World Peace and International Relations

Trump policies are eroding America’s global standing. The Administration has abdicated the US mission of promoting democracy globally. It has abandoned the American commitment to humanitarian efforts worldwide. It withdrew from the Paris Climate Accord and threatened the United Nations and NATO that the United States will not support efforts to promote peace, stability and prosperity around the globe.  California Democrats recognize that all human beings are entitled to freedom, peace, and justice and are committed to a properly staffed and funded foreign service that promotes democracy and human rights around the world. We must believe that the American people will support truth over the fear mongering by our political adversaries. We must be truthful with our allies and with ourselves. We must be firm with those who threaten the American people and our democratic ideals, whether at home or abroad. And we must take the moral path as we strive to promote world peace.

To create a more secure and peaceful world, California Democrats will:

1. Stand up against the Trump Administration’s actions that abdicate America’s position as a world leader and work to reestablish America’s position as a nation that recognizes and upholds the rule of law and the role of multilateral treaties and opposes aggression against sovereign nations;
2. Reaffirm the War Powers Act by working to return the authority to declare war to Congress and specifically including a requirement that any first use of nuclear weapons be preceded by a formal declaration of war by Congress and a specific authorization to use nuclear weapons;
3. Demand that our policies and our aid to other governments be based upon respect for basic human rights;
4. Affirm the right of all people to live free from invasion, persecution, discrimination, dehumanization, and human rights abuses;
5. Resist any movement in the world that curtails basic rights and civil liberties or undermines democratic principles and freedom of expression;
6. Combat external threats through increased participation in, support for, and cooperation with the United Nations, international courts, other international agencies, and regional organizations;
7. Support greater participation in peacekeeping to help prevent mass atrocities and renewed international collaborations to build government structures in states that are failing or emerging from conflict;
8. Oppose regime change strategies as a pretext for war and/or occupation;
9. Cooperate with other nations to eliminate terrorism, increase literacy and child survival rates, combat poverty disease and malnutrition, bolster existing and new democracies and developing nations, and reduce the support and demand for narcotics;
10. Insist that the U.S. renew its support of the United Nations as an essential institution for the pursuit of peace and justice employing diplomacy under international law and for the crucial worldwide efforts to end poverty and prevent climate catastrophe;
11. Support ratification and adherence to the terms of key treaties that advance the causes of peace and human rights, including but not limited to the Rome Statute, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women;
12. Support pursuant to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 13, the right of individuals to leave and return to their own country consistent with established international law,  negotiated diplomatic solutions or  treaties and, pursuant to Article 14, the right to seek asylum and be free from persecution;
13. Promote establishing national institutions based on organizing principles of violence prevention and non-violent conflict resolution, using and developing a network of “best practice” peace-building policies and programs among U.N. member states and non-member nations;
14. Urge universal adherence to the Geneva and Hague Conventions; no torture; no extraordinary renditions; no exceptions;
15. Observe both U.S. and international law and adhere to the entire Universal Declaration of Human Rights and U.N. Convention to the Status of Refugees;
16. Work toward achieving global nuclear disarmament by urging the continuation of international negotiations regarding the reduction and elimination of weapons of mass destruction throughout the world, a recommitment to arms control agreements, and opposition to any first use of nuclear weapons and pre-emptive nuclear strikes;
17. Support reallocating defense expenditures in a manner commensurate with actual threats;
18. Support enhanced efforts to deprive terrorists of weapons of mass destruction by moving multilaterally to diminish weapons stockpiles;
19. Urge tailoring our foreign policy to eliminate poverty;
20. Work to promote population-planning worldwide through education and support for family planning organizations without restricting a woman’s autonomy over her body as part of responsible family planning;
21. Work to make the United States a global leader in healthy and democratic economic development by designing policies that prioritize worker rights, preserve the environment, fight the climate crisis, and channel the benefit of globalization to ordinary people in all countries;
22. Work to structure fair trade agreements that require countries to adopt and enforce internationally recognized labor standards such as the right to associate and bargain collectively and prohibitions against child labor, forced labor, and discrimination in employment;
23. Stand in solidarity with the citizens of those countries who speak out to protect their democracies, marginalized communities, women’s, labor and LGBTQ rights in their countries and to protect an independent judiciary;
24. Oppose the use of military drones for “targeted killings” in countries with which the United States is not at war;
25. Urge that where sanctions are warranted their use be targeted to limit impacts on local populations;
26. Condemn the Russian government’s war crimes resulting from its ongoing and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and support continuing economic sanctions targeting the Russian government as well as individuals complicit with Russian leadership in its aggression against the Ukrainian people;
27. Proactively seek durable peace in the Middle East;
28. Support efforts to prevent through diplomatic measures (including the use of diplomatic pressure and provision, suspension or conditioning of military, economic, and/or humanitarian assistance) and ensure accountability through legal processes for actions proscribed by the Geneva Convention and established international law namely 1) war crimes  – committed during armed conflict; 2) crimes against humanity – systematic acts of violence, enslavement or sexual violence during peace or wartime, and 3) genocide –  acts committed with the express intent to destroy, completely or partially, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. Work to enhance the U.N. and regional organizations and commit to the objectives of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, including eradication of extreme hunger and poverty, achievement of universal primary education, and promotion and empowerment of women;
29. Advocate for a diplomatic solution in Gaza for an immediate end to the mass civilian casualties, destruction, displacement and starvation of Palestinians in Gaza; 
30. Support a full and permanent ceasefire in Gaza recognized and honored by Israel and Hamas, the release of illegally detained Palestinians, the immediate rebuilding of Gaza with the provision of humanitarian aid, restoration of funding for an UNRWA that serves the Palestinian people, and conditioning of any international assistance by the U.S. or any other source on adhering to the ceasefire conditions and any future agreements signed by all parties to the conflict, and as well as compliance with U.S. law and the Geneva Convention.
31. Continue to work toward a solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict directly negotiated by the parties that guarantees equality, security and democracy for all; recognizes Israel’s future as a secure and democratic Jewish state with recognized borders; and provides Palestinians with independence, sovereignty, and dignity, opposing efforts to undermine the prospects for two states;
32. Support efforts among representatives of Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank to de-escalate tensions through good-faith negotiations that recognize Israel’s future as a sovereign, secure, and democratic Jewish state and that can lead to security and independence for Palestinians that includes Palestine state as a full member state of the United Nations;
33. Recognize Israelis and Palestinians should have security, recognition, and a normal life free from terror, violence, corruption, incitement, collective punishment, and the end of and discriminatory laws in the West Bank and in Gaza, including ensuring that  Palestinians in the West Bank are able to live with dignity without the threat of settler violence and harassment condoned by (and often assisted by) the Israeli Defense Forces, or forced displacement from expanding Israeli settlements, ;
34. Recognize that Palestinians in Gaza should be able to rebuild without displacement, with international humanitarian, economic and security assistance;
35. Recognize that Palestinians and Israelis must rebuild trust through peace-building efforts and should be free to govern themselves, each in their own viable states in peace and with dignity;
36. Support peaceful actions to restore democracy to Burma;
37. Encourage dialogue with the People’s Republic of China to address issues, including climate change, a peaceful resolution of issues between China and Taiwan that is consistent with the will of the people of Taiwan, and the return of democratic freedoms to the people of Hong Kong;
38. Insist that China release all religious and ethnic minorities from all forms of detention;
39. Support de-escalating a nuclear arms competition between the U.S. and China and support and encourage fair trade between the two nations;
40. Support direct talks with North and South Korean leaders toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula; and,
41. Promote diplomatic actions to restore citizenship equality in India, regardless of religion, race, caste, gender, or employment, or other factors.