1972 Treaty Grants the United Nations Control Over American
Historical Landmarks
by
Melissa Wiedbrauk
When our Founding Fathers sparked the American Revolution and signed
the Declaration of Independence in 1776, they sought self-government
for the American colonies and an escape from the dominance of
England.
The Founding Fathers would be shocked to learn that some of their
successors have given control of key American sovereign territory
to other nations.
Through an international treaty, the United States is allowing the
United Nations and its member countries access to and control of
American soil - in particular, our historic buildings and treasured
wilderness.
In 1972, our government signed the United Nations' World Heritage
Treaty, a treaty that creates "World Heritage Sites" and
Biosphere Reserves." Selected for their cultural, historical
or natural significance, national governments are obligated to
protect these landmarks under U.N. mandate. [1] Since
1972, 68 percent of all U.S. national parks, monuments and
preserves have been designated as World Heritage Sites. [2]
Twenty important symbols of national pride, along with 51 million
acres of our wilderness, are World Heritage Sites or Biosphere
Reserves now falling under the control of the U.N. This includes
the Statue of Liberty, Thomas Jefferson's home at Monticello, the
Washington Monument, the Brooklyn Bridge, Yellowstone National
Park, Yosemite, the Florida Everglades and the Grand Canyon - to
name just a few.
Most ironic of all is the listing of Philadelphia's Independence
Hall. The birthplace of our Republic is now an official World
Heritage Site. The very place where our Founding Fathers signed
both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution - the
documents that set America apart from other nations and created
the world's longest-standing democracy - is no longer fully under
the control of our government and the American people.
Protection of our treasured places is a sound undertaking, but
doing so by ceding control of our sovereign territory to a foreign
power is wrong and threatens our rights and freedoms.
In 1995, Crown Butte Mines in the New World Mining District in
Montana was forced to abandon a mine development project after
the U.N. listed Yellowstone National Park as a "World Heritage
Site in Danger." [3] Crown Butte proposed to mine a medium-size
underground operation on private property three miles from the
boundary of Yellowstone. The project would have employed 280 people
and generated $230 million in revenue. [4]
This mining project was not unique. The area had been mined for
150 years before Yellowstone National Park was established. Crown
Butte had worked along with the U.S. Forest Service to ensure that
all of the necessary precautions were being taken to ensure that
the project would be environmentally responsible. Crown Butte had
won an award for excellence in 1992 and was considered to be a
"showcase operation." [5]
None of these factors mattered to the U.N.'s
World Heritage Committee. Citing the project as a potential threat,
the U.N. exerted its authority to force the abandonment of the
project. It did not matter to the U.N. that this violated Crown
Butte's exercise of its private property rights under the U.S.
Constitution. Nor did the U.N. care that its action also went
against U.S. federal law prohibiting the inclusion of non-federal
property within a U.S. World Heritage Site without the consent of
the property owner. [6]
Although it has not happened yet, under the World Heritage Treaty
the U.N. has the legal right to someday restrict us, as American
citizens, from visiting our national treasures.
Many environmentalists believe that the mere presence of humans
disturbs the environment. As such, it is not farfetched to wonder
when the politically-correct U.N. will ban the American public from
Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, the Florida Everglades
and other precious natural wonders now visited annually by millions
of tourists. Ironically, banning generations of young people from
visiting our natural wonders would undermine the public's
appreciation for the spectacular gifts of nature, and undercut
support for environmental protection. Unfortunately, the World
Heritage Treaty is just one of a series of government actions that
is stripping away the gift of freedom we received from our Founding
Fathers.
To stop this erosion of sovereign rights, federal legislation has
been introduced to restore the rights of Americans against this
threat to freedom. The American Land Sovereignty Protection Act
seeks to preserve the sovereignty of the United States over public
lands and preserve the private property rights of private citizens.
It would require congressional oversight of U.N. land designations
within the U.S. [7]
We should not turn our backs on the Founding Fathers by
surrendering the precious gift of sovereignty. We should treasure
and protect it.
Footnotes:
1
"World Heritage Sites and Biosphere Reserves Fact Sheet," United
States
House or Representatives Committee on Resources.
2 "American Land Should Be Controlled By Americans," press release,
The
National Center for Public Policy Research, Washington, D.C., February 24,
1999, available on the Internet at
http://www.nationalcenter.org/PRLandSov299.html.
3 Kathleen Benedetto, National Wilderness Institute, testimony before the
United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Washington,
D.C., May 26, 1999.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid.
7 "American Land Should Be Controlled By Americans."
# # #
Melissa Wiedbrauk is a research associate with The National Center for Public
Policy Research, a Washington, D.C. think tank. Comments may be sent to
mwiedbrauk@nationalcenter.org.