Call to UN: Indict Iranian President For Incitement To Genocide

2005-11-27

Recommendation to the UN: Indict Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran for incitement to Genocide-A Crime against Humanity and sanctions against the Government of Iran.

The Injury Prevention Program at the Center for Injury Prevention at the Braun Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Public Health and Community Medicine recently established a program for the prediction and prevention of genocide. Governmental incitement and use of hate language is a recognized predictor of genocide and incitement to genocide is a crime against humanity. Indifference or inaction by the outside world is another recognized predictor.

We consider the statements by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran's that Israel is a "disgraceful blot," and "to wipe Israel off the map" and calls for terror to promote this objective at an official conference called the "World without Zionism," a direct and public incitement to commit genocide. The gravity of the statement by the President of Iran derives from the fact that Iran has a record of sustained support of terror against Israel and Jews around the world and may be on the verge of becoming a nuclear power. Furthermore, the use of nuclear arms to commit genocide does not require a sustained campaign of mobilization of large amounts of manpower to carry out the mass killing, and therefore the lead time between warnings and action can be dangerously short. We call for legal and political actions to counter this incitement and genocidal threat, based upon the "precautionary principle. The Precautionary Principle, now established as a basis for decision-making in public health, states that when there is uncertainty concerning the risks of a catastrophic or serious event, the risks of inaction far outweigh those of preventive action.

Relevant Background:

1. Israel

• UN resolution in 1948 establishing the State of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people expresses global accord
• UN public retraction in 1991 of the UN GA Res 3379 of 1976 "Zionism is racism" and declaration that Zionism is the late 19th c Jewish liberation movement from persecution and genocidal elimination

2. Iran

• President - Ahmadinajad's declaration reflects long-term Iranian policy since 1981, and restates the aims of the Ayaltollah Khomeini
• Iranian governmental refusal to allow UN nuclear inspections on its facilities
• New: Reports of clandestine progress towards enrichment of uranium to make plutonium and capacities for launching Shihab III and other missiles

We note that the recent UN Security Council condemnation of the statement attributed to President Ahmedinejad does not specify sanctions or punishment for inciting and justifying incitement and for pursuing nuclear and genocidal agendas. Mere condemnations have failed to prevent recent genocides in Cambodia, Bosnia, Srebrenica, Kosovo, Rwanda, and Darfur. Unless there is immediate and effective international action, Iran will be the first state in history with a declared policy of genocidal intent and the nuclear weapons and delivery systems to carry it out.

In the light of the foregoing, we call for immediate implementation of the following legal actions:

1. The United Nations Security Council should refer Mahmoud Ahmadinejad President of Iran, to the International Criminal Court for indictment for:

A) The "genocidal policy" that he intends for Iran to implement, which contravenes the "original purposes of the United Nations" ( SG/SM/9126)

B) His "genocidal incitement" to youth and other nations to join him, which also contravenes the Stockholm International Declarations on Genocide Prevention (2001 & 2004)

C) Supporting, arming, and training a terrorist organization, Hizbollah, which sends terror missiles aimed at Israeli civilians.

The Legal Precedent for indicting the President of Iran is: ICTR case # ICTR-96-14-I: Eliezer Niyikegeka, former Minister of Information and former journalist in Rwanda, who incited genocide of Tutsis: Indicted: Conspiracy to commit genocide, genocide, complicity in genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, crimes against humanity, and violations of Art 3 common to the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol II.

2. We call upon the IAEA confiscate all Iranian nuclear material until the Republic of Iran will repudiate its genocidal policy and incitement

A) We call for the development of legal safeguards to eradicate any idea of a "Second Holocaust" inflicted upon a post-genocidal community. In keeping with the second principle of the Stockholm International Forum (Jan 28 2004): "responsibility to protect groups identified as potential victims of genocide"

B) The total population of all Jewish communities today, at 13 million people, has just now reached the pre-World War II level. (stat. JPPPI 2005). President Ahmadinejad's declaration is a direct threat to this slow and painful recovery.

C) The Jewish "world minority" should never have to resort to armed self-defense, which contravenes its own spiritual and cultural values. The international legal system must provide sufficient protection.

3. We call upon the UN and its member states to foster the development and application of a code of ethics and standards for diplomacy, law, and the media that would outlaw incitement to hate, calling to exclude "world minority" communities, including the State of Israel, Israelis, or the global Jewish community and actions based on such incitement

A) We call upon the UN to apply these standards to the work and statements of the UN agencies and NGO's funded by NGO agencies.

B) We call upon Juan Mendez, Special Advisor to the Secretary-General of the UN on Genocide Prevention, to establish an international surveillance network and ongoing data base based on models for surveillance of early warning signs of reportable epidemic disease. Such a network should monitor the production and dissemination of all internationally-distributed media and internet materials relating to Israel and the global Jewish community. Experts on the Holocaust, genocide, and mass communication should be deputized to set up this network.

We put forth these recommendations for action because history shows that genocidal threats by heads of state signal intent, and the indications are that Iran is secretly developing nuclear weapons signal capacity to act on that threat.

Elihu D Richter MD, MPH
Associate Professor and Director
Injury Prevention Center elir@cc.huji.ac.il

Rony Blum, PhD Visiting Research Scholar
Co-founder Genocide & Violence Prevention Program,

Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Public
Health & Community Medicine POB 12272 Jerusalem Israel
tel: 972-2-6758147
robluph@gmail.com

Israel Charny, PhD
Executive Director, Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide, Jerusalem
Editor-in-Chief Encyclopedia of Genocide
encygeno@mail.com

Gregory Stanton
President GenocideWatch
genocidewatch@aol.com
www.genocidewatch.org
POB 809 Washington 20044 DC

Source: IMRA – Independent Media Review and Analysis