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Submitted to the Professional Staff Union (New York state) - It did not pass, but neither did the one by alt-imperialists

Resolution in Support of the People of Ukraine

May 19, 2022

 

Whereas on February 24th, 2022, in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Russia invaded the territory of Ukraine and began shelling both military and civilian infrastructure, which is clearly an invasion and an act of war in terms of international law;

 

And whereas international bodies and human rights bodies have gathered compelling evidence that Russia has committed horrific war crimes, including targeting hospitals as well as unlawful airstrikes, extrajudicial executions, deliberate killing of civilians, kidnapping, and rape; and the invasion itself constitutes the war crime of "aggressive war", originally identified as criminal from the time of the Nuremberg Trials;

 

And whereas the Ukrainian government has responded to these suspected war crimes not by embracing an ethos of parallel or worse criminality in "self defense" but has instead committed firmly to lawfully gathering evidence regarding these crimes, and coming attacks, without resort to torture or other cruel and inhumane treatment of Russian prisoners of war or denying them their prisoner-of-war status by inventing Orwellian obfuscations like "enemy combatants";

 

And whereas this invasion and war threaten not only the security of Ukrainian people, (specifically women and children who make up 90% of the refugees from this crisis and who risk becoming victims of human trafficking) but people of the whole world due to Ukraine’s role in arenas such as food security for countries in the Middle East and Africa;

 

And whereas this act of state terrorism also threatens multiple UNESCO-designated heritage sites;

 

And whereas Ukraine has a right to defend itself and has made multiple appeals for diplomatic solutions while Russia has demonstrated a lack of good faith in exchanges with diplomats ;

 

And whereas the Federatsiya profesiinikh spilok Ukraini (The Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine), the oldest and largest trade union in Ukraine with roots in Soviet Ukraine and with more than 4 million members, as well as numerous other unions and labor organizations in Ukraine have condemned the invasion and war, and the “republics” recognized by Russia have oppressed trade unionists among other political activists;

 

And whereas the PSC-CUNY includes members who have close personal ties to Ukrainian people, and we are a social justice union opposed to oppression and atrocity and committed to the rule of law, both national and international;

 

Be it resolved that the PSC-CUNY calls for an end to all military aggression in Ukraine and the complete and unconditional withdrawal of all of Russia’s military from Ukrainian territory;

 

And be it resolved that after such withdrawal the PSC-CUNY demands real, good faith negotiations involving all interested parties to address respective security concerns, inclusive of security guarantees for Ukraine's full independence and territorial integrity and the proper role of NATO in Eastern Europe;

 

And be it resolved that we will consider and facilitate conversations among members about affiliation with the Ukraine Solidarity Campaign, a UK-based organization of trade unionists seeking to be in solidarity with Ukrainian trade unionists;

 

And be it resolved that we call on all countries to open their borders to war refugees from Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan and others. We call on those receiving refugees from Ukraine to accept all people who were located in Ukraine at the beginning of the invasion and war. These people include many non-Ukrainians from other countries who should be permitted to leave the country;

 

And be it resolved that we call on the United States and the IMF to cancel all of Ukraine’s foreign debt of some $125 billion – these resources should be used to fight the invasion and rebuild from the devastation, not to pay interest to non-Ukrainian banks;

 

And be it further resolved that PSC-CUNY condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine and is in solidarity with the local Ukrainian community, unions, and activists who organize solidarity rallies here in the New York City metropolitan area and wherever our members are located.