The post Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: An Illegal War of Aggression appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

It is time for the people of the world to cry Enough! No more war threats, no more War! The peace movement must be a global people’s movement, aligned with the policies of no government.

The governments of the United States and its allies bear responsibility for refusing to include the post-Soviet Russian government in security arrangements that would allow it to feel secure within its borders. After the Cold War, Russia’s government sought a European security order in which it could be a full participant. Russia also relied on assurances from the United States government and its allies that NATO would not be expanded to the East.

Instead, the government of the U.S. and its NATO allies pursued a far more confrontational course, expanding NATO to include former Soviet republics and Warsaw Pact countries, and leaving open the possibility of membership for Georgia and Ukraine, moves which would extend the alliance right up to Russia’s borders. It was against this background that the 2014 overthrow of Ukraine’s government occurred, leaving Russia with a government backed by Western powers on its doorstep. Followed swiftly by Russia’s occupation of Crimea and the revolt of two regions in Ukraine’s East, the crisis devolved into a complex proxy war in the breakaway regions, with forces supported by Russia facing a Ukraine military receiving varying degrees of support from the government of the United States and its NATO allies.

The people of Ukraine have borne the brunt of all this. In eight years of fighting, 14,000 Ukrainian soldiers and noncombatants have been killed, and over 1.5 million displaced.  Russia also likely has suffered combat casualties in Ukraine, although the numbers are unknown. The society and infrastructure of Ukraine’s East have been badly damaged by eight years of fighting.

And now the people of Ukraine find themselves at the center of a renewed and broader crisis, one that could draw the militaries of the United States, its NATO allies and Russia into direct conflict. The Russian government has deployed a significant part of its land forces towards Ukraine’s borders.  At the same time it is making demands for a sweeping renegotiation of Europe’s security arrangements, including a significant rollback of NATO. The United States and NATO have for the most part rejected those demands, offering instead negotiations on a narrower range of arms control and confidence-building measures, and refusing to place any limits on further NATO expansion.

The United States government and some of its NATO partners are increasing weapons shipments to Ukraine. The U.S. also is placing military forces on alert for rapid deployment to Europe. Russia, the United States, and NATO all are conducting significant naval exercises in the waters in and around Europe. It must be emphasized that Russia and the United States together hold over 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons, and a wider war in Europe could involve four out of the original five nuclear-armed states.

All of the governments make much of their “sovereign” rights to deploy their militaries however they wish within their borders or in international waters, and to make alliances and send weapons and military forces to any allied country that will accept them. That does not mean that every alliance is wise, or that a government can deploy its forces at will in ways that an adversary is likely to understand as a threat. The United Nations Charter, a treaty to which all the antagonists here are a party, prohibits member states from “the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state….” (Article 2, sec.4) It also requires members to “settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security and justice, are not endangered.” (Article 2, Sec. 3). Further introduction of more weapons and forces, overt or covert, into or around Ukraine and its disputed regions by any party only increases the likelihood of a war that careens out of control.

All military forces of all nations must stand down, and their governments must stop insisting that this crisis is necessary. It is up to the peoples of each of the antagonists to demand this of their governments.

Here in the United States, what we must demand of our government, in the hope that the people of all countries involved on all sides of this deepening crisis will make similar demands on theirs:

Immediately:

–We call on the government of the United States to be willing to negotiate with any and all states without conditions. Its “security” policies have played a significant role in bringing Europe, and the world, to the brink of disaster.

–The people of the Ukraine are on the front lines of the ongoing war and most at risk should it intensify. We call on the government of the United States to use all diplomatic means to encourage an immediate cease fire, a pullback of military forces from the conflict zones, and negotiations aimed at giving Ukraine’s people a real voice in their future, free of coercion from armed formations of all kinds, whether state militaries or regional militias. The United States should also provide humanitarian assistance to be directed to ordinary people in all of Ukraine’s regions, sustaining social benefits and public services and aiding in reconstruction of housing and public infrastructure damaged by war.

–We call for an immediate cessation of shipments of weapons or other military aid to Ukraine, and of the introduction of additional U.S. military forces and equipment of any nature into Europe.

–We call for an immediate, and world-wide, moratorium on U.S. military exercises outside the borders of the United States, and especially of provocative exercises, tests, and deployment of nuclear-capable forces.

–We call for a halt to the rush to additional sanctions against Russia, its government, or its economy. Ill-considered sanctions are more likely to impair than enhance good faith negotiations.

–We call for a moratorium on expansion of NATO.

And then we call for:

— Reversal of NATO decisions to expand rapid reaction forces and supporting infrastructure in Eastern Europe.

–Termination of U.S. programs to deploy U.S. ballistic missile defenses in Europe.

–Removal of U.S. nuclear weapons from Europe.

–More than three quarters of a century after the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and more than half a century after the United States, Russia, and the United Kingdom committed in the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to negotiate in good faith for an end of the nuclear arms race and the elimination of nuclear arsenals, immediate commencement of negotiations encompassing all nuclear-armed states for the elimination of nuclear weapons.

–Commencement of broader negotiations towards peaceful, inclusive security arrangements for Europe in which the NATO military alliance, its roots deep in the Cold War, will no longer be seen as needed by any of Europe’s people, allowing all U.S. forces in Europe, after more than three quarters of a century, to finally come home.

The most powerful countries have been in a permanent state of mobilization for war for over 80 years. We have lived under the threat of nuclear war for three quarters of a century. It is time to bring all the troops home, to bring us all home from the war.

The United for Peace and Justice Coordinating Committee

The post Time to start stopping the wars: No war in Ukraine, then no war anywhere. appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

The diverse network of national and international peace and nuclear disarmament non-governmental organizations are urging government leaders, particularly from the nuclear-armed states and their allies, to act with greater urgency and cooperation to meet unfulfilled promises to reduce nuclear risks and advance progress on disarmament, and to realize their commitment under the Treaty to the “complete elimination of nuclear weapons.”

The statement was released on May 11, the 25th anniversary of the package of decisions that led to the indefinite extension of the Treaty, and following the postponement of the 2020 NPT Review Conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The groups endorsing the statement underline that one of the many lessons to be learned from the pandemic is that “science must not be ignored under the guise of ‘national security’ policies that put profit before people and privilege the most powerful.”

“We’re not only at a pivotal point in the struggle against the fast-moving coronavirus; we are also at a tipping point in the long-running effort to reduce the threat of nuclear war and eliminate nuclear weapons. Tensions between the world’s nuclear-armed states are rising; the risk of nuclear use is growing; billions of dollars are being spent to replace and upgrade nuclear weapons; and key agreements that have kept nuclear competition in check are in serious jeopardy.”

“This environment,” the organizations write, “demands bolder action from all states to reduce nuclear risks by eliminating nuclear weapons; action that is rooted in ‘deep concern at the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons’.”

Click to read the full statement.

The post Global Civil Society Demands Action on Nuclear Disarmament from NPT States Parties appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

The threat from climate change is manifesting itself more and more strongly as the years go by through extreme weather events, forest fires on a vast scale, the bleaching of coral reefs, and receding glaciers, among others. This year also sees the world facing a pandemic which, as we speak, is costing thousands of lives every day and seems likely to have an impact on our civilization for years, if not decades to come.

Alongside these threats to human existence, however, is the lesser-considered, but more dangerous threat from nuclear technology that has the possibility to inflict a more devastating blow to the planet in 10 days than climate change will have in 100 years.

Read the Statement and add your name.

The post Abolition 2000 Statement Addressing the Threats to Planetary Survival appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

 A message from the Iraqi people to our friends all over the world

To the demonstrators against war, the advocates of peace, democracy and justice

 Years ago, a small group of world leaders, most living far from Iraq, made a promise that they would maintain global peace and security and bring democracy and freedom to the Iraqi people — through war! In response, many others throughout the world stood together in defense of world peace; they rejected the war in and on Iraq by joining in massive demonstrations that spread to cities across the globe. These protests alerted the public about the repercussions of war and warned of its catastrophic consequences. Hundreds of thousands of people called for the rights of Iraqi people to be respected; Iraqis themselves should decide their own destiny, without regional or international military intervention. The signs of these protestors bore the slogan “No to war … No to dictatorship!”

Of course, as they always do, the world’s top leaders ignored these global protests, and opened the door to a disaster of monstrous proportion and leading to unspeakable suffering. The war of 2003, contrary to what those who so recklessly started it promised, has contributed to the disruption of world peace, to the movement of a large military force into Iraq, and has caused the eastern Mediterranean to fall into a continuous cycle of violence. And the violence has spread; its impact continues to be felt by the whole world in the form of an ever-increasing tendency for violent extremism.

Today in Iraq, as we write this letter to you, we are living in revolutionary times; they started last October and — despite the killing, despite ongoing brutal and authoritarian violence — they are still going on now. This revolution is not an anomaly, it is not occurring in isolation from history, nor is it a break from what happened seventeen years ago. This revolution is the inevitable result of a relentless and ever-expanding accumulation of anger and pain caused by the imposition of a deliberately corrupt regime.  The backbone of the post-2003 regime in Iraq was a system of sectarian-ethnic quotas, allowing self-interested mafias to plunder our resources and impoverish our country for present and future generations. The Iraqis have revolted in direct response to this grave injustice. They demand a homeland that respects all its people as human beings, a homeland in which they enjoy peace and security, a homeland in which they benefit from principles of freedom and justice, where they live in a world of true democracy and social rights, a homeland in which they decide their own destiny, away from the interventions of international powers, especially American and Iranian.

We, the Iraqi people, who have had bitter experiences with wars and military interventions, stand with all humanity against war — ALL war.  We stand in solidarity with our neighbor, the Iranian people, against the war and the advocates of war! We stand together, firmly convinced that this war is only a means of political polarization, one intended to distract the public, driving them away from the reality of the revolutionary movement currently taking place in Iraq, Iran, Lebanon and the rest of the world! This present moment is crucial and we cannot lose sight of its force: people are standing up and demanding their legitimate right to self-determination, independence, freedom, democracy and social justice… These are the same demands that sparked our peaceful protests several months ago, and we are writing this now to implore you to keep your eyes on the hope for transformation that fuels these demonstrations — do not let them be destroyed by senseless violence and futile war!

War threatens to undermine all the gains of this great mass movement in Iraq and neighboring countries. It threatens to destroy the unity that holds the people in the region together. War will be used shamelessly, by a malevolent but powerful few, as an excuse to circumvent the people’s calls for justice. War will result in grave violations against human rights and will severely threaten the lives of the human rights defenders.

Join us now in active support for the revolutionary people of the world! Stand in solidarity with us, with them, and all our calls for what is right and fair. Together we can open a window to a future free from the devestations of war. We can have a future that is secure and peaceful, democratic and just!

Voices from the Iraqi people

The post A message from the peaceful protesters of the Iraqi “October Revolution” to all who will stand and oppose war on January 25th appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

The U.S. maintains over 800 military bases outside its territory, estimated at 95% of all foreign military bases in the world. These bases are viewed by people around the world as a major threat to world peace. Our foreign military bases are instruments of global domination carried out through wars of aggression and occupation. The U.S. has undermined governments, including democracies; killed millions, causing the mass migration of people fleeing violence and destruction; and produced vast environmental damage. The U.S. military and its far-flung operations are the single largest consumers of fossil fuel in the world, recklessly driving climate change.

The idea that we can solve our problems through force also sustains a culture of violence that has led to a society that has more guns than people. Increasingly, weapons designed for the battlefield are playing a part in one-sided political warfare at home, stoked by political rhetoric that portrays millions of ordinary people as “enemies.”

Our government’s actions abroad are shaped to serve the interests of energy multinationals and the military-industrial complex.  It is time to leave the road of endless war and to move towards a foreign policy that furthers global peace, and with it, real security for the American people.

Humanity faces unprecedented ecological challenges to its survival. We can no longer afford to fight among ourselves. We must unite against those who risk the destruction of all to serve the ends of a privileged few.

 Our Demands to the 2020 Presidential Candidates

End the Endless Wars; Don’t Start New Wars

UFPJ calls on all Presidential candidates to commit to end the wars, to cease provocative and unlawful threats of military action, to demilitarize U.S. foreign policy, and to reorient our policies towards diplomacy and humanitarian assistance.

Abolish Nuclear Weapons

UFPJ calls on all Presidential candidates to pledge to lead a global effort to prevent nuclear war by renouncing the option of using nuclear weapons first; ending the sole, unchecked authority of any president to launch a nuclear attack; taking U.S. nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert; cancelling the U.S. plan to replace its entire arsenal with new or upgraded weapons; and actively pursuing a verifiable agreement among nuclear armed states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals.

Cut the Pentagon Budget, Fund our Communities, and Mitigate the Climate Emergency

UFPJ calls on all Presidential candidates to pledge to reverse spending priorities and to redirect funds currently allocated to nuclear weapons and unwarranted military spending to support safe and resilient cities; to mitigate climate change; to create jobs by rebuilding our nation’s crumbling infrastructure, and to ensure basic human services for all, including education, environmental protection, food security, housing and health care.

Close the 800+ U.S. Military Bases Across the Globe

UFPJ calls on all Presidential candidates to close U.S. foreign bases in order to promote a just, peaceful and sustainable world.

The post United for Peace & Justice Calls for a New Foreign Policy appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

United for Peace and Justice was founded in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Faced with a traumatized public and an administration eager for war, our goal was to promote peaceful, democratic alternatives, and collective, international engagement to seek justice, not revenge. We recognized from the outset that an essential part of this work must be to support and protect the communities targeted by war propaganda and anti-Muslim hysteria.

The politics and culture of this country never have recovered from the ground lost on that day and in the long wars that followed. Almost two decades later, we are still at war, and new wars seem always just over the horizon. The currents of racism and white nationalism, born of the traumas of genocide of native Americans and Atlantic slavery that are as much a part of this country’s founding as the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, never have been far below the surface. The fear, despair and resentment flowing from the second shock of a generational economic crisis and a government response that bailed out the rich and largely ignored the rest provided more fuel for demagogues willing to exploit those currents. Trump’s ascendance is the high-water mark of a politics of diversion and division, less an aberration than a demonstration of the power of those tactics and of the factions who have chosen to use them.

When called to account publicly for racism, Trump and his enablers often will shift ideological gears, denouncing the same political adversaries as “socialists.” We must remember that this tactic has a long dark history, extending back beyond similar attacks on the U.S. civil rights movement to Nazi portrayals of Jews as communists. This kind of propaganda shares pernicious characteristics with racism and other bigotry. Its purpose is not to engage in debate about the merits of socialism, but to cast an opponent’s beliefs as foreign, alien, forever irreconcilable with membership in the Nation.

So now we are faced with a moment of choice. It is clearer than ever that human emancipation, the constitution of a society by free human beings with all having an equal voice in shaping our shared future, is not compatible with a concept of the nation that premises membership on race, religion, gender, or any such markers of identity. You can have blood and soil politics or democracy, authoritarian nationalism or the Constitution and a rule of law that is something more than force in fancy dress. You can’t have both.

Some of the dangers posed by a President who incites hatred against people on the basis of their race or religion are obvious. The political figures Trump singles out are deluged with death threats. Violent acts that would be called terrorism if done in the name of any cause other than white nationalism already were on the rise before El Paso. But there are other pervasive and pernicious effects. The climate of violence and the legitimation of extreme authoritarian nationalist politics not only frightens but silences. This may be so particularly in parts of the country where targeted communities are smaller portions of the population.

Resisting the slide towards authoritarian nationalism will require a movement that is broad and deep. And like all such efforts it must begin at the bottom, in our communities and schools and workplaces. The first step of a movement is finding its voice, and in today’s climate this means doing all we can to make those targeted by hate feel safe, and free to step forward.

We know that many of you already are coming out to defend targeted communities.  But even though we may have other issues that are the main focus of our day to day work, we believe that we have come to a moment in which defending the most vulnerable among us is of central importance. There can be no real progress on climate change, or health care for all, or ending and preventing wars, or the abolition of nuclear weapons without progress towards democracy and justice.

The post Unite Again for Peace and Justice appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

“The United States government must cease interfering in Venezuela’s internal politics, especially for the purpose of overthrowing the country’s government. Actions by the Trump administration and its allies in the hemisphere are almost certain to make the situation in Venezuela worse, leading to unnecessary human suffering, violence, and instability.”

Read the Open Letter and then take action.

Code Pink is asking people to send a message to the Democrats in Congress that they must not stay silent. So far only Senator Sanders and Representatives Khanna, Gabbard, Ocasio-Cortez, Lee, and Omar have spoken out and some — such as Sen. Dick Durbin and Rep. Adam Schiff—have actually supported Trump. Tell the Democrats to follow Senator Sanders and Representatives Khanna, Gabbard, Ocasio-Cortez, Lee, and Omar and call for peaceful dialogue. The coup attempt must be condemned.

The Alliance for Global Justice is asking people to tell your elected officials that you oppose foreign intervention in Venezuela’s internal affairs. This action is counter to both the United Nations and Organization of American States Charters and thus illegal under international law.

The U.S. Peace Council “calls upon the US peace movement to not limit itself to just signing petitions and issuing statements of condemnation, as important as they are” and urges people to organize broad mass protests in every corner of the country, against war, against foreign intervention, and against violations of UN Charter.

MORE RESOURCES 

The Veterans For Peace Board of Directors issued the following statement at its meeting in Tijuana, Mexico on Sunday, January 27:

“Veterans For Peace is outraged at the unfolding coup d’etat in Venezuela, which is clearly being orchestrated by the U.S. government. Two hundred years of blatant U.S. intervention in Latin America must come to an end.” Read the full Veteran’s Call to Resist U.S. Coup in Venezuela.  

On Sunday, January 27 Code Pink co-founder Jody Evans did a live Facebook interview with Aline Piva in Venezuela. Aline is a Brazilian journalist, policy analyst and professor of law at the Bolivarian University in Caracas. Click here to watch the video.

Looking ahead…. On April 4, NATO will be “celebrating” its 70^th anniversary in Washington, DC. April 4 also marks the 51st anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s tragic and untimely assassination and the 52^st anniversary of his prophetic speech, “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence”. Many UFPJ member groups and allies are planning No to NATO – Yes to Peace events in DC, March 30 – April 4. Click here for more information and a calendar of events.

The post Tell the US to Stop Interfering in Venezuela’s Internal Politics appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

23, “Donald Trump flips on North Korea, declaring country still an ‘extraordinary threat.’”

Two weeks earlier, at their meeting in Singapore, President Trump and President Kim turned a page and made a start on establishing a new kind of US-DPRK relations. Their statement committed the two countries to join their efforts to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. The DPRK committed to work toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The U.S. and the DPRK committed to recovering POW/MIA remains, including the repatriation of those already identified. President Trump committed to provide security guarantees to the DPRK.

Hyun Lee, a leading Korean-American peace activist, perhaps best summed up the historic meaning of the summit. It was “a historic breakthrough in U.S.-North Korea relations. It signaled a final end to seven decades of hostility and tension and a commitment to establishing normal relations between the two countries. In tandem with steps toward denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, the two countries should move toward complete and irreversible normalization.”

In the days after June 12 what was most dismaying was the response to the Summit declaration among much of the US media (MSNBC, CNN, NY Times, Washington Post and others) and many top elected officials. So eager to deny “credit” to the U.S. Administration for a diplomatic breakthrough, partisan critics voiced skepticism and even opposition. All too often, leading Democrats attacked the Summit agreement from the right. Two senators introduced an amendment to the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act to prevent President Trump from withdrawing U.S. troops from South Korea. The U.S. still has 83 bases in South Korea and some 30,000 troops stationed there.

Some critics asserted Trump “made too many concessions.” Some claimed the agreement “lacked substance.” Some said Trump was “outfoxed” by Kim. According to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, an MSNBC host was aghast that the U.S. said it would halt the annual war exercises it conducts with South Korea on North Korea’s doorstep, because doing so is “an absolute jackpot for the North Korean dictator,” “one of the things he wants most on earth,” and now Washington “has just given them that for free, for nothing.”

Reflect for a moment on the insanity of such a position: Two nuclear-armed states, having moved toward possible war for many months, reverse course and take an important step away from the brink, a step that could lead to a completely new path after 65 years of armed confrontation. It ought to be a cause for celebration.

Unfortunately, the hyper-partisans in the U.S. corporate media showed precious little understanding. In our view, all commentary should center on that spectacular achievement and how to build on it.  

Fortunately, the rest of the world grasped that the Summit was a “win” for both the U.S. and North Korean sides, to say nothing of a win for humanity as a whole.

If anybody deserves “credit” for the progress so far, it is the Korean people themselves who overwhelmingly supported novel diplomacy between the two Korean states – from an inclusive Winter Olympics, to the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration, to the June 12 summit in Singapore. The international community played a positive role. So did U.S. peace organizations, coordinating through the Korea Peace Network. For example, Women Cross the DMZ made repeated visits to Korea, both the north and the south, building peace together with Korean women. Veterans For Peace helped to write and distribute the People’s Peace Treaty with North Korea, which has been signed by tens of thousands of people in the U.S.

An Open Letter to the Leaders of USA, South Korea and North Korea signed by UFPJ and more than 100 U.S. peace, faith-based, professional, and Korean-American organizations across the country, was released at a UN press conference on March 29, 2018. The letter expressed support for the upcoming inter-Korean and US-DPRK summits, noting that “Dialogue and diplomacy is essential if we are to prevent a war that would likely result in an unthinkable disaster for the Korean Peninsula, the United States and the world….. the planned summits offer the potential for starting a serious process that could move us decisively away from the current crisis.”

Many others mobilized, not least of all the Korean-American community.

As The Guardian story cited above suggests, no Administration with a leader as unpredictable as Donald Trump advised by the likes of John Bolton and Michael Pompeo can be relied upon to build on the hopeful positive step taken at the Summit.

It is essential to emphasize the key role of the people of South Korea. A very large and determined democracy movement brought the current government there to power, rejecting the legacy of authoritarian governments closely tied to the United States. The broad support Moon Jae-in’s government enjoys for its peace initiatives are the strongest force keeping peace negotiations on track, despite the often-erratic conduct of their U.S. negotiating partners. Their actions show that a mobilized population can affect policy at the highest levels.

It is up to all who are concerned with lasting peace and avoiding nuclear conflict to push this peace process forward.

The post Korea Summit: a Breakthrough and a Beginning appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

Inspired by the Vietnam-era People’s Peace Treaty, we have initiated a People’s Peace Treaty with North Korea, to raise awareness about the past U.S. policy toward North Korea, and to send a clear message that we, the people of the U.S., do not want another war with North Korea. This is not an actual treaty, but rather a declaration of peace from the people of the United States.  

Our goal is to collect many thousands of signatures by the end of 2017, and to publicize the People’s Peace Treaty in conjunction with nationally coordinated peace actions on Armistice Day (aka Veterans Day), November 11. The People’s Peace Treaty will be sent to the governments and peoples of Korea, as well as to the U.S. Government. Please add your voice for peace by signing the People’s Peace Treaty with North Korea.  Add your name today.

Click Here To Sign!

To: Washington & Pyongyang
From: YOU

People’s Peace Treaty with North Korea
A Message of Peace from the People of the United States

Deeply concerned with the increasing danger of the current military tensions and threats between the Governments of the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (the DPRK, North Korea), which may re-ignite the horrendous fighting in the Korean War by design, mistake or accident;

Recalling that the United States currently possesses about 6,800 nuclear weapons, and has threatened the use of nuclear weapons against North Korea in the past, including the most recent threat made by the U.S. President in his terrifying speech to the United Nations (“totally destroy North Korea”);

Regretting that the U.S. Government has so far refused to negotiate a peace treaty to replace the temporary Korean War Armistice Agreement of 1953, although such a peace treaty has been proposed by the DPRK many times from 1974 on;

Convinced that ending the Korean War officially is an urgent, essential step for the establishment of enduring peace and mutual respect between the U.S. and the DPRK, as well as for the North Korean people’s full enjoyment of their basic human rights to life, peace and development – ending their long sufferings from the harsh economic sanctions imposed on them by the U.S. Government since 1950.

NOW, THEREFORE, as a Concerned Person of the United States of America (or on behalf of a civil society organization), I hereby sign this People’s Peace Treaty with North Korea, dated November 11, 2017, Armistice Day (also Veterans Day in the U.S.), and

1) Declare to the world that the Korean War is over as far as I am concerned, and that I will live in “permanent peace and friendship” with the North Korean people (as promised in the 1882 U.S.-Korea Treaty of Peace, Amity, Commerce and Navigation that opened the diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Korea for the first time);

2) Express my deep apology to the North Korean people for the U.S. Government’s long, cruel and unjust hostility against them, including the near total destruction of North Korea due to the heavy U.S. bombings during the Korean War;

3) Urge Washington and Pyongyang to immediately stop their preemptive (or preventive) conventional/nuclear attack threats against each other and to sign the new UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons;

4) Call upon the U.S. Government to stop its large-scale, joint war drills with the armed forces of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and Japan, and commence a gradual withdrawal of the U.S. troops and weapons from South Korea;

5) Call upon the U.S. Government to officially end the lingering and costly Korean War by concluding a peace treaty with the DPRK without further delay, to lift all sanctions against the country, and to join the 164 nations that have normal diplomatic relations with the DPRK;

6) Pledge that I will do my best to end the Korean War, and to reach out to the North Korean people – in order to foster greater understanding, reconciliation and friendship.

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