The most unjust, immoral and cowardly war in history

international | anti-war / imperialism | news report Tuesday August 09, 2005 18:38 by Justin Morahan - Peace People

Tribunal of Conscience verdict on Iraq

Invasion, occupation, lies,sanctions, bombings, devastation of Iraq, Coalition impunity, killings, custody without trial, control by IMF and World Bank, widespread torture, brutality, UN inaction - all condemned as Bush and Blair are in the dock.
Demand for withdrawal, war reparations and compensation, closure of all Guantanamos, investigation for war crimes, call for non-violent action, conscientious objection - and much more

The final session of the World tribunal on Iraq met in Istanbul between 23 June and 27 June last after having had previous hearings in Barcelona,Brussels, Copenhagen, Genoa, Hiroshima, Istanbul, Lisbon, London, Mumbai, New York, Östersund, Paris,Rome, Seoul, Stockholm, Tunis, and various cities in Japan and Germany

In the dock were the Governments of the US and the UK (16 charges detailed), the Security Council of the United Nations (6 charges), the Governments of the Coalition of the Willing (1 charge for collaborating), the Governments of other countries ( 1 charge for allowing the use of military bases and air space, and providing other logistical support), Private Corporations (who have received contracts, have sued and received "reparation awards" within Iraq), the Major Corporate Media (8 charges).

The findings of the Tribunal are:

1: The invasion and occupation of Iraq were and are illegal
2: Blatant falsehoods were manufactured about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and a link between Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein.
3: The imposition of sanctions in 1990 with exclusion zones and concomitant bombings were intended to weaken Iraq's resources with the aim of weakening Iraq's resources in preparation for the subsequent
invasion and occupation
4: Bush and Blair's war was one of the most unjust, immoral and cowardly wars in history
5: The impunity that the US and its allies have enjoyed has created a serious international crisis
6: The US/UK occupation have led to the destruction and devastation of the Iraqi state and society
7: The occupation intentionally exacerbated ethnic, sectarian and religious divisions within Iraqi society with the aim of undermining Iraq's identity and integrity as a nation
8: At least 100,000 civilians have been killed, 60,000 have been held in US custody without trial, thousand have disappeared and torture has become routine.
9: The occupation regime has illegally forced the country to be a client economy controlled by the IMF and the World Bank of, both of which are integral to the Washington Consensus. It has also acquired control over Iraq's oil resources.
10: The recently concluded election, the Constituent Assembly, the current government, and the drafting committee for the Constitution are 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"

Recommendations:

1: The immediate and unconditional withdrawal of occupation forces from Iraq.
2; War reparations and compensation by Coalition governments for devastation of Iraq.
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: Guantanamo Bay and all other offshore US military prison to be closed immediately, names published, POW status and due process granted
5: Investigation of George W Bush, Tony Blair and others including 37 named individuals for crimes of aggression, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Iraq.
6: A process of accountability be initiated to hold journalists (who deliberately lied) corporate media outlets (who promoted racial, ethnic and religious hatred) and CEOs of multinational corporations (who
profited from the war) morally and personally responsible for their participation in an illegal war.
7: That non-violent actions be launched against the US, UK and 20 named Corporations who have profited from the war.
8: A call for conscientious objection, refusal to enlist and countries to provide political asylum for conscientious objectors.
9: "That the international campaign for disantling 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".


International Law and Legal Analysis.

The legitimacy of the World Tribunal on Iraq is located in the collective conscience of humanity. Its concerns range much further than the demand for the implementation of international law.
The Jury of Conscience did not hear arguments supporting the legality of the invasion of Iraq as would have been heard by a State or International Institution. Still the Tribunal used legal issues and
International Law to add weight to its own moral and political purpose. Therefore it sought testimony and evidence to call into question the mantle of respectability thrown over the 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".

International law consists of (1) international treaties, (2) international customary law and (3) ) interational criminal law.
Three principles of customary law were violated in the war against Iraq: Principle of Proportionality, Principle of Discrimination (confined to military targets),and Principle of Humanity (no unnecessary suffering,maximum care to protect civilians and cultural heritage).

Numbers 6 and 7 of the Guideline Nuremberg Principles, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1966 (Res 95.1), were violated by the war in Iraq.

"Principle 6:
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-labour 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 7: 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."

Principles 1 to 5 deal with the responsibility of the person who commits the act, the fact that such a person being a head of state does not excuse; obeying superior orders does not excuse; and the person charged is entitled to a fair trial

The tribunal finally states that:

1) The invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003, together with the continuing occupation of Iraq, constituted a violation of the core obligation of the United Nations Charter, Articles 24 and 31, giving details
2) The war and occupation violate the Geneva Conventions on War (1949), Additional Protocols to same (1977) and the Hague Conventions on War 1899 and 1907 on six serious named counts, giving details
3) The invasion flagrantly violated the right to self-determination of the people of Iraq (cf Article 1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and of the International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights (1966), giving details
4): The occupation has included massive abuses of the Iraqi civilian population including widespread torture (cf Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
5: The UN failed to uphold its obligation to protect sovereign states. . passively allowing Iraq to be threatened and attacked for twelve years
prior to the invasion, giving details
See full account at: http://www.peacepeople.com