Friday, December 07, 2018

Petition on behalf of the children of Iraq submitted to the United Nations charging President Bush and U.S. authorities actions constitute acts of genocide



Petition on behalf of the children of Iraq submitted to the United Nations
              charging President Bush and U.S. authorities actions constitute acts of
                                              genocide
                                          Francis A Boyle
      
      
        EDITOR'S NOTE: In September of 1991 Francis Boyle asked the 
      Coalition to Stop U.S. Intervention in the Middle East to submit an 
      Indictment, Complaint and Petition for Relief from Genocide by 
      President George Herbert Walker Bush and the United States 
      of America, which he had prepared on behalf of the 4.5 million 
      children of Iraq. Professor Boyle filed the Complaint at the request 
      of several Iraqi mothers whose children were dying as a result of 
      the sanctions. The Petition was submitted to the Secretary General 
      of the U.N., members of the General Assembly, the Economic and 
      Social Council, the Commission on Human Rights, the Sub-Commission 
      on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, 
      UNESCO, and UNICEF.
      
      
        Boyle's petition reviewed the factual situation confronting the 
      children of Iraq including malnutrition, starvation, disease, and 
      death, and details the violations of international law upon which 
      this Claim is based The relief asked for included a lifting of the 
      sanctions against Iraq, massive provision of international 
      humanitarian relief, and compensation to the victims of the policies 
      described.
      
      
        Boyle has stated, based on then current - and ongoing - devastating 
      situation for Iraq's children, "Likeunto a pirate, the Respondent 
      George Bush is hostis humans generis - the enemy of all humankind" 
      Boyle asked for an urgent review of this Petition and that the 
      appropriate organs of the United Nations, as well its member states, 
      institute criminal proceedings against President Bush for committing 
      the international crime of genocide against the children of Iraq. 
      The transcript of Boyle's Indictment, Complaint and Petition for 
      Relief from Genocide follows.
      
      
        Despite the best professional efforts by Professor Boyle, who is 
      working pro bono publico on this matter, so far the entire United 
      Nations Organization has refused to act upon this Complaint on 
      behalf of the Children of Iraq.
      
      
        TO: THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS, THE MEMBERS OF THE 
      GENERAL ASSEMBLY, THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL, THE COMMISSION ON 
      HUMAN RIGHTS, THE SUBCOMMISSION ON PREVENTION OF DISCRIMINATION AND 
      PROTECTION OF MINORITIES, UNESCO, UNICEF, THE HEADS OF ALL NGO'S, 
      ETC.
      
      
        RE: INDICTMENT, COMPLAINT AND PETITION BY THE 4.5 MILLION CHILDREN 
      OF IRAQ FOR RELIEF FROM GENOCIDE BY PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH AND THE 
      UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
      
      
        EXCELLENCY:
      
      
        On behalf of The 4.5 Million Children of Iraq, I hereby submit to 
      you this Indictment, Complaint and Petition for Relief from Genocide 
      by President George Bush and the United States of America 
      (hereinafter referred to as the "Respondents"). This Indictment, 
      Complaint and Petition accuses the Respondents (1) of committing the 
      international crime of genocide against The 4.5 Million Children of 
      Iraq in violation of the International Convention on the Prevention 
      and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948 and in violation of 
      the municipal legal systems of all civilized nations in the world; 
      (2) of a gross and consistent pattern of violations of the most 
      fundamental human rights of The 4.5 Million Children of Iraq as 
      recognized and guaranteed to them by the Universal Declaration of 
      Human Rights of 1948; (3) of the complete negation and denial of all 
      the rights guaranteed to The 4.5 Million Children of Iraq by the 
      1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child; and (4) of the 
      systematic violation of the special protections of international 
      humanitarian law guaranteed to The 4.5 Million Children of Iraq by 
      the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and Additional Protocol I 
      thereto of 1977.
      
      
        Under the human rights provisions of the United Nations Charter, 
      the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Genocide Convention, 
      the Children's Convention, and the Fourth Geneva Convention and 
      Protocol I, The 4.5 Million Children of Iraq are proper parties to 
      invoke the jurisdiction of the United Nations and its various organs 
      in requesting the following Relief in order to be relieved from the 
      inhuman, degrading, cruel, criminal, and genocidal conditions 
      perpetrated upon them by the Respondents: The 4.5 Million Children 
      of Iraq demand (1) the termination of the international economic 
      embargo and all forms of bilateral economic sanctions against Iraq; 
      (2) the massive provision of international humanitarian relief 
      required in order to save themselves from death, disease, 
      malnutrition, starvation, and extermination at the hands of the 
      Respondents; (3) monetary compensation for the harm done to them as 
      well as all other forms of relief deemed necessary and appropriate; 
      and (4) the institution of criminal proceedings against Respondent 
      Bush for committing the international crime of genocide by the 
      appropriate international organs as well as by all States of the 
      World Community under their respective municipal legal systems.
      
      
        The 4.5 Million Children of Iraq have set forth in the attached 
      Indictment, Complaint and Petition all of the Facts necessary to 
      constitute a prima facie case against the Respondents for genocide; 
      grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention and Protocol I; and a 
      gross and consistent pattern of violations of the Universal 
      Declaration of Human Rights and the International Convention on the 
      Rights of the Child. Wherefore, The 4.5 Million Children of Iraq 
      demand that the United Nations and its organs immediately undertake 
      a full investigation of the matters presented in this Indictment, 
      Complaint and Petition, and subsequently authorize a complete and 
      public disclosure of all evidence and findings of fact at the 
      conclusion of such investigation. I would appreciate receiving a 
      formal acknowledgment of your receipt of the attached Indictment, 
      Complaint, and Petition by The 4.5 Million Children of Iraq at the 
      address listed above as well as all further communications related 
      to this matter.
      
      
        THE PEOPLES AND COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD MUST NOT TURN THEIR EYES 
      AWAY IN SHAME FROM IRAQ AS HUMANKIND APPROACHES THE DAWN OF THE NEXT 
      MILLENNIUM OF ITS PARLOUS EXISTENCE. AS IRAQ'S CHILDREN GO, SO GOES 
      THE ENTIRE WORLD!
      
      
        RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED ON BEHALF OF THE 4.5 MILLION CHILDREN OF 
      IRAQ,
      
      
        FRANCIS A. BOYLE PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
      
      
        MEMBER OF THE BARS OF THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT OF THE 
      COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS AND OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED 
      STATES OF AMERICA DATED: SEPTEMBER 18, 1991
      
      
        IN THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY, SECRETARY GENERAL, ECONOMIC 
      AND SOCIAL COUNCIL, HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, SUB-COMMISSION ON 
      PREVENTION OF DISCRIMINATION AND PROTECTION OF MINORITIES, UNESCO, 
      UNICEF, ALL NGO'S
      
      
        UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS IN NEW YORK, GENEVA, VIENNA, AND PARIS
      
      
        THE 4.5 MILLION CHILDREN OF IRAQ, APPLICANTS,
      
      
        VS.
      
      
        GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES INDICTMENT, COMPLAINT, 
      AND PETITION FOR RELIEF FROM GENOCIDE IN BOTH HIS OFFICIAL AND 
      PERSONAL CAPACITIES, AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, RESPONDENTS.
      
      
        TO: THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS, THE MEMBERS OF THE 
      GENERAL ASSEMBLY, THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL, THE COMMISSION ON 
      HUMAN RIGHTS, THE SUBCOMMISSION ON PREVENTION OF DISCRIMINATION AND 
      PROTECTION OF MINORITIES, UNESCO, UNICEF, THE HEADS OF ALL NGO'S, 
      ETC.
      
      
        RE: INDICTMENT, COMPLAINT AND PETITION BY THE 4.5 MILLION CHILDREN 
      OF IRAQ FOR RELIEF FROM GENOCIDE BY PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH AND THE 
      UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
      
      
        I. INTRODUCTION
      
      
        1. The Applicants herein, THE 4.5 MILLION CHILDREN OF IRAQ, invoke 
      the jurisdiction of the United Nations and its organs by virtue of 
      the provisions of the United Nations Charter, the Universal 
      Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Convention on the 
      Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and file this 
      Indictment, Complaint and Petition on their own behalf. The 
      Applicants charge the Respondents with committing the international 
      crime of genocide against The 4.5 Million Children of Iraq. 
      Applicants pray for the termination of the international economic 
      embargo and all forms of bilateral economic sanctions against Iraq, 
      and to secure the massive provision of international humanitarian 
      relief required in order to save themselves from death, disease, 
      malnutrition, starvation, and extermination at the hands of the 
      Respondents. Applicants also pray for monetary compensation for the 
      harm done to them and all other forms of relief deemed necessary and 
      appropriate. Finally, Applicants request the institution of criminal 
      proceedings against the Respondent George Bush for committing the 
      international crime of genocide by the appropriate international 
      organs and by all States of the World Community under their 
      respective municipal legal systems.
      
      
        II. THE FACTS
      
      
        2. The Applicants are The 4.5 Million Children of Iraq.
      
      
        3. The Respondents are (1) George Bush, President of the United 
      States of America, in both his official and personal capacities, and 
      (2) the United States of America, a Permanent Member of the United 
      Nations Security Council.
      
      
        4. The Respondents are the Person and State primarily responsible 
      for the imposition of the now year-long international economic 
      embargo and bilateral economic sanctions against Iraq.
      
      
        5. Reports from the United Nations, the Physicians for Human 
      Rights, the International Red Cross, a Harvard Study Team, other 
      independent organizations, and private U.S. citizens have documented 
      the fact that unless the economic sanctions imposed against Iraq are 
      immediately lifted and Iraq is allowed to buy and import food, 
      medicine and equipment, especially for power generation, hundreds of 
      thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians will die in the upcoming 
      months.
      
      
        6. A Harvard Study Team estimates that at least 170,000 Iraqi 
      children under the age of five will die within the next year from 
      the delayed effects of the war in the Persian Gulf if the imposition 
      of the sanctions continues.
      
      
        7. This is a conservative estimate and does not include tens of 
      thousands of Iraqi children above the age of five who are expected 
      to die from similar causes.
      
      
        8. The Catholic Relief Service estimates that more than 100,000 
      Iraqi children will die from malnutrition and disease in the 
      upcoming months due to the economic embargo and destruction of the 
      war, and the United Nations Children's Fund estimates that 80,000 
      Iraqi children may die from these causes.
      
      
        9. Malnutrition has become severe and widespread in Iraq since 
      imposition of the embargo and the war due to severe food shortages 
      and the inflation of food prices of up to 1000%, which has 
      effectively priced many Iraqis, especially the poor and 
      disadvantaged, out of the food market.
      
      
        10. Cholera, typhoid, and gastroenteritis have become epidemic 
      throughout Iraq since the war due to the critical scarcity of 
      medicine and the inability of Iraq to process sewage and purify the 
      water supply.
      
      
        11. The system of medical care has broken down in Iraq, resulting 
      in the closure of up to 50% of Iraq's medical facilities due to 
      acute shortages of medicines, equipment, and staff.
      
      
        12. The incapacitation of 18 of Iraq's 20 power plants during the 
      war is a principal cause of the deterioration in public health due 
      to the resultant inability of Iraq to process sewage, purify its 
      water supply, and supply electricity to health facilities.
      
      
        13. The health care crisis cannot be addressed without the 
      reconstruction of electrical facilities that enable the purification 
      of water and treatment of sewage.
      
      
        14. Before the economic embargo of Iraq, three quarters of the 
      total caloric intake in Iraq was imported and, moreover, 96% of 
      Iraqi revenue to pay for imports, namely food and medicine, was 
      derived from the exportation of oil now prohibited under the 
      embargo.
      
      
        15. The summer heat in Iraq has both accelerated the spread of 
      disease and impeded its treatment due to the lack of refrigeration 
      facilities even in hospitals.
      
      
        16. The acute shortages of food in Iraq, the inflation of up to 
      1000% in food prices caused by these shortages, the critical 
      scarcity of medicine, and the essential need to reconstruct Iraq's 
      capacity to generate electricity to enable sewage treatment and 
      water purification, cannot be addressed or rectified without Iraq's 
      re-entry into global commerce, at present effectively prohibited by 
      the economic sanctions.
      
      
        17. The immediate lifting of the sanctions would drastically reduce 
      the number of Iraqi children who will die in the upcoming months 
      from malnutrition and disease and would relieve the suffering of the 
      innocent Iraqi population which is now bearing the burden of the 
      embargo.
      
      
        18. Approximately 500 Iraqi children are dying each day from 
      disease, malnutrition, and lack of proper medical treatment due to 
      the continuation of the international economic embargo and bilateral 
      economic sanctions upon Iraq that have been organized and imposed by 
      the Respondents.
      
      
        III. CONTENTIONS
      
      
        19. The Harvard Study Team Report, Public Health in Iraq After the 
      Gulf War, estimated that as of May 1991, 55,000 additional deaths of 
      Iraqi children under five had already occurred because of the Gulf 
      Crisis, and projected that at least 170,000 Iraqi children under 
      five will die in the coming year from the delayed effects of the 
      Gulf Crisis. The Study also emphasized that these projections are 
      conservative: "In all probability, the actual number of deaths of 
      children under five will be much higher."
      
      
        20. The continuation of multilateral and bilateral economic 
      sanctions against Iraq prevents the massive infusion of 
      international humanitarian assistance necessary to prevent these 
      mortality projections from becoming a reality. The Harvard Report 
      directly raises the question whether Respondents are responsible for 
      the commission of the international crime of genocide against the 
      Applicants, The 4.5 Million Children of Iraq, because of their 
      obstinate insistence that economic sanctions be maintained in order 
      to produce the deposition of the President of Iraq despite the fact 
      that the original purpose for their imposition was achieved with the 
      so-called "liberation" of Kuwait.
      
      
        21. Respondent United States of America is a Contracting Party to 
      the International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the 
      Crime of Genocide of 1948, which will hereinafter be referred to as 
      "the Genocide Convention" for sake of convenience.
      
      
        22. Article I of the Genocide Convention provides that the 
      Contracting Parties confirm that genocide, whether committed in time 
      of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law, 
      which they undertake to prevent and to punish.
      
      
        23. Article II of the Genocide Convention defines the international 
      crime of "genocide" as follows:
      
      
        Article II. In the present Convention, genocide means any of the 
      following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in 
      part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
      
      
        (a) Killing members of the group;
      
      
        (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
      
      
        (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life 
      calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in 
      part;
      
      
        (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
      
      
        (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
      
      
        24. Article III of the Genocide Convention provides that the 
      following acts shall likewise all be punishable: (a) genocide; (b) 
      conspiracy to commit genocide; (c) direct and public incitement to 
      commit genocide; (d) attempt to commit genocide; (e) complicity in 
      genocide.
      
      
        25. According to Article IV of the Genocide Convention, persons 
      committing genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in Article 
      III shall be punished, whether they are constitutionally responsible 
      rulers, public officials, or private individuals. This basic 
      requirement of the Genocide Convention is fully applicable to 
      Respondent George Bush.
      
      
        26. According to Article V of the Genocide Convention, the 
      Contracting Parties undertake to enact, in accordance with their 
      respective Constitutions, the necessary legislation to give effect 
      to the provisions of the Genocide Convention and, in particular, to 
      provide effective penalties for persons guilty of genocide or of any 
      of the other acts enumerated in Article III.
      
      
        27. Pursuant to Article V, the Congress of the United States of 
      America adopted what is called implementing legislation for the 
      Genocide Convention that makes genocide a crime under U.S. federal 
      criminal law. Basically following the terms of the Genocide 
      Convention, this Genocide Convention Implementation Act of 1987 
      (found in Title 18 of the United States Code) defines the crime of 
      "genocide" as follows:
      
      
        28. According to subsection (d), the basic offense must be 
      committed either within the United States, or by a national of the 
      United States. The penalty for violating subsection (a)(1) is a fine 
      of not more than $1 million and imprisonment for life. The penalty 
      for violating subsections (a)(2) to (a)(6) is a fine of not more 
      than $1 million or imprisonment for not more than twenty years, or 
      both.
      
      
        29. Under the definitional provisions of this Act, 225,000 dead 
      Iraqi children clearly constitute a "substantial part" of "a 
      national, ethnic, racial, or religious group as such." The 
      continuation of economic sanctions against Iraq will (1) kill at 
      least 170,000 more Iraqi children by the end of the year; (2) "cause 
      serious bodily injury to" Applicants, The 4.5 Million Children of 
      Iraq; (3) "cause the permanent impairment of the mental faculties 
      of" Applicants; and (4) subject Applicants "to conditions of life 
      that are intended to cause the physical destruction of the group in 
      whole or in part
      
      
        30. Only the "specific intent" of Respondent George Bush to commit 
      genocide against Applicants remains to be proven beyond a reasonable 
      doubt to establish his criminal responsibility under United States 
      municipal law and international criminal law. The open publication 
      and widespread dissemination of the Harvard Report on 22 May 1991 
      makes that task possible. Any Bush administration official 
      responsible for implementing the economic sanctions policy against 
      Iraq who has knowledge of the conclusions of the Harvard Report 
      would possess the "specific intent" required to serve as the mental 
      element or mens rea of the international and municipal crime of 
      genocide against Applicants, The 4.5 Million Children of Iraq. 
      Applicants assert that Respondent George Bush has full knowledge of 
      the genocidal consequences of the continuation of economic sanctions 
      against Iraq and therefore has the mens rea necessary for committing 
      the crime of genocide as recognized by the Genocide Convention and 
      the Genocide Implementation Act.
      
      
        31. The same principles of international criminal law have been 
      incorporated into the municipal legal systems of almost all States 
      in the World Community today. Wherefore, there is universality of 
      jurisdiction for any State to prosecute Respondent George Bush for 
      committing genocide against the Applicants, The 4.5 Million Children 
      of Iraq. Like unto a pirate, the Respondent George Bush is hostis 
      humani generis - the enemy of all humankind.
      
      
        IV. COMPETENCE
      
      
        32. Article I of the Genocide Convention makes it quite clear that 
      all 99 states that are Contracting Parties have an international 
      legal obligation "to prevent" the commission of genocide against 
      Applicants, The 4.5 million children of Iraq.
      
      
        33. Article VIII of the Genocide Convention provides that any 
      Contracting Party "may call upon the competent organs of the United 
      Nations to take such action under the Charter of the United Nations 
      as they consider appropriate for the prevention and suppression of 
      acts of genocide ..."
      
      
        34. Thus, all 99 states parties to the Genocide Convention have 
      both the right and the duty under international law to bring the 
      genocidal situation in Iraq to the attention of the entire United 
      Nations Organization, as well as its affiliated organizations such 
      as UNESCO, UNICEF, etc.
      
      
        35. The Genocide Convention expressly confers international legal 
      competence upon all organs of the United Nations--including the 
      Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the General 
      Assembly, the Secretary General, the International Court of Justice, 
      the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, the Sub-Commission on 
      Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, UNESCO, 
      UNICEF, etc. - to do something about the genocidal situation in 
      Iraq. But so far, such individual steps and collective actions by 
      Member States have not been taken for fear of running afoul of the 
      all-powerful Respondents, who represent and constitute the only 
      self-styled "superpower" sitting as one of the five Permanent 
      Members of the Security Council.
      
      
        36. The Respondents bear ultimate legal responsibility for the 
      imposition of economic sanctions upon Iraq and therefore for the 
      international crime of genocide against Applicants, The 4.5 Million 
      Children of Iraq.
      
      
        37. Under the current desperate circumstances, responsible 
      officials of Member States permitting the continuation of economic 
      sanctions against Iraq could commit the separate international crime 
      of "complicity" in the crime of genocide that is today being 
      inflicted upon the Applicants by the Respondents, in violation of 
      Article III(e) of the Genocide Convention.
      
      
        V. JURISDICTION
      
      
        38. That the organs and agencies of the United Nations, including 
      the Secretary General, the Economic and Social Council, the General 
      Assembly, the Human Rights Commission, the Sub-Commission on 
      Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, UNESCO 
      and UNICEF, inter alia, have the jurisdiction to receive and hear 
      this Indictment, Complaint and Petition, and to provide the Relief 
      requested herein.
      
      
        39. That the organs of the United Nations are endowed with explicit 
      and inherent powers to assume jurisdiction of cases of the kind 
      presented in this Indictment, Complaint and Petition is reflected in 
      the Charter of the United Nations. Chapter 1, Article I(1) of the 
      Charter obligates the United Nations and its members to "maintain 
      international peace and security." Such peace and security are 
      threatened by many acts short of open interstate warfare. Genocide 
      by the Respondents against the Applicants, The 4.5 Million Children 
      of Iraq, threatens international peace and security.
      
      
        40. As the situation described above constitutes a constant threat 
      to the maintenance of international peace and security, the 
      Secretary General, under the authority conferred upon him by Article 
      99 of the Charter, is entitled to bring this matter to the attention 
      of the Security Council. He is also authorized by Rule 13(g) of the 
      Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly to include in the 
      Assembly's agenda any item which he deems it necessary to put before 
      the Assembly. Applicants hereby request the Secretary General to 
      include their Indictment, Complaint, and Petition on the agenda of 
      the 46th General Assembly, and to bring it to the attention of the 
      Security Council.
      
      
        41. The General Assembly is authorized to act under Chapter IV, 
      Article 22 of the United Nations Charter to establish an ad hoc 
      Tribunal empowered to grant the Relief requested herein. For 
      instance, in 1950, the General Assembly established a special 
      tribunal to deal with various claims arising in the former Italian 
      colony of Libya. Given the circumstances detailed in this 
      Indictment, Complaint and Petition, the creation of such a Tribunal 
      would be justified and necessary to carry out the very Purposes and 
      Principles for which the United Nations was established: to ensure 
      peace and security and to guarantee the protection of fundamental 
      human rights. Applicants request the 46th General Assembly to 
      establish such a Tribunal as a subsidiary organ and to charge it 
      with the responsibility to investigate and adjudicate their 
      Indictment, Complaint and Petition, as well as to order all forms of 
      Relief requested in Section VI herein.
      
      
        42. That all Members of the United Nations have pledged themselves 
      under U.N. Charter Chapter IX Articles 55 and 56 to take action to 
      ensure respect for human rights. Article 55 states in part:
      
      
        With a view to the creation of conditions of stability and 
      wellbeing which are necessary for peaceful and friendly relations 
      among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and 
      self-determination of peoples, the United Nations shall promote:
      
      
        (c) universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and 
      fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, 
      language, or religion.
      
      
        Article 56 states:
      
      
        All Members pledge themselves to take joint and separate action in 
      co-operation with the Organization for the achievement of the 
      purposes set forth in Article 55.
      
      
        43. Such a pledge indicates that under the Charter, Member States 
      must be prepared to take action to assist in enforcing and 
      protecting human rights. Should an organ of the United Nations 
      determine that the rights of Applicants were violated by Respondents 
      and recommend action, Member States have pledged themselves to 
      co-operate with the United Nations in taking necessary steps under 
      the Charter to promote "universal respect for, and observance of, 
      human rights."
      
      
        44. These human rights provisions of the United Nations Charter 
      were further elaborated upon and specified by the Universal 
      Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by consensus by the 
      United Nations General Assembly in 1948. The Universal Declaration 
      of Human Rights enunciates the basic standards of international 
      human rights law to which all individuals around the world are 
      entitled. Indeed, it is the official position of the United Nations 
      Organization and of the Respondent United States of America that the 
      Universal Declaration of Human Rights is binding upon all States and 
      for the benefit of all People around the world as a matter of 
      customary international law.
      
      
        45. Among the plethora of rights guaranteed to the Applicants by 
      the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that are currently being 
      systematically violated by the Respondents, the most sacred and most 
      fundamental right of all is their very right to life itself, as 
      recognized by Article 3 thereof "Everyone has the right to life, 
      liberty and security of person." Respondents act as if the 
      "everyone" referred to in Article 3 does not include the Applicants, 
      The 4.5 Million Children of Iraq.
      
      
        46. Applicants also assert that the Respondents have grossly, 
      consistently, and systematically violated the fundamental right that 
      has been guaranteed to them by Article 5 of the Universal 
      Declaration of Human Rights: "No one shall be subjected to torture 
      or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."
      
      
        47. Applicants, The 4.5 Million Children of Iraq, also assert that 
      the Respondents have violated all of the rights guaranteed to them 
      by the International Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989.
      
      
        48. Applicants also assert that the Respondents have violated the 
      special protections of international humanitarian law guaranteed to 
      children by the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and the Additional 
      Protocol I thereto of 1977.
      
      
        49. Under the human rights provisions of the United Nations 
      Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Genocide 
      Convention, the Children's Convention, and the Fourth Geneva 
      Convention and Protocol I, Applicants are proper parties to invoke 
      the jurisdiction of the United Nations in requesting Relief on their 
      own behalf in order to be relieved from the inhuman, degrading, 
      cruel, criminal, and genocidal conditions perpetrated upon them by 
      the Respondents.
      
      
        50. Due to the fact that the Respondents represent and constitute 
      the only self-styled "superpower" sitting as one of the five 
      Permanent Members of the Security Council, the Respondents have 
      repeatedly and abusively used and threatened to use their voting 
      power and their so-called "veto power" to continue the international 
      economic embargo upon Iraq in a manner that is ultra vires the 
      "primary responsibility" for the maintenance of international peace 
      and security that has been conferred upon the Security Council by 
      Article 24(1) and (2) of the United Nations Charter: "2. In 
      discharging these duties the Security Council shall act in 
      accordance with the Purposes and Principles of the United Nations." 
      According to Article 1(3) of the Charter, one of the foremost 
      Purposes of the United Nations is proclaimed to be "... promoting 
      and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental 
      freedoms for all ..."
      
      
        51. That as a direct result of the illegal and ultra vires conduct 
      by the Respondents at the Security Council, the Applicants have 
      nowhere else to turn for Relief except to the General Assembly, the 
      Secretary General, the Economic and Social Council, the Human Rights 
      Commission, the Sub-commission on Prevention of Discrimination and 
      Protection of Minorities, UNESCO and UNICEF, etc. in order to save 
      themselves from the death, disease, malnutrition, starvation and 
      genocide that is currently being inflicted upon them by the 
      Respondents.
      
      
        52. That the General Assembly has the inherent power to create 
      methods and instrumentalities to carry out the Purposes and 
      Principles of the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration 
      of Human Rights, the Genocide Convention and the other 
      aforementioned instruments of international law. The Secretary 
      General also possesses inherent powers to carry out these Purposes 
      and Principles. The same is true for the Human Rights Commission, 
      the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of 
      Minorities, as well as for UNESCO and UNICEF, etc.
      
      
        53. That the Respondents represent and constitute a Member State of 
      the United Nations and therefore would be obligated to act in 
      compliance with any determination by any United Nations organ 
      concerning this matter.
      
      
        VI. PRAYER FOR RELIEF
      
      
        54. Applicants pray for the issuance of a Directive by the 
      Secretariat, or the General Assembly, or the Economic and Social 
      Council, or the Human Rights Commission, or the Sub-Commission on 
      Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, or 
      UNESCO, or UNICEF or any other competent organ or agency of the 
      United Nations to hear this Indictment, Complaint and Petition; to 
      investigate and adjudicate the allegations of genocide by 
      Respondents against Applicants; and to order the termination of all 
      forms of multilateral and bilateral economic sanctions against Iraq.
      
      
        55. Applicants also pray for the massive provision of international 
      humanitarian relief to Iraq by the United Nations Organizations as a 
      whole, its specialized agencies and affiliated organizations, as 
      well as by all Member States thereof, in order to save them from 
      death, disease, malnutrition, starvation, genocide, and 
      extermination at the hands of the Respondents.
      
      
        56. Applicants also pray for due compensation to be paid by 
      Respondents to Applicants and their families for the deaths as well 
      as physical and mental injury caused by Respondents' actions in 
      violation of the Genocide Convention and the Universal Declaration 
      of Human Rights, inter alia.
      
      
        57. Applicants pray that proper sanctions be taken against 
      Respondents for any refusal to comply with any of the orders or 
      decisions that the United Nations or any international organ makes 
      in relation to this matter.
      
      
        58. Applicants pray that the United Nations authorize a full 
      investigation of the matters presented in this Indictment, Complaint 
      and Petition and subsequently authorize a complete and public 
      disclosure of all evidence and findings of fact at the conclusion of 
      such investigation.
      
      
        59. Applicants further pray that the appropriate organs of the 
      United Nations Organization - as well as of all the Member States 
      thereof - institute criminal proceedings against Respondent George 
      Bush for committing the international crime of genocide against the 
      Applicants, as required by the Genocide Convention and the municipal 
      legal systems of all civilized nations, including his own.
      
      
        VII. CONCLUSION
      
      
        THE PEOPLES AND COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD MUST NOT TURN THEIR EYES 
      AWAY IN SHAME FROM IRAQ AS HUMANKIND APPROACHES THE DAWN OF THE NEXT 
      MILLENNIUM OF ITS PARLOUS EXISTENCE. AS IRAQ'S CHILDREN GO, SO GOES 
      THE ENTIRE WORLD!
      
      
        RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED ON BEHALF OF THE APPLICANTS, THE 4.5 MILLION 
      CHILDREN OF IRAQ,
      
      
        FRANCIS A. BOYLE PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY OF 
      ILLINOIS COLLEGE OF LAW 504 EAST PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE CHAMPAIGN, 
      ILLINOIS 61820 USA PHONE: 217-333-7954
      
      
        FAX: 217-244-1478
      
      
        MEMBER OF THE BARS OF THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT OF THE 
      COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
      
      
        AND OF
      
      
        THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DATED: SEPTEMBER 
      18,1991
      
      
        Francis Boyle, author of the Indictment, Complaint and Petition for 
      Relief from Genocide, is Professor of Law at the University of 
      Illinois College of Law in Champaign, Illinois.