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- Putting People First / August 25, 1994
- ======================================
- PO Box 1707, Helena, Montana 59624 * (406) 442-5700 * Fax (406) 449-0942
- ========================================================================
-
-
- FAX ALERT - FAX ALERT - FAX ALERT - FAX ALERT - FAX ALERT
-
-
-
- An Open Letter
- to the
- United States Senate
-
- The Convention on Biological Diversity (Treaty Doc. 103-20)
- should not be ratified in its present form. The document language is
- vague and leaves critical questions unanswered. For example, what are
- the "alien species which threaten ecosystems," referred to in Article 8?
- Who will define those species?
-
- How can the Senate possibly ratify a document that calls for the
- eradication of undefined "alien species" which may include cows, horses,
- sheep, chickens, and virtually all livestock?
-
- How can the Senate ratify a document which says the United States
- "... SHALL TAKE legislative, administrative or policy measures" to
- facilitate the transfer of technology to the governments and private
- sector of "developing" countries, without knowing what technology is to
- be transferred or how the owners are to be compensated? How can the
- Senate commit the United States to provide "...new and additional
- financial resources..." to developing countries as required by Article
- 21, without knowing how much, how often, and to which countries?
-
- We believe the document is deliberately vague on these and a host
- of other issues, so as to avoid public awareness of the painful answers
- these questions require. If the treaty is ratified in its present form,
- these questions will be answered in relative obscurity by appointed
- bureaucrats, far away from public view and public accountability.
-
- In its present form, this document is little more than a massive
- declaration of objectives which establishes a Conference of the Parties
- (COP) to translate those objectives into specific requirements to be
- imposed upon "developed" countries. Ratification of the document in its
- present form would not only give to the COP the keys to the U.S.
- Treasury, but would also turn over to the COP virtual control of our
- nation's natural resources.
-
- Our concerns are not relieved by the Administration's
- "understandings," or the State Department's Memorandum of Record which
- attempts to explain the document's flaws. The document itself prohibits
- reservations to its provisions and dispute resolution is specified to
- end at the International Court of Justice. No explanation offered by
- the Administration or the State Department can supersede the authority
- of the document itself.
-
- The document's vague language, its requirement to make open ended,
- unlimited financial commitments, its requirement to transfer unspecified
- technologies, and its requirement to implement the protocols established
- by unelected (and unaccountable) appointees (the COP), combine to render
- this document, in its present form, unworthy of further consideration by
- the Senate.
-
- Therefore, the undersigned ______ organizations, which represent
- more than _____ million voting Americans, urge you to reject the
- Convention on Biological Diversity until such time as the questions
- raised here are satisfactorily addressed in the document.
-
-
-
-
- Putting People First
- ====================
-
- Special Alert!
- Fellow Associations:
-
- The Biodiversity Treaty probably will be brought up for
- ratification shortly after congress reconvenes this week. Besides the
- fact that there are many things in the treaty that would be very
- harmful to the American public, and that the treaty would give away
- large chunks of U.S. sovereignty (as well as a lot of our money),
- there are other considerations about the signing of treaties that you
- should know about.
-
- Using a treaty as a tool to get around states' rights and
- sovereignty issues, as well as ignoring constitutional issues is
- something that has been used in the past, but seem to be the wave of
- the future.
-
- Studies done by some of the best legal foundations in the United
- States show us the power of treaties to circumvent U.S. law and the
- Constitution. The Migratory Bird Act as passed in 1913, but federal
- court immediately ruled it to be unconstitutional because "when the
- federal government attempted to implement the Act's law enforcement
- provisions, the government violated the 10th Amendment." Yet, when
- the Migratory Bird Treaty was adopted and another Migratory Bird Act
- was passed, the very same federal judge who ruled it unconstitutional
- [in] 1914 when it was a federal law found it to be constitutional as
- part of a treaty.
-
- Using their heads, the Greens have seen that the Constitution can
- be circumvented through international treaties. The Biodiversity
- Treaty that will be brought up for ratification in the Senate is a
- seriously dangerous document (what there is of it so far). We must
- see that it does not get ratified until it is fully written, each
- point is explained in full, and that the public and the Senate review
- it before it is ratified.
-
- For these reasons, I am asking you to sign the following "Open
- Letter to the United States Senate" and FAX it to Eco, our long-term
- ally headed by Henry Lamb, one of the quiet movers of the Wise Use
- Movement. What happens with the Biodiversity Treaty will in great
- measure determine the way the United States will go in the immediate
- future -- either keeping our sovereignty and working under a
- constitutional government, or giving control of our natural resources
- and our money over to unelected, Green-directed private organizations.
-
-
-
- Cover Letter to Organizations
-
- Green Advocacy Groups (GAGS) are pulling out all the stops to get the
- biodiversity Treaty ratified in this session of Congress. We have an
- excellent chance to stop it. Attached is a draft of an Open Letter
- to the Senate, urging rejection of the treaty in its present form.
- The letter will be printed on plain white paper (no organization
- letterhead) and mailed to every Senator.
-
- We would like to have at least 500 organizations sign on. Such a
- display of grassroots strength could stop the treaty and spare the
- nation the consequences of this horrible document.
-
- Since our efforts will be scrutinized by the GAGs and the press,
- it is important to have authorization for every organization that
- signs the letter. Please complete the authorization form below and
- FAX to ECO at (901) 986-2299 as quickly as possible.
-
-
-
- PLEASE ADD OUR ORGANIZATION'S NAME TO THE LETTER OPPOSING THE
- CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY.
-
- Organization:______________________________________________________
-
- Address:___________________________________________________________
-
- City_______________________________________ State_____ Zip_________
-
- Phone:________________ FAX:_________________ Modem:________________
-
- Authorized by:_____________________________________________________
-
-