As we look back at the wars and deprivations of the past, and set our minds to overcoming continued conflicts and violence, we realize the difficulties inherent in encouraging democracy, and of advancing the cause of PEACE. GREENS support sustainable development and social and economic justice across the globe. Reduced militarism and reliance on arms policies is the key to progress toward collective security.
With THE END OF THE COLD WAR has come a more complex set of challenges in how our nation defines its NATIONAL SECURITY. Our present task is to rid ourselves of the residue of the geopolitical conflict of East versus West -- with its bloated defense budgets, thousands of unneeded nuclear weapons and major troop deployments overseas. We will strive to cut the DEFENSE BUDGET by 50 percent by the year 2000, from approximately $300 billion (aggregate spending) in 1995. We must maintain a viable American military force, foreign policy doctrine and strategy that takes into account real, not hollow, threats to our people, democratic institutions and interests. We affirm our nation's place in the history of nations as the standard-bearer of democratic, representative government; as the home of the American Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and civilian control over the military. It is therefore appropriate that we call for our foreign policy establishment to engage in a national debate on how we can convert to a PEACETIME ECONOMY. We believe our nation's ultimate strength is in its people and a healthy economy, which will best protect our national security interests over the long-term.
We endorse a reordering of priorities as to how our nation can best achieve "National Security." The Green Party asserts that security and liberty prosper together. HUMAN RIGHTS are the foundation of EMERGING DEMOCRACIES and international relations. We argue that the support of democracy, human rights and respect for international law should be the cornerstone of American foreign policy. In this regard we endorse ending support for repressive regimes; we believe the US and all nations should abide by World Court decisions; we support the right of Habeas Corpus be available to any person, anywhere, whose imprisonment violates fundamental norms of international law.
It is our belief that the massive debt owed by the Third World is causing immense misery and environmental destruction. FOREIGN AID must be addressed in the context of retiring this debt and not forcing, via the INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND and WORLD BANK, "structural adjustments" on the economies of the underdeveloped world. These "adjustments" have caused devastation in social and educational programs, mass unemployment and a huge environmental toll. We call for a more enlightened policy on the part of INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES and their financial arms which takes into account the impact of international debt management. The US should rein in the IMF and World Bank, whose policies have wreaked havoc, and demand that loans be conditional on human and labor rights records, social and environmental impact statements, and the providing of basic health and education.
INTERNATIONAL LAW and INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS are inseparable. As we examine the state of US relations throughout the world, in areas of mutual cooperation and alliances, or where regional conflicts are demanding new approaches to resolution and long-term solutions, Greens profess that there is a link between our policies and our values. We do not support a world-view that relies on accommodation of tyranny or repressive regimes.
We encourage policies that work to assist the FORMER SOVIET UNION in its move toward a government based on rights and a more open political and economic system. We support peace in the MID-EAST based on respect for civil liberties and human rights. We endorse human rights policies in regard to relations with CHINA, SOUTH AFRICA and other nations with a history of rights violations. We support the end of the economic blockade of Cuba. Unjust economic coercion by one state against another constitutes a violation of human rights.
We believe in the core "RIGHT OF SELF-DETERMINATION"; of the special character and needs of INDIGENOUS PEOPLES; of the essential importance of balancing economic development in the THIRD WORLD with a respect for the "old ways".
We trust in NONVIOLENCE as a weapon of PEACE. We understand the right of self-defense yet believe we must move beyond behavior that perpetuates violence. We oppose structural and direct violence of all kinds -- assaults against individuals, families, the environment and biosphere, nations and society.
Essential in any broad definition of SECURITY, whether defined in national, international or global terms, is that we must find ways to secure and preserve our common earth which sustains all life. We must look to domestic and international regulation of the global ecology, utilizing the UNITED NATIONS AND RELATED AGENCIES and regional associations to advance our mutual interests. We must build on the "Earth Charter" which came out of the 1992 UN environmental "Earth Summit." New definitions of what constitutes real security between nations must be debated and adopted by the foreign policy community.