In Support of the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office 1993 Resolution of Immediate Witness

WHEREAS the congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association are committed to the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;

WHEREAS the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office's (UU-UNO) priorities are peace and disarmament, human rights, and the environment;

RECOGNIZING that the United Nations has become increasingly important in international affairs since the end of the cold war, and that the United Nations has faced increased challenges as well as opportunities to be effective;

WHEREAS the major support of the United Nations by Unitarian Universalists has been through the UU-UNO;

WHEREAS the UU-UNO lost its annual grant of $20,000 and an annual matching grant of $40,000 as of May 1, 1993, from the North Shore Unitarian Universalist Society Veatch Program which has supported the office for over 20 years, and has also experienced an 8% drop in individual and congregational contributions;

WHEREAS this financial loss has led to the termination of the services of the UU-UNO's Co-directors as of August 1, 1993, and such drastic reductions in staff greatly reduce the effectiveness of the UU-UNO, which has given significant support to the United Nations by having the Co-directors serve as presidents of the Non-Governmental Organizations' Committees on Disarmament and on Free-dom of Religion or Belief;

WHEREAS the UU-UNO has represented the International Association For Religious Freedom (IARF) at the United Nations;

WHEREAS the end of the cold war has finally permitted the United Nations to function as intended when it was organized 48 years ago;

WHEREAS the United Nations has been faced with very serious and difficult international problems, such as those in Kuwait, Cambodia, Somalia, and the Balkans, which it is handling with valiant efforts and some success despite tragic difficulties and frustrations, and is currently facing a rapidly increasing number of problems worldwide;

WHEREAS we Unitarian Universalists can most effectively support the United Nations by strengthen-ing—and not weakening—the UU-UNO; and

WHEREAS five Unitarian Universalist General Assemblies from 1962 to 1990 have expressed strong support for the United Nations and the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that this General Assembly urges Unitarian Universalists at all levels to give strong active and financial support to the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office.