Rights Watch: Iraq's Civilians Face Security Vacuum
BBSNews - 2003-04-09 -- New York - U.S. and coalition forces must not allow a
security vacuum to develop in areas of Iraq under their occupation,
Human Rights Watch said today.
Human Rights Watch is deeply concerned about reports of widespread
looting and lawlessness in areas outside of Iraqi government control.
Human Rights Watch is also concerned about the potential for violent
reprisals by Iraqi civilians against those suspected of supporting the
government of Saddam Hussein.
"The responsibility of U.S. and coalition forces doesn't end when they
defeat opposing troops," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human
Rights Watch. "Occupying forces are responsible for protecting
civilians, not just during combat but in the aftermath of fighting."
Press accounts from Basra and other communities in southern Iraq speak
of banditry and looting of government buildings and other institutions
such as hotels, universities and hospitals. In some cities, civilians
have been ransacking government offices and removing important documents
related to the government's security apparatus. Such documents are
crucial for establishing accountability for human rights violations in
Iraq. Documents procured by Human Rights Watch after the 1991 war were
instrumental in establishing the details of the Anfal campaign against
Iraq's Kurds and the role of Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as
"Chemical Ali," in conducting that campaign on behalf of the Iraqi
government.
U.S. and U.K. forces have at times stood by as the looting has occurred.
In Basra, for instance, Britain has publicly stated that it allowed
looting of Ba'ath party buildings as a means of showing that the party
had lost control of the city. Civilians in Qalat Sukkar, 150 miles
southeast of Baghdad, asked U.S. forces to provide security from armed
groups plaguing them in the absence of regular Iraqi police officers who
disappeared when the city fell to American forces, the New York Times
reported on April 8.
Under international humanitarian law, military commanders must prevent
and where necessary suppress serious violations involving the local
population under their control or subject to their authority.
Furthermore, occupying forces have an immediate duty to take all
feasible steps to prevent acts of violent reprisal.
The responsibility for protecting civilians extends to the conduct of
any local Iraqi armed groups acting under authority of or in conjunction
with U.S. forces. That duty exists for the benefit of individuals allied
with the Iraqi government who have laid down their arms as well as
opponents of the government. Human Rights Watch has outlined these
duties previously in a policy paper:
http://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/arms/iraq0202003.htm
and a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and other U.S. allies:
http://www.hrw.org/press/2003/03/us031903ltr.htm.
Based on conduct during the 1991 uprising following the conclusion of
the war over Kuwait, when brutal reprisals took place against those
suspected of supporting the Iraqi government, Human Rights Watch is
particularly concerned about the possibility of mass retaliatory
violence and lawlessness in the Shi'a heartland, including the cities of
Basra, Najaf and Karbala. Human Rights Watch has also highlighted the
northern city of Kirkuk as a potential flashpoint, in anticipation of
the return of more than 100,000 ethnic Kurds who had been forcefully
expelled by the Iraqi government:
http://hrw.org/press/2003/03/iraq032703.htm.
"U.S. and coalition forces must immediately prepare to provide basic
security and humanitarian protection to civilians in Iraq," Roth said.
"International law does not permit armed troops to leave civilians to
the mercy of bandits and looters."
A Human Rights Watch document, "The War in Iraq and International
Humanitarian Law" can be found at:
http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/iraq/ihlfaq.htm
###
Michael Hess is the Editor of BBSNews in Charlotte, NC. Write to the editor here. Not all submissions are published. Or visit the completely new BBSNews Blog and Forum on our front page - Please Participate in BBSNews!
|
