Draft World Tribunal on Iraq Final Statement
June 27, 2005

The World Tribunal on Iraq met in Istanbul from the 23-26th of June 2005. The Istanbul session was the culmination of a series of 20 hearings held in different cities of the world that focused upon the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. The principal objective of the WTI is to tell the truth about the Iraq war as clearly as possible, and to draw conclusions which underscore the accountability of those responsible and underline the significance of justice for the Iraqi people. This has become all the more imperative since neither national governments nor international institutions have undertaken to investigate the horrendous crimes perpetrated during this ongoing war of aggression.

The World Tribunal on Iraq is a global citizens’ initiative which seeks its legitimacy in the collective conscience of humanity. For this purpose a jury of conscience was established for the Istanbul session comprising 15 members from 10 different countries. It received 54 testimonies from a panel of advocates and witnesses who came from a number of countries, including Iraq, the USA and the UK.

After examining these testimonies in depth and detail, the jury came to the following conclusions:

1. The illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq in March 2003 was part of a larger imperial agenda to control and dominate the Middle East which was planned before September 11th 2001, as evidenced in a number of official and semi-official documents.
2. 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. To achieve this nefarious goal the US and British leaderships had the endorsement [suggest BENEFIT instead of endorsement] of a complicit UN Security Council
3. Blatant falsehoods about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and a so-called link between Al Qaeda terrorism and the Saddam Hussein régime were manufactured in order to create public support for the purpose of justifying the « preemptive » assault upon a sovereign independent nation.
4. Since the Bush administration and the Blair government were determined to pursue their imperial agenda they deliberately chose to ignore the massive opposition to the war expressed by millions of global citizens and by various women and men of moral integrity. Consequently they embarked upon one of the most unjust, immoral and cowardly wars in history.
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 totally, resulting in a pervasive lack of human security; the physical infrastructure is in shambles; the health care delivery system is in a mess; the education system has [VIRTUALLY] ceased to function; there is massive environmental and ecological devastation; and, the cultural and archeological heritage of the Iraqi people [WAS RECKLESSLY DAMAGED AND REMAINS] in serious jeopardy.
6. There is a conscious attempt to exacerbate ethnic and confessional [I think RELIGIOUS is more familiar] divisions in Iraqi society. This policy pursued by the Anglo-American occupation is meant to weaken Iraqi [MORE society and to destroy its identity and integrity as a nation. It is a manifestation [A TYPICAL EXPRESSION seems better] of the imperial [or COLONIALIST] policy of divide and rule.
7. The magnitude of human suffering which was already critical since the imposition of sanctions in 1991, has become much worse [MORE SEVERE seems better] since occupation. At least 100 000 civilians have been killed ; 60 000 are held in US custody in inhuman conditions, without charges ; thousands have disappeared ; and torture [IS WIDESPREAD AND] has become routinized. A lot of the killings [IN IRAQ] are indiscriminate and cannot be passed off as collateral damage. Besides the occupying forces are resorting to banned [LEGALLY DUBIOUS AND IMMORAL is more accurate than banned] weapons such as depleted uranium munitions, napalm, and cluster bombs.
8. Privatization, deregulation and liberalization of the Iraqi economy have been pursued with a vengeance aimed at transforming the country into a client economy that serves the Washington Consensus. The occupying forces have also acquired control over the nation’s oil. Since these economic measures have been undertaken under occupation [THAT IS ITSELF ILLEGAL] they are [ALSO] deemed illegal.
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.
10. 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 [, AND SHOULD LONG AGO HAVE BEEN ENDORSED BY THE UNITED NATIONS]. It is the brutality of the occupation that has provoked [AND EXPLAINS] a strong armed resistance and certain acts of desperation. [ DELETE Nonetheless] [add DESPITE THE EXTREME CHARACTER OF THE OCCUPATION] there is widespread political, social and civil resistance through peaceful means which is often subjected to [RUTHLESS AND DISSPIRITING] repression by the occupying forces.

June 26, 2005

The Jury of Conscience

Evidence Working Group

We the Jury of Conscience charge the governments of the US and the UK with the following crimes:

1. Planning and preparing to wage the supreme crime of a war of aggression.

Evidence for this can be found in the leaked Downing Street Memo of July 23 rd, 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, UK and their elected representatives.

2. Waging a war of aggression against the sovereign country of Iraq in contravention of the universal resolve of the peoples of the world as enshrined in the United Nations Charter and the Nuremburg principles.[‘principles’ should be ‘Principles’] Further, the war was waged in utter disregard of the unprecedented opposition of millions of people who took to the streets in protest [add either PRIOR TO ITS START or PRIOR TO ITS INCEPTION].

This war, which has thus far resulted in more than 100,000 Iraqi deaths, was not justifiable on the basis of self-defense, nor was it authorized by a Security Council resolution. Moreover it has needlessly taken the lives of thousands of coalition soldiers.

3. Targeting the civilian population of Iraq and civilian infrastructure, byintentionally directing attacks upon civilians and hospitals, medical centers, residential neighborhoods, electricity stations, and water purification facilities, and thereby pursuing impermissible military objectives 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).

Ample evidence of this was provided throughout the Tribunal by Iraqi and international eyewitnesses. The complete destruction of the city of Falluja in itself constitutes a glaring example of such crimes.

4. Using indiscriminate weapon systems, which are prohibited [OR LEGALLY DUBIOUS is more careful] under international law , 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, in those areas which [THAT is correct here] had been targeted by DU weapons.

5. Failing to safeguard the lives of civilians during military activities and during the [PERIOD OF] occupation period thereafter [delete 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 conduct at checkpoints, [AS WELL AS BY THE IMPRISONMENT, DETENTION WITHOUT CHARGES, AND THE HUMILIATING ABUSE OF MANY THOUSAND OF INNOCENT IRAQIS].

6. Using deadly violence against peaceful protestors, beginning with, among others, the April 2003 killing of more than a dozen peaceful protestors in Falluja.

7. 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, disappearings [DISAPPEARANCES] and assassinations .

8. 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 [AMOUNTING TO TORTURE] 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 Mosul, Camp Bucca, and Basra.

The employment of mercenaries and private contractors to carry out torture has served toundermine [FURTHER THE] accountability [AND DISCIPLINE OF OCCUPYING FORCES].

9. Undermining democracy [ESPECIALLY WITHIN THE UNITED STATES AND THE UNITED KINGDOM] by deliberately misleading the public and elected representatives about evidence of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, its ties to al-Qaeda, and its connection to the attacks of September 11, 2001;

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 [ENABLE seems better] 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 demonstrated that the major war profiteers included Halliburton, Bechtel and Lockheed Martin.

11. Willfully devastating the environment, contaminating it by depleted uranium 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 [DUE TO ADVERSE HEALTH AND TOXIC EFFECTS.]. Failing to prevent the looting and dispersal of radioactive material from nuclear sites [,THEREBY IRREPSONSIBLY FAILING TO UPHOLD THE OBLIGATIONS UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW OF AN OCCUPYING POWER].

Extensive documentation is available on air, water pollution, land degradation, and radiological pollution.

12. Exacerbating ethnic and religious divisions between groups in Iraq in order to enhance control, and legitimize [EXPLAIN AND ATTEMPT TO JUSTIFY seems better than LEGITIMIZE] continued occupation.

13. Actively creating conditions under which the status of Iraqi women has [shift BEEN here] seriously been [delete 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.

14. Failing to protect humanity’s rich archaeological and cultural heritage in Iraq, by allowing [IRREPONSIBLY FAILING TO PREVENT seems better than ALLOWING] the looting of [GREAT ART TREASURES FROM NATIONAL] museums and established historical sites[, AS WELL AS] and [delete AND] positioning military bases in culturally and archeologically sensitive locations. This took place despite prior warnings from UNESCO and Iraqi museum officials.

15. 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 scientists.

16. 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.

And We Charge The United Nations With:

[there should be mentioned the primary failure in a separate charge:

1. THE FAILURE TO PROTECT IRAQ AGAINST FREQUENT ACTS OF AGGRESSION DURING THE 1990S AND THE FAILURE TO PROTECT IRAQ AGAINST THE THREAT AND ACTUALITY OF A WAR OF AGGRESSION IN THE PERIOD AFTER SEPTEMBER 11, 2001]

1. Imposing harsh [AND PUNITIVE] economic sanctions on Iraq, despite knowledge that sanctions were directly contributing to the massive loss of civilian lives and harming innocent civilians, which according to [TESTIMONY BY] Denis Halliday, former UN Assistant Secretary-General and humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, “meets one essential element in the definition of genocide.

2. Allowing the United States and United Kingdom to carry out illegal bombings in the no-fly zones, using [THE] false pretense of enforcing UN resolutions, and at no point allowing discussion in the Security Council of these actions, and thereby being complicit and responsible for loss of civilian life and destruction of Iraqi infrastructure.

3. Allowing the United States to dominate the United Nations and hold itself above any accountability by other member nations.

4. Failure to stop war crimes and crimes against humanity by the United States and its coalition partners in Iraq.

5. 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, and thereby legitimizing an illegal invasion and becoming a collaborator in an illegal occupation.

We charge the governments of the Coalition of the Willing, and their leaders as collaborators in the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

We charge the governments of other countries which have contributed the use of military bases, air space, and other logistical support, to the invasion and occupation.

We charge all corporations who are profiting from the war with complicity in the crimes described above, of invasion of occupation.

And We Charge The Major Corporate Media With: [this section could benefit from extensive rewriting]

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 a rival of Saddam Hussein on the payroll of the CIA. We also name Fox News, CNN, BBC.

We further charge them with failing to report the atrocities being committed against Iraqi people by the occupying forces.

We, the Jury of Conscience for the World Tribunal on Iraq uphold the right of the Iraqi people to resist the illegal occupation of their country and develop independent institutions. We uphold 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 AND ENSHRINED IN BOTH COVENANTS SPECIFYING HUMAN RIGHTS].

We recommend;

1. The immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the coalition forces from Iraq;
2. That coalition governments pay war reparations to the people of Iraq for the humanitarian, economic, ecological and cultural devastation they have [BEEN] 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 should be considered null and void;
4. That the Guantanamo Bay prison and all other offshore US military prisons be closed; 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 crimes 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; and other government officials from the coalition of the willing;
6. That after the en d of occupation and the restoration of Iraqi sovereignty, the Iraqi people exercise their right to investigate the crimes of Saddam Hussein and his regime through a free and fair trial [OR ESTABLISH AN INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL FOR THIS PURPOSE] ;
7. 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 promote racial, ethnic and religious hatred, and CEOs of multinational corporations that are profiting from this war;
8. 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 chairholders [SHAREHOLDERS] to divest [OR USE THEIR STATUS TO DEMAND COMPLIANCE BY MANAGEMENT WITH INTERNATIONAL LAW, SPECIFICALLY TO DESIST FROM ANY OPERATION ASSOCIATED WITH THE ILLEGAL OCCUPATION OF IRAQ].
9. soldiers to exercise conscience and [THEIR LEGAL RIGHT SINCE THE NUREMBERG JUDGMENT TO] refuse to enlist and participate in an illegal war.

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.