Golden Rule Makes a Splash at the United Nations

Veterans For Peace holds meetings with multiple U.N. missions, bringing the peace boat’s message of nuclear disarmament and environmental justice.

The Golden Rule anti-nuclear sailboat and her intrepid crew arrived to Chelsea Piers in New York City on May 17 to a wonderful reception, followed by ten days full of amazing events. Emotional meetings featured family members of the original crew who sailed toward the Marshall Islands in 1958 to interfere with US nuclear bomb tests. A lunch meeting was hosted by Amalgamated Bank, the only US bank that refuses to invest in nuclear weapons. And the historic peace boat made an (uninvited) guest appearance in New York City’s Fleet Week “Parade of (war) Ships.” With its ruddy tan bark sails emblazoned with a peace sign and the logo of Veterans For Peace, the Golden Rule was a jaunty counterpoint to the Navy’s grey display of weapons of mass destruction.

Multiple events were organized daily by Veterans For Peace, the Friends House (Quakers), the War Resisters League, the Catholic Workers (Maryhouse), Pax Christi, the Peoples’ Forum and others. The City Council issued a welcoming proclamation. The Golden Rule also crossed the Hudson River several times to New Jersey for events with environmental activists and Indigenous leaders.

Meetings with U.N. Missions

Perhaps most exciting of all were our meetings with United Nations missions from around the world. Mexico’s mission hosted a meeting where Veterans For Peace and the Golden Rule team met with 12 U.N. missions, including New Zealand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cuba, South Africa, Austria, Indonesia, Ireland, Costa Rica, Kiribati, and the Holy See.

The U.N. representatives responded enthusiastically to a 10-minute version of Making Waves, the Rebirth of the Golden Rule, and made frequent references to the award-winning film during a very positive exchange with the Golden Rule delegation, led by Veterans For Peace’s president Susan Schnall, and Representative to the U.N. Ellen Barfield.

We are used to speaking ‘state-to-state,” said the First Committee representative from South Africa, the one country that actually eliminated its nuclear weapons. “It is a breath of fresh air to be talking with citizen activists.” He continued, “I was struck by the images of you sailing by the warships. It really is David and Goliath. We are doing diplomatic work but you are the ones doing the heavy lifting. You are out there doing it. We thank you very much.”

“I really appreciate how you bring in the environment,” the representative from Indonesia noted. “Environmental concerns are an important area not discussed enough when we are talking about nuclear weapons.”

All but one of the nations represented had signed the U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which is a primary focus of the Golden Rule’s educational mission. The meeting ended with pledges to stay in touch and to work together toward the goal of abolishing nuclear weapons, including the upcoming Second States Meeting in New York Nov. 27 through Dec. 1.

No Chemotherapy or VA Clinic in Marshall Islands

Later the same day, the Veterans For Peace delegation visited with the Permanent U.N. Representative from the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Ambassador Amatlain Elizabeth Kabua gave a very warm welcome in her cozy U.N. office and spoke with the group for over two hours.

The veterans were most concerned when they learned that, despite the very high rate of cancer in the Marshall Islands – the legacy of 67 US nuclear explosions from 1945 to 1958 – there is no chemotherapy available in the Marshall Islands. Nor is there a Veterans Administration clinic for the many Marshallese veterans of the US military. This is a concern that will be raised within Veterans For Peace and beyond. Coincidentally, the very next day, the New York Times ran an article about the lack of a VA clinic in the Marshall Islands. Ambassador Kabua gifted her six visitors with beautiful necklaces that were handmade by Marshallese women from coconut and sea shells. The meeting ended with a warm farewell and promises to keep in touch.

Cuban Ambassadors Visit Golden Rule

But the international diplomacy had not ended. Three days later, Cuba’s Permanent U.N. Representative and Deputy Permanent Representative came down to Chelsea Piers to visit the Golden Rule. Ambassadors Gerardo Penalver Portal and Yuri A. Gala Lopez thanked the Golden Rule crew for sailing to Cuba in January and for calling for an end to 61-year old U.S. economic blockade of Cuba. Gerry Condon, VFP board member and president of the Golden Rule Committee, thanked the Cuban diplomats for the warm welcome the Golden Rule had received in Cuba.

As president of the Veterans For Peace Golden Rule Project, I was honored to receive the Cuban ambassadors on the historic anti-nuclear ketch. I told them that Veterans For Peace was reminding people that the world almost had a nuclear war in 1962 during the so-called ‘Cuban Missile Crisis. If it were not for US imperial hostility to Cuba’s freedom and independence, this would not have happened. Why, after more than 60 years, is the United States still making the Cuban people suffer? Veterans For Peace has long opposed the US embargo, and once again we demand that it be ended once and for all.

The Cuban diplomats responded that the embargo had been further tightened under the President Trump, who had imposed many new sanctions on Cuba and declared it a “state sponsor of terrorism,” making it even harder for Cuba to engage in normal international trade. President Biden has not reversed the Trump sanctions or the “state sponsor of terrorism” designation. We must push him.

Most people in the US, when they hear about this mean-spirited policy toward Cuba, think it is outdated and unfair. Unfortunately, however, very few people in the US know that our government is economically strangling Cuba and causing great suffering to the Cuban people. It is our job to let them know, and to build political pressure to end the long era of US hostility to Cuba. We love the Cuban people and we want to be friends.

VIdeo of Cuban ambassadors on their visit to the Golden Rule:

For eight years the Golden Rule peace boat has been an inspiring vehicle for educating people about the importance of abolishing nuclear weapons. She is now proving to be an effective tool for international solidarity as well. The historic 34-ft. wooden ketch sailed by the United Nations building on its way out of New York City, heading for Long Island, Connecticut and up the New England Coast all the way to Portland, Maine, where Veterans For Peace was founded in 1985.

The Golden Rule is now two-thirds the way through its epic 13-month, 11,000 mile “Great Loop” voyage throughout the eastern half of the United States. To see its upcoming schedule of port stops and events, and how you can participate, go to www.vfpgoldenrule.org.

Special thanks to Anthony Donovan of New York City Veterans For Peace for coordinating many events for the Golden Rule in New York and New Jersey, and for the great photos in this article.