When the international court to judge crimes against humanity is set up, the Peter Hains of this world beware

On 7 November, [Peter Hain] addressed the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London. Hans von Sponeck, the former United Nations humanitarian co-ordinator in Iraq, the top official responsible for administering Security Council decisions in Baghdad, has studied this and other statements by Hain and written him an open letter. After 34 years with the UN, von Sponeck, like his predecessor Denis Halliday, resigned in protest against the "barbaric punishment" of Iraqi civilians by sanctions.