1. Memorandum submitted by Amnesty
International UK
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
1. Amnesty International is an international
non-governmental human rights organisation with more than 1.5
million members, supporters and subscribers worldwide, which is
independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest
or religion. Our vision is of a world in which every person enjoys
all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.
In pursuit of this vision, our mission is to undertake research
and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the
rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience
and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context
of its work to promote all human rights.
2. Amnesty International established a field
presence in Iraq on 23 April 2003. Since their arrival, Amnesty
International delegates have conducted numerous interviews with
Iraqi civilians, US and UK military officials and former prisoners
of war.
THE SECURITY
SITUATION AND
ITS IMPACT
3. The post-conflict situation in Iraq is
one of widespread disorder and insecurity that has been characterised
by rampant looting and vandalism and incidents of violence, including
killings. The current climate of lawlessness has a direct impact
on the humanitarian situation, and severely hinders the delivery
of humanitarian aid by international aid agencies.
4. On 11 April 2003, Amnesty International
published a document entitled Iraq: Looting, lawlessness and
humanitarian consequences which describes the situation of
lawlessness in Iraq and its humanitarian impact. The report draws
attention to the responsibilities of the USA and the UK, as Occupying
Powers, to restore and maintain public order and safety.[1]
5. Amnesty International delegates in Iraq
have witnessed the effects of widespread looting and damage to
public buildings and private property. Countless documents have
also been burnt and destroyed. The destruction of documents is
likely to have a significant negative effect on Iraqis, from the
settlement of property claims to providing evidence of past human
rights violations.
HUMANITARIAN IMPACT
6. A number of humanitarian organisations
have highlighted the impact of lawlessness on the delivery of
humanitarian aid. These concerns were reiterated to the Security
Council on 22 May by the Deputy Secretary General of the UN, reporting
on the delivery of humanitarian aid, stating that the breakdown
of law and order in Iraq was "severely undercutting"
attempts to deliver humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people.[2]
7. More than 1,000 refugees, including hundreds
of women and children, remain stranded in the "neutral zone"
between the borders of Iraq and Jordan. The majority are Iranian
Kurds, who fled the camp of Tash outside Baghdad. An unknown number
of Syrian and other nationals who had fled their homes after the
fall of Saddam Hussein's government have been amassing at the
Syrian border. Some had been living under the protection of Iraq
for decades, and were being refused entry to Syria. Clarification
of the current humanitarian and legal situation of refugees and
other foreign nationals would be welcome.
8. While many of these refugees have sought
to escape the volatile situation in Iraq, there is a risk that
returning to their country of origin might mean a return to persecution,
particularly for those who are perceived as being affiliated with
the previous Iraqi government. It is also possible that many foreign
nationals living in Iraq would be at risk of serious human rights
violations if they were deported from Iraq to their country of
origin or otherwise repatriated in a non-voluntary manner, even
though many of them may not have been given formal refugee status
in Iraq. As Occupying Powers, the USA and the UK have a responsibility
under international law to protect all civilians from human rights
abuses. This includes guaranteeing the protection of refugees,
internally displaced people and third-country nationals against
attacks, arbitrary arrest and from being returned to countries
and territories where they might be at risk of human rights abuses.
WIDER SOCIAL
IMPACT
9. Iraqi civilians interviewed by Amnesty
International delegates repeatedly stressed the urgent need for
order and security. Tensions appear to be exacerbated because
people don't seem to know who is in charge, or who to turn to
for information or to address certain problems, including those
related to safety and security, missing persons, detainees or
other concerns.
10. An emerging concern and consequence
arising from the present insecurity are the numerous reports of
violent attacks and revenge killings of Iraqis by Iraqis, including
those directed against former members of the Ba'ath Party.
"Disappearances" and mass graves
11. Over the past 20 years, thousands of
"disappearances" have taken place in Iraq. Amnesty International
has the names of 17,000 people who "disappeared" during
Operation Anfal in 1988. "Disappearances" are a particularly
pernicious form of human rights violation, because relatives continue
to suffer from lack of knowledge of what has happened to their
family members. Following the end of the conflict, Iraqis began
desperately searching for information about the fate of their
loved ones. Rumours spread of "secret prisons" holding
thousands of "disappeared" prisoners. Rumours included
suggestions that voices had been heard from underground in various
places. A list of underground prisons had been posted near a mosque
in al-Haritha.
12. Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty
International, wrote to US President George W. Bush and UK Prime
Minister Tony Blair on 3 May 2003 to seek their intervention in
relation to the collection of information on cases of "disappearances"
in Iraq and the safeguarding of all the evidence collected. The
information and evidence collected or recorded by US and UK forces
relating to Iraqi "disappeared" or otherwise missing
persons, or in their possession, should be made fully available
to future impartial and independent investigations and prosecutions.
It should also be channelled to the International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC). The ICRC is already recording such information
and has mechanisms in place to assist people who are seeking information
on relatives or loved ones with whom they have lost contact, including
those who have "disappeared". Information should also
be made available to the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary
Disappearances and to relatives of the "disappeared".
The work of reliable Iraqi organisations in this respect should
be assisted and encouraged.
13. As mass graves have been discovered,
Iraqis have begun digging up bodies themselves in a search for
their loved ones. At one grave site in the town of al-Mahawil,
near al-Hilla, Iraqis have dug up some 3,000 bodies from a site
that is said to contain up to 15,000 "disappeared" people.
All are believed to have been arrested and summarily executed
in the aftermath of the 1991 uprising.
14. Whilst understanding the desperation
of many Iraqis, Amnesty International believes that it is vital
that the mass graves are protected and that evidence is not disturbed.
Graves should be secured.
US AND UK ACTION
15. The humanitarian situation in Iraq cannot
be fully addressed or properly responded to unless security is
restored first. It is important to note that the latest Security
Council resolution on Iraq, adopted by the Council on 21 May 2003,
explicitly requires the USA and the UK (the "Authority"),
among other things, "consistent with the Charter of the United
Nations and other relevant international law, to promote the welfare
of the Iraqi people through the effective administration of the
territory, including in particular working towards the restoration
of conditions of security and stability and the creation of conditions
in which the Iraqi people can freely determine their own political
future."
16. Amnesty International notes the recent
deployment of 24 civilian experts by the UK government to support
ORHA (Organisation for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance).[3]
We would call on the UK government to ensure that they play a
role in improving humanitarian assistance, and that their role
is defined within the responsibilities of the Occupying Power
as set out in international law.
17. As Occupying Powers, the USA and the
UK are the current guardians of security, and have clear responsibilities
to restore and maintain public order and safety in all areas under
their control. US and UK forces must also ensure that any use
of force is necessary and proportionate to the threat, in accordance
with international standards.[4]
In this context, Amnesty International is concerned about recent
events in Falluja and Mosul, in which at least 20 people were
killed and 28 wounded when US troops opened fire on Iraqi demonstrators.
18. In the absence of sufficient local police
forces, a large burden of security maintenance falls on US and
UK soldiers. Adequate guidance and training in policing must be
given to the military charged with maintaining public order. Additionally,
the USA and the UK must deploy forces in sufficient numbers and
with the right training and equipment to restore law and order.
They must also ensure that any use of force is necessary and proportionate
to the threat.
17. Amnesty International welcomes the recent
deployment of a UK policing assessment mission to Iraq "to
advise on the stabilisation of the security situation and to participate
in a comprehensive review to assess how best to rebuild the Iraqi
police service."[5]
The mission should ensure that international human rights standards
are at the heart of its assessment.
18. Amnesty International notes that the
Foreign Office has stated that "coalition forces continue
to take law and order very seriously and have started patrols
with local police to crack down further on looting."[6]
It should be noted that Amnesty International delegates have been
permitted to visit two police stations in Basra and a checkpoint
to observe the conduct of British personnel and Iraqi police.
This cooperation is welcome, and we hope it will continue.
19. Information on the process by which
local police are being recruited, the screening process in place
and the training programmes for them would be welcome, particularly
information relating to the incorporation of international human
rights standards into such training. Those reconstituting police
or security forces must set up fair vetting procedures, to reduce
the chances of restoring to their duties officials who may have
been involved in serious human rights violations.
20. The level of insecurity, incidents such
as those in Falluja and Mosul and the use of locally recruited
police as well as troops in law and order maintenance all point
to the need for an effective and transparent human rights monitoring
mission. Amnesty International recommends the immediate deployment
of human rights monitors to Iraq. Human rights monitors could
provide some measure of protection from abuses by undertaking
fact-finding missions, impartially investigating and documenting
allegations of abuses by any party, and proactively seeking redress
for violations. They would aid the protection of people's rights
by raising cases and issues directly with the authorities on the
ground and by providing authoritative and timely information to
the international community. They could also support work to ensure
the establishment of durable human rights safeguards, including
reformed legislation, practices and institutions, and promote
the full range of human rights.
21. There will be a need for sufficient
resources to establish a visible and effective field presence
of human rights monitors in all regions of the country. Monitors
should have the widest powers of access to documents, people and
places, including known or suspected prisons and detention centres.
All relevant authorities should be required to cooperate, including
by assuring the confidentiality of interviews with detainees and
others whenever requested. The mandate of the human rights monitors
should cover human rights abuses in Iraqi territory by any party,
and they should stay as long as necessary.
RECONSTRUCTION
22. Amnesty International believes that
the reform of the Iraqi criminal justice system is fundamental
to a sustainable reconstruction of public security and a rule
of law in Iraq that represents a clear break from the gross human
rights violations of the past decades.
23. This will require, in particular, an
independent judiciary, a professional civilian police force, adequate
detention facilities and a framework of law which adheres to international
standards. Amnesty International would welcome further clarification
of the scope and nature of the review of Iraqi penal legislation
and code of criminal procedure that we understand is being carried
out.
24. The first step to identify both appropriate
transitional arrangements and longer-term reconstruction priorities
is an in-depth authoritative analysis of the situation in Iraq.
The process would be best facilitated by bringing to Iraq an International
Commission of Experts to work with Iraqis in assessing the needs
of the Iraqi criminal justice system and making recommendations
for its long-term reform and for any transitional mechanism that
may be needed in the meantime. The UN should ideally play the
leading role in developing proposals for reforming the Iraqi criminal
justice system, as well as recommending transitional and complementary
approaches. Amnesty International recommends the establishment
by the United Nations of a commission of experts, working in close
consultation with Iraqi society. Such a commission should be constituted
and deployed as soon as possible.
25. In the context of criminal justice,
it should be noted that Amnesty International believes that those
responsible for human rights violations in the past should be
held accountable for their actions. A commission of experts should
also advise on the best mechanism to address responsibility for
past abuses.
Prison facilities
26. From discussion with several British
officers in Iraq, Amnesty International delegates understand that
there are no operating prisons in Basra, but prison advisers are
due to visit Basra to advise on the building of new prisons. This
is welcome. We are particularly pleased that the British forces
do not apparently want to use the old sites, due to the connotations
of former prisons with torture and other human rights violations.
Amnesty International would welcome further exploration of this
issue by the International Development Committee when it meets
the Secretary of State.
RETURN OF
REFUGEES AND
ASYLUM-SEEKERS
FROM IRAQ
27. In accordance with international refugee
and human rights law standards, Amnesty International considers
that current conditions in Iraq are not conducive to the promotion
of voluntary repatriation. No government should proceed at this
stage with the non-voluntary return of Iraqi refugees and asylum-seekers
to Iraq. No return should take place that would lead to returnees
finding themselves in a situation of internal displacement, or
where it is reasonably possible that further displacement may
result. Discussions on phased returns of Iraqis should only commence
following an objective, thorough and independent assessment that
a safe, dignified and sustainable return in accordance with international
standards is possible.
4 June 2003
1 Amnesty International, Iraq: Looting, lawlessness
and humanitarian consequences, 11 April 2003 (AI Index: MDE
14/085/2003). This report is available online at http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engmde140852003. Back
2
UN Press release, 22 May: (http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=7175&Cr=iraq&Cr1=relief) Back
3
Foreign Office Press Release, 14 May 2003 Back
4
Relevant international standards include the 1979 UN Code of Conduct
for Law Enforcement Officals and the 1990 UN Basic Princpiles
on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. Back
5
Foreign Office Press Release, 13 May 2003 Back
6
Foreign Office, Iraq: Frequently Asked Questions, May 2003 Back
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