Please read the statement below, e-mail it to Secretary-General Kofi Annan and send it to others, post it on other IMCs and anywhere else you think appropriate. The statement calls on the Secretary-General, the Security Council and the entire UN to obey the UN Charter voting guidelines, which would prevent the US from voting on any resolutions pertaining to Iraq.

The e-mail address to send the letter to is: inqu...@un.org. In the subject line, type "Secretary-General: Letter Concerning Iraq".

Dear Secretary-General:

The US claims that 1441 provides the legal justification for an invasion of Iraq. But under Chapter V, Article 27 of the UN Charter, resolution 1441 is invalid: "Decisions of the Security Council on all other matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of nine members including the concurring votes of the permanent members; provided that, in decisions under Chapter VI, and under paragraph 3 of Article 52, a party to a dispute shall abstain from voting." Chapter VI deals with matters concerning war and the maintenance of peace, so Chapter V, Article 27 applies to 1441.

The US Congress, by granting Mr. Bush the authority to wage war and by declaring Iraq an official matter of national security, legally made the US a party to a dispute with Iraq. Also, statements by US officials, including the President of the United States, indicating their willingness to engage Iraq in a war without the support of the international community reveal the US to have an interest in invading Iraq apart from simply being a concerned member of the international community. For the reasons outlined above, the US was not allowed under the voting laws of the UN Security Council to participate in the vote on resolution 1441. The US is also prohibited from voting on any further Security Council resolutions pertaining to Iraq under the UN Charter.

We, the people of the international community, call on you, Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and the entire assembly of the United Nations, for the sake of peace, the rule of law and the preservation of human life, to uphold the UN Charter and bar the US from voting on any Security Council resolution pertaining to Iraq.

Sincerely,

[Please add your name and send]