The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights
PRESS
RELEASE
Egyptian human rights organizations welcome diplomatic solution of the Iraqi crisis and condemn US practices |
Cairo, 17 November 1998
Egyptian human rights organizations welcome diplomatic solution of the Iraqi crisis and condemn us practices The Egyptian human rights organizations issuing this statement express their relief at the ease of tensions in the Iraqi crisis, particularly as it represents the triumph of diplomacy over the American military threats which endanger peace and security in the whole region. They also welcome strongly the expressed will of the UN Security Council to thoroughly revise the sanctions imposed on Iraq eight years ago, and its decision to support the full and active application of a humanitarian aid program in Iraq. Based on these positive developments, the signing human rights organizations believe that the triumph of diplomacy provides a suitable opportunity for regaining respect for the principles of international legitimacy and activating the role of the United Nations and the Security Council to reach a comprehensive and final solution to the Iraqi crisis. Meanwhile, the organizations view the American and British statements about a possible overthrow of the Iraqi regime, and the threat that, if the crisis re-emerges in the future, the United Sates will strike Iraq without prior notice, reflect the obstinacy of the American stance towards Iraq, its disregard of the lives of the Iraqi people, the insistence on destroying Iraq's capabilities, and a deliberate transgression of the principles of international legitimacy. The signing organizations affirm their complete condemnation of the attempts by the American Administration to use 'international legitimacy' to support their policy of 'double standards', a policy which has become the main characteristic of their foreign policy. The organizations warn against the consequences of the US insistence on violating the principle of state sovereignty by using or threatening to use military force and imposing collective punishments on peoples in the name of 'international legitimacy'. They also warn that the continuation of its selective policy will lead to the erosion of the principle of international legitimacy. The signing organizations call on the Security Council to revoke the Iraqi sanctions in the near future in order to uphold the right to life of the Iraqi people. They also call on international human rights organizations everywhere to promote the resolution of crises by peaceful means, defend the right to life of the Iraqi people, work towards ending American plans to strike Iraq, and advocate the setting of legal restrictions to prevent the use of human principles in the interest of powerful states. The signing organizations also call on the Arab League, and Arab governments, to announce their firm rejection of any future attempts to attack Iraq, and to announce their full solidarity with the Iraqi people in the face of the American threats. Egyptian human rights organizations also call on Arab civil society institutions to seek all peaceful means to express their solidarity with the Iraqi people in the face of the American threats, which continue in spite of the latest diplomatic solution. Signing organizations: Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) Group for Democratic Development (GDD) Center for Human Rights Legal Aid (CHRLA) Human Rights Center for the Assistance of Prisoners (HRCAP) Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) Arab Program for Human Rights Activists (APA)
