Open Letter from Concerned Genocide Scholars Regarding the Situation in Syria and Iraq

UPDATED: Open Letter from Concerned Genocide Scholars Regarding the Situation in Syria and Iraq  

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To: United Nations Security Council

26 August 2014

As scholars of genocide and human rights, we are gravely concerned with the present situation in northern Iraq and Syria. In fact, crimes against humanity and war crimes have already occurred in both Syria and Iraq, and there are signs that genocide may be imminent or already taking place.
Through the unanimous adoption of resolution 2170 (2014), under the binding Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, the Council condemned in the strongest terms what it called “gross, systematic and widespread abuse” of human rights by the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) and the Al-Nusra Front. While this was an important first step, we firmly believe that much more needs to be done.

We are gravely concerned that genocide and ethnic cleansing are imminent against religious and ethnic minorities, including Christians and the Yezidi. This assessment is based on the ongoing persecution of ethnic and religious groups, the destruction of cultural sites, the desecration of graves, the confiscation of property and the widespread and systematic killing of civilians, as documented by UN observers on the 13th of August 2014, and in reports from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

Moreover, the ideology of ISIS is rooted in profound intolerance and hatred of the “other.” The situation in Syria and Iraq represents both a humanitarian catastrophe and a source of continuing violence and instability.

We ask the UN Security Council to take further action upon these matters, as required under its mandate to ensure international peace and security. All measures must be considered, including the use of military force. All targeted populations must be provided, under a strong Chapter VII mandate, absolute security by a heavily armed and well-resourced force, along with adequate amounts of food and water. If security is impossible to provide where the targeted populations currently reside, then it is imperative for the UN Security Council to open a humanitarian corridor, with a full military escort, to a safe area. Upon the establishment of a safe area, both adequate food and water must be supplied, along with a well-armed and well-resourced force under a Chapter VII mandate.

Furthermore, we wish to reiterate that all UN member states, acting through the United Nations, have “the responsibility to…help protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity,” according to Paragraph 139 of the World Summit Outcome Document (2005), as well as Resolution 1674.

It is our conviction that our failure to act would represent nothing less than willful blindness to an impending genocide. Inaction could result in another catastrophe mirroring the international community’s lax and unconscionable reaction to the 1994 Rwanda crisis. It is time to stand for humanity, to stand for the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter.

Signed,

1. Dr. Avril Alba, University of Sydney, AUSTRALIA

2. Dr. Kjell Anderson, Advisory Board, Sentinel Project for Genocide Prevention, CANADA

3. Dr.Sascha-Dominik Bachmann, Associate Professor of Law, Bournemouth University, UNITED KINGDOM

4. Dr. Peter Balakian, Rebar Professor of the Humanities, Colgate University, UNITED STATES

5. Dr. Saghar Birjandian, Deputy Director, Genocide Prevention Program, George Mason University, UNITED STATES

6. Mr. Matthias Bjørnlund, Lecturer, Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS), DENMARK

7. Dr. Hugh Breakey, Postdoctoral Fellow, Political Philosophy, Key Centre for Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance, Griffith University, AUSTRALIA

8. Dr. Susan C. Breau, Professor and Head of School of Law, University of Reading, UNITED KINGDOM

9. Dr. Christine Byron, Lecturer in Law, Cardiff University, UNITED KINGDOM

10. Dr. Israel W. Charny, Executive Director, Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide, Jerusalem, ISRAEL

11. Mr. Bennett Collins, Researcher, Centre for Global Constitutionalism, University of St Andrews, UNITED KINGDOM

12. Ms. Julissa Contin, Counsellor, Deputy Director of African and Middle Eastern Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

13. Dr. Anne de Jong, Conflict Studies, University of Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS

14. Dr. Joop T de Jong, Professor Transcultural Psychiatry/War Trauma, Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR), University of Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS

15. Dr. Herbert Ekwe-Ekwe, Visiting Professor in Graduate Programme of Constitutional Law, Universidade de Fortaleza, BRAZIL

16. Dr. Elcin Haskollar, Assistant Professor and Director, Global Studies, Defiance College, UNITED STATES

17. Mr. Douglas Irvin-Erickson, School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University, UNITED STATES

18. Dr. Stephen L Egbert, Professor, Department of Geography, Director and Senior Scientist, Kansas Applied Remote Sensing Program, University of Kansas, UNITED STATES

19. Mr. John M. Evans, Former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, UNITED STATES

20. Ms. Amy Fagin, Executive Director, Beyond Genocide, UNITED STATES

21. Dr. Heidi Grunebaum, Centre for Humanities Research, University of the Western Cape, SOUTH AFRICA

22. Mr. Mark Gudgel, Executive Director, The Educators’ Institute for Human Rights, UNITED STATES

23. Dr. Christian Gudehus, Ruhr Universität Bochum, GERMANY

24. Dr. Maureen S. Hiebert, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science; University of Calgary, CANADA

25. Dr. Alexander Hinton, Director of the Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights, Rutgers University, UNITED STATES

26. Mr. Anthonie Holslag, Lecturer in Conflict Studies, University of Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS

27. Dr. Tessa Hofmann, Freie Universität Berlin, Sociologist and Chairwoman of “Working Group Recognition – Against Genocide/For International Understanding,” GERMANY

28. Dr. Karen Hulme, Professor of Law/Director of Education, School of Law, University of Essex, UNITED KINGDOM

29. Mr. Edwin Daniel Jacob, New Media Coordinator at the Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights, Rutgers University, UNITED STATES

30. Dr. Erin Jessee, Lecturer, Scottish Oral History Centre, Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Strathclyde, UNITED KINGDOM

31. Dr. Adam Jones, Professor of Political Science, University of British Columbia, CANADA

32. Dr. Mark D. Kielsgard, Assistant Professor of Law, City University of Hong Kong, CHINA

33. Dr. Anahit Khosroeva, Senior Researcher in the Institute of History, National Academy of Sciences, ARMENIA

34. Dr. Naupess Kibiswa, President, African Center for Peace, Democracy, and Human Rights (ACPD), DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

35. Dr. Regine Uwibereyeho King, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Social Work, University of Manitoba, CANADA

36. Ms. Samantha Lakin, Policy Officer, Aegis Trust, UNITED STATES

37. Dr. Armen T. Marsoobian, Professor of Philosophy and Genocide Studies, Southern Connecticut State University, UNITED STATES

38. Dr. Stephen McLoughlin, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University, CANADA

39. Dr. Adam Muller, Associate Professor, Department of English, Film, and Theatre, University of Manitoba, CANADA

40. Dr. Suren Manukyan, Deputy Director of Armenian Genocide Museum and Institute, ARMENIA

41. Mr. Kyle Matthews, Senior Deputy Director of the Montréal Institute for Genocide Studies, Concordia University, CANADA

42. Dr. Deborah Mayersen, Vice Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Institute for Social Transformation Research, University of Wollongong, AUSTRALIA

43. Dr. Jonathan Leader Maynard, Rank-Manning Junior Research Fellow in Social Sciences, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford, UNITED KINGDOM

44. Dr. Eyal Mayroz, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney, AUSTRALIA

45. Dr. Melanie O’Brien, Researcher, University of Technology Sydney, AUSTRALIA

46. Dr. Tetsushi Ogata, Lecturer in Peace and Conflict Studies, University of California, Berkeley, UNITED STATES

47. Dr. Rubina Peroomian, Research Associate, University of California, Los Angeles, UNITED STATES

48. Tamar Pileggi, Co-Founder, Jerusalem Centre for Genocide Prevention, ISRAEL

49. Dr. Noelle Quenivet, Associate Professor in International Law, University of the West of England, UNITED KINGDOM

50. Dr. Amy E. Randall, Associate Professor History, Santa Clara University, UNITED STATES

51. Dr. Elihu Richter, Associate Professor, Hebrew University, Jerusalem Centre for Genocide Prevention, ISRAEL

52. Ms. Kaziwa Salih, President of Canada Anti-Genocide, CANADA

53. Mr. Ara Sarafian, Historian, Gomidas Institute, UNITED KINGDOM

54. Dr. Paul Slovic, Professor of Psychology, University of Oregon, UNITED STATES

55. Dr. Gregory Stanton, President of Genocide Watch, UNITED STATES

56. Dr. Sammuel Totten, Professor, University of Arkansas, UNITED STATES

57. Mr. Christopher Tuckwood, Executive Director, Sentinel Project for Genocide Prevention, CANADA

58. Dr. Mattijs van de Port, Professor of Cultural Anthropology, University of Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS

59. Mr. Peter van der Velden, Researcher, Komitas Vardapet Foundation, NETHERLANDS

60. Dr. Ernesto Verdeja, Associate Professor of Political Science and Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame, UNITED STATES

61. Dr. Gregory Weeks, The Human Security Initiative, AUSTRIA

62. Dr. Morton Emanuel Winston, Professor of Philosophy, The College of New Jersey, UNITED STATES

63. Dr. Stephanie Wolfe, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Webster State University, UNITED STATES

64. Dr. Andrew Woolford, Professor of Criminology and Social Justice Research Coordinator, Department of Sociology, University of Manitoba, CANADA

65. Mr. Andrew R. Basso, Doctoral Candidate, Political Science, University of Calgary, CANADA

66. Ms. Ingjerd Veiden Brakstad, Doctoral Candidate, Department of Historical Studies, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NORWAY

67. Ms. Paula Drummond, Doctoral Candidate, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, SWITZERLAND

68. Ms. Ashley L. Greene, Doctoral Candidate in History and Peace Studies, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame, UNITED STATES

69. Koen Kluessien, MA in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, University of Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS

70. Kelsey Lizotte, MA in Global Affairs, Rutgers University, UNITED STATES

71. Mr. Robert A. Lord, Research Assistant, American University School of International Service, USA

72. Mr. Fazil Moradi, Doctoral Candidate, International Max Planck Research School, GERMANY

73. Mr. Arja Oomkens, MA in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies, University of Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS

74. Ms. Jacquelyn Pinto, Masters Candidate, West Chester University, UNITED STATES

75. Ms. Lizette Seiger, Doctoral Candidate, Global Affairs, Rutgers University, UNITED STATES

76. Mr. Pieter P. de Tombe, MSc Summer School, class “Genocide in Europe,” University Utrecht

77. Laurien Vastenhout, MA in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies, University of Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS

78. Marjolein Verhaag, MA in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies, University of Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS

79. Sarah Weber, MA in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies, University of Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS

80. Ms. Maartje Weerdesteijn, Doctoral Candidate, Department of Criminal Law, Tilburg University, NETHERLANDS 81. Marieke Zoodsma, MA in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, University of Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS

81. Marieke Zoodsma, MA in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, University of Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS


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