UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan met Tuesday at UN Headquarters in New York with US National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice:

The Secretary-General repeated his public call on all parties involved in the war to meet their obligations towards civilians under international humanitarian law. He stressed that the United Nations was prepared to do all it could to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people. However, the UN would have limited capacity to do so until security conditions allowed for the safe return of staff to affected areas. Until then, humanitarian assistance would have to be provided by the United States and its coalition partners in those areas under their control, consistent with their overall responsibility under international law.

Dr. Rice described the United States' present thinking as regards the post-war period. The Secretary-General said that any United Nations role beyond the provision of humanitarian assistance would have to be decided by the Member States through a Security Council resolution. He emphasised the need to maintain the territorial integrity of Iraq and the right of its people to determine their political future and exercise control over their natural resources.

Read the full text of the statement from the Office of the UN Secretary-General.

The Office of the UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator for Iraq released this overall report on the Iraq humanitarian situation late Tuesday:

UN national staff, the ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross] and NGOs continue assistance activities inside Iraq. In Baghdad, MSF [Medicins san frontieres] staff are providing medical support at the Al-Kindi Hospital. In Basrah, problems with the availability and quality of water continue due to damage to the generators that power the system. Approximately 40% of the population is without water while the quality of the water being provided has deteriorated due to insufficient power to process the water. The ICRC is continuing to make repairs but it is not clear when the water system will again be functional. WHO [World Health Organization] reports that due to the water quality there is increased risk of outbreaks of diarrhea and other water-borne diseases.

The Coalition reports that military civil affairs teams are conducting assessments in Umm Qasr today. There are plans underway to bring in humanitarian assistance consisting of Humanitarian Daily Rations (HDRs) and non-food items. The [US AID] DART team assessment is planned for Wednesday, 26 March but remains to be confirmed.

In the north, UNOPS' [UN Office of Project Services] assessment indicates that there are some 300,000 IDPs [Internally Displaced Persons] who are largely staying with relatives. Regular contacts with UN staff indicate that a coordinated response is underway to meet IDP needs. Remaining food stocks in warehouses are being distributed. Pressure on the UN from the Governor of Sulaymaniyah to commandeer appears to have abated for the moment however there are reports that NGO vehicles have been commandeered.

According to IOM [International Organization for Migration], 16 vehicles (taxis and buses) carrying Syrians home were bombarded in Iraq near Rotba. Three persons were reported killed and 16 wounded. They were transported to Syria and treated at a clinic near An Tanf crossing. This incident underlines the need to be informed about the Coalition Rules of Engagement both for the protection of Iraqis as well as for the safety of UN and other humanitarian workers.

Read the full UNOHCI report.

More from Tuesday's DoD press conference with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld:

what we expect from the Iraqi regime is to treat any prisoners of war in accordance with the Geneva Convention. And part of that is that the International Red Cross ought to have access to them. In fact, we are doing that with the enemy prisoners of war we have, that are nearing numbers now close to 4,000. We will ensure, I think, maybe even today or tomorrow, we'll have International Red Cross in there looking at the condition of the Iraqi prisoners of war we have. We expect the same thing.

Review the complete text of today's Pentagon briefing.

Speaking Tuesday at a Pentagon briefing, US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld called deceptions by Iraqi soldiers purporting to surrender and then firing on American forces "serious violations of the law of war." "The [Iraqi] regime has committed acts of treachery on the battlefield," he said, "dressing their forces as liberated civilians, and sending soldiers out waving white flags and feigning surrender, with the goal of drawing coalition forces into the ambushes; using Red Cross vehicles to courier military instructions."

Such practices are formally prohibited by Article 37 of the 1977 Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions:

1. It is prohibited to kill, injure or capture an adversary by resort to perfidy. Acts inviting the confidence of an adversary to lead him to believe that he is entitled to, or is obliged to accord, protection under the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict, with intent to betray that confidence, shall constitute perfidy. The following acts are examples of perfidy:

(a) the feigning of an intent to negotiate under a flag of truce or of a surrender;
(b) the feigning of an incapacitation by wounds or sickness;
(c) the feigning of civilian, non-combatant status; and
(d) the feigning of protected status by the use of signs, emblems or uniforms of the United Nations or of neutral or other States not Parties to the conflict.

2. Ruses of war are not prohibited. Such ruses are acts which are intended to mislead an adversary or to induce him to act recklessly but which infringe no rule of international law applicable in armed conflict and which are not perfidious because they do not invite the confidence of an adversary with respect to protection under that law. The following are examples of such ruses: the use of camouflage, decoys, mock operations and misinformation.

Commentary on this Article is also available. Learn more about perfidy from the Crimes of War project.

Press reports are saying that UN Security Council President Mamady Traore of Guinea, acting at the request of the Arab League and the Non-Aligned Movement, has called an open Security Council meeting on the Iraq war for 3 PM ET Wednesday.

UPDATE [4:31 PM ET]: More details on Wednesday's scheduled Security Council meeting are now available direct from the United Nations.

In a speech to the Malaysian Parliament, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has condemned the US-led war on Iraq as a breach of international law and a violation of the UN charter:

The UN and international law are meaningless now. We have reverted to the Stone Age where might is right. It is thinkable now that the superpowers would violate sovereign nations at their whims and fancies simply because a country is perceived to be undemocratic, disrespectful of human rights, disregards religious freedom — justifying intervention and a regime change by way of exiling and assassinating an undesirable leader. This is what is left after international law and the UN have been destroyed. The rule of law no longer exists because the very people who coined this term are themselves the violators. If there is any action that is destructive and violates all principles meant to bring about a peaceful world which is free from oppression, then this is the biggest violation of all by a superpower-cum-nuclear power.

Read the full text of the Malaysian Prime Minister's speech, together with the motion he presented to the Parliament.

A report released Tuesday by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group on potential political structures for post-Saddam Iraq rejects the alternatives of direct US authority and interim Iraqi authority in favor of a UN interim administration:

[W]ho should run Iraq once hostilities have ceased? The first option, assumption of full authority by the United States, has been roundly criticised by members both of the Iraqi opposition and of the international community. Even many U.S. policy-makers acknowledge that it risks alienating Iraqis, exposing Washington to accusations that it nurtures imperial designs and further undermining its posture in the region. An alternative proposal, based on the rapid establishment of an interim Iraqi authority to which the U.S. would transfer power and with which it would jointly govern, has received more support, as necessary for domestic legitimacy. This interim authority would give way to a permanent Iraqi authority once political conditions (e.g., agreement on a constitution, national elections) permit. But this proposal, too, is flawed. The fundamental problem is that no pre-identifiable, optimal Iraqi candidates exist whom either the United States or the international community can handpick to run an interim authority. Socio-political dynamics in Iraq are complex and too little is known of the actual preferences or aspirations of those inside the country....

The best road for Iraq and for the international community, therefore, is to set up a United Nations transitional civil authority with full executive and legislative powers to run the country until a legitimate, democratic, permanent Iraqi authority can be established. This authority would not have security responsibilities, relying instead on a U.S.-led multinational force (MNF) presence throughout Iraq, which itself would optimally, though not necessarily, be endorsed by the Security Council.

Read the complete text of War in Iraq: Political Challenges after the Conflict[PDF].

Tuesday's UN humanitarian briefing from Amman, Jordan, on the situation in Iraq is now available online. In a related development, UNICEF issued a statement Tuesday saying it was "deeply troubled" over deteriorating conditions for Iraqi children, especially in the city of Basra, and urged the warring parties to abide by their humanitarian obligations under international law. Tuesday's briefing notes from UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency monitoring refugee movements in and outside of Iraq, are also available.

Tuesday's field reports from the International Committee of the Red Cross on the humanitarian situation in Iraq are now available online:

In general:

- Contacts are continuing with both sides concerning access to prisoners of war (POWs).

Baghdad

- The ICRC doctor has checked on the situation in several hospitals, which report 60 wounded, including seven seriously injured children, and eight deaths following last night's attacks.... Water and power supplies are working.

Baghdad (From yesterday, 24 March)

- The ICRC doctor visited Al-Yarmouk general teaching hospital and Al-Kindi general hospital. According to authorities at the former, 50 wounded people were admitted during the night from 23 to 24 March and in the morning of 24 March. They also speak of six persons having being killed. The ICRC delivered 120 blankets to the hospitals. No specific information is available from Al-Kindi except that 35 people had been admitted. Since 23 March, the Iraqi Red Crescent Society has set up 14 first-aid posts throughout the city. They are manned round the clock by two volunteers with first-aid equipment. Efforts to prepare hospitals and health centres for a possible cut in the water supply are continuing....

Basra

- ICRC technicians have reached the Wafa-Al-Quaid water plant north of Basra that provides most of the city's water. The ICRC hopes that as soon as possible, preferably today, it will be able to carry out the necessary repairs to ensure that the plant can produce water again. However, for the network to become operational there needs to be sufficient pressure in the system, and this can take a while. Most of Basra has been without water since Friday, 21 March, because of a power cut. On Saturday the ICRC and local technicians found a temporary solution to restore water to about 30-40% of the city. The water provided is drinkable but not of very high quality. However, media reports indicate that many citizens have had to start taking water directly from rivers. The ICRC therefore remains concerned about a possible public health crisis. The back-up generators only offer a temporary solution. During the next few days, the ICRC hopes to be able to facilitate access for local technicians who may be able to assess the damage to high-power voltage lines and repair it.

Read the full text of the ICRC reports.

President Bush Tuesday asked Congress to authorize a supplemental budget of $74.7 billion - almost 1% of the Gross Domestic Product - to pay for the war in Iraq and other military commitments ($62.6 billion), to provide humanitarian assistance for Iraqis ($2.4 billion), and to strengthen homeland defenses in the war on terror ($4.25 billion, including new allocations for the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security under Operation Liberty Shield ). More information is available from the White House.

Breaking news from DC Supreme Court litigators Goldstein & Howe - the US Supreme Court issued two decisions shortly after 10 AM ET this morning [links to Opinions courtesy Cornell's Legal Information Institute]:

In Woodford v. Garceau, No. 01-1862, the Court reversed. Justice Thomas wrote the opinion, which was joined by the Chief, and Justices Stevens, Scalia, and Kennedy. Justice O'Connor concurred in the judgment. Justice Souter dissented, joined by Justices Ginsburg and Breyer. In City of Cuyahoga Falls v. Buckeye Community Hope, No. 01-1269, the Court reversed in part and remanded. Justice O'Connor wrote for a unanimous court. Justice Scalia wrote a concurring opinion joined by Justice Thomas.

More details to follow.

In a statement released in New York Tuesday, President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Prince Zeid Raad Al Hussein of Jordan, announced that the States Parties had informally agreed to nominate and elect Luis Moreno Ocampo, of Argentina, as the first prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. Formal election will be at the next meeting of the ICC Assembly, scheduled for April 21-24 in New York.

On Tuesday the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs released, via ReliefWeb, the texts of two recent letters from the United States and Iraq to the UN Security Council.

On March 20, US ambassador to the UN John Negroponte officially informed the President of the Security Council of the outbreak of war in these terms:

Coalition forces have commenced military operations in Iraq. These operations are necessary in view of Iraq's continued material breaches of its disarmament obligations under relevant Security Council resolutions, including resolution 1441 (2002). The operations are substantial and will secure compliance with those obligations. In carrying out these operations, our forces will take all reasonable precautions to avoid civilian casualties.

The actions being taken are authorized under existing Council resolutions, including its resolutions 678 (1990) and 687 (1991). Resolution 687 (1991) imposed a series of obligations on Iraq, including, most importantly, extensive disarmament obligations, that were conditions of the ceasefire established under it. It has been long recognized and understood that a material breach of these obligations removes the basis of the ceasefire and revives the authority to use force under resolution 678 (1990). This has been the basis for coalition use of force in the past and has been accepted by the Council, as evidenced, for example, by the Secretary-General's public announcement in January 1993 following Iraq's material breach of resolution 687 (1991) that coalition forces had received a mandate from the Council to use force according to resolution 678 (1990).

Iraq continues to be in material breach of its disarmament obligations under resolution 687 (1991), as the Council affirmed in its resolution 1441 (2002). Acting under the authority of Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, the Council unanimously decided that Iraq has been and remained in material breach of its obligations and recalled its repeated warnings to Iraq that it will face serious consequences as a result of its continued violations of its obligations. The resolution then provided Iraq a "final opportunity" to comply, but stated specifically that violations by Iraq of its obligations under resolution 1441 (2002) to present a currently accurate, full and complete declaration of all aspects of its weapons of mass destruction programmes and to comply with and cooperate fully in the implementation of the resolution would constitute a further material breach.

The Government of Iraq decided not to avail itself of its final opportunity under resolution 1441 (2002) and has clearly committed additional violations. In view of Iraq's material breaches, the basis for the ceasefire has been removed and use of force is authorized under resolution 678 (1990).

Iraq repeatedly has refused, over a protracted period of time, to respond to diplomatic overtures, economic sanctions and other peaceful means, designed to help bring about Iraqi compliance with its obligations to disarm and to permit full inspection of its weapons of mass destruction and related programmes. The actions that coalition forces are undertaking are an appropriate response. They are necessary steps to defend the United States and the international community from the threat posed by Iraq and to restore international peace and security in the area. Further delay would simply allow Iraq to continue its unlawful and threatening conduct.

It is the Government of Iraq that bears full responsibility for the serious consequences of its defiance of the Council's decisions.

On March 21, Iraq's UN Ambassador Mohammed Aldouri transmitted to the Security Council a letter from Iraqi Vice-President Taha Yasin Ramadan accusing the UN of yielding to US-UK pressure in withdrawing UN personnel from Iraq, and rejecting proposed changes to the UN Oil-for-Food program:

Sixteen March 2003 was a memorable day in the history of the United Nations Security Council, for on that day the overwhelming majority of the members of the Security Council, supported by the entire international community, declared that they would not permit the adoption of the aggressive American-British war draft in the Security Council. Thus the United States met with a resounding failure in its attempt to obtain international cover for the aggression it was plotting against Iraq and the region.

To offset its ignominious defeat, the United States exerted pressure on the United Nations Secretariat to implement some of the pages of its evil and hostile imperialist war plan. Most unfortunately it succeeded in that effort, inasmuch as on 17 March 2003 the Secretariat decided to withdraw all international staff working in Iraq, in a disgraceful shirking of the responsibilities of the United Nations in four of its most important areas of work, namely disarmament, peacekeeping, humanitarian work and development. Indeed, the withdrawal of the United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM) has enabled the United States of America and the United Kingdom to use the demilitarized zone between Iraq and Kuwait as a corridor for their shock troops. The withdrawal of the staff of the oil-for-food programme has put an end to the supplying of the basic humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people. The withdrawal of the staff of the United Nations specialized agencies has terminated the activities of those health and development agencies in Iraq. The withdrawal of the inspectors of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) brought to a standstill the work of those two organizations, which is fundamental not only for verifying completely that Iraq is free of weapons of mass destruction but also for satisfying the remaining requirements of the Security Council resolutions connected with the completion of the inspection operations, above all the lifting of the unjust sanctions imposed on Iraq.

It is clear to the international community that the withdrawal of United Nations staff was done by the Secretariat in compliance with the hostile American-British scheme, which is in violation of international law, international humanitarian law, the Charter of the United Nations and the Security Council resolutions on Iraq and devoid of any legal or moral justification. It was also done in violation of the mechanisms in place and without the approval of the Security Council, which had created all those activities.

Read the full text of Iraq's letter to the President of the Security Council.

In what can only be described as a timely development, the UN Security Council has launched a new website, the front page of which features a photo from a recent ministerial-level meeting on Iraq.

According to a story in the Australian press Tuesday, former Australian Human Rights Commissioner Chris Sidoti is urging Australian troops in Iraq not to hand-over prisoners of war to the United States unless they are certain their human rights will be protected:

When we know for a fact that American forces in Pakistan and Afghanistan routinely hand over captives to other forces who are habitual torturers with lists of questions that the Americans want answered, we can have the gravest doubts about how they will treat prisoners of war captured in Iraq.

Read more from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

In an interview with BBC Radio, Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri has said that in dealing with Coalition prisoners of war Iraq will be guided by the principles of Islam as well as the Geneva Conventions:

First of all, we are committed to the teachings of Islam. We are faithful Muslims. We take care of our prisoners of war in accordance with our teachings of Islam.... We are committed first of all to the teachings of Islam and second we are committed to the conventions of Geneva in dealing with the prisoners of war. We are the people who created law when the grandfathers of Mr Blair and Mr Bush were living like animals in the caves, Iraqis created the law and were dealing with physics, arithmetic, literature and music.

Read more about the interview from the UK Press Association.

In Tuesday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Steve Levin notes that international law is often a casualty in wartime. University of Pittsburgh professor Jules Lobel is featured.... In the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Stephen Koff wonders whether the US violated the Geneva Conventions by photographing its blindfolded, shackled prisoners of the war on terror, now detained at Guantanamo Bay and by permitting TV footage of American Taliban John Walker Lindh when he was captured in Afghanistan.... The UK's Guardian also asks What about Guantanamo Bay? In the Legal Times, Jeanne Greene reports that the White House decision on pre-emptive action in Iraq may set a dangerous legal precedent.... In the Texas Lawyer, Brenda Sappino-Jeffries says that if the UN decides to entertain damage claims from new hostilities in Iraq, it may mean more claims for the United Nations Compensation Commission.... In the UK's Independent Tuesday, Robert Verkaik recalls that Britain and America faced legal challenges over their part in the conflict in Kosovo, and asks whether they will find themselves back in the courts over Iraq.... Writing in the Financial Times, Joshua Greene says that if Saddam Hussein is captured and put on trial, he must be given a proper hearing.

Santa Clara University School of Law has announced that Donald J. Polden, dean and professor of law at the University of Memphis School of Law has been named the new dean at Santa Clara, succeeding Mack Player on July 1.... Tuesday's Indiana Digital Student reports that Interim Dean Lauren Robel of Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington will be that law school's next dean, subject to approval by the University Board of Trustees at its next meeting. She succeeds Fred Aman.

A British bill abolishing the slave trade became law on March 25, 1807. Learn more about slavery and the slave trade in Britain.