Action Alert: Send Humanitarian Support, Not Deadly Weapons, to Syria

UCC’s Justice and Peace Action Network alert for #Syria

Over the past year, the world has watched as the crisis in Syria continues to deepen, impacting the lives of millions. Last year, officers of the United Church of Christ, including General Minister and President Rev. Geoffrey Black, signed on to letters calling for increased U.S. humanitarian assistance for Syria and for the U.S. to refrain from direct military involvement or military aid to either side. 

Today, these same messages must be issued again with the utmost sense of urgency. 

The scope of the humanitarian crisis in Syria is difficult to assess. More than 800,000 live amidst siege-like conditions and thousands of civilians have been killed in the crossfire between government and insurgent forces. The UN has stopped officially counting those killed due to lack of access to information – but unofficial estimates top 150,000.  As of April 2014, the UN reported that almost half of Syria’s 23 million people are now refugees or internally displaced, and three-quarters need food aid to survive.

Making matters worse, some members of Congress are calling on President Obama to escalate U.S. involvement by providing direct military aid in the form of U.S. shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, or “MANPADS,” to the Syrian opposition. Without adequate accountability for their use, these weapons would further escalate the Syrian crisis, put air travelers at risk in the Middle East and around the world, and violate agreements the U.S. helped put in place to control these weapons. 

Please ask your member of Congress to push for increased humanitarian aid and peacekeeping efforts rather than sending deadly weapons to Syria.

The United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) continue to offer support for the work of many partners in the region to provide humanitarian response to the needs of Syrian refugees.  Please consider supporting the work of Global Ministries’ partners’ relief efforts in and around Syria.  You can do that through One Great Hour of Sharing (UCC), the Week of Compassion (Disciples), or through Global Ministries directly.