Rights Groups Demand ICC Investigate Israel's 'Widespread Crimes and Violations of Int'l Law'
'The rights of Palestinian victims are not subject to compromise'
Palestinian human rights groups called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday to begin an investigation "to pursue justice and accountability" for Israel's "widespread crimes and violations of international law."
In a legal opinion presented to the ICC Prosecutor, Fatou B. Bensouda, Al-Haq and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights write that "it is now incumbent upon the Office of the Prosecutor to confront the temporal and territorial 'black hole' of impunity in which the people of the state of Palestine have been locked for the past several decades."
Al-Haq explains that the United Nations' granting of Palestine Non-Member State status in November of 2012 removed any doubts about the ICC's jurisdiction, a question the previous prosecutor had raised, and that Palestinian leadership had in a 2009 declaration already accepted jurisdiction of the Court.
The legal opinion reads, in part:
...the situation in Palestine, even prior to 2002, has been characterized by continuous violations of international human rights and humanitarian law committed in a widespread and systematic manner within a political struggle between the Israeli occupation forces and the Palestinian people. As stressed by the former UN Special Rapporteur John Dugard in January 2007; " Israel is clearly in military occupation of the OPT. At the same time, elements of the occupation constitute forms of colonialism and of apartheid, which are contrary to international law. What are the legal consequences of a regime of prolonged occupation with features of colonialism and apartheid for the occupied people, the Occupying Power and third States? " Al - Haq and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights submit therefore, that in light of the pertinent similarities between the Court's engagement with the Situation in Cote d'Ivoire and the approach taken by Palestine, a strong, indeed powerful, case can be made for the Prosecutor, acting on the basis of the 2009 Article 12 ( 3 ) Declaration, to request authorization from a Pre - Trial Chamber to commence an investigation into the Situation in Palestine within a temporal jurisdiction that commences from 1 July 2002
"With this opinion we are putting forward our position that the rights of Palestinian victims are not subject to compromise," Shawan Jabarin, the General Director of Al-Haq, said in a statement.
"Any negotiated agreement that sidelines the pursuit of justice through the ICC is an agreement that lacks the representative support of Palestinian civil society. Our role as Palestinian human rights organizations is to pursue justice and accountability regardless of negotiations and we condemn any pressure exerted to the contrary. This is especially important in light of the fact that violations of international law continue unabated despite ongoing negotiations. We call on the Prosecutor to move forward on the 2009 Palestinian declaration and simultaneously urge the Palestinian leadership to support such a move, in addition to acceding to other international instruments," Jabarin continued.
Reporting on the rights groups' appeal to the ICC, the Guardian notes that "any such move by the ICC would be fiercely opposed by Israel and the US, and would be likely to scupper the recently revived peace process."
The groups' letter to the Office of the Prosecutor concludes:
It is vital that the people and the state of Palestine get a fair hearing and opportunity to present their case before the Court in an effort to ensure accountability for the widespread crimes and violations of international law that have characterized Israel's occupation of Palestine since the Court's jurisdiction was triggered in July 2002. Given the mass of evidence and documentation attesting to the widespread commission of crimes in Palestine, and the environment of total impunity for the perpetrators, the Office of the Prosecutor should immediately move to place a request before the Court's Pre - Trial Chamber for authorization to commence an investigation into the Situation in Palestine from 1 July 2002. In doing so, the Office of the Prosecutor will demonstrate a commitment to seeking the broadest form of accountability for the Palestinians that remain subject to foreign military occupation and deprived of fundamental human rights and of independence
______________________
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Palestinian human rights groups called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday to begin an investigation "to pursue justice and accountability" for Israel's "widespread crimes and violations of international law."
In a legal opinion presented to the ICC Prosecutor, Fatou B. Bensouda, Al-Haq and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights write that "it is now incumbent upon the Office of the Prosecutor to confront the temporal and territorial 'black hole' of impunity in which the people of the state of Palestine have been locked for the past several decades."
Al-Haq explains that the United Nations' granting of Palestine Non-Member State status in November of 2012 removed any doubts about the ICC's jurisdiction, a question the previous prosecutor had raised, and that Palestinian leadership had in a 2009 declaration already accepted jurisdiction of the Court.
The legal opinion reads, in part:
...the situation in Palestine, even prior to 2002, has been characterized by continuous violations of international human rights and humanitarian law committed in a widespread and systematic manner within a political struggle between the Israeli occupation forces and the Palestinian people. As stressed by the former UN Special Rapporteur John Dugard in January 2007; " Israel is clearly in military occupation of the OPT. At the same time, elements of the occupation constitute forms of colonialism and of apartheid, which are contrary to international law. What are the legal consequences of a regime of prolonged occupation with features of colonialism and apartheid for the occupied people, the Occupying Power and third States? " Al - Haq and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights submit therefore, that in light of the pertinent similarities between the Court's engagement with the Situation in Cote d'Ivoire and the approach taken by Palestine, a strong, indeed powerful, case can be made for the Prosecutor, acting on the basis of the 2009 Article 12 ( 3 ) Declaration, to request authorization from a Pre - Trial Chamber to commence an investigation into the Situation in Palestine within a temporal jurisdiction that commences from 1 July 2002
"With this opinion we are putting forward our position that the rights of Palestinian victims are not subject to compromise," Shawan Jabarin, the General Director of Al-Haq, said in a statement.
"Any negotiated agreement that sidelines the pursuit of justice through the ICC is an agreement that lacks the representative support of Palestinian civil society. Our role as Palestinian human rights organizations is to pursue justice and accountability regardless of negotiations and we condemn any pressure exerted to the contrary. This is especially important in light of the fact that violations of international law continue unabated despite ongoing negotiations. We call on the Prosecutor to move forward on the 2009 Palestinian declaration and simultaneously urge the Palestinian leadership to support such a move, in addition to acceding to other international instruments," Jabarin continued.
Reporting on the rights groups' appeal to the ICC, the Guardian notes that "any such move by the ICC would be fiercely opposed by Israel and the US, and would be likely to scupper the recently revived peace process."
The groups' letter to the Office of the Prosecutor concludes:
It is vital that the people and the state of Palestine get a fair hearing and opportunity to present their case before the Court in an effort to ensure accountability for the widespread crimes and violations of international law that have characterized Israel's occupation of Palestine since the Court's jurisdiction was triggered in July 2002. Given the mass of evidence and documentation attesting to the widespread commission of crimes in Palestine, and the environment of total impunity for the perpetrators, the Office of the Prosecutor should immediately move to place a request before the Court's Pre - Trial Chamber for authorization to commence an investigation into the Situation in Palestine from 1 July 2002. In doing so, the Office of the Prosecutor will demonstrate a commitment to seeking the broadest form of accountability for the Palestinians that remain subject to foreign military occupation and deprived of fundamental human rights and of independence
______________________
Palestinian human rights groups called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday to begin an investigation "to pursue justice and accountability" for Israel's "widespread crimes and violations of international law."
In a legal opinion presented to the ICC Prosecutor, Fatou B. Bensouda, Al-Haq and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights write that "it is now incumbent upon the Office of the Prosecutor to confront the temporal and territorial 'black hole' of impunity in which the people of the state of Palestine have been locked for the past several decades."
Al-Haq explains that the United Nations' granting of Palestine Non-Member State status in November of 2012 removed any doubts about the ICC's jurisdiction, a question the previous prosecutor had raised, and that Palestinian leadership had in a 2009 declaration already accepted jurisdiction of the Court.
The legal opinion reads, in part:
...the situation in Palestine, even prior to 2002, has been characterized by continuous violations of international human rights and humanitarian law committed in a widespread and systematic manner within a political struggle between the Israeli occupation forces and the Palestinian people. As stressed by the former UN Special Rapporteur John Dugard in January 2007; " Israel is clearly in military occupation of the OPT. At the same time, elements of the occupation constitute forms of colonialism and of apartheid, which are contrary to international law. What are the legal consequences of a regime of prolonged occupation with features of colonialism and apartheid for the occupied people, the Occupying Power and third States? " Al - Haq and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights submit therefore, that in light of the pertinent similarities between the Court's engagement with the Situation in Cote d'Ivoire and the approach taken by Palestine, a strong, indeed powerful, case can be made for the Prosecutor, acting on the basis of the 2009 Article 12 ( 3 ) Declaration, to request authorization from a Pre - Trial Chamber to commence an investigation into the Situation in Palestine within a temporal jurisdiction that commences from 1 July 2002
"With this opinion we are putting forward our position that the rights of Palestinian victims are not subject to compromise," Shawan Jabarin, the General Director of Al-Haq, said in a statement.
"Any negotiated agreement that sidelines the pursuit of justice through the ICC is an agreement that lacks the representative support of Palestinian civil society. Our role as Palestinian human rights organizations is to pursue justice and accountability regardless of negotiations and we condemn any pressure exerted to the contrary. This is especially important in light of the fact that violations of international law continue unabated despite ongoing negotiations. We call on the Prosecutor to move forward on the 2009 Palestinian declaration and simultaneously urge the Palestinian leadership to support such a move, in addition to acceding to other international instruments," Jabarin continued.
Reporting on the rights groups' appeal to the ICC, the Guardian notes that "any such move by the ICC would be fiercely opposed by Israel and the US, and would be likely to scupper the recently revived peace process."
The groups' letter to the Office of the Prosecutor concludes:
It is vital that the people and the state of Palestine get a fair hearing and opportunity to present their case before the Court in an effort to ensure accountability for the widespread crimes and violations of international law that have characterized Israel's occupation of Palestine since the Court's jurisdiction was triggered in July 2002. Given the mass of evidence and documentation attesting to the widespread commission of crimes in Palestine, and the environment of total impunity for the perpetrators, the Office of the Prosecutor should immediately move to place a request before the Court's Pre - Trial Chamber for authorization to commence an investigation into the Situation in Palestine from 1 July 2002. In doing so, the Office of the Prosecutor will demonstrate a commitment to seeking the broadest form of accountability for the Palestinians that remain subject to foreign military occupation and deprived of fundamental human rights and of independence
______________________