Iraq is free at last from, you are not going to believe this, The Guardian! Hat Tip to Harry's Place

by Ann Clwyd MP

Some will continue to argue that internal repression is not a matter of legitimate concern for other countries. I disagree. There are basic human rights that must be defended. The strict adherence to state sovereignty as the defining factor in international law, far from being a guard against acts of aggression, has become a barrier that allows oppression to continue unchecked by the international community. Who would now say that it was correct not to intervene in Rwanda?

For seven years, Indict, the organisation I chaired, collected detailed witness statements on Iraqi war crimes. Our QC, Clare Montgomery, was firmly of the opinion that we could have indicted the leading members of the regime in a European court of law. Indeed, we were advised that short of getting Saddam to sign a confession in his own blood, we had all the evidence we needed.

We tried to get indictments in Norway, Spain, Belgium and the UK. When the then attorney general referred the case against Tariq Aziz to Scotland Yard, I accused him of kicking the issue into the long grass. The indictment was not taken seriously. But Slobodan Milosevic was indicted while head of state by the UN war crimes tribunal. Why did the UN fail to do the same in the case of Iraq? My understanding is that the US and Britain were blocked at the security council by China, Russia and France.


Great article - read the whole thing.