April 7, 2026
More than 200 Organizations and Experts Call for an End to Trump’s Threats of War Crimes and Call for Accountability
We the undersigned human rights, humanitarian, civil liberties, faith-based and environmental organizations, think tanks and experts are deeply alarmed by President Trump’s threat regarding Iran that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if his demands are not met. Such language describes a grave atrocity if carried out. A threat to wipe out “a whole civilization” may amount to a threat of genocide. Genocide is a crime defined by the Genocide Convention and by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as committing one or more of several acts “with intent to destroy in whole or in part a national, racial or religious groups as such.”
The law is clear that civilians must not be targeted, and they must also be protected from indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks. Strikes on civilian infrastructure – such as the recent attack on a bridge and the attacks President Trump is repeatedly threatening to carry out to destroy power plants – have devastating consequences for the civilian population and environment.
We urge all parties to respect international law. Those responsible for atrocities, including crimes against humanity and war crimes, can and must be held accountable.
The undersigned remind those engaged in military operations of their obligation to refuse any patently unlawful order. Anyone who orders, carries out, or is otherwise complicit in President Trump’s abhorrent threats must be held accountable.
Organizations
Amnesty International USA
Human Rights Watch
Oxfam America
Refugees International
99 Coalition
Action Center on Race and the Economy
Al Otro Lado
Aldea – the People’s Justice Center
American Atheists
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
American Committee for Middle East Rights (ACMER)
American Friends Service Committee
American Muslims for Palestine
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)
Americans for Justice in Palestine Action (AJP Action)
ANAR
Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
ATHENA Network
Back from the Brink: Bringing Communities Together to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
Baltimore, MD Phil Berrigan Memorial Chapter Veterans For Peace
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC)
Center for Gender & Refugee Studies
Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law
Center for International Environmental Law
Center for International Policy
Center for Victims of Torture
Center on Conscience and War
Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility
Christians for a Free Palestine (CFP)
Church World Service
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)
Common Defense
Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Region
Council for a Livable World
Council for Global Equality
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
cylindr
DAWN
DAYLIGHT | Rule of Law, Access to Justice, Advocacy
Defending Rights & Dissent
Demand Progress
Emerald Pademelon Press LLC
Femena
Feminism Makes Us Smarter LLC
Foreign Policy for America
Foundation for Middle East Peace
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Fund for Global Human Rights
Georgetown Center for Asian Law
Girls for Gender Equity
Grassroots Global Justice Alliance
Haitian Bridge Alliance
HALT Solitary Campaign
Help Me Leave
Human Rights Activists (in Iran) HRA
Human Rights First
Humanity United
IfNotNow Movement
IMEU Policy Project
Impact Coalition on Strengthening International Judicial Institutions
Institute for Policy Studies, New Internationalism Project
Institute for Policy Studies, National Priorities Project
Interconnected Justice
International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR)
International Mayan League / Liga Maya Internacional
Just Detention International
KNR Sisters
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA)
Latin America Working Group
Lawyers for Good Government
Legal Empowerment Portal
Leitner Center for International Law and Justice at Fordham Law School
Loretto Link
MADRE
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Miaan Group
Migrant Roots Media
Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild
MPower Change Action Fund
Muslim Advocates
NAACP
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National Iranian American Council Action
National Partnership for New Americans
NBJC
Oasis Legal Services
Ohio Immigrant Alliance
Open Society Foundations
P Street
Peace Action
Peace Action, New York State
Peace, Justice, Sustainability NOW!
PEN America
Physicians for Human Rights
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Ploughshares
Presbyterian Church (USA), Office of Public Witness
Presbyterian Peace Fellowship
Project On Government Oversight
Public Citizen
Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft
Quixote Center
Refugee Council USA
Reparations Pledge
Reparations4Slavery
ReThinking Foreign Policy
Rising Majority
Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center
RootsAction
Saferworld
Savie ASBL NGO LGBTQ DRC
September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
Signal Research and Resilience Initiative Sierra Leone RSquare
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
Stanley Center for Peace and Security
Susquehanna Valley Presbytery’s Justice in Mission & Ministry Team
Texas Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry
The Alliance for Diplomacy and Justice
The Reckoning Project
The Sentry
The United Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society
The Workers Circle
Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment (CAREs)
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC)
United for Iran
Unlock the Box: The National Campaign to End Solitary Confinement
War Prevention Initiative
We Are All America (WAAA)
Welcoming America
Western States Legal Foundation
Win Without War
Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML)
Women’s Foundation California
Women’s March
World BEYOND War
Woven Foundation
Individuals (Affiliation only for identification purposes)
Afshin Samali, University of Galway
Alexandra Toma, Peace and Security Funders Group
Ambassador (Ret.) Alexander F. Watson
Ambassador (Ret.) Deborah Malac, Former Ambassador, Career Foreign Service Officer, Department of State
Anne C. Richard, Former Assistant Secretary of State, 2012-2017
Anne Peniston, Retired from USAID
Annie Pforzheimer, City University of New York
Anthony Tirado Chase, Occidental College
Arsalan Suleman, Former Acting U.S. Special Envoy to the OIC
Aryeh Neier, Open Society Foundations
Aurelia Brazeal, U.S. Department of State (retired)
Bama Athreya, Former US diplomat; current Executive Director, ICRW Americas
Begona Sangrador-Vegas, University of Galway
Bill Galvin, Presbyterian Peace Fellowship; Center on Conscience & War
Brian Peniston, ACLU member
Bruce Gillette, Susquehanna Valley Presbytery’s Justice in Mission & Ministry Team
Charles O. (Cob) Blaha, DAWN Senior Advisor, retired Foreign Service Officer
Christine Kraemer, Trinity Church of Austin
Corbin B. Lyday, Senior Policy Analyst (retired), US Agency for International Development
Daniel Cole, Quaker, Center on Conscience and War board member
Daryl G. Kimball, Arms Control Association
David Dyssegaard Kallick, Immigration Research Initiative
Elham Youssefian, Disability rights and human rights advocate
Elisa Massimino, Visiting Professor of Law, Executive Director, Human Rights Institute, Georgetown Law
Eric P. Schwartz, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota
Fleurian Filkins, Head of Advocacy at Help Me Leave
Gabriele Köhler, Wecf
Geeta Rao Gupta, Arch Collaborative
Gerald Feierstein, Former U.S. Ambassador to Yemen
Ghazal MIYAR, Sciences Po Paris
Grove Harris, Temple of Understanding
Hadar Harris, Rights and Justice Consulting
Heather Davison, Western States Legal Foundation
Heather Hogan, Former State Department Official
Jane Kinninmont, United Nations Association – UK
Janet Drew, AFSC
Jeff Abramson, Senior non-resident fellow, Center for International Policy
Jennifer Trahan, NYU Center for Global Affairs
Jessica John, Former CIA Leadership Analyst
Jon Temin, Former State Department Official
Jonah Blank, Former Policy Director/South & Southeast Asia, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Kavita N Ramdas, KNR Sisters
Kenneth Roth, Visiting professor, Princeton School of Public and International Affairs; former executive director, Human Rights Watch
Leslie Rowe, Ambassador (ret.)
Mani Mostofi, Executive Director of the Miaan Group
Mardi Veiluva, Board member, Western States Legal Foundation, Oakland, CA
Nancy McEldowney, Former National Security Adviser to the Vice President
Niloufar Omidi, Human rights lawyer
Pamela L. Spratlen, Assn. of Black American Ambassadors (ABAA)
Rebecca A. Shoot, Co-Convener, ImPact Coalition on Strengthening International Judicial Institutions; Washington Working Group for the ICC
Roman Avramenko, The Reckoning Project
Salim Ishmail Kondoh, Stop the War
Saqib Bhatti, Action Center on Race and the Economy
Saskia Brechenmacher, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Sekar Jasmine Noegroho, Columbia University
Shahed Ghoreishi, Former State Department Official
Shannon Kowalski, Independent Expert on Gender Equality and Human Rights
Shannon Raj Singh, Athena Tech & Atrocities Advisory
Sister Mary Ann McGivern, Sister of Loretto
Skylar Thompson, Deputy Director, Human Rights Activists (in Iran)
Soheila Comninos, SC Consulting
Susan Waltz, Professor emeritus, University of Michigan
Susana T Fried, Just Futures Collaborative
Terry Kay Rockefeller, September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
Varina Winder, Former State Department Official
Yasmine Taeb, Human Rights Lawyer and Progressive Strategist