Unitarians vote to speak out: General Assembly passes three resolutions on rights, protest and peace
The General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches has passed three resolutions at its Annual Meetings in Derbyshire, empowering the movement to respond more swiftly to threats to human rights and defending the right to protest as a spiritual practice. A third emergency motion also called for an immediate end to the war in the Middle East.
The votes took place last month during the plenary sessions of the Annual Meetings, where several hundred Unitarians gathered.
The first resolution gives the Chief Officer authority to issue public statements on current events. It comes at a time when threats to basic human rights are growing around the world and timely responses matter. Unitarians have long held that faith requires action; this resolution puts that conviction into practice and ensures the movement can speak with a clear, prompt voice. Any statement must be consistent with previous GA resolutions and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Chief Officer can consult the Unitarian Social Justice Network, the Executive Committee and the GA President where needed.
The second resolution is as rooted in history as much as the present. For centuries, Unitarians have been arrested for their convictions. Unitarian ministers were transported to Botany Bay in the 18th century for their political convictions. More recently, members have been arrested at Welsh language protests in the 1960s and at nuclear and climate demonstrations since. The movement has always understood standing up to power as an expression of faith. With that tradition firmly in mind, the Assembly named protest as a fundamental Unitarian spiritual practice, and voted to call for repeal of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and the Public Order Act 2023, which members argued are being used to suppress legitimate dissent. The resolution also opposes further powers proposed in the Crime and Policing Bill, and urges the Chief Officer and President to keep working in coalition with civil rights, climate and faith organisations to push for change
The third resolution was passed as an emergency motion after significant debate on the floor. It expresses solidarity with all people suffering the devastating effects of the current war in the Middle East. The Assembly joined the United Nations, the International Red Cross and the majority of international jurists in condemning a conflict it described as illegal under international law and a flagrant violation of the UN Charter, waged without UN Security Council sanction. The resolution aligns the GA with the peace witness of Pope Leo, Pax Christi International, the Unitarian Universalist Association, the American Friends Service Committee, Quakers in Britain and other religious and humanitarian organisations, in strongly urging an immediate end to the war and lasting peace and reconciliation. It also calls for massive and immediate humanitarian aid to all victims through the British Red Cross, Save the Children, UNICEF and other overseas aid charities and urges fellow Unitarians to respond to their appeals with generosity.
The full text of the resolutions are:
Resolution 1
Mindful especially of the need to respond in a timely way to the growing threat to basic human rights across the world, this General Assembly empowers the Chief Officer to issue statements giving a view on current public events, provided that:
(i) Where they consider it necessary this will be after consultation with the Unitarian Social Justice Network, and/or the Executive Committee and GA President;
(ii) Where a resolution on the same topic as the statement has been passed by the General Assembly in the preceding 20 years, the statement shall be consistent with that resolution (or if there are more than one, the most recent); and
(iii) Any statement issued shall not be contrary to the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its two covenants: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
Resolution 2
That this General Assembly of Unitarians and Free Christians recognises and strongly affirms that protest is a fundamental Unitarian Spiritual practice.
Believes that recent and ongoing proposed legislation is an attack on the right to protest and is thus a stifling of religious freedom
Calls on Unitarians to demand a repeal of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and the Public Order Act 2023
Calls for withdrawal of further plans to increase police powers and ban protests in England and Wales contained in the Crime and Policing Bill
Urges Unitarians to join campaigns to effect the above and that the Chief Officer and President continue to join other civil rights, climate change and faith groups to pressure the government to repeal, reverse and amend this draconian legislation
Resolution 3
That this General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches stands in solidarity with all people suffering the devastating effects of the current war in the Middle East being waged by the United States, Israel and Iran.
We join the United Nations, the International Red Cross and other global agencies in calling for all warring parties to respect international law and the UN Charter and immediately end this war, which has no UN Security Council sanction and is considered by the vast majority of international jurists illegal in international law and a flagrant violation of the UN Charter.
We stand in solidarity with the peace witness of Pope Leo, Pax Christi International, the American Unitarian Universalist Association, the American Friends Service Committee, Quakers in Britain and other religious and humanitarian organisations and UN agencies in strongly urging an immediate end to the war and lasting peace and reconciliation in the spirit of the Global Ethic of the Parliament of the World’s Religions and other advocates of peace worldwide.
We call for massive immediate medical and other humanitarian aid to all victims of this war through the British Red Cross, Save the Children, UNICEF and other overseas aid charities and urge fellow Unitarians to respond with generosity to their life saving appeals.