ARTICLE II. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
We, as military veterans, do hereby affirm our greater responsibility to serve the cause of world peace. To this end we will work, with others both nationally and internationally:
1. To increase public awareness of the causes and costs of war
2. To restrain our governments from intervening, overtly and covertly, in the internal affairs of other nations
3. To resist racism and repression in our home communities
4. To oppose the militarization of law enforcement
5. To end the arms race and to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons
6. To seek justice for veterans and victims of war
7. To abolish war as an instrument of national policy.
8. To promote a sustainable and peaceful world
To achieve these goals, members of Veterans For Peace pledge to use non-violent means and to maintain an organization that is both democratic and open with the understanding that all members are trusted to act in the best interests of the group for the larger purpose of world peace. (Amended August 2016 Dec 2024)
The rationale for the requested changes follow:
1. The Peoples’ Climate Vote 2024 survey noted that 80% of people globally want their country to do more and take greater action on climate change; https://peoplesclimate.vote/. To better enlist the support of these climate change and environment activists and their organizations, Veterans For Peace should state its commitment to a sustainable world.
2. Changes will add credibility to the Veterans For Peace campaign to educate the general public of the links between militarism and the climate crisis. The Pentagon is the world’s largest institutional emitter of greenhouse gasses and the largest contributor to total global military emissions, which it were a country would rank 4th in emissions, ahead of the total Russian Federation; (https://ceobs.org/estimating-the-militarys-global-greenhouse-gas-emissions/ ).
Submitted by: James M. Rine, Endorsed by: VFP – Climate Crisis & Militarism Project Steering Committee