Category: Letters

International lawsuit demands truth, accountability for war crimes perpetrators in Iran’s Minab School

This petition calls on international and national authorities to investigate alleged war crimes arising from the 02/28/2026 U.S.–Israeli military attack on Iran. It argues that the operation violated the UN Charter’s prohibition on the use of force and resulted in grave breaches of international humanitarian law, particularly the missile strike on an elementary school in Minab that killed 165 innocent people, mostly children. The petition urges the International Criminal Court, UN bodies, and national courts exercising universal jurisdiction to conduct independent investigations and prosecute responsible military and political authorities.

Stop the Aggression Against Iran Immediately

We, members of the intellectual community, condemn the unprovoked attacks by Israel and the US against Iran. We view the war and the killing and endangerment of innocent lives as a grave violation of fundamental moral principles and international law. These actions, including attacks on residential buildings, schools, hospitals, emergency facilities, cultural sites, and sports complexes, have placed countless lives at risk and undermined the protection owed to civilians. We call for the immediate end of this aggression and for full justice and redress for those who have been harmed.

Stop the War on Iran – End the Repression

We strongly condemn the U.S. war with Iran under any pretense. Beyond the humanitarian catastrophe and economic devastation it would cause, the Trump administration’s latest threat to wage war on Iran violates both international law and U.S. law, which requires congressional authorization for the use of force. Recent experiences in Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan demonstrate that U.S. military interventions produce immense human suffering, undermine prospects for democracy, and further destabilize the Middle East, regardless of whether they are waged in the name of regime change or “humanitarian intervention.”

Solutions for the Immediate Rescue of Iran

As part of its new Middle East strategy, Israel has launched a war against Iran using the most advanced American weaponry, which violates all principles of international law. In light of the harsh reality of global power coercion and their disregard for legal standards, and considering Iran’s national capabilities, we present the following proposals to the government and our fellow citizens: Call for a Temporary Ceasefire, Direct Negotiations with the United States, Flexibility on Enrichment, Reconciliation Between the Islamic Republic and the People, Holding a Referendum to Amend the Constitution.

Against Campus Militarization and Repression

We Condemn the Militarization of Campuses and Repression of Students, Faculty, and Staff Demanding an End to the US-Supported Israeli Genocide of Palestinians, “Disclosure and Divestment” from Israel, and “Re-investment” in our communities. We demand that Duke disclose its holdings and divest from all financial and academic projects that support the Zionist settler-colonial project and re-invest in the workers who make our communities places we call home. We demand a commitment to free thinking and dissent on campus and off, and reversal of the increased militarization and securitization of campuses.

Duke University Academics and Staff for Justice in Palestine Stands with Gaza Solidarity Encampments

We insist that universities and colleges allow all community members including students to freely express their ideas and opinions rather than actively repress them; demilitarize our campuses and refrain from militarizing and policing them further; outline a policy for the future protection of speech, including and especially dissent; take seriously campus demands that universities and colleges divest from companies supporting the military-industrial complex and Israeli state violence, genocide, apartheid, and occupation; and
take seriously campus demands that universities and colleges boycott Israeli institutions through the BDS campaign.

Statement on Palestine

The atrocities we have witnessed on and after October 7th did not happen in a vacuum. We condemn the brutal and inhumane attacks against civilian lives and call for an immediate ceasefire. The situation is a crime against humanity and an ethnic cleansing. The Duke University Faculty for Justice stands in solidarity with those fighting for anti-colonial liberation, including the freedom struggle in Palestine. Over two million people, nearly half of whom are children, have been entrapped in an open-air prison, given very little freedom of movement in and out.

Listen to the Voices of Protesting Iran

This country-wide revolt is against not only the brutal murder of Mahsa but also the essence of the so-called Islamic regime. The demand is loud and clear: an end to a theocratic regime whose multi-faceted violence against marginalized bodies is manifested in Mahsa’s death. Protestors are chanting “women, life, freedom.” Creating and sustaining such a continuum requires recognition of the intersectional struggles that women and other marginalized bodies are experiencing in countries such as Iran and under the current Islamic theocracy. We insist on a queer-feminist, anti-capitalist, and anti-fascist agenda.

Statement on Palestine from North Carolina Academics

We, faculty from 19 colleges and universities across NC, are writing to strongly condemn Israeli attacks on historic Palestine, from the bombing of the Gaza Strip to the forced evictions in East Jerusalem, and to express our solidarity with the Palestinian people in their just struggle for liberation. We view this struggle for liberation as closely entwined with many struggles for racial and Indigenous justice in America, from Ferguson to Standing Rock. We reaffirm our commitment to combating racism in all its forms, including anti-Blackness, antisemitism, Islamophobia, and anti-Asian racism.