Most here will probably remember that some time ago Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders; MSF) started a petition at Change.org asking President Obama to consent to an independent investigation of the Kunduz hospital bombing on 3 October by the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission (IHFFC). As I write this, it has 546,425 signatures. This morning I received an update:
Dec 7, 2015 — It’s time for our final push to collect signatures, because this Wednesday, we will be gathering in Washington, DC, to deliver our petition and to speak out about Kunduz, about the colleagues and patients we lost, and about the importance of international humanitarian law.
We want to make sure your voices are heard!
If you’re in or near Washington, DC, this Wednesday, December 9, at 1pm, please join us as Doctors Without Borders and supporters gather on the south side of Lafayette Square, across from the White House.
Doctors Without Borders representatives will speak, local and national NGO's are attending, and the public will raise banners to reiterate the basic point that Even Wars Have Rules.
And afterwards, we will deliver the petition and the signatures to the White House.
More than 545,000 people worldwide have joined our call for President Obama to consent to an independent investigation into the destruction of the Doctors Without Borders trauma hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, on October 3. While the U.S., NATO, and the Afghan government have launched investigations, it is impossible to rely only on the parties involved to carry out independent and impartial investigations of acts in which they are implicated.
It is for that reason, and in the name of our deceased and wounded colleagues and patients—and for all of our staff and patients worldwide—Doctors Without Borders continues to call for an independent international investigation.
Please keep spreading the word, ask others to sign, and join us on Wednesday in Washington if you can.
Sincerely, Doctors Without Borders
There is still a little time for anyone wishing to do so to sign the petition.