SYRIA AND AFGHANISTAN:Resolution adopted unanimously by delegates to the Vancouver and District Labour Council, April 18, 2017

SYRIA AND AFGHANISTAN

Resolution adopted unanimously by delegates to the Vancouver and District Labour Council, April 18, 2017

Because Syria has been embroiled in a devastating civil war since 2011, which has killed an estimated 400,000 people and displaced many thousands more; and

Because allegations of chemical weapons use have been levelled against the government of President Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian Arab Armed Forces; and

Because these allegations have been denied by the Syrian government, and its Russian allies, who place the blame on rebel forces; and

Because United States President Donald Trump unilaterally ordered the launch of fifty-nine missiles into Syrian territory in response to these allegations, and days later the USA used its largest non-nuclear weapon, an 11-ton Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb, against an ISIS-held area in Afghanistan, and

Because this action has led to a dangerous deterioration of diplomatic relations in the Middle East, which could easily and rapidly develop into a full-scale international conflagration; and

Because Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has pledged "full support" to the United States' bombing of Syria, and has consistently remained lock-step with U.S. foreign policy in regards to the Syrian war;

The Vancouver and District Labour Council will reaffirm its policy, adopted in September of 2016, in support of welcoming Syrian refugees to Canada; and

The Vancouver and District Labour Council will call for a thorough and unbiased United Nations investigation into the use of chemical weapons against Syrian civilians; and

The Vancouver and District Labour Council will condemn both the use of chemical weapons in Syria, and the consequential U.S. bombings of Syria and Afghanistan, in violation of international law including the United Nations Charter; and

The Vancouver and District Labour Council will call upon the Liberal government and Prime Minister Trudeau to reverse its decision to support illegal aggressive actions of the U.S., remove Canada from participation in the U.S.-led coalition in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, and call for a political solution to the conflicts in the Middle East.