The Iraqi government has filmed American POWs and interrogated them before cameras. The U.S. government has taken insufficient measures to prevent journalists embedded with U.S. forces from filming Iraqi POWs held by the United States. U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has appropriately criticized the Iraqi filming of American POWs. However, he has said nothing to date about the filming of Iraqi POWs by media operating alongside U.S. forces. This is not the first time that Secretary Rumsfeld has been unresponsive to concerns that the United States may be acting in violation of the Geneva Conventions. Human Rights Watch and others have previously criticized the U.S. government for aspects of its treatment of captured persons during the war in Afghanistan, particularly the failure to properly determine the legal status of those held, and “stress and duress” techniques that might amount to torture under international law.

The US has an immediate and long-term interest in upholding international conventions that establish universal rules of war and regulate the treatment of POWs. At the time of the Guantanamo captures, CCR argued that our own soldiers live with the threat of capture and that they, like all other combatants, deserve the protection of the Geneva Conventions. It is impossible to know whether US violations of the Conventions led to Iraqi non-compliance, but US compliance would have certainly made its current complaints more credible and less hypocritical. Selective compliance with the law by the U.S. leads to selective compliance by others.

During the high-level segment opening this 59th session of the Commission, several speakers, including yourself, focused on the possible human rights consequences of the war in Iraq. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has also called on all parties to the conflict to respect fully international human rights and humanitarian law. The current war may have devastating consequences for the civilian population of Iraq: civilians may suffer as a result of indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks by US and allied forces; Iraqi military forces may commit abuses or use civilians as human shields; local armed groups opposed to the Iraqi government may commit revenge killings and other abuses; hundreds of thousands of people may be displaced from their homes and prevented from seeking refuge in neighboring countries; the destruction of infrastructure and disruption to basic services may threaten public health and safety. Human Rights Watch believes the Commission should not wait until human rights abuses occur, but convene a special sitting now to anticipate these concerns and take effective preventative action.

The Foreign Office has today decided that the Head of the Iraqi Interests Section in the Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is persona non grata and the Administrative Attache of the Iraqi Interests Section is not acceptable as a member of the Embassy. The Ambassador of Jordan has been informed of this decision and asked to arrange for the departure of the two Iraqi diplomats within five working days.

Notes for Editors

1. This decision has been taken in accordance with Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

2. Text of Article 9:

A. The receiving State may, at any time and without having to explain its decision, notifiy the sending State that the head of the mission or any member of the diplomatic staff of the mission is persona non grata or that any other member of the staff of the mission is not acceptable. In any such case, the sending State shall, as appropriate, either recall the person concerned or terminate his functions with the mission…

B. If the sending State refuses or fails within a reasonable period to carry out its obligations under paragraph 1 of this Article, the receiving State, may refuse to recognise the person concerned as a member of the mission.

The ICRC has established contacts with a view to gaining access to prisoners of war (POWs). There has been a lot of interest in the issue of POWs being shown on Iraqi television: it should be noted that Iraqi POWs had already been shown on various TV channels on 22 March. The ICRC draws attention to the relevant passage of Article 13 of the Third Geneva Convention: "...prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity." It is important to point out that: a) the dignity of POWs should be protected and b) account should be taken of the impact these images could have on their families. Other important issues concerning POWs – especially their security and access to medical care – also have to be considered. The ICRC's current priority is that POWs be protected and kept in a safe place.

Situation described as tense and difficult. The ICRC has no current figures on casualties. The total electricity blackout caused by the destruction of high-voltage cables in the hostilities continues. Following a temporary total breakdown, 40% of the population now have access to water thanks to emergency measures taken on 22 March by the ICRC and local engineers. However, this water is not of sufficiently good quality to be used in the long term.

1. Care shall be taken in warfare to protect the natural environment against widespread, long-term and severe damage. This protection includes a prohibition of the use of methods or means of warfare which are intended or may be expected to cause such damage to the natural environment and thereby to prejudice the health or survival of the population.
2. Attacks against the natural environment by way of reprisals are prohibited.

"We know about the conditions the soldiers of the anti-Iraqi coalition taken prisoner are kept in," Putin said at Monday's conference with government members in the Kremlin. "I express the hope that Iraq will follow all international law requirements concerning the treatment of prisoners of war."