Vancouver City Council |
MEMBERS' MOTION
Motion to Seek Peaceful Resolution to Iraq Situation
The following Notice of Motion is submitted by Councillor Louis:
MOVED by Councillor Louis
SECONDED by Councillor Woodsworth
WHEREAS, the UN General Assembly in Resolution A/RES/39/159 demands that all "states take no actions aimed at military intervention and occupation, forcible change in or undermining of the socio-political system of states, destabilization and overthrow of their governments and, in particular, initiate no military action to that end under any pretext whatsoever and cease forthwith any such action already in progress";
AND WHEREAS, unilateral, preemptive military action by the United States without a legally valid United Nations Security Council resolution would violate Articles 2 and 51 of the United Nations Charter and international customary law;
AND WHEREAS, such action would thus constitute the supreme international crime according to the principles laid down by the Nuremberg Tribunal;
AND WHEREAS, the Security Council is bound to act in accordance with the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter to maintain international peace and can authorize the use of limited force only when:
· there exists a proven threat to international peace and security, and;
· all peaceful means have failed to contain the identified threat, and;
· use of force is necessary, proportionate to the threat and is in the common interest.AND WHEREAS, Canada's National Defence Act, R.S. 1985, C. N-5 stipulates that Canada may engage in military action in the event that Canada or a NATO ally is attacked or pursuant to an action taken under the UN Charter;
AND WHEREAS, according to UNICEF and other international relief agencies, non-military sanctions against Iraq have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of children due to inadequate food, water and medicine;
AND WHEREAS, a further war in Iraq would result in extensive death, injury and suffering to the Iraqi people;
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AND WHEREAS, the United Nations declared this decade, 2000-2010 as the "International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World" (UN Declaration 53/25, November 10, 1998), urging all people and all levels of government to seek non-violent approaches to conflict resolution and wider education about international law and alternatives to war;
AND WHEREAS, many cities in North America have passed resolutions expressing opposition to use of military force to compel a regime change in Iraq, including Washington, DC, Seattle, Washington, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Santa Cruz, California, Ithaca, New York, Santa Fe, New Mexico, New Haven, Connecticut, Oakland, California, and Ann Arbor, Michigan.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT, Vancouver City Council:
(a) Hereby express our opposition to a threatened United States' pre-emptive military action against Iraq that is not explicitly authorized by a legally valid United Nations Security Council resolution; and
(b) Hereby urge the Federal Government of Canada to take all diplomatic measures to urge the United States to adhere to the requirements of the UN Charter and to work with and through the United Nations to obtain peaceful compliance by Iraq with United Nations Security Council Resolution #1441 concerning the disarmament of Iraq of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons; and
(c) Hereby call on all governments, especially the Government of Canada, to:
· comply with the United Nations Charter, and;
· reject a military approach to solving conflicts between states, and;
· seek to eliminate the root causes of conflict and find solutions by peaceful means for the common good of all; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Vancouver is opposed to Canada's involvement in any military action against Iraq unless the military action is authorized by a legally valid resolution of the United Nations Security Council and by Canadian laws.
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