FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION .
An online petition at Global Appeal 4 Peace
“We, the undersigned, demand of our governments in their interactions with all nations – for the sake of world peace, international security and the peaceful co-existence of all peoples – to respect the principles of the United Nations Charter, and to follow and defend international law. We urge them to immediately join this initiative and help redirect the world toward an era of global stability and cooperation.”
To endorse this »Global Appeal to Save International Law« please use the E-mail form here to sign.
You can view the complete list of the signatories here: http://globalappeal4peace.net/signatories
[Editor’s note: CPNN has signed on to the following appeal and readers are encouraged to do the same]
Since 1945, the Charter of the United Nations has been the most important contract for relations between the nation-states of the world – the very foundation of international law. Today, however, international law and the structure of a rules-based order that the UN Charter defines are in grave danger.
(continued in right column)
What is the United Nations doing for a culture of peace?
(continued from left column)
During the Cold War, international law faced many difficult challenges. Throughout that time, a whole series of destructive military conflicts could not be prevented, while in other cases, the UN was able to mediate or de-escalate them.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, there was widespread hope that peace and international law would prevail, but instead, the UN Charter was further disregarded.
From the beginning of the 21st century until today, with the dramatic increase of extrajudicial military interventions that clearly contradicted international law, the erosion of the UN Charter has accelerated and the basic principles of non-interference and non-aggression are now openly and brazenly ignored.
Due to this dangerous deterioration of the rule of law, on February 14, 2019, representatives of numerous UN member states gave a press conference at the UN led by the Venezuelan Foreign Minister, Jorge Arreaza, stating that this is the moment to ratify, confirm and defend the peace and sovereignty of nations and the UN Charter.
Between July 20 and 21, 2019, Venezuela hosted the Ministerial Meeting of NAM, the Non-Aligned Movement. Founded in 1961 NAM is the second largest multilateral body in the world after the UN, and it is an organization of 120 member states that advocates the strengthening of international security and self-determination, while rejecting interference in the internal affairs of other countries. NAM ultimately adopted a declaration reaffirming the principles of the press conference at the UN led by the Venezuelan Foreign Minister Arreaza on February 14, 2019.
This declaration includes respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms for all, regardless of the race, sex, language or religion. The declaration not only applies to non-interference in Venezuela, but also to all other nations facing multiple threats, illegal sanctions and destabilization throughout the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and the Caribbean.
This declaration particularly addresses the dangerous escalation of tensions, threats, trade wars and sanctions against Russia, China and Iran. We realize that the erosion of international law and multilateral systems will also undermine humanity’s efforts to prevent catastrophic climate change.