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CPA Convention Resolutions 2002

The following resolutions were adopted at the Canadian Peace Alliance convention held in Salt Spring Island, B.C. in October 2002.

Withdraw from NORAD

Whereas the US has withdrawn from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, inviting new dangers of nuclear conflagration, and is proceeding with the Missile Defense program, which is contrary to the aims of this treaty;
Whereas Canada is being pressured to participate in this Missile Defense program as part of its NORAD agreements;
Whereas participation in Missile Defense would commit the Government of Canada and its military to take orders from the US Space Command;

Be it resolved that the Canadian Peace Alliance urge the Government of Canada to cancel any military joint ventures that are contrary to the aims of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty;
Be it further resolved that the Canadian Peace Alliance urge Canada to withdraw from NORAD.

Submitted by Vancouver Island Network for Disarmament
Adopted October 4, 2002.

Convert Nanoose

Whereas the International Court of Justice has ruled the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons to be illegal;
Whereas the operation of the Canadian Armed Forces Maritime Experimental and Test Range (CFMETR) at Nanoose Bay, British Columbia involves, at its core, the possession and maintenance of nuclear weapons by the United States, their delivery systems and platforms, and the testing of equipment and systems designed for the waging of nuclear war;
Whereas the environmental impacts of such testing has had a negative impact on the Strait of Georgia for some 40 years and the citizens of the region have repeatedly protested such degradation;
Whereas the Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental and Test Range in Nanoose is currently a financial burden to the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia, and provides no useful services to the people of Canada;

Be it resolved that the Canadian Peace Alliance renew its pledge to oppose all Canadian contributions to the design, development, production, testing, deployment and delivery of nuclear weapons and all Canadian participation in and training for nuclear warfare;
Be it further resolved that the Canadian Peace Alliance continue to urge the Government of Canada not to renew its treaty with the United States that allows nuclear-weapons capable and nuclear-powered warships of the United States Navy to operate and test weapons at the Canadian Forces Experimental and Test Range at Nanoose Bay;
Be it further resolved that the Canadian Peace Alliance propose to the Government of Canada that CFMETR Nanoose be converted to a facility that would provide useful services to Canadians, including a Maritime Experimental Station to study and develop tools to deal with radioactive hotspots and a meteorological station and call on its member group to do likewise.

Submitted by Vancouver Island Network for Disarmament and Alberni Valley Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament
Adopted October 4, 2002.

Peace in Space Campaign

Whereas the Canadian Peace Alliance continues to condemn any involvement by the Government of Canada in a United States Missile Defense Program (NMD);
Whereas the Canadian Peace Alliance has repeatedly urged the Government of Canada to play a leadership role in banning nuclear weapons and preventing the weaponization of space;

Be it resolved that the Canadian Peace Alliance work with like-minded groups to facilitate an education campaign to inform the public of the role Canada is already playing in the United States Missile Defense Program (NMD), and to urge Canada's non-participation in any NMD development;
Be it further resolved that the Canadian Peace Alliance work with other non-governmental and governmental groups to develop an international campaign for Peace in Space.

Submitted by the Alberni Valley Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament
Adopted October 4, 2002.

Eliminate NATO

Whereas NATO is a military alliance that imperils world peace, officially supports the first-use of nuclear weapons in a conflict, and possesses - through three of its member states - nuclear weapons;
Whereas this obsolete military alliance was a creature of the Cold War mentality whose continued existence keeps the arms industry alive and well fed, and prevents any real alternative to military solutions to international problems, and;
Whereas Canada's membership in NATO guarantees that its foreign policy will be dictated by NATO policy and that Canadians will be involved in military conflicts as a result; and
Whereas Canadian membership in NATO creates an unwarranted burden on taxpayers and wastes funds better directed to economic and social issues;

Be It Resolved that the Canadian Peace Alliance call on the Government of Canada to work for the dissolution of NATO, and
Be It Further Resolved that the Canadian Peace Alliance urge the Government of Canada to withdraw its membership in NATO and encourage others to follow its example.

Submitted by Vancouver Island Network for Disarmament
Adopted October 4, 2002.

Resolution on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Whereas the use of force and violence has escalated in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict;
Whereas both sides are suffering growing economic deprivation as the conflict continues;
Whereas the parties to the conflict appear to be either unwilling or unable to end the conflict in the near future;

Be it resolved that the Canadian Peace Alliance press the Government of Canada:

1. to urge the international community to pressure both the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to participate in an international conference to lay the groundwork for a permanent settlement of differences and a central role for the United Nations (UN) in achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in their region;
2. to press both the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to support the goal of a peaceful settlement with a viable Palestinian state living in peace alongside the State of Israel, based on pre-June 1967 borders and Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied since then, in compliance with UN resolutions 242 and 338.
3. to support the call of the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights for the presence of UN observers in the Occupied Territories to monitor respect for the UN Fourth Geneva Convention; and the presence of an international civilian non-violent presence.

Submitted by the Quebec Section of the Canadian Peace Alliance.
Adopted October 4, 2002.

Resolution on Resources for Peace

Whereas the United Nations has declared 2001 - 2010 to be an international Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World;
Whereas peace and non violence will not prevail unless they are promoted, planned, prepared for and actively pursued and institutionalized;

Be it resolved that the Canadian Peace Alliance facilitate a campaign pressing the Government of Canada:

• To plan Canada's contribution to the United Nations Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010), taking into account the principles and pledge of UNESCO's Manifesto 2000;
• To allocate at least equal resources (material, human, and financial) to the promotion and pursuit of peace as it allocates to the Department of National Defence, the budget of which is mainly used for the preparation and conduct of war;
• To favour peace over war in all publicly-funded Canadian institutions and encourage those that are privately funded to do the same;
• To end all public funding of Canadian involvement in the international weapons trade;
• To establish and fund Canadian institutions of peace, and support peace organisations and activities, specifically including:
  • A federal Department of Peace and Non-violent Resolution of Conflict
  • A Canadian national Museum of Peace
  • Post-secondary peace studies programmes
  • Peace training for youth and peace curricula for schools
  • Technology for peace

Submitted by the Quebec Section of the Canadian Peace Alliance
Adopted October 6, 2002.

Resolution to Prevent the Weaponisation of Space

Whereas on June 13, 2002, the United States put an end to the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty by withdrawing from it unilaterally;
Whereas the demise of the ABM Treaty means that international law no longer prohibits the weaponisation of space;
Whereas the United States military plans to include space-based weapons in the National Missile Defense (NMD) system;
Whereas the weaponisation of space would instigate a dangerous, costly and destabilising arms race in space (and disrupt peaceful endeavours in space);
Whereas on November 29, 2001, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly voted 156-0 to prevent an arms race in space;
Whereas on January 23, 2002, the Space Preservation Act of 2002 was introduced into the United States House of Representatives as H.R. 3616;
Whereas an international equivalent of H.R. 3616 has been distributed to the leaders of all UN Member Nations by the Institute for Cooperation in Space, in the form of a model Space Preservation Treaty which would:

• Implement a ban on space-based weapons;
• Implement a ban on the use of weapons to destroy or damage objects in space that are in orbit;
• Immediately order the permanent termination of research and development, testing, manufacturing, production and deployment of all space-based weapons.

Whereas on July 26, 2001, Deputy Prime Minister John Manley stated that "Canada would be very happy to launch an initiative to see an international convention preventing the weaponisation of space";
Whereas on June 12, 2002, a motion was introduced in the Senate calling for Canada to lead an international effort to ban all weapons in space;

Be it resolved that the Canadian Peace Alliance urge the Government of Canada:

1. to lead an international effort to ban space-based weapons through a binding international agreement that would prohibit the weaponisation of space (cf. the Ottawa Process on landmines); and
2. to enact legislation patterned after the Space Preservation Act of 2002, introduced in the United States House of Representatives as H.R. 3616, on January 23, 2002.

Submitted by Voice of Women - Quebec; Montreal Branch of World Federalists of Canada; Westmount Initiative for Peace; Centre de ressource sur la non violence; and Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility
Adopted October 4, 2002.

Resolution to Oppose Aggression Against Iraq

Whereas the United Nations was founded to prevent the scourge of war, and Canada is a member state of the United Nations;
Whereas the Canadian Peace Alliance condemns military intervention and economic sanctions against Iraq;
Whereas continual bombing of and economic sanctions against Iraq are daily increasing the suffering and death of people in Iraq;
Whereas the United States and the United Kingdom are planning a military attack against Iraq within a year;
Whereas pre-emptive strikes against Iraq cannot be justified as self defence under the Charter of the United Nations;
Whereas all countries have committed themselves to eliminate the production of weapons of mass destruction (Stockholm, 1972) and thus all measures to ensure respect for this commitment should be applied equally to all countries;
Whereas United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1325 calls for "an increase in the participation of women at decision-making levels in conflict resolution and peace processes";
Whereas US and British interests in the region are closely related to control of oil supplies and to strategic power;

Be it resolved that the Canadian Peace Alliance continue to call on its member groups and others to urge the Government of Canada to condemn, and work to end, the continual bombing of and the sanctions against Iraq;
Be it further resolved that the Canadian Peace Alliance call upon the Government of Canada to urge the United Nations to seek a peaceful solution that respects the Charter of the United Nations and all other international law, including the sovereign equality of nation states, and UNSC resolution 1325;
Be it further resolved that the Canadian Peace Alliance press the Government of Canada to denounce any further aggression against Iraq and refuse all participation in and support for such aggression.

Adopted October 6, 2002

Emergency Resolution on Action Campaign: Iraq

Whereas public opinion is currently being misled to support the aggression against Iraq;
Whereas public opinion should be critically influential in determining government policy and action with regards to war;
Whereas the Canadian Peace Alliance continues to condemn any aggression against Iraq;

Therefore, be it resolved that the Canadian Peace Alliance facilitate a campaign and call on groups and individuals to take immediate steps to:

1. Launch a campaign to inform and mobilize the public to oppose aggression against Iraq;
2. Display the PEACE SIGN as a symbol of their opposition to acts of war, starting today, for example with human peace symbols, peace symbols in windows, on posters, on cars, carved into pumpkins, on fences, on mailboxes, on flags, in car windows, on clothes, on faces (facepainting), hung on trees and so on;
3. Participate in special activities on October 26, which has been designated by US organizations as a Day of Action against the war, including a gathering on Parliament Hill in Ottawa at which people will form themselves into a human peace symbol;
4. Organize rallies and demonstrations in various communities from coast to coast to coast on November 16-17, the 1st anniversary of the Day of Action Against War in Canada.

Adopted October 4, 2002

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