IRAQ Basra: The burnt corpse of an Iraqi fighter killed in the assault on Basra.
It is now known that in 2003, US forces in Iraq dropped MK 77 firebombs containing white phosphorus (WP), a chemical weapon banned under Protocol III of the Geneva Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons since 1980. The United States did not sign the relevant protocol to the convention. But America is a signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention, which it ratified in 1997, and that agreement forbids the use of any substance to kill or harm either soldiers or civilians if it is being used mostly for its toxicity. White phosphorus has clear chemical effects on its human targets - melting away the skin of its victims and burning quickly into the tissue, especially on exposed parts of the body like the face and hands.
Photographer Elio Colavolpe / Panos Pictures

Just at the moment when the Bush administration is under intense international and domestic criticism for its treatment of civilian terror suspects -- and while the entire Iraq war policy continues to be under attack -- the International Peace Bureau has issued the following appeal condemning the use of white phosphorus against civilians.

APPEAL

The report broadcast on November 7 by the Italian television channel RAINEWS 24 offered powerful evidence that Iraqi troops and civilians suffered death and serious bodily injuries as a result of the deliberate use of white phosphorus against ‘insurgents’ during the Falluja siege (November 8-11, 2004) by U.S. military forces.

Taking into consideration the physical, chemical and medical aspects, and taking into account the relevant provisions of International Humanitarian Law;

Recalling that the civilian population and the combatant powers shall be at all times under the protection and authority of the principles of international law derived from established custom, principles of humanity and the dictates of the public conscience;

Bearing in mind that International Humanitarian Law affirms that the right of the parties in an armed conflict to choose methods of warfare is not unlimited;

Noting that, after initially stating that white phosphorus was used in Falluja only for illumination purposes, the US government was forced to retract this statement following the publication of an article about the battle of Falluja in a military journal which alleged that, in that battle, white phosphorus “proved to be an effective and versatile munition. We used it for screening missions at two breeches and, later in the fight, as a potent psychological weapon against the insurgents in trench lines and spider holes when we could not get effects on them with HE [high explosive munitions]. We fired “shake and bake” missions at the insurgents, using WP to flush them out and HE to take them out.”

Observing that, while refusing to characterize white phosphorus as a chemical weapon in the battle of Falluja, the United States did so in 1995 in relation to Saddam Hussein’s use of this substance in Erbil;

The International Peace Bureau:

Condemns unequivocally the use of white phosphorus weapons against combatants as well as civilians, particularly in situations where it is difficult or impossible to distinguish one group from the other;

Reaffirms that International Humanitarian Law must be fully applied and respected by all combatants in conflict areas;

Calls for the establishment of a neutral International Fact-Finding Commission, in order to ascertain the use, and effects of use, of weapons containing white phosphorous against military objectives and the civilian population during the Iraqi military campaign;

Calls for the application of individual and State responsibility for violations of International Law relating to the use of white phosphorus, including the possible referral of cases to domestic and international tribunals.

Appeals for the widest possible international support for the international on-line petition launched by IPB for presentation to appropriate authorities in support of the above arguments. (www.ipb.org)

New York 20th December, 2005

IPB President
Cora Weiss

Appeal elaborated by: IPB-Italia Scientific Committee
Prof. Angelo Baracca  Scientist - Italy
Dr. Fulgida Barattoni  IPB-Italia President - Italy
Dr. Alberto Barbero IPB-Italia Scientific C.ttee - Italy
Dr. Giovanni Carlo Bruno  CNR Researcher (National Research Center) - Italy
Avv. Joachim Lau  Presidente I.A.L.A.N.A.Italy  (International Lawyers
Against Nuclear Arms)  Italy
Ing. Edouard Mancini IPB-Italia Scientific C.ttee - Switzerland
Dr. Michele Di Paolantonio  I.P.P.N.W. (International Physicians for the
Prevention of Nuclear War) - Italy
Dr. Felice Antonio Palmeri professor environmental ethics - University of
Bologna and Pavia

With professional advice from:
Peter Weiss - former President I.A.L.A.N.A. (International Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms) - USA
Prof. Nicola Cufaro Petroni Segr. Generale USPID - Union of Scientists for Disarmament (Italy)  University of Bari.
Dr. Herman Spanjaard  I.P.P.N.W. (International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War)   Netherlands
Dr. Liz Waterston I.P.P.N.W. (International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War)  Great Britain
Prof. Edoardo Magnone  Scientist Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology University of Tokyo-Japan
Dr.. Magda Schimberni  Scientist - Italy
Dr. Lucio Triolo  Scientist - Italy

Translated by Selena Andrisani and Katia Medri
SSIT-University of Bologna/Forlì

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