MEDIA ADVISORY
CONTACTS: Dr. William F. Vendley, Secretary General, WCRP
Phone: (212) 687-2163; E-mail: [email protected]
SECRETARY GENERAL OF WORLD?S LARGEST MULTIRELIGIOUS COALITION
EXPRESSES GRAVE CONCERN OVER DOCTRINE OF PREEMPTIVE MILITARY ACTION
CALL FOR IRAQI COMPLIANCE WITH SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS —
New York — (October 18, 2002) ?
Dr. William F. Vendley, the Secretary General of the World Conference on Religion and Peace, the largest worldwide coalition of the major religions working in the fields of conflict transformation, human rights and development, today issued the following statement:
?While religions differ in their understandings of the moral use of force, there is broad agreement that any doctrine that authorizes the preemptive use of force by a state is contrary to widely shared spiritual and moral convictions.
The major faith traditions share the belief that the use of armed force may only be justified in self-defense, for a grave cause, as an option of last resort and subject to strict limitations. Such military action must be proportionate to the threat and must not result in disproportionate civilian casualties and damage. There is no moral consensus on exceptions to these principles. Therefore, I must express great concern that the doctrine of preemptive military action recently put forward by the United States is a fundamental departure from widely accepted moral norms regarding the use of force in international affairs.
Iraq must comply with its international obligations to renounce aggression, to cease the production of weapons of mass destruction and to provide for the well being of the Iraqi people. The current debate on the best means for the international community to ensure Iraqi compliance with Security Council resolutions is appropriately taking place in the United Nations Security Council, the sole multilateral institution empowered by the international community of states to maintain or restore international peace and security.
Religious communities participating in WCRP are united in:
1) Calling on states, including Iraq, to fulfill their commitments under the United Nations Charter to ensure Iraqi compliance with Security Council resolutions;
2) Calling on all states to refrain from a preemptive use of force; and
3) Urging world political leaders to work to preserve international peace and security, using military action only as a last resort.
The World Conference on Religion and Peace mobilizes religious community networks to prevent and mediate violent conflicts, to strengthen civil society and to protect children.