United for Peace and Justice was founded in late 2002, bringing together a broad spectrum of organizations in the United States opposed to the war that all could see our government preparing to launch against Iraq. UFPJ played a leading role in organizing the global protests against the war in February 2003, including a February 15 demonstration in New York City that drew over 500,000 participants. Later in 2003, UFPJ member groups met in Chicago, and drafted the statement of unity below, adopted as a work in progress. The opening paragraph expresses opposition to the particular war danger of that time. The remainder of the Unity Statement sets forth fundamental principles that continue to ground and guide our work today.
Read more about UFPJ’s history here.
UFPJ Unity Statement
Adopted as a work in progress at the June 2003 United for Peace and Justice National Strategy Conference
We, the members of United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ), stand opposed to the “pre-emptive” wars of aggression waged by the Bush administration; we reject its 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; we say NO to its use of war and racism to concentrate power in the hands of the few, at home and abroad.
We come together to turn the tide, to overwhelm war with peace, and oppression with justice. We hold that sovereign nations have the right to determine their own future, free from the threat of “pre-emptive attacks” and “regime change,” military occupation, and outside control of their economic resources. We call for new foreign and domestic policies based on the 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.
We seek to build a broad mass movement for peace and justice composed of all who are threatened by the new war program. 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. We will work to make the peace movement a strong ally to movements for social and economic justice in the U.S. and abroad.
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 color, youth, women, and workers. We will be pro-active in addressing internal power dynamics within our movement, especially regarding issues of race, class, gender, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity, nationality, disability, cultural heritage, or ethnicity.
We will work for peace and justice through nonviolent means. We will strive to embody in our day-to-day work the values we espouse and the world we seek to build.
