01. About the Center for Economic and Social Rights
The Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR) was established in 1993 to promote social justice through human rights. In a world where poverty and inequality deprive entire communities of dignity and even life itself, CESR promotes the universal right of every human being to housing, education, health and a healthy environment, food, work, and social security.
This report was written by Roger Normand, researched and edited by Jacob Park and Jean Carmalt, and designed by Jacob Park. It is the latest in a series of groundbreaking legal and humanitarian reports by CESR on the Iraq crisis. These include the first independent report on the public health crisis after the 1991 Gulf War;1 the first post-war epidemiological survey to document increased child mortality in Iraq as a result of war and sanctions;2 the first medical journal article to report over half a million excess child deaths since 1991;3 the first law journal article to report on war crimes by Coalition forces;4 and the first legal report to condemn U.N. sanctions policy for violating the human rights of the Iraqi population.5
Before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, CESR launched an Emergency Campaign on Iraq to promote solutions to the Iraq crisis based on established principles of international law. As part of this campaign, CESR conducted fact-finding missions in Iraq and prepared a set of educational resources, fact sheets, and human rights reports.6 The reports included a prediction of the disastrous humanitarian consequences of war in Iraq,7 a comprehensive analysis of the illegality of the war itself,8 and an assessment of violations of the right to water by U.S. and U.K. forces during the invasion.9
The purpose of this work is to document and expose the systematic nature of rights violations by the U.S. and its allies in Iraq, support the global peace and justice movement in seeking alternative policies based on respect for international law, and express solidarity with the people of Iraq in their struggle for genuine self-determination.
1 Harvard Study Team, “Special Report: The Effect of the Gulf Crisis on the Children of Iraq,” New England Journal of Medicine 325 (1991): 977-980. Lead organizers of the Harvard Study Team and International Study Team went on to establish the Center for Economic and Social Rights in 1993.
2 International Study Team, Health & Welfare in Iraq After the Gulf Crisis: An In-Depth Assessment (1991), http://www.cesr.org/iraq/docs/ist1991report.pdf.
3 Zaidi, S. and M. Fawzi, “Health of Baghdad's Children,” The Lancet, 346 (2 Dec 1995).
4 Normand, R., and C. Jochnick, “The Legitimation of Violence: A Critical Analysis of the Gulf War,” 35 Harvard International Law Journal 2, at 387 (Spring 1994).
5 Center for Economic and Social Rights, Unsanctioned Suffering: A Human Rights Assessment of United Nations Sanctions Against Iraq, (May 1996), http://www.cesr.org/iraq/docs/unsanctioned.pdf.
6 See, e.g., http://www.cesr.org/iraq/.
7 Center for Economic and Social Rights, The Human Costs of War in Iraq, (Feb. 2003), http://www.cesr.org/humancosts.pdf.
8 Center for Economic and Social Rights, Tearing up the Rules: The Illegality of Invading Iraq (March 18, 2003), http://www.cesr.org/iraq/docs/tearinguptherules.pdf.
9 Center for Economic and Social Rights, Water Under Siege In Iraq: US/UK Military Forces Risk Committing War Crimes by Depriving Civilians of Safe Water, (April 6, 2003),http://www.cesr.org/iraq/waterundersiege.htm.
