A CALL TO CONSCIENCE

The endorsement by the United States of the Principles of Nuremberg Judgment makes adherence to international law a matter of constitutional necessity.  Taken together, Article VI of the U.S. Constitution and the Nuremberg Principles have estab­lished that citizens must not go along with policies they know to be wrong.  Further­more, U.S. judges must understand themselves to be competent and responsible to re­strain the execution of government policy if such policy is internationally outlawed.

With this in mind, and the laws of love and nonviolence in our hearts, we, the undersigned, call to accountability the General Dynamics Corporation, the United States Navy, and the National Security council, on this seventh day of April, 1985, for intentionally perpetrating crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes against the peace, in violation of the following international legal principles.  We demand that General Dynamics' illegal war planning and preparations be forbidden.

I. REQUIREMENT OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE VI, S 2.

This Constitution, and the laws of the U.S. which shall be made in pursuance there­of; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the U.S., shall be the supreme law of the land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwith­standing."

II. CRIMES UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE NUREMBERG PRINCIPLES.

"The following acts, or any of them, are crimes...for which there shall be individual

responsibility:" Article VI

Crimes Against Peace, namely planning, preparation, initiation, or waging of a war

of aggression, or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or

assurances... Article VIII

The fact that the defendant acted pursuant to the order of his/her government or

responsible official in government departments shall not be considered as freeing

them from responsibility... Article IX

At the trial or any individual member of any group or organization, the tribunal

may declare that the group or organization of which the individual was a member

of a criminal organization.

III. CRIMES UNDER TREATIES, PACTS, PROTOCOLS, CHARTERS, CONVENTIONS.

-  Declaration of St. Petersburg, 1868, which limits all warfare to military forces alone.

-  Hague Convention, 1899, which especially prohibits the employment of poison or poisoned arms, the killing or wounding treacherously of individuals belonging to a hostile nation or army, the employment of arms, projectiles, or materials of a nature which causes superfluous injury.

-  Geneva Gas Protocol, 1125, which prohibits the use of poisonous or other gases and all analogous liquids, materials or devices.

-  Kellogg-Briand Pact, 1928, which condemned and renounced recourse to war as an instrument of national policy.

-  First Principles of Nuremberg (1945-6), namely "Any person who commits an act which constitutes a crime under international law is responsible therefore, and liable to punishment."

-  Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, 1948 (U.N.), which crimi­nalizes all "conspiracy to commit genocide" against a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.

-  Outer Space Treaty, 1967, which forbids weapons of mass destruction of any kind from being placed in outer space.