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Goddess Amani

29 years ago, on 7 Tir month of 1366 (equivalent to June 28, 1987), 7 years after the Iraqi military invasion of Iran, 4 densely populated areas in Sardasht were targeted by chemical bombs dropped by Iraqi planes. The foul smell of gas and the yellowish haze engulfed the city, marking one of the most horrific events of the 8-year war between Iran and Iraq. According to available records, 113-110 people lost their lives in the initial hours of this deadly incident, and thousands (nearly 8,000) were injured. Even generations who were not yet born during the war are still affected by the consequences of this war.

After the catastrophic events of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Sardasht was the first non-military city in the world to be attacked by weapons of mass destruction. The Iraqi government, which had underestimated the challenges of invading the oil-rich regions of southern Iran against a country with three times its population, committed a crime against the people of Sardasht in an attempt to break Iran’s resistance. The United Nations and Western governments, especially the United States, turned a blind eye to this blatant violation of international laws and treaties banning the use of chemical weapons and ignored Iran’s complaints to the UN.

Journalist Joel Hillerman, a Middle East researcher in his book “A Poisonous Affair”, emphasizes that although there were ambiguities regarding the use of chemical weapons by both Iran and Iraq, the investigation and declassification of CIA documents in 1996 showed that Iraq, with the support of the West and especially the United States, took the initiative in using chemical weapons. The book, which is dedicated to the crimes of the Iraqi government in Halabja, reveals how the shameful policies of America, turning a blind eye to Iraq’s military movements, led to the heinous events of Sardasht and Halabja. Aghbal Reza, in his meeting with Sardasht, clearly saw that the Iraqi government had used chemical weapons. He, who later became one of Kofi Annan’s close aides, did not pursue the issue and the tragedy of Halabja occurred. In response to the question of why the international community did not prevent the tragedy of Hal

The attack of Iraq on Sardasht and then Halabja is among the 10 cases of the use of chemical weapons that Washington does not want to talk about. In articles published on September 4, 2013 in Policy Mic, the focus is on the exchanged information between America and Iraq and America’s silence on the use of chemical weapons in Sardasht.

Prohibition of chemical weapons.

The Chemical Weapons Convention is the most important international treaty for the production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons. Its provisions were adopted by representatives of 165 member countries of the United Nations in Paris and New York on January 13, 1993, and it became enforceable on April 29, 1997. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, an intergovernmental organization established in 1997, is responsible for ensuring the implementation and enforcement of this convention. Its headquarters are in The Hague and its structure is under the supervision of the signatories. In recognition of the urgent need to ban chemical weapons, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to this organization. In his acceptance speech, the Secretary-General of the organization, Ahmed Ozumcu, stated: “For 16 years, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has banned all weapons of mass destruction – our goal is to permanently remove chemical weapons from the stage of history.” He continued, “

However, news about the use of chemical weapons in Syria (Ghouta) in recent months has continued to cause anxiety and a terrifying shadow over the global community regarding the use of these weapons.

The use of chemical weapons is a violation of a series of resolutions, agreements, and international treaties. The 1899 Hague Declaration, the 1925 Geneva Protocol, the Chemical Weapons Convention, the Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) all prohibit the use of chemical weapons. Furthermore, the use of chemical weapons is in clear contradiction with international humanitarian laws, as stated in the Geneva Convention, its subsequent protocols, and the Hague Conventions, which prohibit the targeting of civilians.

The use of chemical weapons, if used purposefully to completely or partially destroy a nation, race, ethnicity, or specific religious group, is considered a crime against humanity. The Halabja incident, which some refer to as the “Kurdish genocide,” has received special attention in recognizing it as a “crime against humanity.”

Civilians, victims of military conflicts.

The reality is that in 25 of the biggest wars of the 20th century, 32 million civilians were killed compared to 39 million military personnel. According to the 2008 report by the Global Burden of Armed Violence organization, for every military person killed in war, between 3 to 15 civilians lose their lives or are injured for various reasons.

Despite the 1949 Geneva Convention and subsequent protocols on the protection of civilians during war, ordinary people have increasingly become victims of armed violence. One of the reasons for this is the growing number of military conflicts that are not officially declared by governments, but rather involve non-state armed groups, inter-ethnic wars, and military confrontations between groups with indirect political agendas. Since 1989, the number of military conflicts between governments (whether one or both sides are involved) has decreased, while cases of “one-sided violence” and attacks targeting civilians have increased by 37%. Along with direct casualties and military attacks, non-combatants and civilians also experience the risk of infectious diseases, malnutrition, and other consequences that fall under the category of injuries caused by military conflicts. In a 22-month study of bloody conflicts in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (1998-2001), 2.5 million people were killed, of which only 350,000 were directly related to military

No weapon has a monopoly on slaughter and violence. The use of chemical weapons and mass killings does not differentiate between citizens and soldiers, between the battlefield and residential areas, and ruthlessly throws women, men, children, and the elderly to the ground. Furthermore, the process of using them is devastating and destructive; blindness, burns, suffocation, and the bodies of victims covered in wounds are the tragic consequences of the use of chemical weapons in human society.

Death by some of these weapons is not immediate, and mustard gas is not immediately fatal; however, it is painful and when these weapons do not kill a person, they have long-lasting and destructive effects on the environment, and can even harm future generations of humans.

On April 22, 101 years have passed since the first widespread use of chemical weapons in Ypres, Belgium. On that day, 170 tons of chlorine gas were used on the battlefield. The green-yellow haze overtook the trenches, affecting 10,000 soldiers. After this event, Ypres, Passchendaele, and Halabja became cities that were marked by tragedy in the pages of history. However, unlike Ypres, the majority of those who lost their lives in Passchendaele were civilians and ordinary people. Although the initial human toll in the Passchendaele disaster was limited to 113-110 people, thousands of people are still facing its consequences and justice must be served.

The Heartbreaking Story of the Raisani Family and the Struggle of Kasra, Parsa, and Shabnam, all three children of this family, which has been reflected in the Persian media, and the fact that this family is unable to afford the medical expenses of their children is one of the cruel processes and the story of the silent victims of this tragedy.

According to German doctors, all three children of this family are among the hidden and silent victims of the chemical attack in Sardasht, without even being alive at the time of this tragedy. In fact, the genetic mutation caused by chemical factors has resulted in these three young people inheriting the pain and suffering of Sardasht without being present during the tragedy. Shabnam was born in the final year of the war, Kasra in 1991, and Parsa in 1997, and none of them have any concept of war.

Who is responsible and accountable?

Despite 29 years passing since the tragic incident of Sardasht and the continuation of injuries and damages caused by it, the global community, the Islamic Republic government, and even the civil society have placed the Sardasht incident in the footnote of the 8-year Iran-Iraq war history.

Despite the fact that in 2014, Ahmed Uzumcu, the head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, issued statements of sympathy with the people of Sardasht, the international relations manager of the Society of Victims of Chemical Weapons in Iran has announced that 7 official documents regarding the chemical attack on Iran have been submitted to the United Nations without any action being taken. However, the international community is still hesitant to hold the perpetrators of the Sardasht tragedy accountable. On the other hand, the Islamic Republic has not taken significant steps in terms of research, investigation, and legal action against the majority of the affected individuals. A historical documentation project on the victims of this tragedy is limited to less than 10 interviews that have been translated into English. Civil society in Iran and other public institutions, which are somehow under the shadow of the Islamic Republic government, have not taken any specific action to bring this tragedy to the center of public attention and hold the perpetrators

The historical responsibility of the forces of advocacy is to prevent the transformation of Sardasht into forgotten islands by violating human rights.

For more information, please refer to:

1- The website of the Association for the Defense of the Rights of Chemical Injured in Sardasht.

2- These three people will die next week; A report on the situation of the Raisani family, Marahem Magazine, April 7, 2016.

Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction – Geneva, 3 September 1992.

4- Civil Society and Disarmament, United Nations website, 2015.

5- Network for Supporting Victims of Chemical Weapons, Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons website.

6- Eyewitnesses of chemical weapons, English section of Tehran Peace Museum website.

7- The role of public health professionals, academics, and advocates in dealing with armed conflict and war, on the website of the American Public Health Association.

8- Receiving the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize by the Director-General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons: Collaboration with each other for a world free of chemical weapons, and beyond that, the website of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.