Petition for the deployment of a peacekeeping force to Afghanistan to provide security to the most vulnerable and help restore civil order

The Honorable Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Ambassador of the United States to the United Nations

Some weeks ago, many readers/members of the Global Campaign for Peace Education signed to endorse the letter of May 14 to President Biden requesting humanitarian aid and protection for Afghan women and girls whose security has been jeopardized by the withdrawal of US and NATO troops. Now we seek your support to reinforce the call for the deployment of a peacekeeping force to provide security to the vulnerable and actualize a ceasefire to help restore civil order so that an inclusive and stable political settlement might be achieved.

Please read the letter to the US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield posted here. If you agree with our request that the international community stand in solidarity with the Afghan people by dispatching a UN peacekeeping operation to Afghanistan as soon as possible, please endorse the letter by signing it. All signatures will be forwarded to Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield.

-BAR, 7/13/21

To: The Honorable Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Ambassador of the United States to the United Nations
From: [Your Name]

The Honorable Linda Thomas-Greenfield
Ambassador of the United States to the United Nations
United States Mission to the United Nations
United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017

July 12, 2021

cc: Honorable Anthony Blinken, United States Secretary of State
Honorable Samantha Power, Administrator for USAID
Ms. Julissa Reynoso & Ms. Jennifer Klein, Gender Policy Council

Dear Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield:

We write to you out of deep concern for the lives and wellbeing of the people of Afghanistan, especially women and girls now under great threat. This letter is an effort to further advance the request made in our May 14 letter to President Biden, copied to you, for a United Nations peacekeeping force to assure their security. That letter was signed by 140 civil society and faith leaders from the United States, Afghanistan, and other countries. This present request has a wider international base of support, and similar messages are being sent to other UN ambassadors from citizens and organizations in their respective countries, urging them to facilitate a PKO deployment to Afghanistan as soon as practically possible.

It is our conviction that the obligation of member states under UNSCR 1325 to protect women in such circumstances, an obligation reinforced by the Compact on Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action, should be enacted through the deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping operation to provide security for civil populations and those especially at risk such as women, human rights defenders and minorities.

While we assert this to be the responsibility of all member states, we believe that the United States, in light of its long-term military presence in Afghanistan, has a special obligation to the people of that nation. That obligation pertains particularly to women who are now losing hard-won gains toward the realization of their fundamental human rights. We hope that you, as US Ambassador to the United Nations, will consider undertaking steps to fulfill this obligation in light of the losses that will be inevitable without the requisite security assurances. We respectfully request that you take action toward the initiation of a peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan.

You know from our letter to President Biden that we do not oppose the withdrawal of US troops. Our purpose is to assure that it be done in a manner consistent with what we believe to be fundamental principles of the United States, to stand for human rights, and to play a responsible role in the international community.

We thank you for whatever you may be able to undertake to provide some assurance of basic security to the women of Afghanistan.

Sincerely,

The Rev. Dr. Chloe Breyer,
Ex. Director, Interfaith Center of New York

Dr. Ellen Chesler,
Research Scholar, Ralphe Bunche Institute for International Studies, CUNY

Dr. Betty Reardon, International Institute on Peace Education

Dr. Sakena Yacoobi, Founder & Ex. Director, Afghan Institute of Learning

Senator Marilou McPhedran, Canada

Mavic Cabrera Balleza, Global Network of Women Peacebuilders

The signers of the May 14, 2021 letter to President Joseph Biden (attached)

Women’s Regional Network (Afghanistan, India, Pakistan)

International list of endorsements in process – to be sent