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No Amnesty for Abuses by Former Iraqi Leaders
Letter to George Bush
June 27, 2003

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Bush:

We write regarding the imperative of assuring justice for crimes committed by the previous Iraqi leadership. In particular, we are greatly concerned by recent statements by Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld that the United States might allow Iraqis in custody who may bear the greatest responsibility for the most serious crimes, including genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, to avoid criminal liability in exchange for information regarding the location of Saddam Hussein or weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.


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"As the occupying powers in Iraq, the United States and its allies have assumed important legal obligations under international humanitarian law for the protection and welfare of Iraq's people, including ensuring public order. Those obligations are inconsistent with signaling to would-be killers that deals can be cut to avoid accountability for their crimes."

Kenneth Roth
Executive Director of Human Rights Watch


 
For years, the victims of the former Iraqi government's many crimes have waited for the day when the leaders responsible for their suffering could be held accountable. As you know, the list of those crimes is long and horrifying. In the genocidal 1988 "Anfal" campaign, we estimate more than 100,000 Kurds were trucked to remote sites and executed. In the 1980s, the Iraqi government forcefully expelled over half a million Shi'a to Iran after separating out and imprisoning an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 Shi'a men and boys, most of whom remain unaccounted for. Since the late 1970s, as many as 290,000 people were "disappeared" in Iraq.

In outlining the reasons why the United States and its coalition partners went to war in Iraq, you have often cited the human rights abuses committed by Saddam Hussein's regime and the need to hold the perpetrators accountable. We strongly welcomed your pledge that "the day of Iraq's liberation will also be a day of justice" - and so, we believe, did the vast majority of the Iraqi people. If the coalition authorities were to offer amnesty deals to those Iraqis most responsible for these crimes, it would be a violation of your pledge and an affront to the victims.

Ensuring justice for past abuses is also essential for building respect for the rule of law and securing peace and stability in Iraq. Most Iraqis would view a policy of selective justice, in which the only officials prosecuted are those with no useful information to provide, as unprincipled and hypocritical. Such a policy would breed profound cynicism about the professed intentions of the coalition authorities. Above all, allowing the Iraqi leadership to escape accountability would undermine efforts to deter future atrocities. It would signal that justice for some of the world's most heinous crimes could be brushed aside for reasons of convenience.

We have long believed that the best option for bringing senior Iraqi leaders to justice for past crimes is a tribunal established by the United Nations Security Council. A United Nations tribunal is more likely to be perceived as impartial, fair, and independent. Cutting advance deals with mass murderers will only undermine the authority and independence of such a tribunal.

We do not suggest that reduced sentences can never be offered in exchange for information or cooperation. However, it is essential that the crimes of the Iraqi leadership not be excused. Deals that would result in amnesty for those most responsible for past crimes should not be made under any circumstances.

As the occupying powers in Iraq, the United States and its allies have assumed important legal obligations under international humanitarian law for the protection and welfare of Iraq's people, including ensuring public order. Those obligations are inconsistent with signaling to would-be killers that deals can be cut to avoid accountability for their crimes. In offering justifications for military action against Iraq, the United States and its allies have raised high expectations - among people in Iraq and around the world - for the restoration of the rule of law and respect for human rights. These expectations will be dashed if mass murderers are allowed to walk free. For the purpose of restoring peace and stability in Iraq and upholding the demands of justice, we urge the United States to refrain from allowing those most responsible for past crimes to avoid punishment in exchange for information.

Sincerely,


Kenneth Roth
Executive Director