Res. No. 14
Resolution urging the United States Congress to pass H.R. 808, the "Department of Peace Act," which would create a cabinet-level department headed by a Secretary of Peace who would advise the President on both domestic and international peace issues including non-military conflict resolution and human rights.
By Council Members Mendez, Brewer, James, Palma, Williams, Lander, Crowley, Rodriguez, Jackson, Cabrera, Dromm, Ferreras, Mark-Viverito, Barron and Levin
Whereas, Representative Dennis Kucinich introduced H.R. 808 in the United States House of Representatives on February 3, 2009, which would create a federal Department of Peace; and
Whereas, The bill has garnered the sponsorship of seventy-one members of the United States House of Representatives, including Representatives Yvette Clarke, Carolyn Maloney, Jerrold Nadler, Charles Rangel, Jose Serrano, and Edolphus Towns; and
Whereas, The creation of a cabinet-level United States Department of Peace would be headed by a Secretary of Peace who would advise the President on issues that are both domestic and international in scope; and
Whereas, The Department of Peace would consist of seven offices including an Office of Peace Education and Training, an Office of Domestic Peace Activities, an Office of International Peace Activities, an Office of Technology for Peace, an Office of Arms Control and Disarmament, an Office of Peaceful Coexistence and Nonviolent Conflict Resolution, and an Office of Human Rights and Economic Rights, each of which would be responsible for developing detailed policies and curricula aimed at furthering the cause of peace at both macroscopic and microscopic levels; and
Whereas, The Department of Peace would also create an Intergovernmental Advisory Council on Peace to advise the Secretary of Peace and the President regarding intergovernmental policies relating to peace and non-violent conflict resolution; and
Whereas, Many New Yorkers maintain a strong interest in the goals of this Department of Peace, which include contributing to strong police-community relations, supporting local conflict-resolution initiatives that draw on neighborhood resources, reducing domestic, racial, ethnic, and sexual orientation-based hate crimes, and analyzing policies dealing with handguns; and
Whereas, The said Department of Peace would balance military spending with a research-based approach, would work to provide a feasible exit strategy for the current war in Iraq as well as post-conflict reconstruction and demobilization of the region, and would seek, in the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, "an end to the beginning of all wars;" and
Whereas, We commend the members of the New York State Congressional delegation who have signed on as co-sponsors of the proposed legislation; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York urges the United States Congress to pass H.R. 808, the "Department of Peace Act," which would create a cabinet-level department headed by a Secretary of Peace who would advise the President on both domestic and international peace issues including non-military conflict resolution and human rights.
AC
LS#134
1/19/10