The Council Of Churches In The Netherlands
October 10 2002
Dear Mr De Hoop Scheffer,
In its meeting on October 9 2002 the Council of Churches in the Netherlands intensely discussed the increasing tensions between the United States and Iraq and the threat of war. In this discussion the Council took into account the view of the National Council of Churches in the United States and of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Both organisations expressed great concern on the plans of the US administration to carry out a military attack on Iraq. As we feel connected with the American churches, we would like to bring to your attention some considerations from churches in the Netherlands.
The Council of Churches is concerned about the irresponsible attitude of the Iraqi government with regard to the security of its own people and the international legal order. The churches seriously worry about the ill fate of the Iraqi people that has suffered for so long under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. We share your concern about the threat issuing from mass destruction weapons in the hands of an unreliable government. However, in our view the military response now under preparation by the US administration also seriously and immediately threatens both international security and the situation of the Iraqi people. The Council realises that discomforting dilemmas are at stake here, requesting careful consideration and balanced judgment.
The churches greatly value the following considerations:
The moral dimension
For the Dutch government values and norms for the conduct of citizens and authorities on both the national and the international level are paramount. One such norm for the conduct of governments, that is internationally accepted and laid down in the Charter of the United Nations, is the observance of the utmost restraint in the use of military violence. In the Christian tradition too this restraint is an important issue. Christian theologians have endeavoured to translate this principle into the moral obligation to test the use of military violence to a number of criteria, that also outside the Christian community enjoy support. In light of this tradition the Council of Churches considered the following aspects:
Justice
The first criterion is the answer to the question to what extent military action addresses and serves a just cause. On the one hand, there can be no doubt whatsoever that Saddam Hussein's regime commits itself to the oppression of its own people and to grave violations of human rights, thus obstructing the construction of a democratic society in Iraq. On the other, it can be seriously doubted, whether Iraq by means of aggression or of threatening with it cause grave and long-lasting damage to a specific nation or the community of nations. There is no evidence, so far, that Iraq was involved in the attacks of 11 September last year. Nor is it clear to what extent Iraq has mass destruction weapons and how serious the threat of these arms really is for a specific nation or for the community of nations. The facts revealed so far on the danger issuing from Iraq for the international community do not constitute a "casus belli'.
Legitimacy
A second criterion lies in the answer to the question of whether military action is taken or legitimised by the proper authorities. In our view, a unilateral military action to expel the Iraqi regime is in defiance of the international legal order. In order to be legitimate, a multilateral military action requests a very large international consensus expressed in an unambiguous and ponderous mandate of the Security Council. According to many experts in international law there is at present no question of such a mandate. The Council of Churches considers this mandate an absolute prerequisite for a possible military action against Saddam Hussein's regime.
Effectiveness and proportionality
In our considerations questions of effectiveness and proportionality should also be weighed. Will a military action be successful? Which price has to be paid for it in terms of unintended damage to people, country and region? May the remedy not prove worse than the disease? On these points quite a few church members have serious doubts. Is what is predominantly presented as a cold-blooded, low risk surgical operation not in fact a playing with fire, i.e. with human lives?
A war against Iraq carries with it consequences for the Middle East and possibly for the whole world, that are absolutely unpredictable. The risk of it working as a precedent and having a domino effect, by which other countries get involved in a violent struggle, is great. In this unstable region that is stricken by so many fierce, prolonged and almost unsolvable conflicts, a military action will easily be infectious to other areas and lead to unforeseen consequences. More specifically, we have the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in mind. Moreover, the relations between Christians and Muslims will come under severe pressure, in Indonesia and in various African countries, but possibly also in Europe, in our own country and elsewhere in the world.
The fate of civilians and the future of Iraq
A very important criterion to test the legitimacy of military violence is the sparing of civilians. In the case of Iraq we cannot but presume that, be the military operation so precise as it is pretended to be, the long pestered civilian population again, and in great numbers, will be the direct and indirect victim. The churches value the opinion of the Iraqi population in its diversity. The construction of a really democratic and peaceful society in Iraq will demand a very great effort and deserves support from foreign governments. It is highly questionable whether a military intervention by the United States positively contributes to establishing democracy in Iraq.
The Council of Churches realises that many discomforting questions rise when it comes to applying the criteria for a legitimate military action against Iraq. However, in view of the data now available to us, the above considerations make us conclude that in the present circumstances a war against Iraq cannot be justified.
This does not answer the question what means the international community should use to stand up to the danger. The churches consider the following possibilities.
The renewed activity of the arms inspectors undoubtedly has an important role to play in a process in which the political and diplomatic pressure on Iraq, mainly from the Arab world, will be enhanced. By this pressure the regime should feel urged to lend its maximal cooperation with the United Nations and should be given minimal chance to appeal to its right of self-defence against war propaganda and aggression. The prestige of the United Nations is at stake here as never before. In a world in which tensions between representatives of different religions and between poor and rich countries seem to increase, the strengthening of this prestige is paramount.
The Dutch government and the European Union could greatly contribute in various ways. They could endeavour to gather the greatest possible support for diplomatic and peaceful solutions of the conflict. They could also take a critical stand with regard to the (often religiously phrased) rhetoric of both the American administration and Saddam Hussein in what they call "the struggle against evil'. Finally, they could intensify their contact with and lend support to those individuals and groups in Iraq that belong to the opposition and plead change; among those we reckon also ten thousands of Iraqi refugees in the Netherlands.
The Council of Churches acknowledges the discomforting character of the dilemmas that present themselves and hinder political decision making. But in the present situation our main concern is that in the name of "the struggle against evil' the world is about to be dragged into a much greater evil. In solidarity with our American sister churches we therefore call on the Dutch government to do its utmost to prevent the imminent military escalation.
Yours faithfully, on behalf of the Council of Churches in the Netherlands and its member churches,
Dr AHC van Eijk, president; Drs H J Bakker, general secretary; and representatives of the member churches of the Council of Churches in the Netherlands
