Pursue Peace and Nonviolence in 2022

Our deteriorating international situation is shot through with the lethal darts of fear. Russia fears America, and America fears Russia. Likewise, China and India, and the Israelis and the Arabs. These fears include another nation's aggression, scientific and technological supremacy, and economic power, and our own loss of status and power.Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ,"The Strength to Love," 1963

Martin Luther King's Call to Action on Nuclear Disarmament
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was passionate about nuclear disarmament. He was not a latecomer to the issue, writing about it as early as 1951, nor did he see it as a single issue, asking in 1959, "What will be the ultimate value of having established social justice in a context where all people, Negro and White, are merely free to face destruction by strontium 90 or atomic war.... Today the choice is no longer between violence and nonviolence. It is either nonviolence or nonexistence."In 1968 he declared, "[T]he alternative to disarmament.... will be a civilization plunged into the abyss of annihilation, and our earthly habitat will be transformed into an inferno that even the mind of Dante could not envision."Learn more. See also, Why MLK Day is a Big Deal in Hiroshima.

The Poor People's Campaign: Picking up Martin Luther King's Unfinished Work
The Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, has picked up Martin Luther King's unfinished work, weaving the interlocking injustices of systemic racism, systemic poverty, environmental devastation, militarism and the war economy, and a distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism, into one "moral fusion"campaign. United for Peace & Justice is a proud partner in the Poor People's Campaign, which is building towards a Mass Poor People's & Low-Wage Worker's Assembly & Moral March on Washington and to the Polls, on June 18. In the runup to June 18, we call on groups around the country to organize public participatory readings of Dr. King's seminal speech, Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence on April 4, the 54^th anniversary of his tragic assassination. Read more..

No More Ukraine War
The Ukraine crisis intensifies, with no clear path to resolution. An endless fog of propaganda makes understanding difficult, but a few things are clear. The governments of the United States and its allies bear responsibility for refusing to include the post-Soviet Russian government in a security system that would allow it to feel secure within its borders. Further introduction of more weapons and forces, overt or covert, into Ukraine and its disputed regions by any party only increases the likelihood of a war that careens out of control. The United Nations Charter prohibits "the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state..."World Beyond War and Code Pink offer petitions calling for a step back from the brink.

Webinar Tuesday January 25: The Uyghurs of China
The Committee for a Sane U.S.-China Policy is presenting a webinar, "The Uyghurs of China: Who They Are, Human Rights Abuses, Implications for U.S. Policy?"January 25, 4:00-5:30 PM. EST. The panelists will be Garner Bovington, author of The Uyghurs: Strangers in Their Own Land and professor of Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University, Kate Kizer, human rights advocate and columnist at Responsible Statecraft, Alkan Akad, China Specialist, Amnesty International, and panel chair Paul Joseph, Committee for a Sane U.S.-China Policy steering committee, and Professor Emeritus, Tufts University. Click here for more information, and to register.

After a Year of Biden, Why Do We Still Have Trump's Foreign Policy?
President Biden and the Democrats were highly critical of President Trump's foreign policy, so it was reasonable to expect that Biden would quickly remedy its worst impacts. As a senior member of the Obama administration, Biden surely needed no schooling on Obama's diplomatic agreements with Cuba and Iran, both of which began to resolve long-standing foreign policy problems and provided models for the renewed emphasis on diplomacy that Biden was promising. Tragically for America and the world, Biden has failed to restore Obama's progressive initiatives, and has instead doubled down on many of Trump's most dangerous and destabilizing policies. Read here to learn more about Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J.S. Davies's assessment of Biden's handling of ten critical foreign policy issues.

At Doom's Doorstep: It is 100 Seconds to Midnight
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists finds the world no safer than it was last year at this time and on January 20 again set the Doomsday Clock at 100 seconds to midnight. This decision does not suggest that the international security situation has stabilized. On the contrary, the Clock remains the closest it has ever been to civilization-ending apocalypse because the world remains stuck in an extremely dangerous moment. Last year, negative trends in nuclear and biological weapons, climate change, and a variety of disruptive technologies were exacerbated by a corrupted information ecosphere that undermines rational decision making and kept the world within a stone's throw of apocalypse -- no place to loiter. Read the Press Release. Watch the Press Conference. Read the 2022 Statement.

Peace and Justice Organizations Call for Freedom for Julian Assange
Wikileaks founder, journalist and free speech champion Julian Assange today faces life imprisonment for telling the truth about U.S. war crimes in Iraq, Afghanistan and the U.S. prison base at Guantanamo. Assange faces charges under the 1917 U.S. Espionage Act, an anti-democratic law that sent thousands of antiwar WWI activists to prison. Last month, the New York Times front-page series, "Hidden Pentagon Records Reveal Patterns of Failure in Deadly Airstrikes,"based on Pentagon documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, confirmed the information Assange made public. The persecution of Julian Assange by the U.S. government is a threat against free speech and a free press. To sign a petition demanding freedom for Assange or to endorse the demand as an organization, click here.

Global Justice Organizations Urge Congress to Pass Bill Focused on Cooperation Between U.S. and China
United for Peace & Justice (UFPJ) regularly signs onto letters and statements dealing with a broad range of important peace and justice issues, intended to influence government policy. On January 21, more than thirty global justice organizations including UFPJ sent a letter to congressional leadership urging them to finalize a version of the United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) that does not lead to more U.S.-China antagonism. While acknowledging the value of provisions that would support domestic manufacturing and science, as well as concerns around increasing authoritarianism in China, the letter points out critical changes needed to avoid exacerbating nationalism and security competition and proposes measures to encourage cooperation and uphold human rights. Read more.

Human Rights for Palestinian Families
The Palestinian Children and Families Act (H.R. 2590), introduced by Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN), states that the U.S. will not fund the Israeli government's imprisonment and torture of Palestinian children; theft and destruction of Palestinian homes and property; or any further annexation of Palestinian land. This legislation couldn't come at a more critical moment. On January 19, 2022, in the cold of the night, Israel evicted 15 members of the Salhiye family and demolished their Sheikh Jarrah home. During the COVID19 pandemic, the Israeli government has actually increased the rate at which it is demolishing Palestinian homes. The U.S. must stop funding the Israeli government's human rights abuses. Tell your representative to co-sponsor H.R. 2590

Organizations Call for Elimination of 'Launch on Warning' Land-Based Nuclear Missiles in the United States
On January 12, more than 60 organizations, including UFPJ, issued a joint statement calling for the elimination of the 400 land-based nuclear missiles now armed and on hair-trigger alert in the United States. The statement warns that "intercontinental ballistic missiles are uniquely dangerous, greatly increasing the chances that a false alarm or miscalculation will result in nuclear war."The organizations urged the U.S. government to "shut down the 400 ICBMs now in underground silos that are scattered across five states."ICBMs are "a foreseeable catalyst for nuclear attack,"the statement says. "ICBMs certainly waste billions of dollars, but what makes them unique is the threat that they pose to all of humanity."Read the full statement, followed by a list of the signing organizations.

Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Postponed Again
The five original nuclear-armed states, the U.S., Russia, U.K., France and China are required "to pursue negotiations in good faith"to end the nuclear arms race "at an early date and to nuclear disarmament"under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), which entered into force in 1970. The States Parties to the NPT meet for month-long review conferences every five years. The 10^th NPT Review Conference, originally scheduled for May 2020 and postponed several times due to Covid, was supposed to take place starting January 4 at the United Nations in New York, but it was postposed again due to the surging pandemic. Nonetheless, after months of planning and preparation, there's been a burst of activity around the NPT. Read More.

Global Network to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons Calls on Nuclear-Armed States to Match Words with Actions
On January 3, the U.S., Russia, U.K., France and China issued a Joint Statement by the Leaders of the of the Five Nuclear-Weapon States on Preventing Nuclear War and Avoiding Arms Races. Despite rising tensions among them, the "N-5"came together to issue a superficially reassuring joint statement, affirming "that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought."Abolition 2000 issued a response, 'Nuke-Speak' Should be Turned into Real Action to Prevent Nuclear War.... and Eliminate Nuclear Weapons, welcoming this affirmation but calling out the N-5's Orwellian "Nuke-speak."With potential nuclear flashpoints over Ukraine and Taiwan, the risk of nuclear weapons use is as high as it has ever been, and the N-5 cannot credibly claim they are meeting their nuclear disarmament obligations.

Video Recording Now Available of January 4, 2022 Peace and Planet Conference
Despite the postponement of Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference, the Peace and Planet Coalition, to send a strong disarmament message to the parties to the NPT, went forward with its online international event, "Building our Movements & Impacting the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference, "featuring distinguished speakers from Finland, Argentina, Israel, Russia, Iran, Germany, South Korea, USA, South Africa, Norway and Japan. Read the Peace & Planet Message to the 2022 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference and to the International Community. For more about the event and a video recording of the conference, click here.

Civil Society Organizations Call for NPT Parties to show Progress on Disarmament
On January 10, 91 civil society organization issued a Joint Statement From Civil Society to the States Parties of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The statement calls on the NPT parties to move beyond bitter politicization and to work together to build majority support for a plan of action to advance the NPT's Article VI [disarmament] goals, create much needed momentum for further progress on disarmament, and save humanity from the scourge of nuclear war."The statement includes extensive policy analysis and further recommendations. UFPJ co-convener and coordinating committee member, Jackie Cabasso was on the drafting committee for the statement. A video recording of the statement is available here.

Tell Trevor Noah: Sinophobia is No Laughing Matter!
Trevor Noah's The Daily Show segment on "Why is China in Africa"was a 13-minute smear program of China that merely repeated the already debunked myth of "debt trap diplomacy."Noah is using his influence and platform to mis-educate his audience and bolster blatant falsehoods about China, because it has real human costs. Instead, his satire might be better used addressing PBS's censorship of their own documentary, "Voices From the Frontline: China's War on Poverty."Learn more and sign the petition here!

UFPJ is a diverse network of peace and justice organizations. If your organization is interested in joining UFPJ, please read our Unity Statement, and if it is consistent with your principles CLICK HERE TO JOIN.

PLEASE DONATE to help us continue sending out "UFPJ Currents" to our members and supporters. And THANK YOU for all your work for peace and justice!