Adopted by the Board of Directors
May 20, 2012
Resolution 2012-002

The American Humanist Association urges leaders of the US, Iran, Israel, and the international community to intensify their commitment to peaceful and cooperative relationships in the Middle East. Threats of a pre-emptive strike against Iran are unwise and unwarranted, especially at this time while efforts to negotiate a resolution are underway. The American Humanist Association affirms the consensus of the international community that humanity should seek nuclear disarmament and that nations should not develop nuclear weapons capabilities if they do not already have them. The AHA Resolution on Global Community and International Affairs (2008) affirms support for the United Nations, and its efforts along with other kinds of multi-national efforts to seek peace, and it affirms the necessity of the nuclear non-proliferation regime for the safeguarding of humanity. Regarding the possibility of military action, this resolution also affirms that military intervention to pursue humanitarian ends can be justified against a sovereign nation only if all non-military means have been exhausted, and an international consensus agrees on military options. This statement is made in the current context of an absence of UN and multinational consensus on military options, and no major military offensive against any nation has been undertaken by Iran. We therefore urge the cessation of heated rhetoric by all sides about confrontational tactics or military escalation.