Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq

PLEASE NOTE THIS SITE IS NOW AN ARCHIVE, AND IS NO LONGER UPDATED. 

For information on Iraq since May 2003, please visit www.iraqanalysis.org.
   
         
   
   

About CASI

The Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq (CASI) was a registered society at the University of Cambridge. It was founded in 1997 by students concerned about the humanitarian crisis created in Iraq by the economic sanctions imposed after Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. CASI's exclusive concern was humanitarian: it campaigned only for the lifting of the non-military sanctions. CASI neither supported nor sought to topple the Iraqi regime; it did not take a position on the ongoing US/UK bombing of Iraq or on human rights abuses committed by the Iraqi government.

CASI opposed the continued non-military sanctions on Iraq because it believed that they had produced a humanitarian disaster of extraordinary proportions in Iraq. While the Government of Iraq had not taken all the steps that it might have to alleviate this disaster the sanctions were also clearly to blame: economic sanctions work by inflicting hardship.

CASI worked primarily by distributing accurate information about the situation in Iraq. It maintained the largest electronic discussion list on the sanctions in the UK, and an informative website. Its newsletters have examined claims UK and US government claims, UN mortality data and other aspects of the sanctions on Iraq. CASI has also prepared briefings on Ministerial statements and UN Resolutions.

In January 1999, CASI organised Denis Halliday's UK tour after his 1998 resignation. In November 1999, it held a weekend conference on the sanctions involving eighteen expert speakers from four countries and over 150 delegates; the proceedings of this conference are published in a paperback book. In March 2001, CASI hosted its second international conference, addressing the question of alternatives to the current sanctions regime.

CASI also played an active role in fostering co-operation and communication among the UK's many diverse groups concerned with Iraq. In December 1998 CASI and Voices in the Wilderness UK, held the first National Co-ordination Meeting. These continued at roughly six week intervals and coordinated several projects including two national petitions which collected a total of nearly 30,000 signatures.

For more information, please view the old detailed introduction to CASI (which includes a double sided A4 information sheet), the rest of our website or contact the Iraq Analysis Group via their website.

Last updated January 2006.

   
         
   

This archive site is hosted by the Iraq Analysis Group, to whom queries should be directed