Human Rights in Iraq - What about the People? by Amnesty International 2:08pm 20th Feb, 2003   War on Iraq? Rules of Engagement    Soldiers have rules of engagement which dictate their behaviour in battle. Shouldn’t political leaders have rules before launching military action against Iraq?    Amnesty International says that the members of the UN Security Council and leaders of states that may take part in such action must consider the following questions before they take a decision about war.    RULES OF ENGAGEMENT    Before voting to back a war against Iraq, every member of the UN Security Council and the leaders of states taking part in the war must answer these questions:    How will civilians be protected? As the United Nations and national parliaments debate enforcement action against Iraq, the Security Council has yet to answer crucial questions.    What will the Security Council do to assist the Iraqi population? The humanitarian situation of much of the Iraqi population is precarious and is likely to deteriorate dramatically in case of military action.    What will the Security Council do to ensure protection and assistance to refugees and internally displaced persons? There is a risk of displacing massive numbers of people both to neighbouring countries and within Iraq.    What will the Security Council do to ensure respect for the laws of war by all parties to any military action? In previous conflicts involving Iraq the laws of war have been flouted.    Will the Security Council deploy human rights monitors? The human rights situation in Iraq is grave and is likely to get worse in case of conflict and internal strife. For years the UN General Assembly has called for human rights monitors to be deployed throughout the country.    How will the Security Council ensure that there is no impunity for past, present and future human rights violations? No-one has been held accountable for grave human rights violations in Iraq. This is at the heart of the current human rights crisis.    Human rights in Iraq - what about the people?    The population of Iraq is in imminent danger of a human rights and humanitarian catastrophe. Military action could trigger a disaster for the people of Iraq and surrounding countries.    Sign our petition, calling on the President of the UN Security Council to consider seriously the civilian population of Iraq.    The President of the Security Council    His Excellency Dr Gunter Pleuger    Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations    Dear Dr Pleuger:    Before it takes any further action, I call upon the UN Security Council to assess the human rights and humanitarian impact on the civilian population of any military action against Iraq.    The assessment should take place in a public session of the Security Council, open to all UN member states, and it must include consideration of:    - the potential effects of military action on the human rights of the Iraqi population.    - the effects on the humanitarian situation as Iraqis are already suffering under severe economic sanctions and violations by their government.    - the risk that military action would lead to massive numbers of people being forced into flight.    - potential grave violations of international humanitarian law, including direct attacks on civilians, the use of human shields and the use of inherently indiscriminate weapons.    I urge the Security Council to deploy human rights monitors immediately throughout Iraq to report on human rights abuses by any party.    Yours Sincerely, Visit the related web page
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