Draft letter to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan

(Formatted for use by FOR members. Substitute your organization if other)

September 23, 2002

The Honorable Kofi Annan
Secretary General
United Nations Organization
New York, NY 10017

Dear Secretary General Annan,

We write to you on behalf of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (USA), a branch of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation.

As a United Nations Non-Governmental Organization and the oldest interfaith peacemaking organization in the world, we offer our heartfelt support for you and the entire United Nations Organization in this time of great global anxiety over the possibility of a new and more devastating war against the people of Iraq.

Your speech to the General Assembly on September 12, 2002, was a beacon of light and reason that stood in vivid contrast to the growing call for military intervention as the only viable means to resolve the differences between Iraq and the international community.

Indeed, our numerous humanitarian delegations to Iraq, since 1991, have witnessed mass devastation and despair as a result of 12 years of sanctions and military violence.

We, too, are concerned about the issue of Iraqi compliance with United Nations Security Council resolutions and the possible development of weapons of mass destruction in that nation, and throughout the Middle East. But we indeed share your commitment that the unilateral violence of a superpower against the Iraqi people, would only propel this difficult situation into a deeper vortex of massive killing and destruction.

A renewed war against Iraq would deal a grave blow to world stability and to the rule of international law in resoling global conflicts. And in light of your announcement of 16 September indicating the willingness of the Iraqi government to re-admit U.N. weapons inspection teams, we believe that the immediate prospects for avoiding war are certainly very encouraging.

The Fellowship of Reconciliation offers our total support to you and to the United Nations in your search for active, nonviolent ways to engage Iraq and the international community in deeper, and successful, dialogue to resolve this dangerous conflict.

Sincerely Yours, and in Peace.

Sincerely,

Pat Clark

National Coordinator of the Fellowship of Reconciliation