The Center for Constitutional Rights – 2018-03-21 20:49:49
https://ccrjustice.org/home/blog/2018/03/19/ccr-news-15th-anniversary-us-invasion-iraq
CCR Calls for Reparations on 15th Anniversary
Of US Invasion of Iraq
The Center for Constitutional Rights
(March 19, 2018) — Today is the 15th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq. The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) has challenged US militarism abroad, including in Iraq, for decades, and has litigated cases challenging torture and extrajudicial killing by private military contractors during the Iraq war since 2004. CCR has also sought accountability for US torture in Iraq by filing cases in foreign courts under universal jurisdiction laws.
In 2013, CCR partnered with Iraqi organizers and US service members and veterans to launch a campaign calling for reparations and accountability for the US invasion of Iraq.
CCR released the following statement today to the media:
In March 2003, just before the US invasion of Iraq, CCR already knew what would come to fruition. We predicted a flatly illegal war would result in major casualties on both sides — in the US, disproportionately borne by communities of color — and a downward spiral towards increased violence and war.
Indeed, the illegal war that was launched soon after provided the platform for mass civilian casualties, war crimes, and a vast boon to corporations seeking to profit from war-making — with almost complete impunity to this day. Groups like ISIS emerged from US-fomented sectarianism and came together in US-run prisons in Iraq.
Less visible but no less damaging are the ongoing trauma and health issues experienced by those exposed to the fighting, as well as a growing refugee crisis, even as the Muslim Ban impedes many US-created refugees from seeking asylum in the US
The harms continue today in the US-led coalition campaign of airstrikes against ISIS. The strikes have resulted in far greater civilian casualties than even reported, for which activists have long called for and continue to demand reparations.
The hardships have not stopped activists in Iraq from fighting for justice and for progressive issues, even in the face of overwhelming circumstances. As they carry on in calling for change, we join them, and demand reparations and accountability for the US’s actions in Iraq. A new, global anti-war movement is needed more than ever, and central in it must be the leadership of Iraqis in devising a reparations process.
On the tenth anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, Iraqis and US military veterans came together to hold the US government accountable for the lasting effects of war and the rights of veterans and civilians to heal.
The Iraq war is not over for Iraqi civilians and US veterans who continue to struggle with various forms of trauma and injury; for Iraqis and veterans who suffer the effects of environmental poisoning due to certain US munitions and burn pits of hazardous material; and for a growing generation of orphans and people displaced by war.
The Iraq war is not over for Iraqi civilians and US veterans who continue to struggle with various forms of trauma and injury; for veterans and Iraqis who suffer the effects of environmental poisoning due to certain US munitions and burn pits of hazardous material; and for a growing generation of orphans and people displaced by war.
(March 5, 2014) –In addition to calling on the US government to provide reparations in the form of environmental remediation, scientific research and health clinics for towns and cities experiencing skyrocketing rates of cancer and birth defects since the invasion, you can also provide “People’s Reparations” that will go directly to buying what our partner organization OWFI’s clinic in Haweeja needs the most, such as medicine, wheelchairs and physical therapy equipment.
Please support OWFI’s work and the people of Haweeja by donating here.
(April 18, 2013) — A decade after the US invaded Iraq, US veterans, Iraqi human rights organizations and their allies launched a joint initiative, Right to Heal. Together, they are demanding that the human rights impacts of the war in Iraq be assessed and that concrete action be taken towards rehabilitation and reparations for those impacted by the lasting effects of the war.
