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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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