03 April 2003
U.S. Gathers Evidence of War Crimes by Iraqi Regime
(Interview with top official on war crimes issues) (1240) By Edmund F. Scherr Washington File Special Correspondent Washington -- A senior U.S. official says the United States is beginning to gather evidence of war crimes by the Saddam Hussein regime. "What we have been seeing are textbook war crimes violations" by the Iraqi forces, said Pierre-Richard Prosper, U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crime issues. The Iraqi regime has not only acted contrary to international laws and treaties in fighting coalition forces, but has also ignored these laws regarding protection of Iraqi civilians, he said. "We are seeing a complete disregard" for the international conventions on warfare, he emphasized. By its actions, it is obvious that the Iraqi regime "does not care about its people." Prosper said the gathering of evidence will be a "thoughtful and deliberate process. We are taking copious notes on what we see happening." He made the comments April 2 in an interview with the Washington File. Many actions of the Iraqi regime, he said, demonstrate "not only a complete disregard of international conventions on warfare," but also a "disregard of human life of the Iraqi people, holding them essentially captive in the battlefield." The ambassador noted that the international conventions on the conduct of war and treatment of noncombatants recognize that at times war will be necessary or legal. "But it does not mean that there are no limits or that anything goes," he stressed. The conventions, he said, say, "when you wage war there are rules that must be followed. And if you exceed those rules, you are committing war crimes and are subject to prosecution." The 1907 Hague Convention on the Laws of War and the four 1949 Geneva Conventions and their later protocols on the treatment of prisoners of war (POWs), the wounded, and civilians are the basic international agreements covering armed conflicts. These conventions do not deal with the rights and wrongs of a conflict, Prosper noted, but "state there is a right way to wage war. There are rules that must be followed and respected to preserve legitimacy of the actions." These documents, he said, spell out who are the belligerents, who are the civilians that should be protected, and how POWs are to be treated. Both the United States and Iraq are signatories to the Geneva Conventions, he said, and the Hague Convention is a "customary law" which all nations are bound to follow. Customary laws, he explained, are conventions that, in the course of time, through diplomatic statements and practice, become "universally recognized and accepted by states." The ambassador said the United States takes "great care" to adhere to these laws of war. Every proposed target of the U.S. action is "reviewed to make sure that we minimize the risk of civilian casualties." The United States also investigates any reported violations of these international laws by American forces, he said, and there has been a "tremendous adherence" by U.S. forces to the Hague and Geneva Conventions. Asked about the repeated statements of the Iraqi government that it is following the international conventions on war, the ambassador said, "the evidence on the ground is contrary. We are seeing Iraqi forces fire upon the civilian population, which is illegal and contrary to the Geneva Conventions." "We are seeing Iraqi forces forcibly using civilians as human shields," he added, and these actions are also war crimes. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, he pointed out, parties in war must do their best to protect civilians. "You cannot intentionally target civilians or intentionally put civilians into harm's way. You must do your best not to target civilians." To the contrary, he said, there has been "a deliberate effort by Iraqi forces to put civilians in harm's way. ... We have received a lot of information that not only have Iraqi forces fired on civilians as they have tried to flee, but also that they are forcing civilians at gun-point to engage in combat." Some Iraqi soldiers, Prosper said, have been fighting dressed in civilian clothing, which is "illegal" because once engaged in combat, there must be "distinctive" signs that a fighter is a soldier. He said the United States has seen "countless cases" in which Iraqi soldiers have feigned surrender by waving the white flag of truce and then, when coalition forces approach to "engage on the question of surrender, as required by the Geneva Conventions, they ambush us." He also said "we have seen credible information that ... leads us to conclude that some coalition soldiers have been executed after capture or surrender." The conventions, he pointed out, stipulate that properties such as hospitals, schools and religious institutions are not to be used for military purposes, but he said the Iraqi regime is using some civilian buildings for military purposes. Concerning Americans held by Iraq, the ambassador said the only information on them comes from Iraqi television broadcasting the interrogation of some POWs, a practice that is contrary to international law. To date, he said, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has not had access to Americans being held by Iraq. "We do not know how they are being treated. We do not know their state of health." In contrast, the United States has given ICRC access to Iraqi combatants held by coalition forces. The ICRC is registering POWs held by the coalition to alert the Iraqi government and family members of their status, and it is examining the POWs' health and treatment. Prosper noted that the Geneva Convention say that prisoners of war must at all times be humanely treated. "Prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity," he said. Despite the inhumanity and disregard for international law shown by the Iraqi regime, "our people continue to uphold the law," the ambassador observed. "They continue to take prisoners, feed them and give them medical care, ... continue not to target religious structures, even if they are being used for military purposes. ... There is a clear line of the law that our forces have not crossed." Prosper is working with the Defense Department and the White House on determining how the United States will seek accountability for the crimes committed against the United States during the hostilities. "We have a range of options for prosecution, from military tribunals to civilian courts in the United States," he said. There are also options for prosecution of Iraqi regime members for crimes against the Iraqi people, he added. A new Iraqi government could prosecute individuals for crimes committed during the 20-year regime of Saddam Hussein. The United States would also work with the new Iraqi government on the handling of such crimes, he said. "We will seek to work with the new Iraqi government to develop a new mechanism to bring the current Iraqi leadership to justice," Prosper said. "It will be an Iraqi-led process, and we are prepared to bring together international partners to support that effort." Texts of the Hague Convention on the laws of war and the Geneva Conventions and protocols on the protection of prisoners of war and civilians can be found on the Web at: http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/lawofwar/hague04.htm http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/WebCONVFULL?OpenView (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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