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</font><font face="arial" size=1><b><a name="top"></a>Also see
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<a href="http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/printer_062705A.shtml#1#1">
Preliminary Declaration of the Jury of Conscience World Tribunal on
Iraq</a></font><font face="arial" size=1> • <br><br>
</font><a href="http://www.worldtribunal.org/main/?b=93">
<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=1>Go to Original</a><br><br>
</font><font face="arial" size=1> <b>Tribunal on Iraq
Findings<br>
</b> World Tribunal on Iraq<br><br>
Monday 27 June 2005<br>
<b><i>The attack on Iraq is an attack on justice, on liberty, on our
safety, on our future, on us all - The Jury of Conscience<br><br>
</i></b> Istanbul, 27 June, 2005 - With a Jury of
Conscience from 10 different countries hearing the testimonies of 54
members of the Panel of Advocates who came from across the world,
including Iraq, the United States and the United Kingdom, this global
civil initiative came to an end with a press conference at the Hotel
Armada where the chair of the Jury of Conscience, Arundathi Roy,
announced the Jury's conclusions. <br><br>
The Jury defined this war as one of the most
unjust in history: 'The Bush and Blair administrations 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. The Anglo-American 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 completely, resulting
in a pervasive lack of human security; the physical infrastructure is in
shambles; the health care delivery system is a mess; the education system
has ceased to function; there is massive environmental and ecological
devastation; and, the cultural and archeological heritage of the Iraqi
people has been desecrated.'<br><br>
On the basis of the preceding findings and
recalling the Charter of the United Nations and other legal documents,
the jury has established the following charges against the Governments of
the US and the UK:
<ul>
<li>Planning, preparing, and waging the supreme crime of a war of
aggression in contravention of the United Nations Charter and the
Nuremberg Principles.</font><font size=3> </font>
<li><font face="arial" size=1>Targeting the civilian population of Iraq
and civilian infrastructure</font><font size=3> </font>
<li><font face="arial" size=1>Using disproportionate force and
indiscriminate weapon systems</font><font size=3> </font>
<li><font face="arial" size=1>Failing to safeguard the lives of civilians
during military activities and during the occupation period
thereafter</font><font size=3> </font>
<li><font face="arial" size=1>Using deadly violence against peaceful
protestors</font><font size=3> </font>
<li><font face="arial" size=1>Imposing punishments without charge or
trial, including collective punishment</font><font size=3> </font>
<li><font face="arial" size=1>Subjecting Iraqi soldiers and civilians to
torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment</font><font size=3>
</font>
<li><font face="arial" size=1>Re-writing the laws of a country that has
been illegally invaded and occupied</font><font size=3> </font>
<li><font face="arial" size=1>Willfully devastating the
environment</font><font size=3> </font>
<li><font face="arial" size=1>Actively creating conditions under which
the status of Iraqi women has seriously been degraded</font><font size=3>
</font>
<li><font face="arial" size=1>Failing to protect humanity's rich
archaeological and cultural heritage in Iraq</font><font size=3> </font>
<li><font face="arial" size=1>Obstructing the right to information,
including the censoring of Iraqi media</font><font size=3> </font>
<li><font face="arial" size=1>Redefining torture in violation of
international law, to allow use of torture and illegal
detentions</font><font size=3>
</ul><br>
</font><font face="arial" size=1> The Jury also
established charges against the Security Council of United Nations for
failing to stop war crimes and crimes against humanity among other
failures, against the Governments of the Coalition of the Willing for
collaborating in the invasion and occupation of Iraq, against the
Governments of Other Countries for allowing the use of military bases and
air space and providing other logistical support, against Private
Corporations for profiting from the war, against the Major Corporate
Media for disseminating deliberate falsehoods and failing to report
atrocities.<br><br>
The Jury also provided a number of recommendations
that include recognising 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 and the
immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the coalition forces from
Iraq.<br><br>
The Istanbul session of the WTI lasted three days and
presented testimony on the illegality and criminal violations in the U.S.
pretexts for and conduct of this war. The expert opinion, witness
testimony, video and image evidence addressed the impact of war on
civilians, the torture of prisoners, the unlawful imprisonment of Iraqis
without charges or legal defence, the use of depleted uranium weapons,
the effects of the war on Iraq's infrastructure, the destruction of Iraqi
cultural institutions and the liability of the invaders in international
law for failing to protect these treasures of humanity. <br><br>
The session in Istanbul was the culminating session of
commissions of inquiry and hearings held around the world over the past
two years. Sessions on different topics related to the war on Iraq were
held in London, Mumbai, Copenhagen, Brussels, New York, Japan, Stockholm,
South Korea, Rome, Frankfurt, Geneva, Lisbon and Spain. <br><br>
They have compiled a definitive historical record of
evidence on the illegality of the invasion and occupation that will be
recorded in a forthcoming book. <br><br>
<a name="1"></a> <br>
<div align="center"><br>
</div>
</font><a href="http://www.worldtribunal.org/main/?b=91">
<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=1>Go to
Original</a></font><font face="arial" size=1> <br><br>
<b>Preliminary Declaration of the Jury of Conscience
World Tribunal on Iraq<br>
</b> Istanbul<br><br>
27th June 2005, Istanbul<br><br>
In February 2003, weeks before war was declared on
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 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 the people of conscience
decided to stand up. We formed the World Tribunal on Iraq, to demand
justice and a peaceful future. <br><br>
The legitimacy of the World Tribunal on Iraq is
located in the collective conscience of humanity. This, the Istanbul
session, was the culmination of a series of 20 hearings held in different
cities of the world focusing on the illegal invasion and occupation of
Iraq. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
The World Tribunal on Iraq met in Istanbul from
24-26th of June 2005. The principal objective of the WTI is to tell the
truth about the Iraq war as clearly as possible, and to draw conclusions
that underscore the accountability of those responsible and underline the
significance of justice for the Iraqi people. Saddam Hussein's crimes
against his people are not the focus of this Tribunal. We believe it is
up to the Iraqi people to investigate these crimes in an independent and
free trial.<br><br>
I. Overview <br><br>
1. The reasons given by the US and UK governments for
the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq in March 2003 have proven to
be false. The real motive was to control and dominate the Middle East.
Establishing hegemony over the Middle East serves the goal of controlling
the world's largest reserves of oil and strengthening the position of the
US's strategic ally Israel. <br><br>
2. Blatant falsehoods about the presence of weapons of
mass destruction in Iraq and a link between Al Qaeda terrorism and the
Saddam Hussein régime were manufactured in order to create public support
for a "preemptive" assault upon a sovereign independent nation.
<br><br>
3. Iraq has been under siege for years. The imposition
of severe inhuman economic sanctions at the end of the first Gulf war in
1991; 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 endorsement of
a complicit UN Security Council. <br><br>
4. In pursuit of their agenda of empire, the Bush and
Blair 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.<br><br>
5. The Anglo-American 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 completely, resulting in a
pervasive lack of human security; the physical infrastructure is in
shambles; the health care delivery system is a mess; the education system
has ceased to function; there is massive environmental and ecological
devastation; and, the cultural and archeological heritage of the Iraqi
people has been desecrated.<br><br>
6. The occupation has intentionally exacerbated ethnic
and confessionnal divisions in Iraqi society, with the aim of undermining
Iraq's identity and integrity as a nation. This is in keeping with the
fam liar imperial policy of divide and rule.<br><br>
7. The imposition of the UN sanctions in 1991 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 inhuman conditions, without charges;
thousands have disappeared; and torture has become virtually routine.
<br><br>
8. The privatization, deregulation, and liberalization
of the Iraqi economy has transformed the country into a client economy
that serves the Washington Consensus. The occupying forces have also
accomplished their primary goal of acquired control over the nation's
oil. <br><br>
9. 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. <br><br>
10. 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 brutality of
the occupation 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.<br><br>
II. Findings and Charges <br><br>
On the basis of the preceding findings and recalling
the Charter of the United Nations and other legal documents quoted in the
appendix, the jury has established the following charges. <br><br>
A. Against the Governments of the US and the
UK<br><br>
1. Planning, preparing, and waging the supreme crime
of a war of aggression in contravention of the United Nations Charter and
the Nuremberg Principles.<br>
Evidence for this can be found in the leaked Downing Street Memo of 23rd
July, 2002 in which it was revealed that: "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 fixed around the policy." Intelligence was
manufactured to willfully deceive the people of the US, the UK, and their
elected representatives. <br><br>
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 in violation of
the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the International Covenant for Civil
and Political Rights ("ICCPR"), Articles 7(1)(a), 8(2)(a)(i),
and 8(2)(b)(i). The complete destruction of the city of Falluja in itself
constitutes a glaring example of such crimes.<br><br>
3. Using disproportionate force and indiscriminate
weapon systems, 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 which had been
targeted by DU weapons. <br><br>
4. Failing to safeguard the lives of civilians during
military activities and during the occupation period thereafter, in
violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Articles 13 and 27, and the
ICC Statute, Articles 7 (1)(a) and 8(2)(a)(i). This is evidenced, for
example, by "shock and awe" bombing techniques and the conduct
of occupying forces at checkpoints. <br><br>
5. Using deadly violence against peaceful protestors,
beginning with, among others, the April 2003 killing of more than a dozen
peaceful protestors in Falluja.<br><br>
6. Imposing punishments without charge or trial,
including collective punishment, on the people of Iraq, in violation of
the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),
Geneva Conventions, and customary international law requiring due
process. Repeated testimonies pointed to "snatch and grab"
operations, disappearances, and assassinations.<br><br>
7. Subjecting Iraqi soldiers and civilians to torture
and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment in violation of the Geneva
Conventions, the ICCPR, other treaties and covenants, and customary
international law. 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 Convention. Abundant testimony was provided of
unlawful arrests and detentions, without due process of law. Well known
and egregious examples 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.
<br><br>
8. 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 listed a number of corporations that had profited from such
transactions.<br><br>
9. 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, water pollution, land
degradation, and radiological pollution.<br><br>
10. 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 been severely limited, restricting their access to
education, livelihood, and social engagement. Testimony was provided that
sexual violence and sex trafficking have increased since the occupation
of Iraq began.<br><br>
11. 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 archeologically sensitive locations. This took place despite prior
warnings from UNESCO and Iraqi museum officials. <br><br>
12. 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),
targeting international journalists, imprisoning and killing academics,
intellectuals and scientists. <br><br>
13. Redefining torture in violation of international
law, to allow use of torture and illegal detentions, including holding
more than 500 people at Guantánamo Bay without charging them or allowing
them any access to legal protection, and using "extraordinary
renditions" to send people to torture in other countries known to
commit human rights abuses and torture prisoners.<br><br>
B. Against the Security Council of United
Nations<br><br>
1. Failing to protect Iraq against a crime of
aggression.<br><br>
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. <br><br>
3. Allowing the United States and United Kingdom to
carry out illegal bombings in the no-fly zones, using false pretense 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.<br><br>
4. Allowing the United States to dominate the United
Nations and hold itself above any accountability by other member
nations.<br><br>
5. Failure to stop war crimes and crimes against
humanity by the United States and its coalition partners in
Iraq.<br><br>
6. Failure to hold the United States and its coalition
partners accountable for violations of international law during the
occupation, and giving official recognition to the occupation, thereby
legitimizing an illegal invasion and becoming a collaborator in an
illegal occupation.<br><br>
C. Against the Governments of the Coalition of the
Willing <br>
Collaborating in the invasion and occupation of Iraq. <br><br>
D. Against the Governments of Other Countries <br>
Allowing the use of military bases and air space, and providing other
logistical support, for the invasion and occupation. <br><br>
E. Against Private Corporations <br>
Profiting from the war with complicity in the crimes described above, of
invasion and occupation. <br><br>
F. Against the Major Corporate Media <br><br>
1. Disseminating the deliberate falsehoods spread by
the governments of the US and the UK and failing to adequately
investigate this misinformation. This 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 and the BBC.<br><br>
2. Failing to report the atrocities being committed
against Iraqi people by the occupying forces.<br><br>
III. Recommendations <br><br>
Recognising 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.
<br><br>
We recommend:<br><br>
1. The immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the
coalition forces from Iraq; <br><br>
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; <br><br>
3. That all laws, contracts, treaties, and
institutions established under occupation which the Iraqi people deem
inimical to their interests, should be considered null and void;
<br><br>
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;<br><br>
5. That there be an exhaustive investigation of those
responsible for crimes of aggression 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; and other government
officials from the coalition of the willing; <br><br>
6. That we initiate a process of accountability 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; <br><br>
7. That people throughout the world launch actions
against US and UK corporations that directly profit from this war.
Examples of such corporations include Halliburton, Bechtel, Carlyle, 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, Nestlé, 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.<br><br>
8. That soldiers exercise conscience and refuse to
enlist and participate in an illegal war. Also that countries provide
conscientious objectors political asylum. <br><br>
9. That the international campaign for dismantling all
US military bases abroad be reinforced. <br><br>
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. <br><br>
We, the Jury of Conscience, hope that the specificity
of these recommendations will lay the groundwork required for a world
where the international institutions will be shaped and reshaped by the
will of people and not 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. <br><br>
<b>Appendix: List of Legal Documents<br>
</b> The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(1948)<br>
The Convention on the Political Rights of Women
(1952)<br>
The Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959)<br>
The Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of
Racial Discrimination (1963)<br>
The International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (1966)<br>
The Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (1979)<br>
The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984)<br>
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)<br>
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
(1998)<br>
The European Convention on Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms (1950)<br>
The American Convention on Human Rights (1969) <br>
The Code of Conduct for the Armed Forces of the United
States of America (1963) <br>
<br>
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