Carne Ross

about me

Carne Ross: A Voice for Diplomatic Change and Social Justice

about

I am a former British diplomat who resigned over the Iraq War after giving secret evidence to the first official so-called Butler inquiry into the war (I was the UK’s Iraq and Middle East expert at the UN before the 2003 invasion).  The publication of the evidence in 2006, at the request of parliament, led to calls for a full public inquiry into the war.  I later testified to that full inquiry, called the Chilcot Iraq Inquiry (you can see my somewhat bitter reflections about the whole saga here). 

After my resignation, I founded the world’s first non-profit diplomatic advisory group, Independent Diplomat (ID), which advises democratic countries and political movements all over the world on diplomacy.  That work has involved me in struggles for liberation, self-determination and democracy in Myanmar, Western Sahara, Syria, South Sudan, Yemen, Kosovo, to name a few.  ID worked with the Marshall Islands to recruit and lead the hundred-country strong  ‘High Ambition Coalition’ which came together at the 2015 Paris climate conference to demand, and achieve, the most important outcomes in the resulting agreement, including the commitment to 1.5°C and net zero by 2050.  ID was also the first to bring a delegation of actual refugees to talks on the new UN refugee agreement, the UN Compact.  Please contact ID directly (not me) if you want further information.

There’s a documentary feature film about me and my ideas called, “Accidental Anarchist”. And this recent TEDx talk is more about why I believe in anarchism.
My experience from inside government dealing with some of the most difficult of contemporary challenges – climate, terrorism, Iraq, Afghanistan – has convinced me that government, as currently constituted, is a poor and failing mechanism to deal with the world’s problems.  We need to look for alternatives, not least action by us, ourselves. Please see follow my substack for more (free to register).

ou can see more about Independent Diplomat at its independentdiplomat

This site offers news about my writing and media appearances on world affairs and my deepening interest in alternate systems of organising our affairs, in particular anarchism.