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FOR PUBLIC
RELEASE - 20th
Day of Third Month of 2003
Quaker
Service Agencies’ statement on the launching of war on Iraq
“A
good end cannot sanctify evil means; nor must we ever do evil that
good may come of it.” William Penn, 1693
We
are appalled and deeply saddened by the decision of the United Kingdom,
the United States of America and other countries, such as Australia,
to launch a war against Iraq. We pray for all those affected –
combatants and non-combatants alike. We pray for world leaders that
God’s grace will lead them to bring a rapid cessation to the
war.
War
threatens to terrify, maim, kill, and bereave vast numbers of innocent
people in Iraq who are already suffering the punitive effects of
economic sanctions (half of Iraq’s citizens are children).
We fear that violence in the region will intensify, whilst efforts
towards peaceful democratic change will be undermined. Bridge-building
between the West and the Arab and Muslim world will become more
difficult. Support for political extremists across the world appears
likely to increase.
The
primary purpose of the United Nations to “save succeeding
generations from the scourge of war” through patient dialogue
and disarmament has been cast aside by governments that claim to
be world leaders in democracy and human rights. We are shamed, grieved
and angered by the fact that a small minority of governments has
chosen the unconscionable act of war, going against the will of
the international community and against the will of many of their
own citizens.
Despite
our grief and shame, our spirits are heartened by the tens of millions
of world citizens who are taking up the responsibility of citizenship
– to learn about global issues, to affirm the role of the
United Nations and the Security Council, and to challenge the actions
of government when their actions contravene what is moral and just.
Quakers
recognise that the crisis over Iraq has presented extraordinary
challenges to the international community. The world’s goal
for Iraq must be the same as that for any nation – a just
and sustainable peace for its people and neighbours. To this end,
the United Nations weapons inspections and disarmament process appeared
to be making progress. The lifting of indiscriminate economic sanctions
against Iraq might have helped its people towards determining their
own future according to their right.
War
is not the answer, not now and not ever. War does not bring about
peace. War does not bring about security. War hurts innocent people
and generates new resentment and new impetus for revenge in generations
to come. Faith in violence as a means of solving political problems
is both dangerous and contrary to our understanding of God’s
way. It is irresponsible for any nation to possess weapons of mass
destruction and threaten their use against others. Peace between
nations can only be won if the international community accepts a
common responsibility for achieving disarmament and answering the
vital needs of all. We implore world leaders to return to the tables
of the United Nations with ever more resolve to solve international
crises peacefully and to hold each other accountable for their actions
in the global community.
We
pray for the day when "nations will not take up sword against
nation, nor will they train for war anymore" (Isaiah 2:4).
Quakers remain joined to the global effort to bring this day nearer.
We renounce the use of violence, and affirm the power of non-violence
and love, to bring about the cause of peace and justice for all.
Signatories:
Mary
Ellen McNish
General Secretary
American Friends Service Committee
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Margaret
Clare Ford
Clerk
Canadian Friends Service Committee, Canadian Yearly Meeting
60 Lowther Avenue
Toronto, ON, M5R 1C7
Joe
Volk
Executive Secretary
Friends Committee on National Legislation
245 Second Street, NE
Washington, DC, USA
Bruce
Birchard
General Secretary
Friends General Conference (organization listed for purpose of identification
only)
1216 Arch Street, Suite 2-B
Philadelphia, PA, 19107
Elizabeth
Duke
General Secretary
Friends World Committee for Consultation (organization listed for
purpose of identification only)
4 Byng Place
London, UK, WC1E 7LE
Friends
World Committee for Consultation Section of the Americas
Elizabeth Mertic, Clerk
Margaret Fraser, Executive Secretary
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Jo
Valentine
Clerk
Northern Friends Peace Board
Victoria Hall, Knowsley Street
Bolton, UK, BL1 2AS
Steve
Baumgarten
Executive Director
Pendle Hill Quaker Study Center
338 Plush Mill Road
Wallingford, PA, USA
Grant
McCullough
Project Leader
Quaker Cottage Family Centre
Northern Ireland
Martina
Weitsch and Elizabeth Scurfield
Joint Representatives/Heads of Office
Quaker Council for European Affairs
Quaker House, Square Ambiorix 50
B-1000 Brussels, Belgium
Beryl
Milner
Clerk
Quaker Peace & Social Witness Central Committee,
Britain Yearly Meeting
Friends House
London, UK NW1 2BJ
Jeremy
Routledge
Director
The Quaker Peace Centre
Cape Town, South Africa
Derry
Gordon
Convener
Quaker Service Aotearoa/New Zealand
22 Mount Pleasant Rd
Christchurch
Heather
Saville
Convener
Quaker Service Australia Management Committee
Australia
Bernt-Erik
Heid
Chairman
Quaker Service Norway
Skovvn 20
0257 OSLO, Norway
Tofte
Frykman
Convener
Quaker Service Sweden
Frihamra 5704 B
S-762 94 RIMBO, Sweden
Rachel
Brett
Representative (Human Rights and Refugees)
Quaker United Nations Office - Geneva
13 Avenue du Mervelet
1209 Geneva, Switzerland
Jack
Patterson
Representative
Quaker United Nations Office – New York
777 UN Plaza
New York, NY, USA, 10017
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