Statement of Richard Falk at Press
Conference for WTI (World Tribunal on Iraq)
The World Tribunal
on Iraq is an undertaking of historic importance. It is the culmination of a
process of tribunal sessions on the legal dimensions of the Iraq War that have
been held in all parts of the world. This kind of spontaneous initiative of
concerned people around the world has never taken place before. It represents an
expression of what might be called “moral globalization,” acting on the belief
that no state and no leader is above the law when it comes to matters of war and
peace. And it expresses the overwhelming sentiments of peoples throughout the
world that the Iraq War was against international law and morality. This
initiative here in Istanbul has a quality of urgency as people are dying and
suffering every day in Iraq as we speak. This is not an academic gathering of
experts to find out the relevance of law. It is primarily an expression of
popular democracy, of ethical conscience about what is right and wrong in world
politics, and an expression of resistance to what is understood around the world
as an American project to achieve world domination. The Iraq War is the eye of
the storm at the moment. But the wider concern of the WTI is with America’s
hegemonic global ambitions that is bringing danger, violence, and exploitation
to many parts of the world at present.
The idea of a tribunal to judge
legal responsibility of a state and its leaders for war is not new. After World
War II the victorious governments convened tribunals at Nuremberg and Tokyo, and
held the German and Japanese leaders responsible. The Nuremberg Judgment, a
celebrated document, called aggressive war, that is, Crimes Against Peace, as
the greatest of all crimes. The UN Charter has carried forward the idea that all
wars that are not fought in self-defense or with the approval of the UN Security
Council are illegal wars, and hence a Crime Against Peace. The WTI has been
initiated by citizens of many countries who share the belief that the Iraq War
is such an illegal war, and that the leaders of the USA and United Kingdom are
individually and criminally responsible for its initiation and for the
violations of the Law of War that have accompanied the occupation of
Iraq.
The work of the Tribunal is divided into a Panel of Advocates and a
Jury of Conscience. The role of the Panel of Advocates is to document these
charges through analysis and witnesses in a persuasive manner, and to appeal to
a Jury of Conscience, composed of distinguished moral authority personalities
from around the world, to pass judgment on the actors and their actions from the
perspective of international law.
We understand that the WTI is not a court
of law with powers of enforcement. It is rather an informed inquiry by
concerned, independent, non-partisan, and honest persons into the relevance of
international law that is designed to discredit any claims by the governments
who have supported the Iraq War that their action is somehow legal and morally
and politically acceptable. It is designed to tell the truth as clearly and
powerfully as possible with respect to all aspects of the Iraq War. In the end
if democracy is to be the true basis of political authority, then leaders must
be made accountable, especially if they fail to uphold the Rule of Law in the
area of war and peace. If governments and the United Nations are unable and
unwilling to discharge this responsibility, then citizens acting on behalf of
civil society have the duty to challenge and oppose an illegal war and practices
that violate international humanitarian law. It is after all, in the famous
words of the UN Charter, “We the peoples of the world” who are “determined to
save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.”
The WTI takes
these words seriously as a call to action. We who are participating in this
Tribunal are speaking here in Turkey as ‘citizens of the world’ who are part of
a global movement to oppose aggressive wars and to resist the wider ambitions of
the United States Government to override the sovereignty and independence of
states. And we of the WTI are calling on others in every country who seek global
peace and justice, including the protection of human rights, to join us in doing
this vital work. It is time to understand that aggressive war has become
something more than a struggle between particular states. It is an assault on
the well being of people everywhere, and must be opposed everywhere. Aggressive
war is not only a Crime Against Peace, it has also become the greatest Crime
Against Humanity.
The WTI is opposing aggressive war, war crimes, and
crimes against humanity. It is not opposing the governments or the United
Nations. Indeed it hopes to create pressure from below that will encourage
law-abiding governments and the UN to do their proper job of protecting weaker
countries and their populations against such illegalities. And beyond this
protection we are promoting a world movement of peoples and governments to
realize a humane form of globalization that is equitable with respect to the
world economy, legitimate in upholding the human rights of all, and dedicated
above all else to creating the conditions for sustainable peace based on justice
for every nation on earth.
