International Conference
THE HUNGER WEAPON
May 11, 1996, Rome, Italy

RESOLUTION

"The Hunger Weapon" International Conference held in Rome on the 10th and

11th of May 1996, with the participation of jurists, humanitarian
organizations, human rights activists as well as representatives of peace
associations and international solidarity groups, political parties and
labour unions from Italy, France, Spain, Britain, Germany, Greece, the
United States, Nicaragua, Cuba, Libya, Tunisia, Ireland, Algeria and Iraq:

considering
* the serious sufferings of the civil population of Iraq caused by
unprecedented sanctions imposed in the name of the United Nations against
that country and which have in fact, and among other things, resulted in
the deaths of well over 500,000 children, as has been certified by agencies
of the same United Nations;
* the serious consequences on the Cuban economy and people caused by the
unilateral U.S. economic blockade which has been imposed for over 30 years
and which has resulted in enormous difficulties to the economic and human
development of that entire nation;
* that gratuitously imposed sanctions against Libya are causing much
suffering and problems in particular to the poorest part of the population;

noting
* the tendency of the U.S., Britain, and others from among the most wealthy
and powerful countries to increasingly make use of the Security Council and
its economic sanctions, or the threat of using them as a tool for advancing
U.S. hegemonistic interests against those of the developing and formerly
colonized countries of the world;
* that these sanctions are also used as a means of strengthening U.S.
hegemony among other industrialized countries;
* that economic sanctions directly punish the civil population and
particularly harm the poorest and weakest;
* that blockades, a modern version of Middle Ages sieges, should be seen as
a tool of war, totally inconsistent with the aims of the United Nations;
* that, although the Security Council authorized the Secretary General to
implement S.C. Resolution 986, the U.S. and Britain are interfering in the
ongoing talks between Iraq and the U.N. concerning the sale of Iraqi oil
for the purchase of food, medicines and other supplies needed for
humanitarian purposes;

believing moreover that economic sanctions, independently of the alledged
motivation behind them, do in fact constitute a serious violation of:
-the Fourth Geneva Convention for the Protection of Civilians During Times
of War and the additional protocols;
-the international conventions on humanitarian law and the Convention of
The Rights of the Child
-the conventions on free trade;
-the right to life of an entire people since, as in the case of Iraq,
sanctions result in genocide, a crime against humanity, as recognized in
international law, with clear legal consequences;

calls for
-the immediate removal of Security Council sanctions against Iraq and
Libya;
-the immediate removal of the U.S. blockade against Cuba;
-the ban of the use of sanctions as a means of intervening in international
disputes

appeals to peoples, individuals, organizations, peace and the international
solidarity associations to mobilize towards this aim;

condemns
-U.S. interference in the negotiations between Iraq and the U.N. Secretary
General in the implementation of S.C. Resolution 986

resolves
-to declare January 17th 1997 as the "second world day of struggle against
the civil embargoes" and to continue the mobilization started last year on
that date in several countries
-to publicize and distribute this conference's Resolution in all countries
represented in the conference
-to support initiatives contesting the application of sanctions using
available legal procedures
-to lobby UN member states to support a General Assembly resolution
requesting the International Court of Justice for an Advisory Opinion
regarding the legality of Security Council sanctions on Iraq.

Rome 11th May 1996

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