WORLD TRIBUNAL ON IRAQ

[Kulapavana]

DECLARATION OF THE JURY OF CONSCIENCE

WORLD TRIBUNAL ON IRAQ - ISTANBUL 23rd - 27th JUNE 2005

http://www.worldtribunal.org/

 

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27th June 2005, Istanbul

 

In February 2003, weeks before an illegal war was initiated against Iraq,

millions of people protested in the streets of the world. That call went

unheeded. No international institution had the courage or conscience to

stand up to the threat of aggression of the US and UK governments. No one

could stop them. It is two years later now. Iraq has been invaded,

occupied, and devastated. The attack on Iraq is an attack on justice, on

liberty, on our safety, on our future, on us all. We, people of

conscience, decided to stand up. We formed the World Tribunal on Iraq

(WTI) to demand justice and a peaceful future.

The legitimacy of the World Tribunal on Iraq is located in the collective

conscience of humanity. This, the Istanbul session of the WTI, is the

culmination of a series of 20 hearings held in different cities of the

world focusing on the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq.

The conclusions of these sessions and/or inquiries held in Barcelona,

Brussels, Copenhagen, Genoa, Hiroshima, Istanbul, Lisbon, London, Mumbai,

New York, Ostersund, Paris, Rome, Seoul, Stockholm, Tunis, various cities

in Japan and Germany are appended to this Declaration in a separate

volume.

We, the Jury of Conscience, from 10 different countries, met in Istanbul.

We heard 54 testimonies from a Panel of Advocates and Witnesses who came

from across the world, including from Iraq, the United States and the

United Kingdom.

The World Tribunal on Iraq met in Istanbul from 24-26 June 2005.

The principal objective of the WTI is to tell and disseminate the truth

about the Iraq War, underscoring the accountability of those responsible

and underlining the significance of justice for the Iraqi people.

 

 

I. Overview of Findings

 

1.The invasion and occupation of Iraq was and is illegal. The reasons

given by the US and UK governments for the invasion and occupation of

Iraq in March 2003 have proven to be false. Much evidence supports the

conclusion that a major motive for the war was to control and dominate

the Middle East and its vast reserves of oil as a part of the US drive

for global hegemony.

2.Blatant falsehoods about the presence of weapons of mass destruction

in Iraq and a link between Al Qaeda terrorism and the Saddam Hussein

regime were manufactured in order to create public support for a

"preemptive" assault upon a sovereign independent nation.

3.Iraq has been under siege for years. The imposition of severe inhumane

economic sanctions on 6 August 1990, the establishment of no-fly zones

in the Northern and Southern parts of Iraq, and the concomitant

bombing of the country were all aimed at degrading and weakening

Iraq's human and material resources and capacities in order to

facilitate its subsequent invasion and occupation. In this enterprise

the US and British leaderships had the benefit of a complicit UN

Security Council.

4.In pursuit of their agenda of empire, the Bush and Blair governments

blatantly ignored the massive opposition to the war expressed by

millions of people around the world. They embarked upon one of the most

unjust, immoral, and cowardly wars in history.

5.Established international political-legal mechanisms have failed to

prevent this attack and to hold the perpetrators accountable.

The impunity that the US government and its allies enjoy has created a

serious international crisis that questions the import and significance

of international law, of human rights covenants and of the ability of

international institutions including the United Nations to address the

crisis with any degree of authority or dignity.

6.The US/UK occupation of Iraq of the last 27 months has led to the

destruction and devastation of the Iraqi state and society. Law and

order have broken down, resulting in a pervasive lack of human security.

The physical infrastructure is in shambles; the health care delivery

system is in poor condition; the education system has virtually ceased

to function; there is massive environmental and ecological devastation;

and the cultural and archaeological heritage of the Iraqi people has

been desecrated.

7.The occupation has intentionally exacerbated ethnic, sectarian and

religious divisions in Iraqi society, with the aim of undermining

Iraq's identity and integrity as a nation. This is in keeping with the

familiar imperial policy of divide and rule. Moreover, it has

facilitated rising levels of violence against women, increased gender

oppression and reinforced patriarchy.

8.The imposition of the UN sanctions in 1990 caused untold suffering and

thousands of deaths. The situation has worsened after the occupation.

At least 100,000 civilians have been killed; 60,000 are being held in

US custody in inhumane conditions, without charges; thousands have

disappeared; and torture has become routine.

9.The illegal privatization, deregulation, and liberalization of the

Iraqi economy by the occupation regime has coerced the country into

becoming a client economy that is controlled by the IMF and the World

Bank, both of which are integral to the Washington Consensus.

The occupying forces have also acquired control over Iraq's oil

reserves.

10.Any law or institution created under the aegis of occupation is devoid

of both legal and moral authority. The recently concluded election,

the Constituent Assembly, the current government, and the drafting

committee for the Constitution are therefore all illegitimate.

11.There is widespread opposition to the occupation. Political, social,

and civil resistance through peaceful means is subjected to repression

by the occupying forces. It is the occupation and its brutality that

has provoked a strong armed resistance and certain acts of desperation.

By the principles embodied in the UN Charter and in international law,

the popular national resistance to the occupation is legitimate and

justified. It deserves the support of people everywhere who care for

justice and freedom.

 

 

II. Charges

 

On the basis of the preceding findings and recalling the Charter of the

United Nations and other legal documents indicated in the appendix, the

jury has established the following charges.

 

A. Against the Governments of the US and the UK

 

1.Planning, preparing, and waging the supreme crime of a war of

aggression in contravention of the United Nations Charter and the

Nuremberg Principles. Evidence for this can be found in the leaked

Downing Street Memo of 23rd July, 2002, in which it was revealed:

"Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove

Saddam through military action, justified by the conjunction of

terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed

around the policy." Intelligence was manufactured to willfully

deceive the people of the US, the UK, and their elected

representatives.

2.Targeting the civilian population of Iraq and civilian

infrastructure by intentionally directing attacks upon civilians and

hospitals, medical centers, residential neighborhoods, electricity

stations, and water purification facilities. The complete

destruction of the city of Falluja in itself constitutes a glaring

example of such crimes.

3.Using disproportionate force and weapon systems with indiscriminate

effects, such as cluster munitions, incendiary bombs, depleted

uranium (DU), and chemical weapons. Detailed evidence was presented

to the Tribunal by expert witnesses that leukemia had risen sharply

in children under the age of five residing in those areas that had

been targeted by DU weapons.

4.Using DU munitions in spite of all the warnings presented by

scientists and war veterans on their devastating long-term effects

on human beings and the environment. The US Administration, claiming

lack of scientifically established proof of the harmful effects of

DU, decided to risk the lives of millions for several generations

rather than discontinue its use on account of the potential risks.

This alone displays the Administration's wanton disregard for human

life. The Tribunal heard testimony concerning the current

obstruction by the US Administration of the efforts of Iraqi

universities to collect data and conduct research on the issue.

5.Failing to safeguard the lives of civilians during military

activities and during the occupation period thereafter.

This is evidenced, for example, by "shock and awe" bombing techniques

and the conduct of occupying forces at checkpoints.

6.Actively creating conditions under which the status of Iraqi women

has seriously been degraded, contrary to the repeated claims of the

leaders of the coalition forces. Women's freedom of movement has

severely been limited, restricting their access to the public

sphere, to education, livelihood, political and social engagement.

Testimony was provided that sexual violence and sex trafficking have

increased since the occupation of Iraq began.

7.Using deadly violence against peaceful protestors, including the

April 2003 killing of more than a dozen peaceful protestors in

Falluja.

8.Imposing punishments without charge or trial, including collective

punishment, on the people of Iraq. Repeated testimonies pointed to

"snatch and grab" operations, disappearances and assassinations.

9.Subjecting Iraqi soldiers and civilians to torture and cruel,

inhuman, or degrading treatment. Degrading treatment includes

subjecting Iraqi soldiers and civilians to acts of racial, ethnic,

religious, and gender discrimination, as well as denying Iraqi

soldiers Prisoner of War status as required by the Geneva

Conventions. Abundant testimony was provided of unlawful arrests and

detentions, without due process of law. Well known and egregious

examples of torture and cruel and inhuman treatment occurred in Abu

Ghraib prison as well as in Mosul, Camp Bucca, and Basra.

The employment of mercenaries and private contractors to carry out

torture has served to undermine accountability.

10.Re-writing the laws of a country that has been illegally invaded

and occupied, in violation of international covenants on the

responsibilities of occupying powers, in order to amass illegal

profits (through such measures as Order 39, signed by L. Paul

Bremer III for the Coalition Provisional Authority, which allows

foreign investors to buy and takeover Iraq's state-owned

enterprises and to repatriate 100 percent of their profits and

assets at any point) and to control Iraq's oil. Evidence was

presented of a number of corporations that had profited from such

transactions.

11.Willfully devastating the environment, contaminating it by depleted

uranium (DU) weapons, combined with the plumes from burning oil

wells, as well as huge oil spills, and destroying agricultural

lands. Deliberately disrupting the water and waste removal systems,

in a manner verging on biological-chemical warfare. Failing to

prevent the looting and dispersal of radioactive material from

nuclear sites. Extensive documentation is available on air and

water pollution, land degradation, and radioactive pollution.

12.Failing to protect humanity's rich archaeological and cultural

heritage in Iraq by allowing the looting of museums and established

historical sites and positioning military bases in culturally and

archaeologically sensitive locations. This took place despite prior

warnings from UNESCO and Iraqi museum officials.

13.Obstructing the right to information, including the censoring of

Iraqi media, such as newspapers (e.g., al-Hawza, al-Mashriq, and

al-Mustaqila) and radio stations (Baghdad Radio), the shutting down

of the Baghdad offices of Al Jazeera Television, targeting

international journalists, imprisoning and killing academics,

intellectuals and scientists.

14.Redefining torture in violation of international law, to allow use

of torture and illegal detentions, including holding more than 500

people at Guantanamo Bay without charging them or allowing them any

access to legal protection, and using "extraordinary renditions" to

send people to be tortured in other countries known to commit human

rights abuses and torture prisoners.

15.Committing a crime against peace by violating the will of the

global anti-war movement. In an unprecedented display of public

conscience millions of people across the world stood in opposition

to the imminent attack on Iraq. The attack rendered them

effectively voiceless. This amounts to a declaration by the US

government and its allies to millions of people that their voices

can be ignored, suppressed and silenced with complete impunity.

16.Engaging in policies to wage permanent war on sovereign nations.

Syria and Iran have already been declared as potential targets.

In declaring a "global war on terror," the US government has given

itself the exclusive right to use aggressive military force against

any target of its choosing. Ethnic and religious hostilities are

being fueled in different parts of the world. The US occupation of

Iraq has further emboldened the Israeli occupation in Palestine and

increased the repression of the Palestinian people. The focus on

state security and the escalation of militarization has caused a

serious deterioration of human security and civil rights across the

world.

 

B. Against the Security Council of the United Nations

 

1.Failing to protect the Iraqi people against the crime of aggression.

2.Imposing harsh economic sanctions on Iraq, despite knowledge that

sanctions were directly contributing to the massive loss of civilian

lives and harming innocent civilians.

3.Allowing the United States and United Kingdom to carry out illegal

bombings in the no-fly zones, using false pretenses of enforcing UN

resolutions, and at no point allowing discussion in the Security

Council of this violation, and thereby being complicit and

responsible for loss of civilian life and destruction of Iraqi

infrastructure.

4.Allowing the United States to dominate the United Nations and hold

itself above any accountability by other member nations.

5.Failure to stop war crimes and crimes against humanity by the

United States and its coalition partners in Iraq.

6.Failure to hold the United States and its coalition partners

accountable for violations of international law during the invasion

and occupation, giving official sanction to the occupation and

therefore, both by acts of commission and acts of omission becoming

a collaborator in an illegal occupation.

 

C. Against the Governments of the Coalition of the Willing

 

Collaborating in the invasion and occupation of Iraq, thus sharing

responsibility in the crimes committed.

 

D. Against the Governments of Other Countries

 

Allowing the use of military bases and air space, and providing other

logistical support, for the invasion and occupation, and hence being

complicit in the crimes committed.

 

E. Against the Private Corporations which have won contracts for the

reconstruction of Iraq and which have sued for and received

"reparation awards" from the illegal occupation regime

 

Profiting from the war with complicity in the crimes described above,

of invasion and occupation.

 

F. Against the Major Corporate Media

 

1.Disseminating the deliberate falsehoods spread by the governments of

the US and the UK and failing to adequately investigate this

misinformation, even in the face of abundant evidence to the contrary.

Among the corporate media houses that bear special responsibility for

promoting the lies about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, we name

the New York Times, in particular their reporter Judith Miller, whose

main source was on the payroll of the CIA. We also name Fox News,

CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, the BBC and ITN. This list also includes but is

not limited to, The Express, The Sun, The Observer and Washington

Post.

2.Failing to report the atrocities being committed against Iraqi

people by the occupying forces, neglecting the duty to give privilege

and dignity to voices of suffering and marginalizing the global

voices for peace and justice.

3.Failing to report fairly on the ongoing occupation; silencing and

discrediting dissenting voices and failing to adequately report on

the full national costs and consequences of the invasion and

occupation of Iraq; disseminating the propaganda of the occupation

regime that seeks to justify the continuation of its presence in Iraq

on false grounds.

4.Inciting an ideological climate of fear, racism, xenophobia and

Islamophobia, which is then used to justify and legitimize violence

perpetrated by the armies of the occupying regime.

5.Disseminating an ideology that glorifies masculinity and combat,

while normalizing war as a policy choice.

6.Complicity in the waging of an aggressive war and perpetuating a

regime of occupation that is widely regarded as guilty of war crimes

and crimes against humanity.

7.Enabling, through the validation and dissemination of disinformation,

the fraudulent misappropriation of human and financial resources for

an illegal war waged on false pretexts.

8.Promoting corporate-military perspectives on "security" which are

counter-productive to the fundamental concerns and priorities of the

global population and have seriously endangered civilian populations.

 

 

 

III. Recommendations

 

Recognizing the right of the Iraqi people to resist the illegal occupation

of their country and to develop independent institutions, and affirming

that the right to resist the occupation is the right to wage a struggle

for self-determination, freedom, and independence as derived from the

Charter of the United Nations, we the Jury of Conscience declare our

solidarity with the people of Iraq.

 

We recommend:

 

1.The immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the Coalition forces from

Iraq.

2.That Coalition governments make war reparations and pay compensation to

Iraq for the humanitarian, economic, ecological, and cultural

devastation they have caused by their illegal invasion and occupation.

3.That all laws, contracts, treaties, and institutions established under

occupation, which the Iraqi people deem inimical to their interests, be

considered null and void.

4.That the Guantanamo Bay prison and all other offshore US military

prisons be closed immediately, that the names of the prisoners be

disclosed, that they receive POW status, and receive due process.

5.That there be an exhaustive investigation of those responsible for the

crime of aggression, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Iraq,

beginning with George W. Bush, President of the United States of

America, Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, those in key

decision-making positions in these countries and in the Coalition of

the Willing, those in the military chain-of-command who master-minded

the strategy for and carried out this criminal war, starting from the

very top and going down; as well as personalities in Iraq who helped

prepare this illegal invasion and supported the occupiers.

 

We list some of the most obvious names to be included in such

investigation:

 

- prime ministers of the Coalition of the Willing, such as Junichiro

Koizumi of Japan, Jose Maria Aznar of Spain, Silvio Berlusconi of

Italy, Jose Manuel Durao Barroso and Santana Lopes of Portugal, Roh

Moo Hyun of South Korea, Anders Fogh Rasmussen of Denmark;

- public officials such as Dick Cheney, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Paul

Wolfowitz, Colin L. Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Richard Perle, Douglas

Feith, Alberto Gonzales, L. Paul Bremer from the US, and Jack Straw,

Geoffrey Hoon, John Reid, Adam Ingram from the UK;

- military commanders beginning with: Gen. Richard Myers, Gen. Tommy

Franks, Gen. John P. Abizaid, Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, Gen. Thomas

Metz, Gen. John R. Vines, Gen. George Casey from the US; Gen. Mike

Jackson, Gen. John Kiszely, Air Marshal Brian Burridge, Gen. Peter

Wall, Rear Admiral David Snelson, Gen. Robin Brims, Air Vice-Marshal

Glenn Torpy from the UK; and chiefs of staff and commanding officers

of all coalition countries with troops in Iraq.

- Iraqi collaborators such as Ahmed Chalabi, Iyad Allawi, Abdul Aziz

Al Hakim, Gen. Abdul Qader Mohammed Jassem Mohan, among others.

 

6.That a process of accountability is initiated to hold those morally and

personally responsible for their participation in this illegal war,

such as journalists who deliberately lied, corporate media outlets that

promoted racial, ethnic and religious hatred, and CEOs of multinational

corporations that profited from this war;

7.That people throughout the world launch nonviolent actions against US

and UK corporations that directly profit from this war. Examples of

such corporations include Halliburton, Bechtel, The Carlyle Group, CACI

Inc., Titan Corporation, Kellog, Brown and Root (subsidiary of

Halliburton), DynCorp, Boeing, ExxonMobil, Texaco, British Petroleum.

The following companies have sued Iraq and received "reparation awards":

Toys R Us, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Shell, Nestle, Pepsi, Phillip Morris,

Sheraton, Mobil. Such actions may take the form of direct actions such

as shutting down their offices, consumer boycotts, and pressure on

shareholders to divest.

8.That young people and soldiers act on conscientious objection and refuse

to enlist and participate in an illegal war. Also, that countries

provide conscientious objectors with political asylum.

9.That the international campaign for dismantling all US military bases

abroad be reinforced.

10.That people around the world resist and reject any effort by any of

their governments to provide material, logistical, or moral support to

the occupation of Iraq.

 

 

We, the Jury of Conscience, hope that the scope and specificity of these

recommendations will lay the groundwork for a world in which international

institutions will be shaped and reshaped by the will of people and not by

fear and self-interest, where journalists and intellectuals will not

remain mute, where the will of the people of the world will be central,

and human security will prevail over state security and corporate profits.

 

Arundhati Roy, India, Spokesperson of the Jury of Conscience

Ahmet Ozturk, Turkey

Ayse Erzan, Turkey

Chandra Muzaffar, Malaysia

David Krieger, USA

Eve Ensler, USA

Francois Houtart, Belgium

Jae-Bok Kim, South Korea

Mehmet Tarhan, Turkey

Miguel Angel De Los Santos Cruz, Mexico

Murat Belge, Turkey

Rela Mazali, Israel

Salaam Al Jobourie, Iraq

Taty Almeida, Argentina

 

 

 

 

 

International Law Appendix

 

 

Explanatory Note

 

This international law appendix is intended to back up the Jury Statement

that rests its assessments primarily on a moral and political appraisal of

the Iraq War. The Statement relies upon the extensive testimony given in

written and oral form by international law experts who have a world-class

scholarly reputation during the Istanbul Culminating Session of the World

Tribunal on Iraq (WTI). It also reflects the testimony and submissions on

related issues of war crimes and the failure of the United Nations to

protect Iraq against aggression.

 

The Jury of Conscience was not a body composed of jurists or international

law experts. It did not hear arguments supporting the legality of the

invasion of Iraq as would have been made before a judicial body under the

authority of either the state or an international institution acting on

behalf of the international community. The World Tribunal on Iraq

throughout all of its session proceeded from a sense of moral and

political outrage of concerned citizens from all over the world, with

respect to the war. The Tribunal was not interested in a debate solely as

to legality. The legal issues were relevant to the extent that they added

weight to the moral and political purpose of the Tribunal, which was to

expose the Iraq War as the crime it is, appealing to and drawing upon the

deep bonds that link us all in our humanity. Therefore the Tribunal sought

testimony and evidence to call into question the mantle of respectability

thrown over the Iraq War by the aggressors, and the false impression

disseminated by mainstream media, that the Iraq War was in any sense

justified by political circumstances, moral considerations, or legal

analysis.

 

The WTI is a worldwide process dedicated to reclaiming justice on behalf

of the peoples of the world. It aims to record the severe wrongs, crimes,

and violations that were committed in the process leading up to the

aggression against Iraq, during the war, and throughout the ensuing

occupation, continuing with unabated fury to this day. The role of

international law is understood in light of these WTI goals.

 

The concerns of the WTI range much further than the demand for the

implementation of international law, especially as much of this law

currently serves the interests of wealth and power. Nevertheless,

international law with respect to the use of force and recourse to war is

important in relation to the work of the WTI. International law is useful

for the WTI for the following reasons:

 

- International law grounds the political and moral demand for the

criminal indictment and prosecution of those responsible for the Iraq

War, and it clarifies the extent of criminal accountability as

extending to corporate and media participation;

- International law rejects the dangerous imperialist claims of the United

States and the United Kingdom to be exempt from international legal

obligations.

 

In addition, the WTI makes use of international law to fulfill its

mission:

 

- The WTI connects a call for global justice with the demand for the

implementation of international law, but also for a rethinking of the

premises and operations of international law so that it might be of

greater relevance to the achievement of human security in the future;

- The WTI demands an interrogation as to why international institutions,

particularly the United Nations, proved powerless against US

unilateralism and aggression;

- The WTI insists that United Nations exercise its constitutional

responsibility to protect its Members from aggression and illegal

occupation;

- The WTI possesses the authority, as representing civil society, to

declare and seek enforcement of international legal obligations when

states and the United Nations fail to uphold international law in

matters of war and peace.

 

It is important to distinguish:

 

- violations of international law, including the UN Charter, by a state;

and

- crimes associated with these violation committed by political and

military leaders, government officials, corporations and their officers,

soldiers and private contractors, journalists and media personnel.

 

 

Legal Analysis

 

- International law consists of (1) international treaties, including

the UN Charter [see list of documents]; (2) international customary

law [especially in relation to the conduct of states in war]; (3)

international criminal law [a sub-category of (1) resting on treaties

and agreements among states, based on the framework of the Nuremberg

Judgment in 1945, unanimously affirmed by the UN General Assembly's

adoption of the Nuremberg Principles in 1946, Res. 95(I)].

- In the War on Iraq the three principles of customary international law

have been violated: (1) Principle of Proportionality: force can only be

used to attain permissible legal objectives, and then only to the

extent required by 'military necessity'; (2) Principle of

Discrimination: force and weaponry can only be used if confined to

military targets; indiscriminate weapons and tactics are prohibited;

(3) Principle of Humanity: force must never be used to cause

unnecessary suffering and maximum care must be taken to protect

civilian society, including its cultural heritage.

- The War on Iraq violates the Nuremberg Principles that set forth the

following essential guidelines (as formulated by the International Law

Commission of the UN in 1950 in response to request from General

Assembly):

 

Principle I

 

Any person who commits an act which constitutes a crime under

international law is responsible therefore and liable to punishment.

 

Principle II

 

The fact that internal law does not impose a penalty for an act, which

constitutes a crime under international law, does not relieve the person

who committed the act from responsibility under international law.

 

Principle III

 

The fact that a person who committed an act which constitutes a crime

under international law acted as Head of State or responsible Government

official does not relieve him from responsibility under international law.

 

Principle IV

 

The fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a

superior does not relieve him from responsibility under international law,

provided a moral choice was in fact possible to him.

 

Principle V

 

Any person charged with a crime under international law has the right to

a fair trial on the facts and law.

 

Principle VI

 

The crimes hereinafter set out are punishable as crimes under;

international law:

 

a) Crimes against peace:

i. Planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression

or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or

assurances;

ii. Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment

of any of the acts mentioned under (i).

b) War crimes:

Violations of the laws or customs of war which include, but are not

limited to, murder, ill treatment or deportation to slave-labor or for

any other purpose of civilian population of or in occupied territory,

murder or ill treatment of prisoners of war, of persons on the seas,

killing of hostages, plunder of public or private property, wanton

destruction of cities, towns, or villages, or devastation not

justified by military necessity.

c) Crimes against humanity:

Murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation and other inhuman acts

done against any civilian population, or persecutions on political,

racial or religious grounds, when such acts are done or such

persecutions are carried on in execution of or in connection with any

crime against peace or any war crime.

 

Principle VII

 

Complicity in the commission of a crime against peace, a war crime, or a

crime against humanity as set forth in Principles VI is a crime under

international law.

 

 

Violations and Crimes:

 

I. The invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003, together with the continuing

occupation of Iraq, constitutes a violation of the core obligation of

the United Nations Charter:

 

- resolving international conflicts by recourse to force or the threat

of force is unconditionally prohibited by Article 2(4) of the Charter;

- the only exception to this probation is the right of states to act in

self-defense against a prior armed attack as allowed by Article 51,

but with the requirement that defending state report its claim to the

Security Council;

- the claims of the US/UK Governments based on doctrines of 'preemption'

or 'preventive war' have no standing in international law, and

reliance on such specious arguments was in any event unsupported by

facts; even if weapons of mass destruction had existed in Iraq it

would not provide a legal justification for the invasion; nor would

the claim that 'regime change' would liberate the Iraqi people from

dictatorial rule violative of human rights;

- with respect to Iraq there existed no basis for claiming self-defense

or acting on the basis of a Security Council authorization; the

invasion of Iraq and the subsequent occupation of the country

constitutes a continuing aggression against a sovereign state and

member of the UN in violation of international law;

- the cumulative effect of these violations is to create a strong

factual and legal foundation for the indictment, prosecution, and

punishment of the individuals responsible for planning, initiating,

and waging a crime of aggression against Iraq.

 

II. Iraq War by the invading military forces, principally those of the

United States and United Kingdom, and subsequent occupation, violated

the law of war such as the Geneva Conventions on the Humanitarian Laws

of War (1949), Additional Protocols to Geneva Conventions (1977) and

Hague Conventions on the Laws of War (1899, 1907) in numerous respects,

including the following:

 

- use of cluster bombs, napalm, depleted uranium;

- bombing of civilian targets and areas (e.g. markets, restaurants,

media facilities, religious and cultural sites);

- intense and indiscriminate military operations against many cities

and towns causing massive civilian casualties (e.g. Najaf, Falluja);

- repeated and systematic use of torture and degrading treatment of

Iraqi civilian and military personnel detained in prison facilities

or covertly transferred to foreign countries known for torture and

severe prison conditions;

- overall failure to protect the civilian population and their

property, cultural heritage (shootings at check points; house raids;

lootings of museums and other cultural sites; refusal to assess

extent of civilian death and damage) [see especially common Article 3

of the Geneva Conventions imposing duty to take special measures to

protect civilian population to the extent possible) (Also Geneva

Convention IV specifies the obligations of the occupying power in

Articles 47-7;

- the cumulative effect of this pattern of flagrant and extensive

violations of the laws of war is to create the foundation for the

indictment, prosecution, and punishment of those individuals

responsible, as policy makers, leaders, and as implementers at

various levels of command;

- Article 1 of the Geneva Conventions reads: "The High Contracting

Parties, including US/UK, undertake to respect and ensure respect

for the present Convention in all circumstances." The American legal

specialists in Office of the Legal Counsel in the White House, in

the Justice Department, and Department of Defense who advised on the

'legality' of torture and other behavior that violates the law of

war are priority targets for indictment and prosecution.

 

III. The occupation of Iraq has fragrantly violated The Right of

Self-Determination of the People of Iraq:

 

- Article 1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and

Cultural Rights and of the International Covenant on Political and

Civil Rights (1966): "(1) All peoples have the right of

self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine

their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and

cultural development";

- It is evident that the occupation, by its decrees, practices,

imposition of an interim government, managed elections, and

administered constitution-making process has violated the right of

self-determination of the Iraqi people, a fundamental element of

international human rights law.

 

IV. The occupation of Iraq has included massive abuses of the Iraqi

civilian population, including the widespread and pervasive reliance

on torture, the practice of which is unconditionally prohibited by

international law:

 

- Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: "No one

shall be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment

or punishment" (repeated in Article 7 of International Covenant on

Civil and Political Rights (1966), including Article 4(2) that affirms

there are no exceptions, even in conditions of war or emergency) and

further confirmed by the widely ratified treaty�- Convention

Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or

Punishment (1984).

 

V. The United Nations has failed to uphold its obligations to protect

sovereign states, especially its members, from violations of their

legal rights to political independence and territorial integrity,

passively allowing Iraq to be threatened and attacked for twelve years

prior to the invasion of 2003:

 

- the UNSC maintained sanctions on Iraq that had a demonstrated

genocidal effect on the civilian population during the period

1991-2003;

- the UNSC refrained from censuring and preventing repeated air strikes

within Iraq territory during the period 1991-2003;

- the UNSC refrained from censuring and preventing overt calls for the

subversion and replacement of the Iraqi government, as well as the

financing and training of exiles dedicated to armed struggle;

- the UNSC failed to condemn or act to prevent aggressive threats or

the actual initiation and conduct of an aggressive war against Iraq

in 2003, and has to a limited extent cooperated in the illegal

occupation of Iraq since the invasion .

 

 

Conclusions

 

1.The Jury Statement is consistent with an objective understanding of

international law, including the United Nations Charter.

2.Members of the United Nations and governments of sovereign states have

legal obligations to uphold the Charter and act to ensure respect for

the laws of war.

3.All three categories of Nuremberg Crimes are associated with the

invasion and occupation of Iraq.

4.The International Criminal Court should indict, prosecute, and punish

the perpetrators and collaborators for this aggression against Iraq and

the related international crimes arising from the subsequent occupation

of the country.

5.The ICC should be supplemented by a specially constituted international

tribunal with authority to indict, prosecute, and punish for crimes

committed before 2002 when the ICC was established and to the extent

that crimes associated with states not Parties to the ICC are not

addressed.

6.The UNGA should be encouraged to implement international law with

respect to the Iraq War and occupation.

7.National courts relying on universal jurisdiction should be urged to

investigate and prosecute individuals associated with Nuremberg Crimes

in Iraq.

8.Organs of civil society, including the WTI, should act to ensure that

the recommendations and conclusions of the Jury Statement are promptly

and fairly implemented.

 

 

 

Appendix: List of Legal Documents

 

- Hague Convention IV Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land

(1907)

- Protocol for the Prohibition of the use in War of Asphyxiating,

Poisonous or other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods (1925)

- General Treaty ('Pact of Paris') for the Renunciation of War as an

Instrument of National Policy (1928)

- Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

- Geneva Conventions (I-IV) on International Humanitarian Law (1949)

- Nuremberg Principles Recognized in the Charter of the Tribunal and in

the Nuremberg Judgment (1950)

- European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950)

- Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide

(1948)

- Convention on the Political Rights of Women (1953)

- Code of Conduct for the Armed Forces of the United States of America

(1963)

- International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial

Discrimination (1965)

- International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966)

- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966)

- American Convention on Human Rights (1969)

- Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and

Stockpiling of Biological Weapons and Toxin Weapons (1972)

- Universal (or Algiers) Declaration of the Rights of Peoples (1976)

- Principles of Co-Operation in the Detection, Arrest, Extradition and

Punishment of Persons Guilty of War Crimes or Crimes Against Humanity

(1973)

- Protocol Additional (I-II) to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 (1977)

- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against

Women (1979)

- African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (1981)

- Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading

Treatment or Punishment (1984)

- International Convention Against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and

Training of Mercenaries (1989)

- Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)

- Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production,

Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons (1992)

- Declaration for the Protection of War Victims (1993)

- Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (1998)

 

 

[jai_govinda]

imagine what G. dubya's next life will be...didnt some scientists just name some newly discovered dung beetles after g-dub, rumsy, and mrs chevron(condi rice)??

 

thought i read something about that

 

 

[Kulapavana]

maybe he will be born in Iraq only to die over and over again from the effects of the war he started? infant mortality rates there are shocking. and the depleted uranium dust is not helping...

[Guest guest]

You mean to say Bush will get a human birth??? Even Krishna cannot perform such miracles!

[Kulapavana]

actually, some human births are worse than those of some animals. their purpose is torment only. imagine being a baby born into crushing poverty and disease only to die a slow agonizing death after a year or two - time and time again... I would much rather be a happy whale /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Guest guest]

Well put - you are so correct!

 

BDM

[Guest guest]

<big>Those who are envious and mischievous, who are the lowest among men, are cast by Me into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life.

 

Attaining repeated birth amongst the species of demoniac life, such persons can never approach Me. Gradually they sink down to the most abominable type of existence</big>. [Bhagavad Gita, 16.19-20]

[gHari]

 

... like another Canadian plot.

 

Those fascist pacifist misfit pussies!

 

[Guest guest]

That was funny, Ghari. But be careful, you too might take birth in Afica next time.

[Guest guest]

Does it mean such souls are condemned to wallow in the gutter eternally? Is there no hope for such people, even if they realize what life is all about and that they've been sinning thus far? Can't Krishna's grace uplift them?

[Kulapavana]

no, the chance for redemption and change of heart is always there. Krishna's grace is unfathomable... think of Srila Prabhupada preaching in the most fallen part of USA - Bowery, NY.

[Guest guest]

but it doesn't mean all people in Bowery became enlightened. Point being, if grace is unfathomable, then what about karma? Does it have no meaning?

[Kulapavana]

the opportunity is there for a change of heart - but very few will take advantage of it. that is a practical fact.

 

it is not your karma that you meet a pure devotee - it is his, and Lord Krishna's grace. sometimes we just have a DESIRE for spirituality - and then, by Lord's grace, an opportunity manifests. it is mercy, but not exactly causeless.

 

the causeless mercy is when a devotee - acting as an instrument of the Lord - approaches people indiscriminately and engages them in sravanam, kirtanam, vishnu smaranam, dasyam, etc.

 

I have met people who told me they awakened their Krishna consciousness simply because they met a pure devotee - they had no interest in spirituality and no desire to surrender to God. You may ask: maybe it was their past karma? But karma here is irrelevant, as it is really the DESIRE that matters when it comes to spiritual life.

[gHari]

 

<img src=http://canoeparts.ca/KINGDOM/world.gif>

 

[gHari]

<blockquote>Recognizing the right of the Iraqi people to resist the illegal occupation of their country and to develop independent institutins, and affirming that the right to resist the occupation is the right to wage a struggle for self-determination, freedom, and independence as derived from the Charter of the United Nations, we the Jury of Conscience declare our solidarity with the people of Iraq. </blockquote>

 

That is, if we ask 'the Iraqi people' we would find that they believe that America helped them 'to wage a struggle for self-determination, freedom, and independence'. They were saved from the same bandits who tried to ransack Kuwait. So before this Jury of Conscience declares solidarity, it would be wise to find out what the Iraqi people really think. The hundreds of thousands that were murdered by the bandits surely had many relatives and friends who now applaud the fall of the vanquished warlord. An even greater applause will erupt when heads roll.

 

[Kulapavana]

"it would be wise to find out what the Iraqi people really think"

 

they think US soldiers should go home. I agree with them.

[Kulapavana]

Source: The Observer (UK)

Published: August 14, 2005 Author: Peter Beaumont, foreign affairs editor

 

Earlier this year I was in Iraq's second city, Basra, lunching with a group of Iraqi women professionals. It was the time of the elections, and the conversation turned to women's rights. Since the fall of Saddam, the women complained, their freedoms had gradually been eroded, not by official diktat but by groups of Shia radicals who had invaded hospitals, universities and schools, insisting that women wore headscarves and behaved as men saw fit.

 

It was a story I heard again and again across the once cosmopolitan city from middle-class professional women who told me they intended to vote for the secular list headed by interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi for fear of what would happen if the 'religious' Shia list swept to a majority.

 

It was not to be. Allawi and the largely secular views he represented have lost out to a new sense of religiosity and resurgence of tribal authority that is on the march across Iraq south of Kurdistan.

 

Now women from Basra to Kirkuk are facing a renewed assault on their freedoms as Iraq's politicians squabble over a new constitution that will at best fudge women's rights, and at worst hugely undermine them, despite the guarantee of a quota for representation by women in Iraq's new ..

 

The principal of equality that existed in what was once one of the Middle East's most secular countries, and guaranteed women's rights even in the midst of Saddam's atrocities, is now under threat in the negotiation of the very constitution that many hoped would guarantee equality. Ironically, it is with the tacit agreement of millions of largely poorly educated Iraqi women.

 

The major Shia religious parties want to replace the secular civil law that now governs marriage, divorce, child custody and inheritance with Sharia law. A draft of the constitution published earlier this month in the newspaper run by the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq frames sexual equality specifically in terms of 'the provisions of Islamic Sharia' rather than Iraq's civil legal code. Even if, as has been suggested, the new constitution results in a parallel system where women can choose Sharia or the civil code, women's rights activists fear they may be forced by male relatives to choose a system that is not in their interests.

 

In a country where the most basic human rights - to life, freedom from intimidation, freedom from torture, a fair judicial process, and freedom of confession - are routinely abused, the issue of women's rights is low on the agenda, except for those who would proscribe them. Whatever happens over the next few days with the finalisation of a draft constitution, any nods it makes towards equality are likely to be vague, and are unlikely to improve the lot of most Iraqi women.