Attacks on US a crime, not act of war, conference concludes
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* Barbara Sibbald

World experts in peace and health have declared that the Sept. 11 attacks on US civilians should be defined as a crime, not an act of war. The declaration was made at the Peace Through Health conference at McMaster University, held a month after the terrorist attacks. It attracted 120 participants from 19 countries, and they stated that the US should respond with legal, not military, means.

An organizer of the conference, which was cosponsored by the *Lancet*, said “we came up with the declaration at the request of everyone.” Hamilton psychiatrist Joanna Santa Barbara said only a few participants didn't support it, and that was primarily because they did not consider it strong enough.

The declaration ([www.humanities.mcmaster.ca/peace-health/home.htm](http://www.humanities.mcmaster.ca/peace-health/home.htm)) stated that the conference participants regard “war as a public health emergency and peace as a fundamental determinant of health.”

“We can keep patching people up,” said Santa Barbara, “but the real cure is to stop the violence.”

The declaration concluded: “We urge serious effort to understand the underlying conditions that have led us to this crisis. The purpose of seeking to understand is not to excuse the perpetrators, but to prevent similar catastrophes happening in the future.”

Meanwhile, Physicians for Global Survival, a national organization of 1000 physicians, is lobbying for Canada to assume the role of peacemaker and help find solutions through international law, not military action.

“We believe the apprehension and extradition of suspects in the Sept. 11 crimes and justice for these horrendous crimes can be accomplished through negotiation and police action with many nations acting in coalition with the UN,” said President Neil Arya. “The current military action against Afghanistan is itself an injustice to the Afghan people.”

Santa Barbara said McMaster's Peace Through Health network will follow-up on the declaration by contacting politicians and others. Next year, McMaster is launching a new, multidisciplinary Peace Through Health Department. The university is also raising money for the world's first interdisciplinary chair in Peace Through Health, which was announced at the conference.