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Articles & Written Materials
The New Proposed Iraqi Constitution & The Threat Of Constitutional
Rights For U.S. Corporations
An open letter to the Iraqi people
January 10, 2004
To the people of Iraq:
We write as concerned citizens of the United States who are opposed to
the occupation of Iraq, and who strongly support the Iraqi people's right
to self determination. We believe the US is in Iraq primarily to serve
a corporate driven agenda: to guarantee control over Iraq's oil, and to
create an economic and military stronghold in the Middle East for many
years to come.
It is our view that the United States government will do everything in
its power to guarantee these aims via the proposed Iraqi Constitution.
We would like to share with you information about how corporations have
illegitimately obtained constitutional rights in the United States, and
how this has led to great inequality, poverty, and injustice. The United
States and its corporations have replicated this in the writing of other
countries constitutions, like South Africa in 1996, and we strongly believe
it will attempt to enshrine these rights in the proposed constitution
for Iraq. We hope this information can better inform Iraqi civil society
in your struggle for self-determination.
1. Corporations in the United States
In the United States, corporations have succeeded in acquiring rights
solely intended for human beings in our Constitution: freedom of speech,
freedom to participate in the political process, freedom from unreasonable
government searches, etc. While the US Constitution does not explicitly
afford corporations these rights, court decisions have extended these
rights to them. Corporations in the United States now have the "right"
to donate money to political candidates; to lobby for legislation, and
to run advertisements to influence the public on crucial social issues.
Multinational corporations are now among the most dominant institutions
in the world today, and they pour millions of dollars into the US political
process. As a result, they control nearly every aspect of the political
agenda. Both the Republican and Democratic parties are now dependent on
donations for their elections arranged by large corporations. So dependent
that it is our belief- and the belief of many millions of other Americans
and people worldwide- that the Bush Administration invaded Iraq to provide
a long-term investment return to their major financial supporters. While
control of Iraq's oil is the grand corporate prize, there are many other
US industries which want to see the Middle East opened up to US corporate
dependency.
Because of this influence, our government's policies are dominated by
the profit agendas of multinational corporations. Great injustices occur
as a result: forty four million Americans have no health coverage, and
at least 18,000 people die every year due to lack of access to health
care. Two million people are imprisoned, the world's highest incarceration
rate. Our agriculture has been taken over by large food corporations at
the expense of small family farmers. We continue to disproportionately
consume fossil fuels despite the damage to the earth's biosphere. These
policies have now been incorporated into US foreign policy for other countries,
particularly in the developing world.
2. Iraq and U.S. Corporations Under the Occupation
We were outraged and appalled when the US controlled Governing Council
passed an investment code that allows 100% foreign ownership of any Iraqi
asset apart from oil. This policy has laid the groundwork for the US to
manipulate the process for a new Iraqi Constitution, and enshrine rights
for its multinational corporations at the expense of the individual rights
of the Iraqi people.
This is not a new U.S. policy. Over the past decade, the U.S. government
has rapidly moved in the directions of negotiating and endorsing international
treaties that increasingly free corporations from obligations to comply
with local laws. The US government uses its political leverage through
trade and investment agreements, the International Monetary Fund, and
the World Bank to obtain access and control for its large corporations.
3. Implications for Iraq
We support the Iraqi people's struggle for freedom of speech, of assembly,
of religion and other basic rights long denied them, and which continue
to be denied them under the US and British occupation. These are rights
that all people should enjoy.
But they are not rights that corporations should have. These protections
are specifically designated to protect human dignity, liberty, and equality.
Corporate claims to such protections are ludicrous. The modern corporation
is an artificial entity. Many of the corporations operating in Iraq under
the US occupation have annual revenues larger than most countries, with
massive financial and technological resources. Unlike real persons, corporations
have perpetual life, are protected from prosecution via limited liability
provisions, can spread responsibility for its actions via holding companies
and subsidiaries, and cannot be imprisoned. As we've seen in the United
States, when corporations are granted the same rights as human beings,
the rights of human beings suffer as a result.
4. Assistance
Our organizations, PressurePoint and Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County
(California), have protested against the unjust and undemocratic influence
US corporations have had over the political process dictating the occupation.
Our organizations are part of a growing international movement dedicated
to challenging not just individual corporate harms, but corporate authority
itself.
We would be happy to provide you with further support and information
to help ensure the rights of the Iraqi people take precedence over the
illegitimacy of corporate rights. It is our view that the corrupting influence
of corporations should be removed completely from the political process,
whether it be Iraq or the United States.
We have included more specific information regarding corporate constitutional
rights and the 250 years of struggle in our country against corporate
rule, dating back to when the original thirteen states were British colonies.
We have also included information about attempts to ensure corporate constitutional
rights in the recent constitution of South Africa.
We wish you strength and solidarity in your struggle.
Regards,
Christopher Doran, PressurePoint
Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap & David Cobb, Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt
County (California)
Click here to read an article by
Ralph Nader on the Constitution of South Africa and Corporate Personhood.
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