Screening of the film “Iraq's Invisible Beauty”

Veranstaltungsnummer: 278863 – als .ics herunterladen

"I am the one who presented false information to the world in the name of the United States and that will forever be part of my life" - with these words, former US Secretary of State Colin Powell admitted that the US government fabricated evidence of the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. A year earlier, in September 2004, the weapons inspector Charles Duelfer, commissioned by the US government at the time, concluded that Iraq neither possessed weapons of mass destruction nor was pursuing corresponding programs to produce them at the start of the US invasion in March 2003.

The report thus demonstrated that the motivation given for the invasion of Iraq was baseless and without a doubt constituted a blatant violation of international law. The findings of the more than thousand-page report shed light on the falsehoods used to justify the invasion, which led to a war that shook the region and whose consequences, especially with regard to international law, continue to this day. It is noteworthy that at the time of the invasion, many intellectuals and political analysts warned that the US was „setting a devastating example for future superpowers" with its actions that violated international law.

Today, the war in Gaza raises serious questions about the effectiveness of the international rules-based order in general, and international humanitarian law in particular. Both, the war in Iraq and the war on Gaza not only have foreseeable long-term-effects on the region. But both wars also raise serious questions about the future of international law and international humanitarian law.

We are kindly inviting you to discuss such questions with our distinguished panelists from Europe and Iraq. In order to introduce the subject matter, we will be screening for the first time in Germany the documentary film “Iraq's Invisible Beauty”.

Together with our distinguished panelists and against the background of the screening of the documentary film “Iraq's Invisible Beauty”, we want to discuss the long-term effects of the invasion of Iraq, its consequences for the region, its implications for international law and the resulting lessons for the future.

Panelists:

Dr. Herta Däubler-Gmelin, former German Minister of Justice, Lawyer

Mrs.Pascal Esho Warda, former Iraqi Minister for Immigration and Refugees in the Iraqi Interim Government that replaced the rule of the Coalition Provisional Authority following the US Invasion in 2003.

Jurgen Buedts, Belgian film maker and producer of “Iraq's Invisible Beauty”

Moderator:

Sura Ali – independent Iraqi journalist

Programme

Date: Wednesday, September 25th, 2024, 6 pm

Venue: Hackesche Höfe Kino, Rosenthaler Str. 40 -41, 10178 Berlin

6.00 pm Entry and Registration

6.20 pm Welcome

6.30 pm Film Screening

8.00 pm Panel Discussion

9 -10 pm Get-together

The film will be shown in the original (Arabic) version with English subtitles. There will be English and Arabic translation during the panel discussion. The admission is free.

We are looking forward to welcomig you. Please register here until September 15, 2024. For queries, contact us at info.nahost@fes.de.

Film-Website: www.iraqsinvisiblebeauty.com

Ariela Groß

Referat Naher/Mittlerer Osten und Nordafrika