Joint Statement: More than 200 Organizations and Experts Call for an End to Trump’s Threats of War Crimes and Call for Accountability

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. We urge all parties to respect international law. Those responsible for atrocities, including crimes against humanity and war crimes, can and must be held accountable. The undersigned remind those engaged in military operations of their obligation to refuse any patently unlawful order. Anyone who orders, carries out, or is otherwise complicit in President Trump’s abhorrent threats must be held accountable.  Organizations 

1. Amnesty International USA 
2. Human Rights Watch 
3. Oxfam America 
4. Refugees International 
5. 99 Coalition 
6. Action Center on Race and the Economy 
7. Al Otro Lado 
8. Aldea – the People’s Justice Center 
9. American Atheists 
10. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) 
11. American Committee for Middle East Rights (ACMER) 
12. American Friends Service Committee 
13. American Muslims for Palestine 
14. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) 
15. Americans for Justice in Palestine Action (AJP Action) 
16. ANAR 
17. Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) 
18. ATHENA Network 
19. Back from the Brink: Bringing Communities Together to Abolish Nuclear Weapons 
20. Baltimore, MD Phil Berrigan Memorial Chapter Veterans For Peace 
21. Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation 
22. Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC) 
23. Center for Gender & Refugee Studies 
24. Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law 
25. Center for International Environmental Law 
26. Center for International Policy 
27. Center for Victims of Torture 
28. Center on Conscience and War 
29. Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility 
30. Christians for a Free Palestine (CFP) 
31. Church World Service 
32. Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) 
33. Common Defense 
34. Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Region 
35. Council for a Livable World 
36. Council for Global Equality 
37. Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) 
38. cylindr 
39. DAWN 
40. DAYLIGHT | Rule of Law, Access to Justice, Advocacy 
41. Defending Rights & Dissent 
42. Demand Progress 
43. Emerald Pademelon Press LLC 
44. Femena 
45. Feminism Makes Us Smarter LLC 
46. Foreign Policy for America 
47. Foundation for Middle East Peace 
48. Friends Committee on National Legislation 
49. Fund for Global Human Rights 
50. Georgetown Center for Asian Law 
51. Girls for Gender Equity 
52. Grassroots Global Justice Alliance 
53. Haitian Bridge Alliance 
54. HALT Solitary Campaign 
55. Help Me Leave 
56. Human Rights Activists (in Iran) HRA 
57. Human Rights First 
58. Humanity United 
59. IfNotNow Movement 
60. IMEU Policy Project 
61. Impact Coalition on Strengthening International Judicial Institutions 
62. Institute for Policy Studies, New Internationalism Project 
63. Institute for Policy Studies, National Priorities Project 
64. Interconnected Justice 
65. International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR) 
66. International Mayan League / Liga Maya Internacional 
67. Just Detention International 
68. KNR Sisters 
69. Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) 
70. Latin America Working Group 
71. Lawyers for Good Government 
72. Legal Empowerment Portal 
73. Leitner Center for International Law and Justice at Fordham Law School 
74. Loretto Link 
75. MADRE 
76. Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns 
77. Miaan Group 
78. Migrant Roots Media 
79. Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild 
80. MPower Change Action Fund 
81. Muslim Advocates 
82. NAACP 
83. National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd 
84. National Iranian American Council Action 
85. National Partnership for New Americans 
86. NBJC 
87. Oasis Legal Services 
88. Ohio Immigrant Alliance 
89. Open Society Foundations 
90. P Street 
91. Peace Action 
92. Peace Action, New York State 
93. Peace, Justice, Sustainability NOW! 
94. PEN America 
95. Physicians for Human Rights 
96. Physicians for Social Responsibility 
97. Ploughshares 
98. Presbyterian Church (USA), Office of Public Witness 
99. Presbyterian Peace Fellowship 
100. Project On Government Oversight 
101. Public Citizen 
102. Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft 
103. Quixote Center 
104. Refugee Council USA 
105. Reparations Pledge 
106. Reparations4Slavery 
107. ReThinking Foreign Policy 
108. Rising Majority 
109. Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center 
110. RootsAction 
111. Saferworld 
112. Savie ASBL NGO LGBTQ DRC 
113. September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows 
114. Signal Research and Resilience Initiative Sierra Leone RSquare 
115. Sisters of Mercy of the Americas 
116. Stanley Center for Peace and Security 
117. Susquehanna Valley Presbytery’s Justice in Mission & Ministry Team 
118. Texas Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry 
119. The Alliance for Diplomacy and Justice 
120. The Reckoning Project 
121. The Sentry 
122. The United Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society 
123. The Workers Circle 
124. Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment (CAREs) 
125. Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) 
126. United for Iran 
127. Unlock the Box: The National Campaign to End Solitary Confinement 
128. War Prevention Initiative 
129. We Are All America (WAAA) 
130. Welcoming America 
131. Western States Legal Foundation 
132. Win Without War 
133. Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) 
134. Women’s Foundation California 
135. Women’s March 
136. World BEYOND War 
137. Woven Foundation 

Individuals (Affiliation only for identification purposes) 

1. Afshin Samali, University of Galway 
2. Alexandra Toma, Peace and Security Funders Group 
3. Ambassador (Ret.) Alexander F. Watson 
4. Ambassador (Ret.) Deborah Malac, Former Ambassador, Career Foreign Service Officer, Department of State 
5. Anne C. Richard, Former Assistant Secretary of State, 2012-2017 
6. Anne Peniston, Retired from USAID 
7. Annie Pforzheimer, City University of New York 
8. Anthony Tirado Chase, Occidental College 
9. Arsalan Suleman, Former Acting U.S. Special Envoy to the OIC 
10. Aryeh Neier, Open Society Foundations 
11. Aurelia Brazeal, U.S. Department of State (retired) 
12. Bama Athreya, Former US diplomat; current Executive Director, ICRW Americas 
13. Begona Sangrador-Vegas, University of Galway 
14. Bill Galvin, Presbyterian Peace Fellowship; Center on Conscience & War 
15. Brian Peniston, ACLU member 
16. Bruce Gillette, Susquehanna Valley Presbytery’s Justice in Mission & Ministry Team 
17. Charles O. (Cob) Blaha, DAWN Senior Advisor, retired Foreign Service Officer 
18. Christine Kraemer, Trinity Church of Austin 
19. Corbin B. Lyday, Senior Policy Analyst (retired), US Agency for International Development 
20. Daniel Cole, Quaker, Center on Conscience and War board member 
21. Daryl G. Kimball, Arms Control Association 
22. David Dyssegaard Kallick, Immigration Research Initiative 
23. Elham Youssefian, Disability rights and human rights advocate 
24. Elisa Massimino, Visiting Professor of Law, Executive Director, Human Rights Institute, Georgetown Law 
25. Eric P. Schwartz, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota 
26. Fleurian Filkins, Head of Advocacy at Help Me Leave 
27. Gabriele Köhler, Wecf 
28. Geeta Rao Gupta, Arch Collaborative 
29. Gerald Feierstein, Former U.S. Ambassador to Yemen 
30. Ghazal MIYAR, Sciences Po Paris 
31. Grove Harris, Temple of Understanding 
32. Hadar Harris, Rights and Justice Consulting 
33. Heather Davison, Western States Legal Foundation 
34. Heather Hogan, Former State Department Official 
35. Jane Kinninmont, United Nations Association – UK 
36. Janet Drew, AFSC 
37. Jeff Abramson, Senior non-resident fellow, Center for International Policy 
38. Jennifer Trahan, NYU Center for Global Affairs 
39. Jessica John, Former CIA Leadership Analyst 
40. Jon Temin, Former State Department Official 
41. Jonah Blank, Former Policy Director/South & Southeast Asia, Senate Foreign Relations Committee 
42. Kavita N Ramdas, KNR Sisters 
43. Kenneth Roth, Visiting professor, Princeton School of Public and International Affairs; former executive director, Human Rights Watch 
44. Leslie Rowe, Ambassador (ret.) 
45. Mani Mostofi, Executive Director of the Miaan Group 
46. Mardi Veiluva, Board member, Western States Legal Foundation, Oakland, CA 
47. Nancy McEldowney, Former National Security Adviser to the Vice President 
48. Niloufar Omidi, Human rights lawyer 
49. Pamela L. Spratlen, Assn. of Black American Ambassadors (ABAA) 
50. Rebecca A. Shoot, Co-Convener, ImPact Coalition on Strengthening International Judicial Institutions; Washington Working Group for the ICC 
51. Roman Avramenko, The Reckoning Project 
52. Salim Ishmail Kondoh, Stop the War 
53. Saqib Bhatti, Action Center on Race and the Economy 
54. Saskia Brechenmacher, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 
55. Sekar Jasmine Noegroho, Columbia University 
56. Shahed Ghoreishi, Former State Department Official 
57. Shannon Kowalski, Independent Expert on Gender Equality and Human Rights 
58. Shannon Raj Singh, Athena Tech & Atrocities Advisory 
59. Sister Mary Ann McGivern, Sister of Loretto 
60. Skylar Thompson, Deputy Director, Human Rights Activists (in Iran) 
61. Soheila Comninos, SC Consulting 
62. Susan Waltz, Professor emeritus, University of Michigan 
63. Susana T Fried, Just Futures Collaborative 
64. Terry Kay Rockefeller, September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows 
65. Varina Winder, Former State Department Official 
66. Yasmine Taeb, Human Rights Lawyer and Progressive Strategist