GJG has been present in Iraq since 2005, collecting testimony from survivors of the Halabja massacre, the largest chemical weapons attack directed against a civilian-populated area in history.

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On March 16, 1998, during the closing days of the Iran–Iraq War, Saddam attacked with chemical weapons the town of Halabja, killing between 3,200 and 5,000 people and injuring over 7,000, mostly Kurds accused of collaborating with the Iranians. The Halabja attack has been officially defined by the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal as a genocidal massacre against the Kurdish people in Iraq under Saddam Hussein. The attack was also condemned as a crime against humanity by the Parliament of Canada.

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GJG has sponsored decades-long research that uncovered evidence indicating that European companies profited from the attack, assisted Saddam’s regime in the development of the chemical weapons, provided the chemical precursors components and equipment, and helped the regime to bypass export laws meant to prevent export of illegal weapons.

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Our team has also engaged in a collaborative partnership with Halabja Chemical Victims Society (HCVS), a grassroots survivors-led organization, training its members to collect documentation necessary to support legal proceedings on behalf of the victims. Our joint team has documented the claims of over 2,800 men, women and children killed and almost 4,800 survivors of the chemical weapons attack.  Most of these victims are still suffering the continuing effects of the poison gases.

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Together, GJG and HCVS have gathered sufficient evidence for the initiation of lawsuits against the international suppliers who ripped huge profits by providing the chemical weapons used in the attack for their complicity in the genocide.

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In June, 2013, 20 representatives of HCVS filed a demand for criminal prosecution at the High Tribunal in Paris, France, against the French suppliers of the chemical weapons.