FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 16, 2005
CONTACT: John Burroughs, Lawyers’ Committee on Nuclear Policy
(212) 818-1861; cell: (917) 439-4585
Jackie Cabasso, Western States Legal Foundation
(510) 839-5877; cell: (510) 306-0119

LEGAL GROUPS OPPOSE BOLTON NOMINATION
CALL BOLTON “UNSUITABLE” FOR UN POST, CITE
HIS CONTEMPT FOR INTERNATIONAL LAW

New York and Oakland – In a letter sent yesterday to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, two international law watchdog groups oppose confirmation of John Bolton as U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations. In the letter, the Lawyers’ Committee on Nuclear Policy (LCNP) and Western States Legal Foundation (WSLF) state: “The most important reason Mr. Bolton is unsuited to be UN ambassador is his frequently and strongly expressed contempt for the United Nations and international law.... Mr. Bolton's view of international law is wrong, unwise, and dangerous.” The letter can be viewed at www.lcnp.org or www.wslfweb.org.

The letter details Bolton's leading role in multiple assaults on multilateral regimes on security and justice. As Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, Bolton has been instrumental in disruption of the creation of a verification system for the existing ban on biological weapons; negotiation of an arms reduction treaty with Moscow that contains no verification provisions, and dismissal of U.S. disarmament commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; “unsigning” the treaty on the International Criminal Court; removal of the head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons; and so far unsuccessful opposition to a third term for Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the IAEA.

“Politically," according to LCNP President Peter Weiss, “the nomination of Mr. Bolton amounts to a slap at the rest of the world, reversing any gains from President Bush’s fence-mending expedition to Europe. Neither Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice or Karen Hughes as Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs will be able to repair the damage. But the Senate could, by refusing to approve the nomination.”

LCNP and WSLF each has more than two decades experience in analyzing international law matters related to disarmament and security. Based two blocks from the United Nations in New York City, LCNP closely follows Security Council and General Assembly deliberations. Based in Oakland, California, WSLF has consistently monitored Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review proceedings in New York and Geneva.

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