Date Published:
September 10, 2007
PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Monifa Bandele (917) 407- 3018
International Tribunal Issues Preliminary Findings
Bush, Blanco, Nagin Committed Crimes against Humanity
New Orleans—
Between August 29, 2007 and September 2, 2007, a
Tribunal of
16 esteemed jurists from nine countries, including Algeria, Brazil,
France, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mexico, South Africa, Venezuela, and
the United States, convened in New Orleans to hear testimony by
experts and survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
After
hearing nearly 30 hours of testimony by hurricane survivors and experts
– covering government neglect and negligence in 15 areas, ranging from
police brutality to environmental racism, from misappropriation of
relief to gentrification, the jurists announced their preliminary
findings.
Jill Soffiyah Elijah, the Deputy Director of the
Criminal Justice Institute at Harvard Law School and Coordinating
Justice for the
International Tribunal on Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, announced the
Tribunal's
preliminary findings, "It is our view that the US Government has
committed crimes against humanity particularly in relation to its
failure to maintain functional levees that should have protected the
City of New Orleans from flooding….it was the reckless disregard and,
in some instances, negligence of the US government, the state of
Louisiana and the city of New Orleans that created the devastation we
continue to see today."
Elijah also announced that the
Tribunal made
preliminary findings that the federal, state and local governments are
guilty of violating the human rights to life, dignity and recognition
of personhood; the right to be free from racial discrimination--
especially as it pertains to the actions of law enforcement personnel
and vigilantes; the right to return, resettlement and reintegration of
internally displaced persons; the right to be free from degrading
treatment and punishment; the right to freedom of movement; the right
to adequate housing and education; the right to vote and participate in
governance and the right to a fair trial, the right to liberty and
security of person and the right to equal protection under the law.
Both actions and failure to act by the governments had disproportionate
devastating impact with respect to race and gender.
The jurists
announced that they would deliver their final verdict December 8,
2007—the second anniversary of the Katrina Survivors' Assembly. In the
meantime, prosecutors will be submitting additional evidence and
videotaped affidavits from an additional 25 survivors.
The
prosecution team included experienced attorneys from respected legal
associations around the country: the ACLU of New York, National
Economic and Social Rights Initiative, the US Human Rights Network, the
National Conference of Black Lawyers, the Center for Constitutional
Rights, National Lawyers Guild, the Center for Law and Social Justice
at Medgar Evers College, the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund,
Mississippi Workers Center for Human Rights, Washington DC Legal
Defender, Mississippi Disaster Relief Coalition,
International Association of Democratic Lawyers, Legal Empowerment Center and the Louisiana Justice Initiative.
The
Tribunal Conveners—representing movements for justice on four continents—reminded
Tribunal participants
and witnesses of the solemnity of their task. Lybon Mabasa, a founding
member with Stephen Biko of the Black Consciousness Movement w in South
Africa, insisted, "We must hold these criminal governments to account
in order to stop the world from sinking into barbarism and to make the
world one where life is worth living."
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For samples of videotaped testimony, contact Monifa Bandele at (917) 407-3018
