Letter from the Canadian Unitarian Council to Prime Minister Jean Chretien re: War with Iraq

October 2, 2002

The Right Honourable Jean Chretien
Prime Minister of Canada
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6

Sir

Canadian Unitarians and Universalists urge you to continue to use every diplomatic avenue available to you to prevent a war against Iraq. We implore
you to refuse Canadian military involvement in any action against Iraq that does not respect international law and is not sanctioned by the United
Nations.

Unitarians and Universalists are committed to the goal of world community where there is respect for the worth and dignity of all people. The people
of Iraq have suffered terribly under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein and eleven years of United Nations sanctions. An attack will only increase the
suffering and deaths of innocent Iraqis.

We applaud the present stance of the Government of Canada in opposing unilateral U.S. action. We support you in promoting a solution to the
current crisis that is consistent with international law through the United Nations.

Any attack against Iraq that is seen to be led by "the west" will greatly increase instability in this already volatile Middle East region.
Furthermore, a U.S. or multilateral attack on Iraq might impel rather than prevent Saddam Hussein from using weapons of mass destruction if he has
them. As Globe and Mail columnist Hugh Winsor noted recently. "The only scenario the analysts could foresee in which Iraq might use weapons of mass
destruction would be after it had been attacked and had nothing left to lose."

We support the Kairos Ecumenical Coalition statement that "a peace-building approach to the problem of Iraq, consistent with international law and
taking the common good of Iraq's people as its starting point, can be developed, can be fruitful, and can prevail over war-fatalism in
international negotiations."

Canadian Unitarians and Universalists urge you to sustain your present pursuit of a peaceful resolution to the crisis with Iraq.

Yours truly

Rev. Dr. Mark Morrison-Reed, President, Board of Trustees

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