First paragraph (Teaser):

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. Here is the final declaration of the jury of conscience :

Rest of the text:

DECLARATION OF THE JURY OF CONSCIENCE

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

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 47-78);
• 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)