INDICT was established in late 1996 to campaign for the creation of an ad hoc International Criminal Tribunal - similar to those established for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda - to try leading members of the Iraqi regime on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide and torture. The campaign was launched in the House of Commons and in the US Senate and remained dependent on voluntary donations and assistance until it was awarded a financial grant through the Iraq Liberation Act, passed by the US Congress in December 1998, which allocated funds to various Iraqi opposition groups and specifically allocated money for war crimes issues.

Despite overwhelming evidence that Saddam Hussein and other members of the Iraqi regime have committed such crimes, the UN Security Council has failed to respond to the demands of the victims for justice. The proposed permanent International Criminal Court will not have jurisdiction over the crimes already committed by Hussein and his henchmen, who continue to violate human rights with absolute impunity.

Faced with these obstacles, INDICT began to focus on collecting evidence to seek indictments by national prosecutors.....

The efforts of INDICT and other organizations campaigning for justice in Iraq have already succeeded in preventing members of the Iraqi regime who have committed crimes against humanity from travelling with impunity. ...

INDICT has filed cases in the UK, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland and Norway, and is preparing cases for filing in Germany and several other European countries. In December 2002 INDICT filed a complaint with the Ethics Commission of the International Olympic Committee against the Iraqi Olympic Committee and its president, Uday Saddam Hussein, for the torture of Iraqi sportsmen.

The chair of INDICT is Ann Clwyd MP, who is also Chair of the UK All-Party Parliamentary Human Rights Group. Other members of the board include senior members of the Iraqi opposition, human rights activists and leading international lawyers. The work of INDICT has been supported by former US President Bill Clinton, former UK Prime Ministers Baroness Margaret Thatcher and John Major, and by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, among others.