WUNRN
NOBEL PEACE LAUREATE WOMEN CALL
FOR REFERRAL OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS ISSUE IN SYRIA TO THE INTERNATIONAL
CRIMINAL COURT
Ottawa
- September 4, 2013 - One
the eve of the G20 meeting in Russia, the six Nobel peace laureates of the
Nobel Women’s Initiative today called upon the US and its allies to use the
international legal system in place of military intervention to respond to any use
of chemical weapons in Syria. In a statement, the laureates—Jody Williams
(US), Shirin Ebadi (Iran), Tawakkol Karman (Yemen), Mairead Maguire (Ireland),
Leymah Gbowee (Liberia) and Rigoberta Menchú Tum (Guatemala)—are asking the UN
Security Council to refer the case of chemical weapons being used in Syria to
the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“We hope that US legislators, like their British counterparts, will recognize that there is no public appetite to resolve this problem through more bombs and more violence,” said Jody Williams, who won her Nobel peace prize in 1997 for her work to end the use of landmines. “Americans know that any intervention—far from being a strategic move—will only lead to more loss of lives and even possibly to retaliation against Americans.”
Last week, UK Prime Minister David Cameron lost the vote in favor of a military intervention in Syria in the British House of Commons. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released yesterday found that Americans opposed, by a four-to-one margin, any strike on Syria.
In their statement, the laureates say that the use of chemical weapons is a “war crime that should be addressed by the international legal system created precisely for such events”. They are urging the international community to convene the Syria Peace Conference, known as Geneva II, as one of the many nonviolent measures available to the international community help resolve Syria’s conflict—and to include women in the peace process.