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Lobby the Security Council - draft letter



Lobby the Security Council: Vote against "smart sanctions" - 
Push for the lifting of economic sanctions
This should only take five minutes to read, copy and send. If you are 
able to forward this to someone, we would be very grateful.
Many thanks for your time.

1) Why we are asking you to send this letter.
2) Note on Voting in the Security Council
3) Draft letter to Members of the Security Council.
4) Email addresses of Members of the Security Council. (With some 
names of ambassadors.)


1) Why we are asking you to send this letter.

In a few days, by the 4 July 2001, the UN Security Council will be 
voting on whether to adopt a new "smart sanctions" resolution on 
sanctions on Iraq, sponsored by the British and US governments. 

Former UN Humanitarian Coordinators for Iraq Denis Halliday and 
Hans von Sponeck believe that, if adopted, this resolution will actually 
'tighten the rope around the neck of the average Iraqi citizen.' (For 
more information on the resolution, please go to 
<http://www.viwuk.freeserve.co.uk> .)

Denis Halliday and Hans von Sponeck believe that the only way to 
solve the humanitarian crisis is to push for the immediate lifting of all 
the economic sanctions on Iraq, allowing civilian exports, loans and 
investment, and direct access to Iraq's foreign earnings.

We are lobbying the 15 members of the Security Council to vote 
_against_ the British/US resolution and to push instead for the 
immediate and unconditional _lifting_ of economic sanctions.

Please take five minutes today to copy this letter over and send it to at 
least one of the member states.

Many thanks for your time,

Joanne Macinnes
Milan Rai
Voices in the Wilderness UK
voices@viwuk.freeserve.co.uk

2) Note on Voting in the Security Council: 

'Each [Security] Council member has one vote. Decisions on 
substantive matters require nine votes, including the concurring votes 
of all five permanent members. This is the rule of "great Power 
unanimity", often referred to as the "veto" power.' 
< http://www.un.org/documents/scinfo.htm#STRUCTURE> 

So if six countries vote against a resolution, it falls. If just one of the 
Permanent Five (Russia, China, France, UK, US) vote against 
something, it falls.

3) Draft letter to Members of the Security Council.

For example, to the Russian Ambassador to the UN

To the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Russian 
Federation to the United Nations, His Excellency Sergey Lavrov
Permanent Mission Email Address: 
rusun@un.int

Your Excellency,

The UN Security Council will shortly be faced with a momentous 
decision regarding the future of the people of Iraq. The British 
Government has submitted a draft resolution which would 
strengthen and entrench most of the economic sanctions on Iraq. The 
consequences could be devastating for millions of ordinary families in 
Iraq, according to warnings from former UN Humanitarian 
Coordinators for Iraq Hans von Sponeck and Denis Halliday.

I am writing to urge you to vote against the British resolution. As you 
will be aware, there is an emerging international consensus that the 
economic sanctions regime on Iraq is both immoral and illegal.

After surveying the Iraqi experience over the last decade, the House 
of Commons Select Committee on International Development stated 
in February 2000, 'We find it difficult, however, to believe that there 
will be a case in the future where the UN would be justified in 
imposing comprehensive economic sanctions on a country.' 

The Economist said in April 2000, 'Slowly, inexorably, a generation is 
being crushed in Iraq. Thousands are dying, thousands more  are 
leading stunted lives, and storing up bitter hatreds for the future... If, 
year in, year out, the UN were systematically killing Iraqi children by 
air strikes, western governments would declare it intolerable, no 
matter how noble the intention. They should find their existing policy 
just as unacceptable.' (8 April 2000)

Despite the claims that have been made for the so-called "smart 
sanctions" resolution, it is clear that the UK/US proposals cannot solve 
the humanitarian crisis in Iraq.

As you will recall, the 'Humanitarian Panel' appointed by the Security 
Council to study the situation in Iraq reported in 1999, 'the 
humanitarian situation in Iraq will continue to be a dire one in the 
absence of a sustained revival of the Iraqi economy'. 

And as the Financial Times has pointed out, 'the [British and] US plan 
will not revive Iraq's devastated economy while control over Iraq's oil 
revenues remains in the hands of the UN, and foreign investment and 
credits are still prohibited.' (Financial Times, 28 May 2001)  

The Economist is equally firm: 'Iraq needs massive investment to 
rebuild its industry, its power grids and its schools, and needs cash in 
hand to pay its engineers, doctors and teachers. None of this looks 
likely to happen under smart sanctions.' (Economist, 26 May 2001)

We urge you to vote against the British proposals, and to press 
instead for the tabling of a resolution to lift economic sanctions 
immediately and unconditionally, for humanitarian reasons. A 
resolution which will allow Iraqi exports other than oil, foreign loans 
to and investment in the civilian economy, and which will end the UN-
controlled escrow account which is denying Iraq direct access to its 
foreign exchange earnings, and therefore hampering the 
reconstruction of the public health infrastructure. 

Without these measures, the economy of Iraq cannot re-inflate, and 
hundreds of thousands of ordinary families in Iraq will remain unable 
to earn enough to purchase the necessities of life.

For the sake of the present generation of children in Iraq, I urge you 
to vote against the British resolution, and to table a resolution calling 
for the lifting of economic sanctions. 

Yours sincerely,

Milan Rai
29 Gensing Road, St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex, England TN38 
0HE

4) Email addresses of Members of the Security Council. (With some 
names of ambassadors.)

Permanent Mission of Bangladesh 
Mission email address: bangladesh@un.int
Ambassador & Permanent Representative: His Excellency Mr. 
Anwarul Karim Chowdhury. Personal e-mail: anwarulc@un.int

Permanent Mission of China 
Mission email address: china@un.int
Ambassador & Permanent Representative: His Excellency Wang 
Yingfan

Permanent Mission of Colombia 
Mission email address: colombia@un.int
Ambassador & Permanent Representative: H.E. Mr. Alfonso 
Valdivieso. Personal email address: avaldivieso@un.int

Permanent Mission of France
Mission email address: france@un.int
Ambassador & Permanent Representative: H.E. Mr. Jean-David Levitte

Permanent Mission of Ireland 
Mission email address: ireland@un.int 
     
Permanent Mission of Jamaica 
Mission email address: jamaica@un.int
Ambassador & Permanent Representative: H.E. Patricia Durrant

Permanent Mission of Mali 
Mission email address: mali@un.int 
     
Permanent Mission of Mauritius 
Mission email address: mauritius@un.int

Permanent Mission of Norway 
Mission email address: delun@mfa.no
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary & Permanent 
Representative: H. E. Mr. Ole Peter Kolby

Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation 
Mission email address: rusun@un.int
Ambassador & Permanent Representative: H.E. Sergey Lavrov

Permanent Mission of Singapore 
Mission email address: singapore@un.int
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary & Permanent 
Representative: H.E. Mr Kishore Mahbubani

Permanent Mission of Tunisia 
Mission email address: tunisia@un.int
Ambassador & Permanent Representative: H.E. Said Ben Mustapha

Permanent Mission of Ukraine ukraine@un.int or ukrun@undp.org
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary & Acting Permanent 
Representative: H.E. Mr. Valeriy P. Kuchinsky 

Permanent Mission of The United Kingdom 
Mission email address: uk@un.int
Ambassador & Permanent Representative: Sir Jeremy Quentin 
Greenstock, KCMG

Permanent Mission of the United States of America 
Mission email address: usa@un.int
Acting United States Representative Ambassador James B. 
Cunningham 


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