GICJ Oral Statement with Meezaan Center for Human Rights 

Delivered by Isabelle Despicht

The General Debate about Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention was held on the 22nd March 2022. In an oral statement delivered by Isabelle Despicht, on behalf of the Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ), and Meezaan Center for Human Rights, great concern was expressed about the human rights situation in Iraq, 19 years after the invasion and occupation in 2003. People are still subject to countless human rights violations including torture, extrajudicial executions, human trafficking, arbitrary arrests and other grave crimes, not to mention 1 million enforced disappearances and the dehumanization of the Iraqi people in the media.

Meezaan and GICJ urgently call for the creation of an independent international tribunal to investigate and prosecute the leaders responsible for the war against Iraq, as well as for the crimes committed during the occupation, which include war crimes and crimes against humanity.