The 31st session of the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal, held in Rome on December 14-16 2002, is devoted to the theme on International Law and New Wars. The proceedings analyse the crisis in international law and international relations, examining the political causes behind the rise of war as a routine instrument of domination and conflict resolution. This session is conceptually linked to the 1992 session on the conquest of the Americas, extending the discussion to the transformations of the contemporary international order.
The Tribunal examines in depth the crisis of the United Nations system, the consequences of growing global inequality, and the illegitimacy of the doctrines of ‘pre-emptive war’ and ‘just war’, invoked to justify the conflicts in Iraq, Kosovo and Afghanistan. The session also assesses the effects of the normalisation of war on international law and on the protection of peoples’ rights.
On the basis of the analyses carried out, the Tribunal declares the use of war as an instrument of international policy to be illegitimate and identifies respect for international law, the strengthening of the role of the United Nations, progressive disarmament and the development of international justice as the essential conditions for the construction of an order founded on peace and human rights.
Documentation:
The Judgment is available in Italian