WILPF-US Statement on Syria

Statement on Syria by the WILPF-US Middle East committee

We, the United States section of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF-US), call on President Obama not to issue a unilateral Executive Order for the United States to take military action against Syria, nor to request the US Congress to approve such military action.

Unilateral military intervention will only kill more civilians and possibly bring on a multinational war that could spin out of control.

These conflicts in Syria have already caused the deaths of more than 100,000 people, mostly civilians, and more than two million refugees have fled to neighboring countries. We need to bring the moral strength of the United States to bear, to help the Syrian people in reaching an end to this war, to stop all arms transfers, and to send humanitarian funds and other relief immediately.

We demand that the United States use its might to press for a negotiated solution that will bring all parties to the negotiation table and to recognize the terms and force of existing international laws and treaties, including the right of the Syrian people to self-determination, and of treaties both within and outside the aegis of the United Nations.The US must work with Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, and other arms suppliers to bring about an immediate and complete multilateral ceasefire to be followed by presidential elections to allow the Syrian people to choose the leader the majority will elect.

We, the United States of America, have the capacity to help the whole area regain peace and stability. WILPF US urges President Obama to assure that the United States of America's power is used to wage peace, and not more war.

We would also remind President Obama that the whole Middle East should be made into a Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone and are demanding that the 2012 Helsinki conference that was cancelled, to be convened most urgently.

We are in total agreement with  the statement that the WILPF Geneva office issued on behalf of WILPF International: "Syria, Chemical Weapons, and Avoiding Military intervention."