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Home / Press Releases / Human Rights and Humanitarian Organizations and Experts Call for an End to Trump’s Threats of War Crimes and Commit to Pursuing Accountability

Human Rights and Humanitarian Organizations and Experts Call for an End to Trump’s Threats of War Crimes and Commit to Pursuing Accountability

Global Free ExpressionU.S. Free Expression

More than 200 groups today, including PEN America, issued a joint statement following remarks by President Donald Trump warning that “a whole civilization will die tonight.” PEN America unequivocally condemns these threats to destroy an entire people, and calls for adherence to international human rights and humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians and cultural heritage. The full statement is below:

Human Rights and Humanitarian Organizations and Experts Call for an End to Trump’s Threats of War Crimes and Commit to Pursuing Accountability

Human rights and humanitarian organizations and experts are deeply alarmed by President Trump’s threat regarding Iran that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if his demands are not met. Such language describes a grave atrocity if carried out. A threat to wipe out “a whole civilization” may amount to a threat of genocide. Genocide is a crime defined by the Genocide Convention and by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as committing one or more of several acts “with intent to destroy in whole or in part a national, racial or religious groups as such.”

The law is clear that civilians must not be targeted, and they must also be protected from indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks. Strikes on civilian infrastructure – including a bridge that has already been hit and threats to destroy power plants – would have devastating consequences for the civilian population.

We urge all parties to respect international law. Those responsible for atrocities, including crimes against humanity and war crimes, can and must be held accountable.

The undersigned remind those engaged in military operations of their obligation to refuse any unlawful order. We further commit to support legal accountability for anyone who orders, carries out or is otherwise complicit in these abhorrent threats by President Trump.

Organizations

  1. Amnesty International USA
  2. Human Rights Watch
  3. Oxfam America
  4. Refugees International
  5. 99 Coalition
  6. Action Center on Race and the Economy
  7. Al Otro Lado
  8. Aldea – the People’s Justice Center
  9. American Atheists
  10. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
  11. American Committee for Middle East Rights (ACMER)
  12. American Friends Service Committee
  13. American Muslims for Palestine
  14. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)
  15. Americans for Justice in Palestine Action (AJP Action)
  16. ANAR
  17. Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
  18. ATHENA Network
  19. Back from the Brink: Bringing Communities Together to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
  20. Baltimore, MD Phil Berrigan Memorial Chapter Veterans For Peace
  21. Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
  22. Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC)
  23. Center for Gender & Refugee Studies
  24. Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law
  25. Center for International Environmental Law
  26. Center for International Policy
  27. Center for Victims of Torture
  28. Center on Conscience and War
  29. Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility
  30. Christians for a Free Palestine (CFP)
  31. Church World Service
  32. Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)
  33. Common Defense
  34. Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Region
  35. Council for a Livable World
  36. Council for Global Equality
  37. Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
  38. cylindr
  39. DAWN
  40. DAYLIGHT | Rule of Law, Access to Justice, Advocacy
  41. Defending Rights & Dissent
  42. Demand Progress
  43. Emerald Pademelon Press LLC
  44. Femena
  45. Feminism Makes Us Smarter LLC
  46. Foreign Policy for America
  47. Foundation for Middle East Peace
  48. Friends Committee on National Legislation
  49. Fund for Global Human Rights
  50. Georgetown Center for Asian Law
  51. Girls for Gender Equity
  52. Grassroots Global Justice Alliance
  53. Haitian Bridge Alliance
  54. HALT Solitary Campaign
  55. Help Me Leave
  56. Human Rights Activists (in Iran) HRA
  57. Human Rights First
  58. Humanity United
  59. IfNotNow Movement
  60. IMEU Policy Project
  61. Impact Coalition on Strengthening International Judicial Institutions
  62. Institute for Policy Studies, New Internationalism Project
  63. Institute for Policy Studies, National Priorities Project
  64. Interconnected Justice
  65. International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR)
  66. International Mayan League / Liga Maya Internacional
  67. Just Detention International
  68. KNR Sisters
  69. Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA)
  70. Latin America Working Group
  71. Lawyers for Good Government
  72. Legal Empowerment Portal
  73. Leitner Center for International Law and Justice at Fordham Law School
  74. Loretto Link
  75. MADRE
  76. Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
  77. Miaan Group
  78. Migrant Roots Media
  79. Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild
  80. MPower Change Action Fund
  81. Muslim Advocates
  82. NAACP
  83. National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
  84. National Iranian American Council Action
  85. National Partnership for New Americans
  86. NBJC
  87. Oasis Legal Services
  88. Ohio Immigrant Alliance
  89. Open Society Foundations
  90. P Street
  91. Peace Action
  92. Peace Action, New York State
  93. Peace, Justice, Sustainability NOW!
  94. PEN America
  95. Physicians for Human Rights
  96. Physicians for Social Responsibility
  97. Ploughshares
  98. Presbyterian Church (USA), Office of Public Witness
  99. Presbyterian Peace Fellowship
  100. Project On Government Oversight
  101. Public Citizen
  102. Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft
  103. Quixote Center
  104. Refugee Council USA
  105. Reparations Pledge
  106. Reparations4Slavery
  107. ReThinking Foreign Policy
  108. Rising Majority
  109. Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center
  110. RootsAction
  111. Saferworld
  112. Savie ASBL NGO LGBTQ DRC
  113. September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
  114. Signal Research and Resilience Initiative Sierra Leone RSquare
  115. Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
  116. Stanley Center for Peace and Security
  117. Susquehanna Valley Presbytery’s Justice in Mission & Ministry Team
  118. Texas Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry
  119. The Alliance for Diplomacy and Justice
  120. The Reckoning Project
  121. The Sentry
  122. The United Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society
  123. The Workers Circle
  124. Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment (CAREs)
  125. Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC)
  126. United for Iran
  127. Unlock the Box: The National Campaign to End Solitary Confinement
  128. War Prevention Initiative
  129. We Are All America (WAAA)
  130. Welcoming America
  131. Western States Legal Foundation
  132. Win Without War
  133. Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML)
  134. Women’s Foundation California
  135. Women’s March
  136. World BEYOND War
  137. Woven Foundation

Individuals

  1. Afshin Samali, University of Galway
  2. Alexandra Toma, Peace and Security Funders Group
  3. Ambassador (Ret.) Alexander F. Watson
  4. Ambassador (Ret.) Deborah Malac, Former Ambassador, Career Foreign Service Officer, Department of State
  5. Anne C. Richard, Former Assistant Secretary of State, 2012-2017
  6. Anne Peniston, Retired from USAID
  7. Annie Pforzheimer, City University of New York
  8. Anthony Tirado Chase, Occidental College
  9. Arsalan Suleman, Former Acting U.S. Special Envoy to the OIC
  10. Aryeh Neier, Open Society Foundations
  11. Aurelia Brazeal, U.S. Department of State (retired)
  12. Bama Athreya, Former US diplomat; current Executive Director, ICRW Americas
  13. Begona Sangrador-Vegas, University of Galway
  14. Bill Galvin, Presbyterian Peace Fellowship; Center on Conscience & War
  15. Brian Peniston, ACLU member
  16. Bruce Gillette, Susquehanna Valley Presbytery’s Justice in Mission & Ministry Team
  17. Charles O. (Cob) Blaha, DAWN Senior Advisor, retired Foreign Service Officer
  18. Christine Kraemer, Trinity Church of Austin
  19. Corbin B. Lyday, Senior Policy Analyst (retired), US Agency for International Development
  20. Daniel Cole, Quaker, Center on Conscience and War board member
  21. Daryl G. Kimball, Arms Control Association
  22. David Dyssegaard Kallick, Immigration Research Initiative
  23. Elham Youssefian, Disability rights and human rights advocate
  24. Elisa Massimino, Visiting Professor of Law, Executive Director, Human Rights Institute, Georgetown Law
  25. Eric P. Schwartz, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota
  26. Fleurian Filkins, Head of Advocacy at Help Me Leave
  27. Gabriele Köhler, Wecf
  28. Geeta Rao Gupta, Arch Collaborative
  29. Gerald Feierstein, Former U.S. Ambassador to Yemen
  30. Ghazal MIYAR, Sciences Po Paris
  31. Grove Harris, Temple of Understanding
  32. Hadar Harris, Rights and Justice Consulting
  33. Heather Davison, Western States Legal Foundation
  34. Heather Hogan, Former State Department Official
  35. Jane Kinninmont, United Nations Association – UK
  36. Janet Drew, AFSC
  37. Jeff Abramson, Senior non-resident fellow, Center for International Policy
  38. Jennifer Trahan, NYU Center for Global Affairs
  39. Jessica John, Former CIA Leadership Analyst
  40. Jon Temin, Former State Department Official
  41. Jonah Blank, Former Policy Director/South & Southeast Asia, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
  42. Kavita N Ramdas, KNR Sisters
  43. Kenneth Roth, Visiting professor, Princeton School of Public and International Affairs; former executive director, Human Rights Watch
  44. Leslie Rowe, Ambassador (ret.)
  45. Mani Mostofi, Executive Director of the Miaan Group
  46. Mardi Veiluva, Board member, Western States Legal Foundation, Oakland, CA
  47. Nancy McEldowney, Former National Security Adviser to the Vice President
  48. Niloufar Omidi, Human rights lawyer
  49. Pamela L. Spratlen, Assn. of Black American Ambassadors (ABAA)
  50. Rebecca A. Shoot, Co-Convener, ImPact Coalition on Strengthening International Judicial Institutions; Washington Working Group for the ICC
  51. Roman Avramenko, The Reckoning Project
  52. Salim Ishmail Kondoh, Stop the War
  53. Saqib Bhatti, Action Center on Race and the Economy
  54. Saskia Brechenmacher, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
  55. Sekar Jasmine Noegroho, Columbia University
  56. Shahed Ghoreishi, Former State Department Official
  57. Shannon Kowalski, Independent Expert on Gender Equality and Human Rights
  58. Shannon Raj Singh, Athena Tech & Atrocities Advisory
  59. Sister Mary Ann McGivern, Sister of Loretto
  60. Skylar Thompson, Deputy Director, Human Rights Activists (in Iran)
  61. Soheila Comninos, SC Consulting
  62. Susan Waltz, Professor emeritus, University of Michigan
  63. Susana T Fried, Just Futures Collaborative
  64. Terry Kay Rockefeller, September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
  65. Varina Winder, Former State Department Official
  66. Yasmine Taeb, Human Rights Lawyer and Progressive Strategist
See signatories