   #copyright

United for Peace and Justice

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Politics and government

   Part of a series on
   Anti-War topics
   Opposition to...

   American
   Revolutionary War
   World War I
   World War II
   Second Boer War
   American Civil War
   War of 1812
   Vietnam War
   Afghanistan War
   Iraq War
   War against Iran
   War on Terrorism
   Agents of opposition

   Anti-war organizations
   Conscientious objectors
   Draft dodgers
   Peace movement
   Peace churches
   Related ideologies

   Antimilitarism
   Appeasement • Pacifism
   Media

   Books • Films • Songs
   Politics Portal ·

   United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) is a coalition of more than 1,300
   international and U.S.-based organizations opposed to what they
   describe as "our government's policy of permanent warfare and
   empire-building."

   The organization was founded by Leslie Cagan and others in October
   2002, during the build-up to the U.S.'s 2003 invasion of Iraq. The
   direct precursor to UFPJ was "United We March!", initiated by Global
   Exchange, the Green Party of the United States, and others, which
   organized the April 20th demonstration against the U.S. invasion of
   Afghanistan.

   Primarily, UFPJ organizes large-scale protests. The group separates its
   work into seven issue campaigns: Iraq, counter-military recruitment,
   global justice, nuclear disarmament, Palestine/Israel, civil
   liberties/immigrant rights and faith-based organizing.

   UFPJ's previous major action occurred from September 24- 26, 2005 in
   Washington, D.C. UFPJ called the protest "End the War on Iraq!" On
   September 24, there was a march, rally and festival. Although exact
   numbers are never known, the organizers estimated that hundreds of
   thousands of people attended these events; the NYCLU says 300,000. On
   September 25, there was an interfaith service and grassroots training.
   The final day, September 26, was devoted to lobbying Congress and to
   nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience. Roughly 370 were
   arrested for blocking the entrance to the White House, demanding to
   meet with George W. Bush.

Previous protests

   Some of UFPJ's accomplishments include:
     * Its first protest, on February 15, 2003, in front of the United
       Nations headquarters in New York City and entitled "The World Says
       No to War." The protest drew over 500,000 people.

     * Its second major protest, held on March 20, 2004 to commemorate the
       first anniversary of the U.S.' attack on Iraq. The event drew over
       100,000 people in New York City, plus nearly two million in 700
       other cities.

     * In 2004, the organization wanted to hold a rally on the Great Lawn
       of Central Park in opposition to the continued occupation of Iraq.
       The City denied UFPJ's application for a permit, on the basis that
       a mass gathering on the Great Lawn would be harmful to the grass,
       and that such damage would make it harder to collect private
       donations to maintain the Park. UFPJ charged that Mayor Michael
       Bloomberg was willing to allow other large gatherings on the Great
       Lawn, but was discriminating against the demonstration so as to
       curry favour with the Republican Party, which was holding its
       quadrennial convention in New York City. Nevertheless, a court
       rejected UFPJ's challenge to the denial of the permit.

   The major protest was eventually held elsewhere, on Sunday, August 29,
   2004, the eve of the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York
   City. The event drew over 500,000 people, according to The New York
   Times, and received lead coverage (including a double-sized, vertical
   front page in New York Newsday) in every major newspaper.

Unity statement

   UFPJ's lengthy Unity Statement, adopted as a work in progress at the
   June 2003 UFPJ National Strategy Conference and occasionally receiving
   minor updates to reflect world events, begins by asserting their
   opposition to the " pre-emptive wars of aggression waged by the Bush
   administration" and the "drive to expand U.S. control over other
   nations and strip us of our rights at home under the cover of fighting
   terrorism and spreading democracy." It then echoes the rhetoric of Not
   in Our Name (founded six months earlier and itself a member of UFPJ)
   stating, "we say NO to [the U.S.'s] use of war and racism to
   concentrate power in the hands of the few, at home and abroad."

   It goes on to call for "a broad mass movement for peace and justice"
   and, in particular, for "peaceful resolution of disputes amongst
   states; respect for national sovereignty, international law, and the
   Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the defense and extension of
   basic democratic freedoms to all; social and economic justice; and the
   use of public spending to meet human and environmental needs."

   UFPJ explicitly positions itself as not being a single-issue
   organization: "We envision UFPJ as a movement-building coalition that
   coordinates and supports the work of existing groups and builds
   linkages and solidarity where none exist. We will link the wars abroad
   with the assaults at home, and U.S. militarism to the corporate
   economic interests it serves."

   The statement lays out the intent of following these principles
   internally to UFPJ itself: "We will pay special attention in all
   aspects of our work to the inclusion and leadership of constituencies
   bearing the brunt of the war’s impact at home, such as people of
   colour, youth, women, and workers. We will be pro-active in addressing
   internal power dynamics within our movement..." Further, the group
   pledges itself to non-violence.

   The statement continues with a critique of U.S. government conduct,
   above all, with respect to the justification, preparation, and
   execution of the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the subsequent occupation,
   including criticism of the media and the Democratic Party for
   "refus[ing] to challenge them." It argues that, "the war on Iraq was
   the leading edge of a relentless drive for U.S. empire... [e]xploiting
   the tragedy of September 11, 2001..." for that purpose and to "impose
   right-wing policies at home under the cover of fighting terrorism."

   The critique is then broadened to much of U.S. foreign policy, nuclear
   weapons policy, racial profiling, detention of immigrants, and other
   abuses in domestic law enforcement, singling out the USA PATRIOT Act
   and the "even more draconian" PATRIOT Act II. It also assails the
   damage that a war budget and "tax cuts for the wealthy" have done to
   domestic programs such as Medicaid and even veterans' benefits, then
   states, "Military recruiters are aggressively targeting low-income
   students, predominantly people of colour, who, because they are denied
   access to good schools and decent jobs, have few alternatives to
   poverty or incarceration other than joining the military."

   At least one critic charges that in 2006, as in 2004, the primary focus
   of United For Peace and Justice is to help the Democrats win electoral
   victories, and that their uncritical and unwavering support of the
   Democratic Party, regardless of the position taken by the Party or by
   candidates, is the central political position of UFPJ.

"No Stolen Elections!" campaign

   In September of 2004, UFPJ joined with the Liberty Tree Foundation for
   the Democratic Revolution, Code Pink, and Global Exchange to launch the
   "No Stolen Elections!" campaign. Participants were invited to join in
   signing a pledge that began, "I remember the stolen presidential
   election of 2000 and I am willing to take action in 2004 if the
   election is stolen again." The campaign stated that it would prepare
   for widespread protest and civil disobedience in the event of
   significant fraud in the 2004 election. On November 3, tens of
   thousands of people, demonstrating in over 80 cities, protested
   purported vote suppression and mechanical irregularities in Ohio and
   other states.

Sharp disagreement with ANSWER

   Although UFPJ worked with A.N.S.W.E.R. to build the September 24, 2005
   Washington, D.C. rally, by December 2005 the two groups had
   definitively fallen out. A December 2005 statement by UFPJ says that
   "engagement with A.N.S.W.E.R.… [has been] …a difficult and
   controversial aspect of our work," and that UFPJ "has decided not to
   coordinate work with ANSWER again on a national level." The document
   discusses events surrounding the September 24 rally, charges that
   A.N.S.W.E.R. "violated the terms of our agreement in ways that
   substantially and negatively impacted September 24’s message and
   impact," remarks that "co-sponsorship with ANSWER on September 24 was
   welcomed by some in the antiwar movement but limited or prevented
   completely the participation of others," and explains, "We did not have
   consensus" about the decision not to work with A.N.S.W.E.R., but had "a
   more than two thirds supermajority … We make no recommendations or
   mandates on this issue to UFPJ member groups in local or
   constituency-based area…"

   A.N.S.W.E.R. responded by saying that "UFPJ has publicly proclaimed its
   intention to split the movement," and accused UFPJ of "a false and ugly
   attack on the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition," and of doing so for
   "embarrassingly petty and astonishingly trivial" reasons. Besides
   giving their own version of the events surrounding September 24,
   A.N.S.W.E.R.'s statement indicates some less trivial differences
   between the groups: they criticize UFPJ for its willingness to embrace
   even moderate politicians, such as John Murtha and conservative
   politicians like Ron Paul, who are disaffected with the war, while
   A.N.S.W.E.R. "considers it harmful to try to tailor the message of the
   progressive movement to please the long-awaited but fictional support
   from the politicians."

Member groups

   As of September 2006, prominent member groups include:
     * American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
     * American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
     * Antiwar.com
     * Buddhist Peace Fellowship (BPF)
     * Catholic Worker Movement
     * Centre for Constitutional Rights
     * Centre for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy
     * Code Pink
     * Communist Party USA (CPUSA)
     * Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR)
     * Global Exchange
     * Greenpeace
     * Green Party of the United States (GPUS)
     * Institute for Policy Studies
     * International Socialist Organization (ISO)
     * International Solidarity Movement (ISM)
     * Military Families Speak Out (MFSO)
     * MoveOn
     * Not in Our Name (NION)
     * National Council of Churches
     * National Lawyers Guild
     * National Organization for Women (NOW)
     * National Youth and Student Peace Coalition (NYSPC)
     * Nevada Shakespeare Company (NSC)
     * Pacifica Foundation
     * Peace Action
     * Quixote Centre
     * Rainbow/Push Coalition
     * Rainforest Action Network
     * Refuse+Resist
     * Ruckus Society
     * School of the Americas Watch (SOAW)
     * Socialist Party USA (SPUSA)
     * Tikkun Community
     * TransAfrica Forum
     * TrueMajority
     * Veterans for Peace
     * War Resisters League
     * Working Assets
     * Z Magazine and ZNET

   The coalition also includes numerous local organizations,
   denominational religious organizations, trade-union groups, and several
   U.S.-state Green parties. There are some non-U.S. member groups,
   including several from Nigeria.
   Retrieved from "
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_for_Peace_and_Justice"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
