GLOBAL
ACTION TO PREVENT WAR STATEMENT ON THE SEPTEMBER 11 ATTACKS
- The September 11 terrorist attacks constitute a crime against humanity. Their
perpetrators must be brought to justice and prosecuted for these crimes. In pursuing this
objective, the gathering anti-terrorist coalition of countries joining with the United
States should work within the framework of the United Nations and international law.
- The priority task must be to bring the perpetrators of these horrifying acts of violence
to justice. Holding the perpetrators accountable and bringing them to public trial,
preferably before an international tribunal, will inform the entire world on the nature of
these atrocities and the lessons to be drawn from them, acting as a deterrent for the
future.
- If it is demonstrated that governments as well as terrorist groups are implicated, then
responsible persons in those governments should be named and their delivery to a tribunal
demanded, as we have done with Osama bin Laden and his co-conspirators.
- All anti-terrorist actions of the United States and others should clearly show that
specific individuals are being held accountable for specific reasons. Governments should
avoid blanket accusations and indiscriminate death and injury. They should not create
future terrorists. We will apply these standards to all actions by the United States and
coalition members.
- The UN Security Council resolution of September 12, 2001, proposed by the United States
and passed with its vote, makes explicit the point of bringing individuals to justice. In
Paragraph 3 of the resolution, the UN Security Council "calls on all States to work
together urgently to bring to justice the perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of these
terrorist attacks and stresses that those responsible for aiding, supporting or harbouring
the perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of these acts will be held accountable."
- We must devote serious, ongoing study to the root causes of terrorism and act
systematically over a long period to diminish the intensity of its motivations. Unless we
can do this, suicidal terrorist attacks will take place again and again, with increasing
ingenuity and fatalities in each cycle.
- In this study, we must be as balanced as possible, including in the scope of the study
actions and policies of the U.S. and other countries that might have contributed to the
problem, but also considering all other pertinent sources of motivation.
- Because it is already widely known that one important source of Muslim resentment
against the USA is U.S. support for Israel in the Israeli-Palestinian confrontation, we
should urge the administration to develop an equitable and practical plan for resolving
this confrontation, and to press this plan systematically on both Israelis and
Palestinians. In the interest of world security and their own security, the time has come
for both sides, to agree to a plan for reconciling their differences.
- We also need an administration action plan to alleviate the plight of the Iraqi civilian
population under UN sanctions.
- Poverty and gross inequalities in economic, social, cultural and political freedoms
contribute to the motivations for terrorism. Stepped up, sustained development and
economic assistance, including debt forgiveness, increased efforts at controlling the
proliferation of weapons of all kinds, as well as the promotion of human rights and
democracy, will help to decrease the appeal and capability of terrorism.
- We must urge repressive Middle Eastern governments to progressively loosen controls and
promote sustainable social and economic development. Dialogue with Muslim clerics should
encourage them to emphasize the more liberal traditions of Islam and to show how terrorist
extremism distorts Islam's best traditions.
- By doing these things, we can minimize the impact of the awful September 11 events and
even draw from them some positive direction for the future.
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