UNISON applauds the millions of people who demonstrated in the Stop the War
marches on 15 February and have joined in protests across the world. These
people included hundreds of thousands of public service workers and UNISON
members united in a desire to stop the killing of innocent civilians and to
prevent an unjust war.

It is crucial that we maintain the broad public pressure on the government
to heed our concerns and we will continue to work with the Stop the War
coalition, the TUC and International unions and NGOs to seek a sustainable
and peaceful solution to the Iraq crisis. To this end we endorse the
statements issued by the TUC, Solidar and US Labour Against the War.

UNISON NEC reaffirms its statement of 8 October 2002 that "any military
action without the explicit authority of the United Nations Security Council
would be unjustifiable and against international law and the requirements of
the UN Charter".

To date the weapons inspectors have failed to find convincing evidence of a
stockpile of weapons of mass destruction and the case for war has not been
justified. In these circumstances we oppose military action against Iraq, a
view shared by an increasing number of members of the Security Council who
do not accept that the case for war has been demonstrated. We believe that
Hans Blix and his team should be given the fullest possible support to find
an alternative way to disarm Saddam Hussein without the need for war.

The government should acknowledge the valid concerns of our key partners in
NATO and the European Union and to take steps to heal the rifts which have
developed. We are convinced that the position taken by, for example, the
French and the Germans is one based on only going to war as an absolute last
resort and we believe that our government should sign up to that principle.

UNISON's position in no way indicates support for Saddam Hussein and his
Iraqi regime whose human rights record and contempt for democracy we
continue to condemn. We call on the UN Security Council to insist that
Saddam fully co-operates with the weapons inspectors and the terms of UN
resolution 1441 or face the consequences of international law.

We recognise and condemn the human rights violations and other attacks on
people in Iraq and other countries by the regime of Saddam Hussein, and we
express our solidarity with those democratic forces in Iraq which are
seeking to bring about a free and democratic country. However, we believe
that change must be brought about by a political rather than a military
solution, and that regime change must be determined and brought about by the
Iraqi people themselves.

Finally, we believe that if the UN is to retain its respect and authority in
the world order it must adopt a consistent approach to implementation of UN
resolutions. We recognise the steps already taken by the Labour government
in making a case for an independent Palestinian state and call on them to
work pro-actively in the UN and bilaterally to instigate peace talks in the
Middle East which will deliver this objective.

UNISON therefore calls on the Labour government to:

* Respond positively to the legitimate concerns of our union and the
British people
* Explicitly state they will only operate under the auspices of the UN
and work towards an alternative to war
* Confirm that they will not form a military alliance against Iraq
with the Americans in defiance of the will of the UN
* Allow a full debate and vote in parliament
* Halt any further preparations for war while the UN weapons
inspectors are still carrying out their work on the ground in Iraq
* Use the so-called special relationship between the US and the UK to
convince the US administration that the world is not prepared to rubber
stamp George Bush's attempts to wage war at will
* Intensify the political and diplomatic pressures on the UN and the
US to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Palestine and Israel