Merchants of Death

MERCHANTS OF DEATH War Crimes Tribunal - November 12, 2023

Organised by three exemplary campaigners from the peace movement – Kathy Kelly, Nick Mottern, and Brad Wolf, this war crimes tribunal aims to hold accountable U.S. weapons manufacturers who knowingly are producing, selling, and making enormous profits from an industry which is responsible for the deaths of thousands in armed conflicts around the world.

Planned for November 2023, the event has brought together some of the most well-known organisations in the peace world such as World Beyond War, Code Pink, Ban Killer Drones, PAX Christi USA, Veterans for Peace, and indeed ourselves here at Better World Info.

The tribunal members are made up of celebrated attorneys, political activists, human rights defenders, law professors, combat veterans, and diplomats. Many of whom have witnessed and suffered first-hand the tragedy of war, and the devastating humanitarian consequences.

The Merchants of Death tribunal will hear evidence through a series of testimonies and interviews which will be later be reviewed and a verdict rendered. War crimes, and crimes against humanity, and the violation of U.S. Federal law are the potential charges which could be faced.

So far, subpoenas have been served to Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, and General Atomics. They must provide to the tribunal ‘all documents revealing their complicity in aiding and abetting the United States government in committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, bribery, and theft.’

The global arms trade is big business. U.S. arms sales to foreign governments rose by 49% to $205.6 billion in 2022. The U.S. is by far the world's biggest arms exporter. These weapons are fuelling conflict, death, misery, destruction, repression, displacement, human rights abuses, and global instability.

The U.S. is also the biggest supplier of military financing to Israel who receive $3.8 billion annually. In the wake of the Israel-Hamas war which erupted in October 2023, President Biden has requested at least $14.3 billion in additional military support for Israel.

The U.S. Military-Industrial-Complex urgently needs to be controlled, regulated, and held to account. Human lives are not merely collateral damage in the race for more profit and power. If this group of peace activists can achieve a guilty verdict, they can hope to set a precedent for curbing this business of death in countries all over the world.

For related topics be sure to check out our guides to Conflict Regions, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Nuclear Disarmament, the Military, ABC Weapons, and Peace.

Author: Rachael Mellor, 02.08.23 licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0  -  Suggestions for improvement

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