UPDATE report and new action options from Jeremy Brecher available at
NEW!! More detailed information is now available at Uniting for Peace - Center for Constitutional Rights -- including a proposed resolution for the UN General Assembly.
(Thanks to John Leonard, who apparently began this project. Much of the material on this page is quoted or derived from his work. His e-mail message to the UN is at http://www.waronfreedom.org/petition.html.)
Uniting for Peace (UN Resolution 377) empowers the General Assembly to take collective action, as needed, when the Security Council is blocked (as it has lately been). If the General Assembly is not in session, any seven members of the Security Council -- or a majority of members of the United Nations -- can convene a special session of the General Assembly for this purpose. Specifically:
"[I]f the Security Council, because of lack of unanimity of the permanent members, fails to exercise its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security in any case where there appears to be a threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression, the General Assembly shall consider the matter immediately with a view to making appropriate recommendations to Members for collective measures, including in the case of a breach of the peace or act of aggression the use of armed force when necessary, to maintain or restore international peace and security. If not in session at the time, the General Assembly may meet in emergency special session within twenty-four hours of the request therefor. Such emergency special session shall be called if requested by the Security Council on the vote of any seven members, or by a majority of the Members of the United Nations."
The Idea: Write to the General Assembly asking for a vote on an emergency peacekeeping action per Res. 377.
Here's How:
1. Write your message. It can be brief. It is probably best to appeal on humanitarian grounds, on the UN's charter and purpose. This is very much in the UN's self-interest, and the interest of the vast majority of its members.
2. E-mail your message to the list of 200 addresses of UN Missions in New York.
3. Send a fax to the UN missions. There's a list of fax numbers
of UN missions at www.waronfreedom.org/activists/gafaxlist.csv
(currently 179 verified numbers)
Faxes make a much more powerful impression than e-mail. Your fax
may land on the ambassador's desk.
This csv file (comma separated text) is optimized for use with the broadcast fax facility at efax.com. Efax will charge you 6 cents per page, or about $11 to send a fax to each UN mission on the list. You'll need to set up an account, charge up an account balance, and follow the instructions for Broadcast fax. Upload the csv file, which is the list of General Assembly members' fax numbers, and your message document (can be a doc file, or pdf preserves formatting better - your Word software may have pdf in the list of printers).
If you have time, talent and a tenner on top, personalize or "merge" your message - cost is double, 12 cents per page. For this you can use the complete address data from www.waronfreedom.org/activists/missions.csv
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, braun@delbrasonu.org, brunei@un.int,bulgaria@un.int, burkinafaso@un.int, burundi@un.int, caf@un.int, cambodia@un.int, cameroon@un.int, canada@un.int, capeverde@un.int, chad@un.int, chile@un.int, china@un.int, colombia@un.int, comoros@un.int,congo@un.int, costarica@un.int, croatia@un.int, cuba@un.int, cyprus@un.int, czechrepublic@un.int, delun@mfa.no,denmark@un.int, djibouti@nyct.net, dominica@un.int, dprk@un.int, dr@un.int, drcongo@un.int, elsalvador@un.int,eqguinea@un.int, ecuador@un.int, egypt@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, 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, italy@un.int, ivorycoast@un.int, jamaica@un.int, japan@un.int, jordan@un.int, kazakhstan@un.int, kenya@un.int, korea@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, oman@un.int,pakistan@un.int, palau@un.int, panama@un.int, paraguay@un.int, peru@un.int, philippines@un.int, png@un.int, poland@un.int, portugal@un.int, qatar@un.int, romania@un.int, rusun@un.int, rwanda@un.int, samoa@un.int,sanmarino@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, stp@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, uruguay@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, mission@palestine-un.org, Saudi-Mission@un.int, aalcc@un.int,caribcomun@un.int, RedCrossCommittee@un.int, ec@un.int, francophonie@un.int, holysee@un.int, ilo@un.int,isa@un.int, seaun@un.int, las@un.int, oau@un.int, oic@un.int, switzerland@un.int
(Addresses omitted: us@un.int, uk@un.int, israel@un.int, kuwait@un.int),
Other worthwhile actions from John Leonard -
Quick and E-Z! http://www.moveon.org/emergency/
- online petition to the Security Council.
Don't forget to use the Comment Field to ask for a vote on Uniting
for Peace!!
Lobby Turkey to stand firm - www.waronfreedom/activists/turkvote.html. Has 500 email addresses. You may want to split the list up into smaller ones to go easy on your computer's e-mail software.