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United for Peace and Justice

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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. 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:

Unity statement

UFPJ's lengthy Unity Statement [1], adopted as a work in progress at the June 2003 UFPJ National Strategy Conference, 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 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 color, 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 proposed "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 color, who, because they are denied access to good schools and decent jobs, have few alternatives to poverty or incarceration other than joining the military."

"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 3rd, tens of thousands of people, demonstrating in over 80 cities, protested purported vote suppression and mechanical irregularities in Ohio and other states.

Member groups

As of July 2005, prominent member groups [2] include:

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.

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