April 7, 2026 was a signal moment for those of us working for peace and justice. As our president threatened to obliterate another nation, two hundred groups joined Amnesty International in the statement below, reminding us all of the legal and moral consequences of such an action. By the end of the day, the White House announced a ceasefire agreement, but the danger remains. The ‘obliteration’ may have been postponed or even averted, but the petition, with its broad range of signers on very short notice, is a good indication of the widespread opposition to this war. And MLTF’s work, including on the right to refuse illegal orders, will continue.
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
1. Amnesty International USA
2. Human Rights Watch
3. Oxfam America
4. Refugees International
5. 99 Coalition
6. Action Center on Race and the Economy
7. Al Otro Lado
8. Aldea – the People’s Justice Center
9. American Atheists
10.American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
11.American Committee for Middle East Rights (ACMER)
12.American Friends Service Committee
13.American Muslims for Palestine
14.American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)
15.Americans for Justice in Palestine Action (AJP Action)
16.ANAR
17.Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
18.ATHENA Network
19.Back from the Brink: Bringing Communities Together to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
20.Baltimore, MD Phil Berrigan Memorial Chapter Veterans For Peace
21.Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
22.Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC)
23.Center for Gender & Refugee Studies
24.Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law
25.Center for International Environmental Law
26.Center for International Policy
27.Center for Victims of Torture
28.Center on Conscience and War
29.Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility
30.Christians for a Free Palestine (CFP)
31.Church World Service
32.Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)
33.Common Defense
34.Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Region
35.Council for a Livable World
36.Council for Global Equality
37.Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
38.cylindr
39.DAWN
40.DAYLIGHT | Rule of Law, Access to Justice, Advocacy
41.Defending Rights & Dissent
42.Demand Progress
43.Emerald Pademelon Press LLC
44.Femena
45.Feminism Makes Us Smarter LLC
46.Foreign Policy for America
47.Foundation for Middle East Peace
48.Friends Committee on National Legislation
49.Fund for Global Human Rights
50.Georgetown Center for Asian Law
51.Girls for Gender Equity
52.Grassroots Global Justice Alliance
53.Haitian Bridge Alliance
54.HALT Solitary Campaign
55.Help Me Leave
56.Human Rights Activists (in Iran) HRA
57.Human Rights First
58.Humanity United
59.IfNotNow Movement
60.IMEU Policy Project
61.Impact Coalition on Strengthening International Judicial Institutions
62.Institute for Policy Studies, New Internationalism Project
63.Institute for Policy Studies, National Priorities Project
64.Interconnected Justice
65.International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR)
66.International Mayan League / Liga Maya Internacional
67.Just Detention International
68.KNR Sisters
69.Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA)
70.Latin America Working Group
71.Lawyers for Good Government
72.Legal Empowerment Portal
73.Leitner Center for International Law and Justice at Fordham Law School
74.Loretto Link
75.MADRE
76.Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
77.Miaan Group
78.Migrant Roots Media
79.Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild
80.MPower Change Action Fund
81.Muslim Advocates
82.NAACP
83.National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
84.National Iranian American Council Action
85.National Partnership for New Americans
86.NBJC
87.Oasis Legal Services
88.Ohio Immigrant Alliance
89.Open Society Foundations
90.P Street
91.Peace Action
92.Peace Action, New York State
93.Peace, Justice, Sustainability NOW!
94.PEN America
95.Physicians for Human Rights
96.Physicians for Social Responsibility
97.Ploughshares
98.Presbyterian Church (USA), Office of Public Witness
99.Presbyterian Peace Fellowship
100. Project On Government Oversight
101. Public Citizen
102. Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft
103. Quixote Center
104. Refugee Council USA
105. Reparations Pledge
106. Reparations4Slavery
107. ReThinking Foreign Policy
108. Rising Majority
109. Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center
110. RootsAction
111. Saferworld
112. Savie ASBL NGO LGBTQ DRC
113. September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
114. Signal Research and Resilience Initiative Sierra Leone RSquare
115. Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
116. Stanley Center for Peace and Security
117. Susquehanna Valley Presbytery’s Justice in Mission & Ministry Team
118. Texas Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry
119. The Alliance for Diplomacy and Justice
120. The Reckoning Project
121. The Sentry
122. The United Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society
123. The Workers Circle
124. Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment (CAREs)
125. Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC)
126. United for Iran
127. Unlock the Box: The National Campaign to End Solitary Confinement
128. War Prevention Initiative
129. We Are All America (WAAA)
130. Welcoming America
131. Western States Legal Foundation
132. Win Without War
133. Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML)
134. Women’s Foundation California
135. Women’s March
136. World BEYOND War
137. Woven Foundation
Individuals (Affiliation only for identification purposes)
1. Afshin Samali, University of Galway
2. Alexandra Toma, Peace and Security Funders Group
3. Ambassador (Ret.) Alexander F. Watson
4. Ambassador (Ret.) Deborah Malac, Former Ambassador, Career Foreign Service
Officer, Department of State
5. Anne C. Richard, Former Assistant Secretary of State, 2012-2017
6. Anne Peniston, Retired from USAID
7. Annie Pforzheimer, City University of New York
8. Anthony Tirado Chase, Occidental College
9. Arsalan Suleman, Former Acting U.S. Special Envoy to the OIC
10.Aryeh Neier, Open Society Foundations
11.Aurelia Brazeal, U.S. Department of State (retired)
12.Bama Athreya, Former US diplomat; current Executive Director, ICRW Americas
13.Begona Sangrador-Vegas, University of Galway
14.Bill Galvin, Presbyterian Peace Fellowship; Center on Conscience & War
15.Brian Peniston, ACLU member
16.Bruce Gillette, Susquehanna Valley Presbytery’s Justice in Mission & Ministry Team
17.Charles O. (Cob) Blaha, DAWN Senior Advisor, retired Foreign Service Officer
18.Christine Kraemer, Trinity Church of Austin
19.Corbin B. Lyday, Senior Policy Analyst (retired), US Agency for International
Development
20.Daniel Cole, Quaker, Center on Conscience and War board member
21.Daryl G. Kimball, Arms Control Association
22.David Dyssegaard Kallick, Immigration Research Initiative
23.Elham Youssefian, Disability rights and human rights advocate
24.Elisa Massimino, Visiting Professor of Law, Executive Director, Human Rights Institute,
Georgetown Law
25.Eric P. Schwartz, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota
26.Fleurian Filkins, Head of Advocacy at Help Me Leave
27.Gabriele Köhler, Wecf
28.Geeta Rao Gupta, Arch Collaborative
29.Gerald Feierstein, Former U.S. Ambassador to Yemen
30.Ghazal MIYAR, Sciences Po Paris
31.Grove Harris, Temple of Understanding
32.Hadar Harris, Rights and Justice Consulting
33.Heather Davison, Western States Legal Foundation
34.Heather Hogan, Former State Department Official
35.Jane Kinninmont, United Nations Association – UK
36.Janet Drew, AFSC
37.Jeff Abramson, Senior non-resident fellow, Center for International Policy
38.Jennifer Trahan, NYU Center for Global Affairs
39.Jessica John, Former CIA Leadership Analyst
40.Jon Temin, Former State Department Official
41.Jonah Blank, Former Policy Director/South & Southeast Asia, Senate Foreign Relations
Committee
42.Kavita N Ramdas, KNR Sisters
43.Kenneth Roth, Visiting professor, Princeton School of Public and International Affairs;
former executive director, Human Rights Watch
44.Leslie Rowe, Ambassador (ret.)
45.Mani Mostofi, Executive Director of the Miaan Group
46.Mardi Veiluva, Board member, Western States Legal Foundation, Oakland, CA
47.Nancy McEldowney, Former National Security Adviser to the Vice President
48.Niloufar Omidi, Human rights lawyer
49.Pamela L. Spratlen, Assn. of Black American Ambassadors (ABAA)
50.Rebecca A. Shoot, Co-Convener, ImPact Coalition on Strengthening International
Judicial Institutions; Washington Working Group for the ICC
51.Roman Avramenko, The Reckoning Project
52.Salim Ishmail Kondoh, Stop the War
53.Saqib Bhatti, Action Center on Race and the Economy
54.Saskia Brechenmacher, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
55.Sekar Jasmine Noegroho, Columbia University
56.Shahed Ghoreishi, Former State Department Official
57.Shannon Kowalski, Independent Expert on Gender Equality and Human Rights
58.Shannon Raj Singh, Athena Tech & Atrocities Advisory
59.Sister Mary Ann McGivern, Sister of Loretto
60.Skylar Thompson, Deputy Director, Human Rights Activists (in Iran)
61.Soheila Comninos, SC Consulting
62.Susan Waltz, Professor emeritus, University of Michigan
63.Susana T Fried, Just Futures Collaborative
64.Terry Kay Rockefeller, September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
65.Varina Winder, Former State Department Official
66.Yasmine Taeb, Human Rights Lawyer and Progressive Strategist
