March 20, 2003 - Letter to Prime Minister re:  War in Iraq

The Right Honourable Jean Chrétien Prime Minister of Canada House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6 Sir The U.S. and British Governments have begun the count-down to war against Iraq. We have in two previous letters urged you to refuse Canadian support for an attack on Iraq.  The Canadian Unitarian Council and its members are grateful that you have refused Canadian participation in this impending war, which we believe is illegal and undermining of most of what has been achieved through the past 50 years of persistent diplomacy for maintaining international peace and security. You are no doubt aware that there remains at least one further option for those who want to see international law upheld, that is to invoke UN Resolution 377, the "Uniting for Peace" resolution.  Under this resolution, if, because of the lack of unanimity of the permanent members of the Security Council, 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 can hold an emergency session at the call of seven members of the Security Council or a majority of the members of the General Assembly. We urge you to instruct Canada's representative at the U.N. to work with other U.N. members and give whatever leadership is necessary to promote a "Uniting for Peace" resolution in the General Assembly to prevent an attack on Iraq, or, failing this, to demand that the said attack be stopped. The General Assembly could require that no military action be taken against Iraq without explicit authority of the Security Council.  It could mandate that the inspection regime be permitted to complete its inspections.  What it would accomplish is to engage the rest of the world in a last effort to speak forcefully against unwarranted war-making, it would exercise the United Nations in doing what it was created to do, and it might give some members in the "coalition of the willing" cause to reconsider. In our Unitarian tradition we seek to promote the highest aspirations of the human spirit, the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.  These are values that are shared across all boundaries, but always we need bold leadership to hold them up amidst the clamour of greed and fear and ignorance.  We urge you, sir, to provide this leadership at this critical hour. Yours sincerely, Mark Morrison-Reed President