FLYER "Although there's no explicit provision of the UN Charter providing a direct obligation on a State Party to protect civilians during war, throughout the Charter there's a consistent abhorrence of armed force as anything but a solution of last resort in self-defence or "in the common interest". Equally important, a primary aim of the Charter is "to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained" (preamble). The Geneva Conventions, which do explicitly provide for the protection of civilians, are a cornerstone of customary international law (notwithstanding very regrettable inconsistencies in their application). Accordingly the application of the Geneva Conventions is incumbent by force of the UN Charter on member nations. Moreover, under the International Criminal Court Statute (Rome), not yet in force, the Sept 11 crimes certainly fit the legal definition of crime against humanity. In any event it's preposterous that anyone, including a State Party, could credibly argue that civilian casualties would be consistent with the spirit and aims of the UN Charter. Therefore, please sign the petition asking the Australian Government to ensure the US conducts a just, but peaceful, international response to the Sept 11 crimes against humanity, by warning the US Australia will withdraw ANZUS support for any US, were it to conduct unlawful retaliatory action outside the UN Charter. To sign this petition is to support the aim of a multilateral legal approach to resolving this crisis being advocated in the US by a companion petition at: http://home.uchicago.edu/~dhpicker/information.html. This is your Australian chance to reject the militarist action of "war on terrorism" unilaterally declared by the US, in which coalition support is being treated almost as incidental. To sign the petition: go to the main URL at: http://www4.PetitionOnline.com/ANZUS6/petition.html ." THE PETITION: To: Government of the Commonwealth of Australia We the undersigned, citizens and residents of Australia, and of countries around the world, urge the Australian Government to call on the United States Government to use moderation and restraint in responding to the recent terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and, thereby, to avoid war as a response to the terrorist attacks against the USA, and to respect and uphold the responsibilty of the United Nations for the maintenance of international peace and security. We implore all powers to use, wherever possible, international judicial institutions and international human rights law to bring to justice those responsible for the attacks, rather than the instruments of war, violence or destruction. Furthermore, we assert that the government of a nation must be presumed separate and distinct from any terrorist group that may operate within its borders, and therefore cannot be held unduly accountable for the latter's crimes. It follows that the government of a particular nation should not be condemned for the recent attack without compelling evidence of its cooperation and complicity with those individuals who actually committed the crimes in question. Innocent civilians living within any nation that may be found responsible, in part or in full, for the crimes recently perpetrated against the United States, must not bear any responsibility for the actions of their government, and must therefore be guaranteed safety and immunity from any military or judicial action taken against the state in which they reside. Such a course, which both the Australian and United States Governments should fully support, is compatible with Article 6 of the ANZUS Treaty which states: "This Treaty does not affect and shall not be interpreted as affecting in any way the rights and obligations of the Parties under the Charter of the United Nations or the responsibility of the United Nations for the maintenance of international peace and security." (ANZUS Treaty, Article 6). Thus, the treaty clearly asserts the primacy of United Nations Charter rights and obligations over the provisions of the treaty, including Article 5, which Australia has invoked to support the USA. Subscription by a State Party to the UN Charter asserts thereby certain inalienable human rights subscribed for all peoples by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The USA and Australia are founding State Parties to the UN Charter. Obligations incumbent on State Parties under the UN Charter include the obligation to protect civilian populations in the conduct of armed conflict, which includes protection from the use of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, or weapons of indiscriminate destruction or mass terror. These obligations incumbent on State Parties under the Charter of the United Nations, and the norms of International Law, are inconsistent with any "acceptable" level of civilian casualties from such weapons. We accordingly hereby assert the inalienable human right of all peoples to live in a world free of State recourse to nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, or any weapons of indiscriminate destruction or mass terror, and therefore demand that there be no State use of such arms, and urge all State Parties to the UN Charter, including Australia and the USA, to uphold this basic human right and, thereby, to maintain the responsibility of the United Nations for the maintenance of international peace and security. Lastly and most emphatically, Australian moral and practical support under Article 5 of the ANZUS treaty must be withdrawn should the war on terrorism, now declared by the US Government, begin to exact, by the use of such arms, civilian casualties in the theatre of military action. Sincerely, The Undersigned -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:INFO: Anti-war flyer text and petition
Roma Mitchell Community Legal Centre Inc. Mon, 24 Sep 2001 18:40:11 -0700
