The 49th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council

28 February to 1 April 2022

Statement of Meezaan Center for Human Rights

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

22 March 2022

By Isabelle Despicht

Thank you, President.

Today, 19 years have passed since the invasion and occupation of Iraq 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.

Still, the Iraqi people live in complete agony: lacking basic services, security, education, healthcare, they live in a country characterized by corruption, failure of the rule of law, and flagrant impunity. 

As noted by the Nuremberg Tribunal: ‘’The initiation of a war of aggression is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime’’. Yet, this supreme crime has not been recognized by the International Community, despite Kofi Annan himself, affirming that the intervention went against principles of the UN Charter.

Today, Iraq is a failed state, on the brink of catastrophe, needing immediate support from the international community.

Mr President, Meezaan and Geneva International Centre for Justice find no words to describe the suffering of the Iraqi people. We 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.

Thank you.