Monitoring Policy Making at the United Nations |
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SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ______(president, prime minister, foreign minister, or member of parliament)
The United Nations Security Council will soon decide whether to renew the authority it gave to the US-led occupation force in Iraq. The Iraqi cabinet, led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, will send a letter to the Council requesting extension of the mandate of this so-called “multinational force.” The US government is drafting a letter and the vote will come up in a matter of days.
But the Iraqi constitution requires the parliament to ratify any such agreement. Last April, a majority of Iraq’s parliamentarians signed a letter calling for a timetable for withdrawal of occupation forces while denouncing as “unconstitutional” the al-Maliki cabinet’s request to renew the mandate without consulting parliament. Moreover, an overwhelming majority of Iraqis want a complete withdrawal of all the occupation forces, as numerous polls have shown. Yet it appears the same unconstitutional and illegal process is about to happen again unless our government takes a principled stand on what happens in the Security Council and requires that any renewal they approve contain a timetable for withdrawal of the occupation forces.
I urge you to respect the will of the Iraqi Parliament and people and insist that the Security Council decide that any renewed mandate will contain a timetable for troop withdrawal.
Many thanks for your consideration of this urgent request.
Sincerely,
