| United Nations | A/50/471 |
General Assembly
Distr. GENERAL
25 September 1995
ORIGINAL:
ARABIC
Fiftieth session
Item 114 (c) of the provisional agenda*
HUMAN RIGHTS QUESTIONS: HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATIONS AND
REPORTS OF SPECIAL RAPPORTEURS AND REPRESENTATIVES
Letter dated 20 September 1995 from the Permanent Representative
of Iraq to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General
On instructions from my Government, I have the honour to transmit to you
the reply of the Government of Iraq to the report entitled "Situation of
human rights in Iraq" submitted by the Special Rapporteur van der Stoel to
the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-first session, in 1995.
I should be grateful if you would have this letter and its annex, which
comprise the reply of the Government of Iraq, circulated as a document of
the General Assembly at its fiftieth session under item 114 (c) of the
provisional agenda, entitled "Human rights questions: Human rights
situations and reports of special rapporteurs".
(Signed) Nizar HAMDOON
Ambassador
Permanent Representative
________________________
* A/50/150.
95-28960 (E) 111095 121095/...
*9528960*
ANNEX
Reply of the Government of Iraq to the report of the Special
Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iraq
CONTENTS
Subject Paragraphs Page
Introduction ...............................................1 -103
A. The politico-legal order of repression in Iraq .........11 -274
B. Some examples of repressive decrees .................... 288
C. Access to food and health care .........................29 -399
Conclusions ................................................1 -511
Introduction
1. The Government of the Republic of Iraq has studied the report
(E/CN.4/1995/56) submitted by the Special Rapporteur to the Commission on
Human Rights at its fifty-first session and has found that it resembles his
previous reports in employing distortions of the facts, renewing claims and
allegations and using the same sophistry which has been repeated year after
year. In response to this, we can only give the reference numbers of the
documents which contain the relevant official replies of the Iraqi
Government.
2. The Government of Iraq, as it has previously stressed, always welcomes
any objective, equitable and impartial measures which genuinely aim to
protect and strengthen human rights in Iraq. These cannot be dealt with in
isolation from the difficult circumstances endured by the Iraqi people
since August 1990 as a consequence of the military aggression and the
complete economic embargo imposed on Iraq in the name of the United
Nations.
3. While the Special Rapporteur expresses regret in his report that the
Government of Iraq refuses to meet him and addresses its replies directly
to the United Nations and its organizations, it must be mentioned that Mr.
van der Stoel has, ever since his appointment as Special Rapporteur on
human rights in Iraq, taken a hostile attitude towards Iraq which is far
from the non-selectivity, impartiality and objectivity the importance of
which was affirmed by General Assembly resolution 47/131 in 1992. When he
presented his report to the Security Council he overstepped the authority
with which he was invested by the resolution which granted him his mandate,
Commission on Human Rights resolution 1991/74. He has held many press
conferences with the aim of insulting and pillorying the reputation of the
Government of Iraq. He has ignored the official replies and the scientific
studies which Iraq has submitted, relying completely and absolutely on
sources of information known for their antagonism to the Government of
Iraq, although they are sources which are not completely reliable.
4. Mr. van der Stoel also treats the issue of the embargo as a purely
political matter, demanding that the Government of Iraq should comply with
Security Council resolutions 706 (1991) and 712 (1991), despite being
assured of the underlying political goals of both and indifferent to the
damaging effects that this embargo has had on Iraqi society, considering
them outside his mandate.
5. The complete embargo which has been imposed on the people of Iraq for
the last five years, depriving the Iraqi people, including women, children
and elderly, of their most basic legitimate right, which is the right to
life, is not considered as a violation of human rights, since it was the
wish of the forces hostile to Iraq, with which Mr. van der Stoel is
cooperating.
6. The Government of Iraq, guided by paragraph 31 of the Vienna
Declaration on Human Rights, which states that food and medicine should not
be used as a tool for political pressure, looks to the United Nations and
its humanitarian organizations to study the grave political, legal and
humanitarian consequences of the imposition of the economic embargo,
requesting that a mechanism should be sought to minimize those consequences
and their dangerous repercussions on all human rights. It is unthinkable
that we should be living in the age of human rights and at the same time
using food and medicine as weapons to damage peoples.
7. In his introduction, the Special Rapporteur gives the terms of his
mandate in exhaustive detail and reviews the resolutions adopted by the
Commission on Human Rights and the General Assembly and other procedural
steps. He also repeats the recommendations put forward in previous
reports, in particular, that human rights monitors should be sent to Iraq.
This is in fact one of the fundamental pivots of his political mission
which is biased against the country.
8. Iraq has made its position on this proposal clear, with an absolute
refusal, since it would represent flagrant interference in its internal
affairs and be blatantly incompatible with the concepts of sovereignty and
independence. Furthermore, it would create a precedent to be used to
threaten third world peoples and any State desiring to preserve its
sovereignty and independence. Iraq has already made its position on this
issue clear, in document A/C.3/47/2, paragraphs 18 and 19. Despite the
clear official stance of Iraq in this regard, the Special Rapporteur is
sending officials from the Centre for Human Rights as monitors on short-
term assignments to collect information in neighbouring countries and
countries in which the so-called Iraqi opposition has headquarters, as well
as to border areas on intelligence operations which are totally divorced
from the working methods of United Nations personnel.
9. In paragraph 3 of his report, the Special Rapporteur repeats the same
claims and allegations which have appeared in all his reports, namely:
"repression, oppression, discrimination, torture, executions, detentions
and the draining of the marshes". He depicts Iraq as a country in which
there is no one left alive. Faced with such repetition, we will merely
refer to the documents in which the Iraqi Government has submitted its
official replies: A/49/394, E/CN.4/Sub.2/1994/54, E/CN.4/1995/138,
A/48/875, A/C.3/47/2, A/48/378-S/26424 and A/46/647.
10. In paragraphs 4 to 16 of the report, the Special Rapporteur sets out
the number of missions he dispatched, the places visited by those missions
and their sources of information. As usual, he relies on the same methods
and sources, and considers the information as reliable and completely
trustworthy, while wilfully ignoring and belittling the replies of the
Iraqi Government, thereby confirming both his disposition to conspire
against it and his role in the attacks made against the country.
A. The politico-legal order of repression in Iraq
11. This section of the report clearly reflects the way in which Mr. van
der Stoel exploits the issue of human rights for political ends that are
totally removed from the noble purposes of human rights and makes them a
means of interfering in the internal affairs of States. In paragraph 21 of
the report, the Special Rapporteur states: "Nor has there been a
significant change in any of the structures of the State which the Special
Rapporteur believes are the cause of widespread and systematic violations
of human rights in Iraq". It is clear to any impartial observer of the
manner in which the Special Rapporteur deals with the human rights
situation in Iraq and his activity in this area that Iraq's position on him
is correct and why Iraq accuses him of bias and lack of objectivity and of
being an instrument for the implementation of the schemes of States and
parties hostile to Iraq that aim at overthrowing its national regime,
rending asunder its territory and fragmenting its population. The mandate
of the Special Rapporteur as set forth in resolution 1991/74 did not
empower him to advocate changing the structure of authority in Iraq. The
Government of Iraq has already submitted a detailed account of the
structure of authority in Iraq in document A/49/394, which may be referred
to for further details (paras. 129-141).
12. In this connection, we should like to recall that the establishment of
a new and evolved formula for the exercise of democracy in Iraq has been
one of the foremost of the Iraqi leadership's concern since the early
1980s. Perhaps the most outstanding element thereof was the election of
the President of the Republic and the related popular referendum. However,
the leadership deemed it appropriate to postpone that until the end of the
Iran-Iraq war. The Revolution Command Council discussed the matter after
the end of the war and a new draft constitution was drawn up. This was
submitted for broad democratic discussion to the people and the National
Assembly. However, the circumstances of the 30-Power aggression in 1991
and the consequent unrest and unjust sanctions halted any move in that
direction. The subject was put before the leadership for a second time two
years ago by the President of the Republic, but the country's difficult
circumstances, particularly the anomalous situation in northern Iraq, which
was subjected to quasi-occupation by the Coalition forces, caused the
leadership to delay the matter until the sanctions were lifted and the
situation in the north was restored to normal. In spite of these difficult
circumstances, the leadership has found that the supreme national interest
and the need to tackle fundamental issues required the exercise of
authentic direct democracy. On the basis of this, the Constitution was
amended, and the nominee for the position of President of the Republic was
submitted to a national referendum, in accordance with Revolution Command
Council decision No. 85 of 1995.
13. In paragraph 25 of the report, the Special Rapporteur alleges the
occurrence of "extrajudicial executions ... in particular in relation to
military operations in the southern marsh area of Iraq where civilian
settlements are said to have been shelled and razed". In this regard, we
should like to point out that these allegations are not factual or
accurate. The Special Rapporteur's allegations regarding military
operations and the shelling of civilian settlements in the marsh area
actually refer to an attack carried out by Iranian forces in February 1995,
using various heavy weapons, including artillery and boats. Iraqi military
units presented resistance to this attack, and this is a matter that lies
solely within its domestic authority and constitutes legitimate defence of
its territory and the security and safety of its citizens.
14. The nature of this part of Iraq is constantly exploited by the Iranian
side to infiltrate its agents for the purpose of carrying out acts of
sabotage aimed at undermining security and stability. We have already
described in detail the nature of this area and the incidents that occur
there in document A/C.3/47/2, paragraphs 8 to 17, A/48/875, paragraphs 12
to 32 and A/49/394, paragraphs 96 to 104.
15. In paragraph 26 of the report, the Special Rapporteur, as usual,
touches on the subject of arbitrary arrest and detention, exaggerating
greatly and distorting the facts. He alleges that: "Thousands of families
of Iraqi citizens 'of Persian ancestry' who were expelled from Iraq between
1980 and 1990 in the course of which many able-bodied men were arrested and
detained ... at Qalat al-Salman prison in southern Iraq." In this regard,
we should like to explain that the expulsion of persons of Iranian origin
took place following the defensive war that Iraq waged against Iran within
the framework of defence of Iraq's security. The details of this matter
are given in Iraq's reply of 1991 (A/46/647). Moreover, no one is detained
in the Qalat al-Salman prison because this prison has been abolished. We
have given an account of this in document A/49/394, paragraphs 40 to 43.
16. With regard to the repetition of the allegations on the disappearance
of Iraqi persons, it would be lacking in objectivity to deny the occurrence
of such instances, which were always the result of extraordinary
circumstances relating to incidents that were impossible, not only for the
Government of Iraq but also for any other Government in similar
circumstances, to control without suffering of which human beings would
have been the first to be affected, namely, the events of the Iran-Iraq war
and then the aggression against Iraq during the Gulf war and the subsequent
troubles. We have already given account of this matter in earlier
documents, including A/49/494, paragraphs 9 to 12.
17. As for the other allegation concerning the disappearance of foreigners
and Kuwaitis, Mr. van der Stoel is so far unaware of any of the Kuwaiti
cases having been resolved. Here again the Special Rapporteur is exceeding
the limits of his mandate as set forth in the resolution appointing him.
The subject of Kuwaitis and third-country nationals was taken up by the
Security Council and referred to the International Committee of the Red
Cross. The subject is linked to international humanitarian law, which
deals with such matters clearly and precisely, within the framework of
well-known special procedures. We have already dealt with this matter in
detail, although it in no way concerns the Special Rapporteur, in document
E/CN.4/1994/138.
18. In paragraph 29 of the report, Mr. van der Stoel turns once again to
the subject of freedom of movement and directives relating to travel
outside Iraq, particularly those relating to professors, engineers and
physicians. In this regard, we would refer to a reply of Iraq contained in
document A/49/394, paragraphs 26 to 39.
19. With regard to emigration from Iraq, to which Mr. van der Stoel
refers, no one can deny that the wars and economic crises, including the
economic embargo that is crushing Iraq, cause people to leave the country.
This is well known. Accordingly, lifting the economic embargo would
definitely lead to a return of normal life and help many people to return
to their country.
20. As usual, the Special Rapporteur cites data without bothering to check
it and ascertain its accuracy. One example of that is his allegation that
"information has been received that persons not resident in Baghdad prior
to April 1991 may be forced to leave Baghdad as a measure to relieve the
pressure of economic demands on the city". This allegation is absurd. As
everyone is aware, all the towns and villages of Iraq are suffering from
the pressure of economic demands owing to the embargo. Accordingly, this
allegation can only be described as illogical.
21. As in all of his reports, the Special Rapporteur reverts to what he
calls ethnic and religious communities and the rights of minorities and
attacks on the Marsh Arab community and the predominantly Kurdish region in
the north. In this regard, we should point out that all Iraq's previous
replies contain an extensive account of these matters, and Iraq has
submitted a document concerning the manner of treatment of the subject of
minorities in Iraq, namely, document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1994/54.
22. We should like to put to the Special Rapporteur a question that
presents itself concerning the sources of his information, namely, why did
he not touch on the human rights violations to which our Kurdish people is
subjected at the hands of Kurdish elements and the militias that control
the north, even though they have been publicized in a sizeable document
issued by Amnesty International, which is, as we know, one of the main
information sources relied on by Mr. van der Stoel. It may be useful to
cite a short excerpt from this report, which was issued under the title
"Human rights abuses in Iraqi Kurdistan since 1991". The report, which is
over 140 pages long, deals in detail with the numerous and widespread
violations of human rights committed by the "Kurdish administration" as
represented in the "Council of Ministers" and Kurdish political parties in
the area. They include detention, torture, ill-treatment, and first-degree
murders. Amnesty International in its report placed the responsibility for
these violations and for similar violations perpetrated by the Islamic
movement on the leaders of Kurdish political parties, especially the two
main parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Kurdish Patriotic
Union. We expect that the Special Rapporteur's excuse would be that these
violations do not fall within his mandate because they were not committed
by the "Government of Iraq", although those who suffer from them and have
fallen victim to them are thousands of the Iraqi Kurdish people.
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23. It may be useful to suggest that Mr. van der Stoel, instead of
repeating the same allegations in each report, should address himself to
the real human suffering resulting from the ferocious war and bloody
fighting that has taken place in Iraqi Kurdistan, which has turned into a
war of the streets which has taken a toll of thousands of innocent victims
from the Kurdish people. Add to this the human rights violations and
suffering arising from the Turkish invasion of northern Iraq, which has
caused thousands of Kurds to flee from their villages, leave their homes
and take refuge in safer areas far from the site of the fighting. The
Turkish forces have used heavy weaponry and aircraft, which has destroyed a
number of villages and caused the death of many innocent citizens. This is
in addition to the arrests and humiliating treatment to which the local
population is subjected by the invading forces. These are the real human
sufferings to which the innocent Iraqi Kurdish people is subjected.
However, Mr. van der Stoel does not view it like that as long as these acts
are not committed by the Government of Iraq.
24. The Turkish invasion of northern Iraq was accompanied by flagrant
violations committed by the invading forces through intensive utilization
of weapons that were not commensurate with the number of those who were
subjected to the military campaign, in which military aircraft and heavy
military equipment were used, causing great damage to property and killing
Iraqi Kurdish citizens. Large numbers of them were deprived of practising
their daily work and enjoying their natural life, owing to the restrictions
imposed by the invading forces. The slaughter of women and children in
Zakho and Dohuk and near the town of Sarsank and the detention of many
Kurdish citizens whose fate remains unknown all confirm the volume of the
immense dangers to which civilians are exposed.
25. In addition, the Turkish invasion of northern Iraq has led to the
exodus of waves of refugees. Many of the inhabitants of areas in which
military operations were conducted, particularly the Zakho area, have left
their villages and property and fled, under the protection of United
Nations guards to safer areas.
26. In the course of the military operations, the invading Turkish forces
raided homes in order to separate the men from the women and to rob and
loot. This is in addition to the humiliating practices carried out by
Turkish soldiers against citizens through the arbitrary imposition of a
state of emergency in their areas.
27. As a result of these operations, it has been difficult to bring
humanitarian relief to the area controlled by the invading Turkish forces,
which prevented United Nations guards from reaching Kurdish villages with
the area of fighting.
B. Some examples of repressive decrees
28. In this subsection, the Special Rapporteur discusses what he refers to
as "repressive decrees", thus reiterating the content of his previous
report. There is no harm in restating what we have already said, namely
that the punitive measures contained in the Revolution Command Council
decrees in respect of thieves and the perpetrators of crimes against
society cannot be viewed, as is the wont of Mr. van der Stoel, in isolation
from the overall situation in Iraq. That situation is epitomized by the
unjust comprehensive embargo that has been imposed on Iraq for almost five
years, leaving an inhumane impact on various aspects of life and producing
social conditions alien to our society, which adheres to high moral values
and is distinct in its security and stability. The most prominent of those
conditions are theft and burglary, which occur mostly in conjunction with
acts of killing. As a result, persons, property and lives are greatly
endangered, in turn placing Iraqi society in grave peril. As we have
previously mentioned, these punishments are applied in very few instances
and only in the case of utmost necessity, which indicates the temporary
nature of the measure. The truth of our assertion that these punishments
constitute a temporary measure is affirmed by the recent promulgation, on
22 July 1995, of Revolution Command Council Decree No. 61, which prescribes
the pardon of all inmates and convicts, as well as the final cessation of
the measures taken in respect of any person having perpetrated the offence
of evasion of, or absence or desertion from, military service. Under the
provisions of that decree, convicted persons are also exempt from the
punishment of severance of the ear auricle and amputation of the hand. For
further details, reference may be made to Iraq's reply contained in
document E/CN.4/1995/138. It is further worth pointing out that, under the
same decree, the death penalty is commuted to life imprisonment.
Revolution Command Council Decree No. 64, which prescribes the full
exemption of all political prisoners from the provisions issued in their
regard (see annexes I and II), has also been promulgated.
C. Access to food and health care
29. In section I, subsection C, relating to "access to food and health
care", the Special Rapporteur, on the basis of "the reports and assessments
of United Nations specialized agencies in the context of the United Nations
Inter-Agency Humanitarian Programme in Iraq", states that he has had "the
sad duty of recording a constantly deteriorating situation for most of the
population, especially the most vulnerable segments comprised of children,
pregnant and lactating mothers and the elderly". Although true, Mr. van
der Stoel's words are intentionally misleading in that he claims to feel
sorry for the children of Iraq, yet at the same time fails to request the
lifting of the embargo against them; on the contrary, he holds the
Government of Iraq responsible for such human suffering on account of its
non-implementation of Security Council resolutions 706 (1991) and 712
(1991), despite being satisfied as to their political objectives. In
common with those States working in their own interests, he none the less
persists in exploiting that human suffering for perverse political purposes
in contempt of all international human rights instruments which affirm
human dignity and the right to life. In any event, this subject has
already been expounded in detail on more than one occasion, most recently
in document E/CN.4/1995/138, in which we explained that those two
resolutions were aimed at prejudicing the sovereignty of Iraq and dividing
its people on an ethnic and sectarian basis, rather than at ensuring the
humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people. Despite this, the Government of
Iraq has made efforts to arrive at an acceptable formula with the
Secretariat in New York and Vienna. Those efforts, however, have failed to
produce a valid solution due to the pressures exerted by the United States.
30. We also anticipate that Mr. van der Stoel will create a further outcry
over the recently adopted Security Council resolution 986 (1995), which is
actually a draft that was submitted to the Council by the United States and
Britain as being the only available solution for addressing the tragic
situation of the Iraqi people spawned by the continued economic embargo
against it. At this point, we should like to highlight certain facts with
a view to explaining Iraq's position on the aforesaid resolution to Mr. van
der Stoel and to any follower of the subject's background and the human
rights situation in Iraq.
31. The new resolution relies on the same machinery contained in Security
Council resolutions 706 (1991) and 712 (1991) in the shape of imposed
control mechanisms for the distribution of foodstuffs and medicines and
specified routes for the export of petroleum, thereby divesting Iraq of its
will and its autonomy of decision and choice concerning the export route
for petroleum and petroleum products. It also entails an odious
intervention in the life of Iraqi citizens on the pretext of monitoring the
adequacy and fairness of the distribution of the enormous quantities of
foodstuffs to be purchased pursuant to the resolution and further bolsters
the state of insurrection in the north of Iraq, thus violating Iraq's
sovereignty and territorial integrity. This resolution divests Iraq of its
natural right as an independent sovereign State to dispose of its assets in
the interests of the Iraqi people with a view to providing essential needs
in accordance with international law and the international rules governing
inter-State trade.
32. The aim of the draft resolution was to rule out discussion by the
Security Council concerning the fulfilment of its obligations towards Iraq
under Security Council resolution 687 (1991). The timing of the new
resolution affirms as much, having been introduced to the Security Council
with a view to impeding the future of the Iraqi people and not to lifting
the embargo. Iraq therefore rejected the resolution, which it deemed worse
than Security Council resolutions 706 (1991) and 712 (1991). The
resolution was adopted behind a humanitarian screen, with the adopting
States offering as a pretext the critical humanitarian situation and human
suffering in Iraq. We anticipate that Mr. van der Stoel will do likewise,
as he can be relied upon in that respect on any occasion. The resolution
encompasses dubious political objectives such as deceiving world public
opinion in order to eliminate the growing pressure to end the suffering of
the Iraqi people and lift the unjust embargo imposed on it in a bid to
divert efforts to that end within the Security Council and thus ensuring
the continued imposition of the embargo for as long as possible.
33. The Special Rapporteur repeats the same allegations concerning what he
calls "discriminatory policies" and the "internal blockade on the north".
In the face of such repetition, suffice it for us to refer to our reply
contained in the aforesaid document and to document A/49/394.
34. Section I, subsection D, which the Special Rapporteur devotes to the
situation of Iraqi refugees, mentions the causes of flight as being
"increased oppression from the Iraqi Government, ... deteriorating living
standards; ... draining of the marshes ...". He focuses on what he calls
"draining of the marshes" and states that the inhabitants of the area have
lost their habitat, as well as their livelihood of fishing and raising
livestock, and that draining has made access to the area easier for
Government troops pursuing suspected criminals.
35. In so far as the matter is connected with such claims, we should like
to state that war and crisis situations are the main causes of migration,
something which no two persons would dispute; the economic embargo and its
adverse repercussions on individuals and society have caused many Iraqis to
migrate due to difficult economic circumstances in the hope of improving
their living conditions. Life will unquestionably return to normal with
the lifting of the embargo.
36. Similarly, the projects implemented by Iraq, which the Special
Rapporteur still mentions in all his reports and about which he makes
accusations at large, are in fact British, United States, German and
Brazilian projects suspended after the events of August 1990 and since
completed. We should like to point out that most of the land reclaimed
with the completion of some of these development projects has been
distributed among the inhabitants of the area and that initial agricultural
production has begun. The benefits to be yielded by this project are cited
in the reports of United States and British experts and have already been
explained in documents A/48/875 and A/CN.4/1995/138, as well as in a
special document (A/C.3/49/23) distributed on the subject.
37. There is no harm in summarizing, for the fourth time, some of these
benefits, which may be sufficient to satisfy the Special Rapporteur:
1. The drainage of salt water from agricultural land and the consequent
increase in areas suitable for agricultural production;
2. Maintenance of the excellent quality of water from the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers and verification of its suitability for local industrial
and agricultural use;
3. Settlement of the sand dunes in the regions through which the river
passes;
4. Use of the river for navigation purposes.
38. In the context of this subsection on refugees, we should like to draw
Mr. van der Stoel's attention to the exoduses which occurred in the north
of Iraq as a result of the Turkish incursion to which the region was
subjected. Thousands of inhabitants from the Kurdish villages located on
the borders with Turkey were forced by the shelling to which their areas
were exposed to leave their villages and homes and seek refuge in more
secure places. This is in addition to the ongoing exodus attributable to
the bloody fighting between the elements in control of Iraqi Kurdistan.
Conclusions
A perusal of Mr. van der Stoel's report leads us to the following
conclusions, which do not differ in substance from the conclusions which we
reached from his earlier reports. One notes the following:
1. Repeated allegations of human rights violations in Iraq based on
information provided, on the one hand, by forces and organs known for their
hostility to Iraq or, on the other hand, through missions sent to certain
countries, in particular the United Kingdom, Iran and Kuwait, which meet
with what is referred to as the "Iraqi opposition". Such sources, needless
to say, are neither impartial nor objective; consequently, the information
obtained is highly questionable and lacks the requisite criterion of
conclusiveness.
2. The report, like its predecessor, deals with the situation in Iraq and
the difficult conditions prevailing as a result of the continued
application of the economic sanctions in a manner thoroughly remote from
reality. It speaks of human rights violations, yet glosses over the
flagrant violation of all human rights in Iraq caused by the continued
application of the sanctions. Indeed, the continued economic sanctions,
with the deaths and suffering they have caused and continue to cause in all
areas of life among the weaker segments of society, in particular children,
women and the elderly, amount in fact to nothing less than genocide, which
is prohibited by international law and whose perpetrators are punishable by
the international community. When Mr. van der Stoel is forced to touch on
the tragedy and destruction caused by the sanctions in all areas of life,
he places the responsibility for them on the Government of Iraq for
rejecting resolutions 706 (1991) and 712 (1991). Yet he knows better than
anyone that those two resolutions are political and have nothing to do with
human rights, but simply serve as a pretext, as mentioned in our previous
replies to his reports.
3. Mr. van der Stoel's political objective is clearly apparent day after
day in his reports. He goes beyond mere allegations of human rights
violations in Iraq and is conducting an offensive against the structure of
the authority and the institutions of the State, thus leaving no room for
doubt that he is calling for interference in the internal affairs of Iraq
and in matters belonging to the internal authority of the State, an
endeavour that fits into the framework of a plot against the political
system in Iraq with a view to changing it.
4. All the allegations made by Mr. van der Stoel in his report have been
concretely answered in the past by the Government of Iraq. We do not deny
the existence of a number of emergency laws imposed by the difficult
conditions prevailing in Iraq; however, we must not lose sight of the fact
that those laws are temporary, being intended first and foremost to ensure
the safety of the citizens and society. We cannot assert, moreover, that
there do not exist some cases that constitute violations of human rights,
arising from our long defensive war with Iran and from the unrest and
sabotage that followed the 30-Power aggression against Iraq, such as cases
of disappearance, which are unavoidable occurrences imposed by the
conditions of war and unrest. Nor does the Iraqi Government deny that it
has adopted maximum penalties, even including execution, against anyone who
wilfully engages in sabotage of the economy or fraudulent dealings with the
food and drugs of the people under the conditions of continued application
of the economic sanctions, for the fundamental task of the Iraqi State
under the current circumstances is to provide food and medicine for the
citizens, no other task having greater priority.
We do not deny the existence of such cases; however, Mr. van der Stoel
continually points to those emergency laws and cases and dwells on them,
adding to them a large portion of exaggeration, in isolation from any
mention of the conditions that distinguished those cases or led to the
enactment of such laws.
Mr. van der Stoel looks at human rights situations from a viewpoint that
serves his political aims, not from an objective point of view, which he
should maintain in dealing with an issue as important and vital as human
rights.
5. All of the above leads us to a fact to which we have referred before,
namely that Mr. van der Stoel has adopted a hostile stance with regard to
Iraq. That stance is not in keeping with a technical approach, which
implies the use of reliable sources or aims at accuracy and the desire to
report information and make sure of its correctness, but is rather of a
political order. Indeed, Mr. van der Stoel has become a party hostile to
Iraq, participating in the designs intended to tear Iraq apart and
fragmentize its people, in a manner totally contradictory to the nature of
work in the field of human rights referred to by the General Assembly in
its resolution 47/131 on the "strengthening of United Nations action in the
field of human rights through the promotion of international cooperation
and the importance of non-selectivity, impartiality and objectivity". In
that resolution the General Assembly affirmed "that the promotion,
protection and full realization of all human rights and fundamental
freedoms as legitimate concerns of the world community should be guided by
the principles of non-selectivity, impartiality and objectivity, and should
not be used for political ends". In that connection it further requested
"all human rights bodies within the United Nations system, as well as the
special rapporteurs and representatives, independent experts and working
groups, to take duly into account the content of the present resolution in
carrying out their mandates". Furthermore, Mr. van der Stoel's approach,
to which we have referred, is incompatible with the standards of conduct
for international civil servants referred to in the 1954 Report on
Standards of Conduct in the International Civil Service.
APPENDIX I
Republic of Iraq
Revolution Command Council
Decree No. 61
Date of Decree: 23 July A.D. 1995
Decree
In furtherance of the national, educational and humanitarian guarantees
included in the speech of His Excellency President and Leader Saddam
Hussein on the twenty-seventh anniversary of the beginning of the great
revolution of 17 to 30 July, to the effect that the opportunity would be
given to anyone who has been corrupted by one factor or another or by the
temptation of the devil, to take a step forward, correct his mistake and
return from the chasms of deviation to the firm and excellent national
model.
On the basis of the provisions of article 42, paragraph (a), of the
Constitution, the Revolution Command Council has decided as follows:
First: Iraqi inmates will be excused the remainder of their sentences as
below:
1. Anyone having served three years of a sentence of more than 10 years;
2. Anyone having served two years of a sentence which did not exceed 10
years;
3. Anyone given a prison term who has served one year of his sentence.
Second:
1. Any Iraqi prison inmate will be excused the remainder of his term
provided that his relatives guarantee to ensure his good behaviour, and
that that is endorsed by a member of the Arab Baath Socialist Party.
2. The provisions laid out in the first clause of this Decree shall apply
to those convicted of first degree murder.
Third: Those sentenced to amputation of the hand shall be excused that
punishment if a period exceeding two years has been spent in detention.
Fourth: Those sentenced before this Decree entered into force shall be
included in the amnesty once they have completed the periods specified in
the first, second and third clauses of this Decree.
Fifth:
1. The amnesty provisions specified in the first, second and fourth
clauses of this Decree shall not apply to those convicted of first degree
murder unless a settlement has been reached with the injured party.
2. "The injured party" means the legal successor of the victim.
Sixth:
Any prisoner able to memorize four suras of the Holy Qur'an and
understand the ideology of the revolution shall be exempted from the
periods of time specified in the first and third clauses of this Decree.
Seventh: Sentences of death passed before this Decree entered into force
shall be commuted to life imprisonment once they have been finalized.
Eighth:
1. All proceedings taken against anyone who committed the crime of
deserting from the army or absented himself from or avoided military
service shall be completely halted if that person repented and gave himself
up or was arrested before this Decree entered into force.
2. The provisions of paragraph 1 of this clause shall be applied to all
fugitives from and those who failed to perform or avoided performing
military service who gave themselves up within two weeks of the entry into
force of this Decree if inside Iraq, and within a month if outside Iraq.
3. All those sentenced to have the auricles of their ears amputated shall
be pardoned this punishment.
Ninth: Anyone pardoned under the terms of this Decree who subsequently
commits a similar crime or deliberate misdemeanour shall receive the
punishment from which he had been pardoned.
Tenth: Those covered by the amnesty contained in this Decree shall be
prisoners convicted of the following crimes:
1. Drug-dealing;
2. Spying;
3. Murder connected with apostasy;
4. Embezzlement and theft of State funds;
5. Attacks on officials or those carrying out public duties in the course
of their duties or because of them;
6. Bribery;
7. Kidnapping;
8. Homosexuality;
9. Illicit sexual relations.
Eleventh: The President of the Presidential Council shall issue the
instructions necessary to facilitate the implementation of the provisions
of this Decree.
Twelfth: This Decree shall come into force from the date of its
promulgation.
Saddam HUSSEIN
Chairman of the
Revolution Command Council
APPENDIX II
Decree of the Revolution Command Council granting amnesty
to Iraqis inside or outside Iraq who have been convicted
of political crimes
IN THE NAME OF GOD,
THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL
Republic of Iraq
Revolution Command Council
Decree No. 64
Mission Date: 30 July A.D. 1995
Drawing inspiration from the enlightened, humanitarian and patriotic
statements made by His Excellency President Saddam Hussein in his historic
speech of 17 July this year; believing that every zealous citizen is a
fighter in the July Revolution when he is motivated by patriotism to carry
out his duty to oppose backwardness and its causes and to take part in
building a great Iraq,
Convinced that even if a citizen has turned away from his patriotic
commitment, having been too weak to bear the burden or to resist unlawful
and illusory temptation, he is capable of resuming his responsibility for
the nation's honour and the national struggle, with will and reliance on
God,
Intent on preserving the role of the revolution to help those who need
help in appreciating the true meaning of the revolution without resorting
to invention, and to rehabilitate those who have stumbled from the true
path, so they may be a vital part of their people,
Confirming that this opportunity is now available to all those who have
erred and that those who are sincere and renounce their past will be
welcomed back, so they may continue on their original revolutionary path,
in the spirit of salvation, noble patriotism, strength and virtue which our
nation requires from its true sons,
Pursuant to the provisions of article 2, paragraph (a), of the
Constitution, the Revolution Command Council has decreed as follows:
I. A general amnesty is granted to Iraqis inside or outside Iraq who have
been found guilty of political crimes.
II. A complete halt shall be put to legal procedures taken against Iraqis
inside or outside Iraq who have been found guilty of political crimes.
III. No legal steps shall be taken against Iraqis inside or outside Iraq
who have committed political offences or crimes, before the implementation
of this Decree. No action may be brought against them on account of these
offences or crimes.
IV. Those to whom articles I or II of this Decree apply shall be released
from custody, providing that they have not been convicted of or detained on
account of other matters.
V. Not included in articles I, II and III of this Decree are persons who
have committed the following crimes even though these are related to the
crimes referred to in those articles:
1. Espionage.
2. Premeditated murder.
3. Embezzlement of State funds.
4. Rape.
VI. Those to whom this amnesty applies shall have restored any property
which has been seized from them.
VII. Those to whom articles I, II and III of this Decree apply must return
to Iraq within two months of its entry into force, if they are outside the
country, or must report to the appropriate authorities within one month of
the date of its entry into force, if they are inside Iraq.
VIII. This Decree shall enter into force from the date of its promulgation.
Saddam HUSSEIN
Chairman of the Revolution
Command Council
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