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Activating the Convention on Genocide Against Israel and Complicit States

The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was presented to the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in December 1948 and entered into force on January 12, 1951. Wikipedia reports that this followed the 1946 resolution of the UNGA that recognized genocide as an international crime and called for the creation of a binding treaty to prevent and punish its perpetration.

There are 152 state parties, states that have signed and ratified or acceded to the convention.

Craig Murray, former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan from August 2002 to October 2004, outlines in an article from November 13, 2023 what states parties can do under the convention, that each has the right to call out the genocide in progress in Gaza and report it to the United Nations. He says:

"In the event that another state party disputes the claim of genocide -- and Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom are all states party -- then the International Court of Justice is required to adjudicate on "the responsibility of a State for genocide."

"These are the relevant articles of the genocide convention:

Article VIII

Any Contracting Party may call upon the competent organs of the United Nations to take such action under the Charter of the United Nations as they consider appropriate for the prevention and suppression of acts of genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in article III.

Article IX

Disputes between the Contracting Parties relating to the interpretation, application or fulfilment of the present Convention, including those relating to the responsibility of a State for genocide or for any of the other acts enumerated in article III, shall be submitted to the International Court of Justice at the request of any of the parties to the dispute.

"Note that here 'parties to the dispute' means the states disputing the facts of genocide, not the parties to the genocide/conflict. Any single state party is able to invoke the convention.

"There is no doubt that Israel's actions amount to genocide. Numerous international law experts have said so and genocidal intent has been directly expressed by numerous Israeli ministers, generals and public officials.

"Definition of Genocide

"This is the definition of genocide in international law, from the Genocide Convention:

Article II

In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

(a) Killing members of the group;

(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group

"I can see no room to doubt whatsoever that Israel's current campaign of bombing of civilians and of the deprivation of food, water and other necessities of life to Palestinians amounts to genocide under articles II a), b) and c).

"It is also worth considering Articles III and IV:

Article III

The following acts shall be punishable:

(a) Genocide;

(b) Conspiracy to commit genocide;

(d) Attempt to commit genocide;

(e) Complicity in genocide.

Article IV

Persons committing genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in article III shall be punished, whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals.

"There is, at the very least, a strong prima facie case that the actions of the United States and United Kingdom and others, in openly providing direct military support to be used in genocide, are complicit in genocide.

"The point of Article IV is that individuals are responsible, not just states. So [Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, [U.S. President Joe] Biden and [UK Prime Minister Rishi] Sunak bear individual responsibility. So, indeed, do all those who have been calling for the destruction of the Palestinians.

"It is very definitely worth activating the Genocide Convention. A judgement of the International Court of Justice that Israel is guilty of genocide would have an extraordinary diplomatic effect and would cause domestic difficulties in the UK and even in the U.S. in continuing to subsidize and arm Israel."

The International Court of Justice is an organ of the United Nations. Murray says that "while the United States has repudiated its compulsory jurisdiction, the United Kingdom has not and the EU positively accepts it." He says:

"If the International Court of Justice makes a determination of genocide, then the International Criminal Court does not have to determine that genocide has happened.

"This is important because unlike the august and independent ICJ, the ICC is very much a western government puppet institution which will wiggle out of action if it can.

"But a determination of the ICJ of genocide and of complicity in genocide would reduce the ICC's task to determining which individuals bear the responsibility. That is a prospect which can indeed alter the calculations of politicians.

"It is also the fact that a reference for genocide would force the Western media to address the issue and use the term, rather than just pump out propaganda about Hamas [having] fighting bases in hospitals.

"Furthermore a judgement from the ICJ would automatically trigger a reference to the United Nations General Assembly -- crucially not to the Western-vetoed Security Council."

In a December 5, 2023 article for Pressenza, Sam Husseini argues for a combination of mass protest actions and diplomatic moves. He writes that the International Criminal Court has been asked by several countries, including South Africa, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros, Djibouti, Colombia, Algeria and Türkiye to prosecute Israeli officials, but has not taken action. He says "The International Court of Justice, also called the World Court, in contrast has ruled against Israel. But so far these rulings have been advisory opinions. It ruled against Israel in a case regarding its wall in 2004. In another case before it, [it] is expected to rule against Israel's long-term policies."

"But what can be done now, Prof. Francis Boyle, who successfully represented the Bosnians before the World Court, argues is to use emergency processes to give more teeth to the World Court. This can be done by invoking the Genocide Convention. This is outlined by Boyle, noted by UN whistleblower Craig Mokhiber, backed by Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire, and written about by myself. And most recently by Craig Murray, now a human rights activist who was the British Ambassador to Uzbekistan and Rector of the University of Dundee."

He ends his argument as follows:

"We need to keep pressing directly against the U.S. and Israeli governments, but their hearts are like stone. If we reach other states to invoke the Genocide Convention, it may be a key stop in curtailing the slaughter.

"Moreover, it could be a turning point in global relations. Should a positive emergency ruling by the International Court of Justice be forthcoming, it would dramatically isolate the U.S. and Israel at the UN. The U.S. would of course try to block anything at the UN Security Council. But with a World Court ruling, Boyle argues, the stage would be set for the General Assembly to assert itself using the Uniting for Peace procedure. Combined with sustained protests, like the WTO and other critical confrontations, the costs of continuing the slaughter could become unsustainable. Moreover, a World Court ruling could facilitate other legal efforts, like universal jurisdiction.

"For all that to happen, a country needs to step forward and invoke the Genocide Convention.

"Make no mistake; any nation that does this may well be targeted in insidious ways by the U.S. and by Israel. Any such nation should be afforded every bit of support people of goodwill can muster."

This article was published in

Volume 54 Number 4 - January 12, 2024

Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/MS54047.HTM

Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca