The 49th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council

28 February to 1 April 2022

Statement by International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (EAFORD)

GD item 4: Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention 

22 March 2022

By Mutua K. Kobia

Mr president,

Over the past weeks, we have all been troubled by the unlawful Russian intervention in Ukraine and the countless lives lost. In this conflict, as in others, innocent civilians are paying the heavy price of war.

The war should stop immediately, and the conflict resolved through diplomatic negotiations. Multiple condemnations by various parties and UN bodies have stated that the conflict is a clear breach of international law. However, even as we call attention to the plight of Ukraine, we wish to underscore a seeming double standard by the international community:  We condemn Russia for invading Ukraine, but kept silent towards the United States in its unlawful invasion of Iraq.

19 years after the invasion and occupation of Iraq, in March 2003, Iraq has only suffered. The US invasion, which violated the UN Charter, left the country in chaos, under the hegemony of the militias, and the attacks of terrorist.

Therefore, EAFORD, International Lawyers and Geneva International Centre for Justice, call on all states to immediately comply with the universal human rights values, by condemning the invasion and occupation of Iraq, as we did with Ukraine, and by establishing a fund to compensate victims of war, torture, enforced disappearances, and other grave violations in both countries. 

We must support the right of both the Ukrainian and Iraqi people to their own self-determination, including through free and fair elections, without outside interference.

Thank you.