FINAL DRAFT OF RESOLUTION ON WAR AND MILITARISM

Whereas the Bush administration’s “War on Terrorism,” the impending invasion of Iraq and the blanket declaration of unilateral military action on the part of the United States has caused and will continue to cause enormous human suffering and environmental damage;

Whereas U.S. attacks on Afghanistan and over a decade of sanctions against and bombing of Iraq are a continuation of a long history of military aggression and support for repressive regimes throughout the world;

Whereas the Bush administration’s “War on Terrorism” and impending invasion of Iraq escalates physical, economic, political and cultural violence against people of color, Indigenous Peoples, and Third World Peoples;

Whereas the “War on Terrorism” explicitly violates several, if not all of the Principles of Environmental Justice, particularly Principles 1, 5, 10, and 15;

Whereas the very foundation of the United States is based on stolen land, genocide of Indigenous Peoples, enslavement of Africans, profiteering off the trans-Atlantic slave trade, colonialism, and exploiting the labor of oppressed nationalities and immigrants;

Whereas war and militarism directly intensifies violence against and the superexploitation of women and their labor, including the sex trade;

Whereas youth, particularly poor and working-class youth of color, are victims of war and militarism through forced inscription, economic draft and placement on the frontlines;

Whereas the “War on Terrorism” and fear-mongering around “national security” are being used by the U.S. government to intensify systematic oppression based on race, religion and community, and undermine civil liberties, especially against Arabs, South Asians, and Muslims in the U.S.;

Whereas the “War on Terrorism” is being used by the U.S. government, transnational corporations and the corporate media to divert resources and attention from needed domestic priorities for community of color, such as health security, job security, food security, and environmental security to war, militarism and unsustainable resource extraction;

Therefore, be it resolved, that we, the delegates and participants of the Second National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit,

1. declares our strong opposition to the “War on Terrorism” and a new war against Iraq;

2. Will actively work against the U.S. policies of militarism and aggression;

3. demand that the current administration of the United States de-escalate the global military build-up and re-direct those resources into human needs at home and abroad;

4. demand that the U.S. government stop all military training and testing operations such as in Vieques, Puerto Rico and clean up and compensate for accumulated damages;

5. demand the full phase-out of fossil fuels with a just transition to renewable and sustainable energy;

6. will continue to struggle for human rights, self-determination and social and environmental justice.