The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, has joined more than 200 organizations and experts to call for an end to President Trump’s threats of war crimes against Iran and call for accountability from the administration for its actions.
A letter signed by the organizations and experts reads in part:
“We the undersigned human rights, humanitarian, civil liberties, faith-based and environmental organizations, think tanks 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 – such as the recent attack on a bridge and the attacks President Trump is repeatedly threatening to carry out to destroy power plants – have devastating consequences for the civilian population and environment.”
END
CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, [email protected]; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, [email protected]