U.N. Security Council's inability to stop the violence the Middle East.

Greens also urged the U.S. and U.N. to place pressure on Israel to respect Lebanese sovereignty and remove troops from Lebanon immediately, stressing that without a withdrawal a ceasefire will be impossible.

"The U.N. must take all possible steps to press Israel to withdraw from Lebanon, to enact a ceasefire, and to prevent Israel, with U.S. support, from expanding the war with strikes against Syria and Iran," said Kathleen Culver, Green candidate for Congress in Tennessee (District 7) <http://www.kate4congress.com>. "Every day the attacks between Israel and Hezbollah continue brings us closer to a wider regional conflict, and a possible global war."

Under international law, the Security Council must take action to prevent war, but has been blocked by a veto from the Bush Administration with the support of the Blair government. Under Resolution 377, the UN General Assembly can take action when the Security Council fails to do so.

Greens in the U.S. have urged both sides to halt the exchange of violence, which has left over a thousand civilians dead in Lebanon and Gaza and at least 75 dead in Israel, and have warned that Israel's retaliatory killing of civilians, 'targeted' assassinations, and destruction of infrastructure violate Fourth Geneva Convention prohibitions against 'collective punishment.' Israel's use of U.S.-made weapons violates U.S. laws against deploying such weapons for use against civilians.

Green Party leaders listed several reasons for the U.N. General Assembly to act decisively for a ceasefire:

• According to Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space <http://www.space4peace.org>, Pentagon personnel responsible for selecting targets for cruise missile first-strike attacks have been sent to Israel, evidence that Israel and the U.S. may seek a wider conflict.

• Bush officials have sought excuses for an attack on Iran, in harmony with a program articulated by Bush Administration ideologues for military 'preemption,' war on multiple fronts, and a political makeover of the Middle East to give the U.S. power over and permanent access to Middle Eastern resources, especially oil.

• As Iraq slides into civil war as a result of the U.S. invasion and occupation, expansion of the Israel-Lebanon-Palestine conflict will hinder efforts to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq.

• The policies and actions of Israel, the U.S., and U.K. increasingly draw condemnation from the rest of the world, internal dissension from their own citizens, and the rage of other Middle Eastern and Muslim nations, risking global war.

• An ecological catastrophe looms as oil leaking from a Lebanese power station bombed by Israel has spreads north to the Syrian coastline and endangers the eastern Mediterranean region; more environmental damage is likely if the conflict spreads and more infrastructure is targeted.

On April 3, 2003, the Green Party of the United States urged the U.N. to invoke 'Uniting for Peace' in response to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, which violated the U.N. charter and U.S. constitutional law.

Greens have repeatedly called for Israel to end the occupation and fully recognize the human rights of Palestinians, in accord with international law and U.N. directives, as necessary first steps for lasting peace and security in the Middle East. In November, 2005, the Green Party endorsed a resolution calling for divestment and a general boycott of Israel until it complies with international law and realizes human rights for Palestinians, including those living within Israel's borders <http://www.gp.org/press/pr_2005_11_28.shtml>.

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MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org 
1711 18th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009.
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193

Green Party Peace Action Committee (GPAX)
http://www.gp.org/committees/peace/ 

'Uniting for Peace' Petitions
Just Foreign Policy
democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/justforeignpolicy.org/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=326

"A Road to Peace in Lebanon?" (article on the U.N.'s 'Uniting For Peace' resolution)
by Jeremy Brecher and Brendan Smith, Common Dreams, July 27, 2006
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0727-27.htm