Amnesty International USA

WHEREAS a policy debate concerning the use of force and military intervention exists within AI;

WHEREAS at the 2003 ICM consensus was reached on the need for AI to develop strong policies and positions on the use of force to protect human rights;

WHEREAS AI uses the authority of Article 2 of the UN Charter and other international treaties to call on states to respect human rights, and avoid the use of force and resolve disputes by peaceful means;

WHEREAS AI was founded to work for the release of those detained who have not used or advocated violence, making a non-violence clause the essence of the Movement from its founding;

WHEREAS human rights protection during combat becomes impossible when citizens become targets of massacres and ethnic cleansing and when citizens get labeled as combatants or collaborators based solely on their religious or ethnic identity;

WHEREAS parties to wars are often unresponsive to diplomatic mediation or economic sanctions, giving AI's insistence on these policies the appearance of weakness and ineffectiveness;

WHEREAS AI's 1997 Decision 7 states that (military) interventions must not lead to violations of human rights or humanitarian law standards, yet military action inevitably leads to violations of human rights;

WHEREAS AI urges states to respect human rights and humanitarian law during combat often without recommendations on how to achieve these objectives;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that AIUSA should identify military intervention as a grave human rights concern upon which AIUSA can have a great impact; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that AIUSA should take a leadership position in compliance with Decision 13 of the IEC in its preparation of a study and recommendations to the 2005 ICM on positions and options open to AI relative to the use of force; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that AIUSA should encourage the IEC, in considering the implementation of Decision 13, to consider the urgency of grave threats to human rights posed by present and future military conflicts; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that if there are any resolutions on this topic before the 2005 ICM, the Board shall bring a resolution to the 2005 AGM regarding AIUSA's position on the issue.