Jump to content

World Tribunal on Iraq: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
more editorialising
Adding local short description: "People's court", overriding Wikidata description "people's court set up to investigate the 2003 invasion of Iraq"
 
(30 intermediate revisions by 22 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|People's court}}
{{Refimprove|date=April 2007}}
The '''World Tribunal on Iraq''' ('''WTI''') was a people's court consisting of intellectuals, [[human rights]] campaigners and [[non-governmental organization]]s, and was active from 2003 to 2005. Set up following the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]] it sprung from the anti-war movement and is modelled on the [[Russell Tribunal]] of the American movement against the [[Vietnam War]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Çubukçu|first=Ayça|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1048621695|title=For the love of humanity : the World Tribunal on Iraq|date=14 August 2018|publisher=|isbn=978-0-8122-9537-5|location=Philadelphia|pages=|oclc=1048621695}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Çubukçu|first=Ayça|date=September 2011|title=ON COSMOPOLITAN OCCUPATIONS: The Case of the World Tribunal on Iraq|url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369801X.2011.597599|journal=Interventions|language=en|volume=13|issue=3|pages=422–442|doi=10.1080/1369801X.2011.597599|s2cid=142970442|issn=1369-801X|via=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hixson|first=Walter L.|date=January 2009|title=World Tribunal on Iraq: Making the Case against War - Edited by Müge Gürsoy Sokmen|url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/j.1468-0130.2009.00538.x|journal=Peace & Change|language=en|volume=34|issue=1|pages=88–91|doi=10.1111/j.1468-0130.2009.00538.x|via=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Borowiak|first=Craig|date=June 2008|title=The World Tribunal on Iraq: Citizens' Tribunals and the Struggle for Accountability|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07393140802063234|journal=New Political Science|language=en|volume=30|issue=2|pages=161–186|doi=10.1080/07393140802063234|s2cid=143716922|issn=0739-3148|via=}}</ref>

The '''World Tribunal on Iraq''' ('''WTI''') was a people's court consisting of intellectuals, [[human rights]] campaigners and [[non-governmental organization]]s, and was active from 2003 to 2005. Set up following the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]] it sprung from the anti-war movement and is modelled on the [[Russell Tribunal]] of the American movement against the [[Vietnam War]].

It was supported by [[India]]n leftist author [[Arundhati Roy]] and [[United Nations]] Assistant General Secretary [[Denis Halliday]], but it consciously avoided a hierarchical structure. The WTI routinely found that the coalition forces in [[Iraq]] are guilty of [[war crimes]] and violations of the [[Geneva Conventions]]. The Tribunal tended to receive less coverage in the [[United States]] and [[United Kingdom]] than in the [[Middle East]] and [[Europe]], and was frequently described by supporters of the war as a "[[kangaroo court]]".<ref>http://www.medialens.org/alerts/05/050706_the_mysterious_case.php</ref> Its members were not popularly elected.

==Background to issues==
The [[Iraq War]] left many people dead or injured, and some sources have identified significant [[war crime]]s or [[Crime against humanity|crimes against humanity]] in its conduct; also mainstream media have reported breaches of the [[Geneva Conventions]] such as at [[Abu Ghraib]]; and the use of [[depleted uranium]] was controversial. Few commentators believe that under 100-200,000 civilians died as a result of the war.

Although other [[crime]]s are investigated, such [[tribunal]]s require a lot of political will and strength to set up and few commentators appear to believe that a formal tribunal such as the [[Nuremberg Trials]] or the [[International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia]] will be established. In addition the United States has refused to ratify the [[International Criminal Court]] established for the purpose of investigation international crime. In the light of perceived growing tendencies to ignore international law, this tribunal was formed to investigate the concerns of other groups and onlookers into Iraq.

==Tribunal legitimacy and scope==

===Legal basis and structure===
Being confronted with the paradox that people supporting or participating in the WTI want to end impunity but do not have the enforcement power to do so, they feel that they have to follow a middle way between mere political protest and academic symposia without any judicial ambition on the one hand, and on the other hand, procedural trials in the formal legal system which have no chance of achieving neutral outcomes. Another way of expressing the paradox is:
# That people supporting or participating in the WTI are just citizens and therefore have no right to judge in a strict judicial way, but
# That they have at the same time the duty as citizens to oppose [[wars of aggression]], [[war crime]]s, [[crime against humanity|crimes against humanity]] and other breaches of international law, which should be the starting point and the strength of the WTI.

By approaching the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|invasion]] and [[Post-invasion Iraq, 2003–present|occupation of Iraq]] case from as many angles as possible (international law, geopolitical and economical analysis, WTI participants hope to strengthen their common objective. In this way the hearings had a better chance of converging on valid judgments. The findings were brought together in the final session in Istanbul in June 2005.

In order to be as inclusive as possible, the WTI claims to support and recognize endeavours to resist impunity. The project will endorse and support the efforts to bring national authorities and warmakers to national courts (like the complaints filed in various state courts under the doctrine of [[universal jurisdiction]]) and to international courts (like the [[International Criminal Court]] in the Hague).

===Fundamental aims===
* To establish the facts about what happened in Iraq and to inform the public.
* To continue and strengthen the mobilisation of the peace movement and the global anti-war protest. Anti-war and peace movements, which carried out the mass movements against the attack on Iraq have in principle adopted the idea of indicting the aggressors and of setting up a campaign to support the Tribunal process.
* The tribunal is to be considered a continuing process. The investigation of what happened in Iraq is of prime importance to restore truth and preserve collective memory against the constant rewriting of history. We are challenging the silence of international institutions and seeking to put them under pressure to fulfill their obligations under [[international law]]. In judging the recent past our aim is to prevent illegal wars in the future.
* To formulate recommendations on international law and expand notions of justice and ethical-political awareness. It can contribute to providing alternatives to 'victors' justice' and give a voice to the victims of war.
* To be part of a broader movement to stop the establishment of an imperial world order with a "permanent state of exception", which undergoes constant wars as one of its main tools.


==Actions==
==Actions==
⚫
* Brussels, April 14–17, 2004 - the [[BRussells Tribunal|Brussels Tribunal]] hearings focused on the programs and policies of the [[Project for the New American Century]] (PNAC), its role in the war against Iraq, and the role of the war against Iraq as part of the PNAC's program of military domination of the [[Earth]] [http://www.brusselstribunal.org/Tribunal.htm]
* London, November 2003 - Inquiry into the alleged commission of war crimes by Coalition Forces during the military campaign and occupation.
* Mumbai, January 2004 - World Court of Women on US War Crimes
* Copenhagen, March 2004 - Public hearing on the legality of war, legality of putting Iraq's public enterprises and resources on sale, legality of keeping over 20,000 people under arrest in camps and prisons in the absence of any legal procedure.
⚫
* Brussels, April 14–17, 2004 - the [[BRussels Tribunal]] hearings focused on the programs and policies of the [[Project for the New American Century]] (PNAC), its role in the war against Iraq, and the role of the war against Iraq as part of the PNAC's program of military domination of the [[Earth]] [http://www.brusselstribunal.org/Tribunal.htm]
* New York, May 2004 - Session on the legality of the war – violation of international law and the UN – violation of the will of the peoples of the world as manifested on February 15, war crimes and crimes under occupation.
* Japan, hearings throughout the year in various cities, two courts in July and December 2004 - International Criminal Tribunal on Iraq (ICTI)
* Germany, series of hearings around Germany starting June 2004 - Focus on violations of international law and complicity of German government—covering sanctions, war and occupation.
* Istanbul, June 2004 - Symposium on crimes committed against cultural heritage.
* New York, August 2004 - Session investigating violations of international law and basic human rights by U.S. President [[George W. Bush]] and UK Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]] administrations in launching the war against Iraq and instituting the occupation. Findings of other WTI sessions, military families and GI resisters.
* Hiroshima, October 2004 - Session on depleted uranium and complicity of Japanese government.
* Lisbon, Fall 2004 - Commission of inquiry to determine the responsibility of the Portuguese State and other entities/individuals in the preparation of the invasion, during the invasion and in the occupation of Iraq; to formulate the accusation of those who perpetrated crimes against the people of Iraq.
* Stockholm, November 2004 - Session examinign the impact of occupation on Iraqi society, including the social, economic and cultural consequences.
* Beirut, December 2004 - Arab Court on Iraq.
* London, February 2004 - A Peoples' Inquiry into the occupation of Iraq by Coalition Forces
* Rome, February 2005 - Session on Media Wrongs against Truth and Humanity: the politics of disinformation.
* Genoa, January 2005 - Session on Media and Disinformation
* Rome, December 2004 - Session on legality of war.
* Istanbul, 20 March 2005 – Culminating session
::The Istanbul session served as the culmination of the WTI process, taking into account the entirety of the above tribunal sessions. Based on this also, the session will take the further step of examining and exposing the implications of WTI findings.
*Istanbul session 23-27 JUNE 2005: [[Declaration of the Jury of Conscience (WTI)]]


==See also==
==See also==

* [[Genocide]]
* [[Crime against peace]] (international aggression)
* [[International law]]
* [[Laws of war]]
* [[War Crimes Law (Belgium)]]
* [[List of war crimes]]
* [[Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court]]
* [[Responsibility for the September 11, 2001 attacks]]
* [[State terrorism]]
* [[War on Terrorism]]
* [[Anti-American sentiment]]
* [[The UN Security Council and the Iraq war]]
* [[The UN Security Council and the Iraq war]]
* [[Protests against the 2003 Iraq war]]
* [[Protests against the 2003 Iraq war]]
* [[Governments' pre-war positions on invasion of Iraq]]
* [[Governments' pre-war positions on invasion of Iraq]]

* [[The UN Security Council and the Iraq war]]
==Publications==
The most complete collection of the proceedings of the Tribunal has been collected in Sökmen, M. G. Roy, A., Falk, R. (eds.) 2008. ''World Tribunal on Iraq: Making the Case Against War''. Northampton, MA: Olive Branch Press.

See also:
Borowiak, C. 2008. 'The World Tribunal on Iraq: Citizens’ Tribunals and the Struggle for Accountability'. ''New Political Science'', 30:161-186.
Cubukcu, A. 2011. ‘On Cosmopolitan Occupations. The Case of the World Tribunal on Iraq’, ''Interventions. International Journal of Postcolonial Studies'', 13:422-442.

J. Gerson and D. Snauwaert. 2021. ''Reclaimative Post-Conflict Justice: Democratizing Justice in the World Tribunal on Iraq.'' Cambridge Scholars Publishing.


==References==
==References==
Line 72: Line 23:


==External links==
==External links==
* The original website, http://www.worldtribunal.org, is no longer available. The [[internet archive]] preserves a [http://web.archive.org/web/20070329000519/www.worldtribunal.org/main/ copy of the site as of 2007/04]
* The original website, [https://web.archive.org/web/20040308173231/http://www.worldtribunal.org/], is no longer available. The [[Internet Archive|internet archive]] preserves a [https://web.archive.org/web/20070329000519/http://www.worldtribunal.org/main/ copy of the site as of 2007/04]
* [http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B5CAF6D0-7F6F-4585-B002-1B6631FEC3B1.htm Panel indicts US, UK over Iraq], [[al Jazeera]], 28 June 2005
* [http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B5CAF6D0-7F6F-4585-B002-1B6631FEC3B1.htm Panel indicts US, UK over Iraq], [[Al Jazeera Media Network|al Jazeera]], 28 June 2005

{{Anti-war}}


{{Anti-war}}{{Authority control}}
[[Category:International criminal law]]
[[Category:International criminal law]]
[[Category:Laws of war]]
[[Category:Law of war]]

Latest revision as of 20:25, 27 November 2024

The World Tribunal on Iraq (WTI) was a people's court consisting of intellectuals, human rights campaigners and non-governmental organizations, and was active from 2003 to 2005. Set up following the 2003 invasion of Iraq it sprung from the anti-war movement and is modelled on the Russell Tribunal of the American movement against the Vietnam War.[1][2][3][4]

Actions

[edit]

See also

[edit]

Publications

[edit]

The most complete collection of the proceedings of the Tribunal has been collected in Sökmen, M. G. Roy, A., Falk, R. (eds.) 2008. World Tribunal on Iraq: Making the Case Against War. Northampton, MA: Olive Branch Press.

See also: Borowiak, C. 2008. 'The World Tribunal on Iraq: Citizens’ Tribunals and the Struggle for Accountability'. New Political Science, 30:161-186. Cubukcu, A. 2011. ‘On Cosmopolitan Occupations. The Case of the World Tribunal on Iraq’, Interventions. International Journal of Postcolonial Studies, 13:422-442.

J. Gerson and D. Snauwaert. 2021. Reclaimative Post-Conflict Justice: Democratizing Justice in the World Tribunal on Iraq. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Çubukçu, Ayça (14 August 2018). For the love of humanity : the World Tribunal on Iraq. Philadelphia. ISBN 978-0-8122-9537-5. OCLC 1048621695.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^ Çubukçu, Ayça (September 2011). "ON COSMOPOLITAN OCCUPATIONS: The Case of the World Tribunal on Iraq". Interventions. 13 (3): 422–442. doi:10.1080/1369801X.2011.597599. ISSN 1369-801X. S2CID 142970442.
  3. ^ Hixson, Walter L. (January 2009). "World Tribunal on Iraq: Making the Case against War - Edited by Müge Gürsoy Sokmen". Peace & Change. 34 (1): 88–91. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0130.2009.00538.x.
  4. ^ Borowiak, Craig (June 2008). "The World Tribunal on Iraq: Citizens' Tribunals and the Struggle for Accountability". New Political Science. 30 (2): 161–186. doi:10.1080/07393140802063234. ISSN 0739-3148. S2CID 143716922.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=World_Tribunal_on_Iraq&oldid=1259918598"