The Right to Heal: Holding the U.S. Accountable for the Human Costs of War [English and Arabic]

Download the full Right to Heal Factsheet

On the tenth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), and the Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI) launched the Right to Heal Initiative. Iraqis and veterans are coming together to hold the U.S. government accountable for the lasting effects of war and the rights of veterans and civilians to heal. The Iraq war is not over for Iraqi civilians and U.S. veterans who continue to struggle with various forms of trauma and injury; the effects of environmental poisoning due to certain U.S. munitions and burn pits of hazardous materials; and with a generation of orphans and displaced. As Iraqi civil society tries to rebuild from the Iraq war as well as a decade of U.S. bombing and sanctions, they face political repression by a corrupt U.S.-established government that is selling off the country’s natural resources to foreign interests. The U.S continues this pattern of violations with its ongoing war in Afghanistan. The United States must be held accountable for its violations of the rights to life and health of these war-torn peoples.
 
Represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), on March 19, 2013, IVAW, OWFI and FWCUI submitted a request for a thematic hearing with the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights, where they are seeking an opportunity to present evidence and testimony in Fall 2013.

For an Arabic translation of the factsheet, click here.