21 UN Special Rapporteurs Urge Concrete Actions to End Israeli Impunity
Aerial view of Rafah,
April 5, 2025
On April 3 21 UN Special Rapporteurs issued a joint statement calling on UN Member States to do more to ensure that Israel is held accountable for its breaches of international law and to uphold decisions by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC). Specifically the statement calls on states to join the Hague Group, established on January 31, 2025.[1][2] According to the statement, joining The Hague Group would "avert the tangible risk of erosion of the international legal system, the rule of law and the protection of all human rights. That system is being endangered by the general inaction of the international community in the face of the most egregious violations of international law perpetrated by the State of Israel."
"At this historical crossroads, protecting the international human rights system requires decisive, principled and concerted action," the experts said. "If States fail to act, the multilateral system will be set back decades."
"Since the creation of the State of Israel, violations of international law and lack of accountability have been the norm, rather than the exception," the experts added. "Israel's assault against the Palestinian people, the United Nations and basic tenets of international law, undermines the foundations of the multilateral order."
The group welcomed the July 2024 Advisory Opinion of the ICJ which clarified, once and for all, "that the inalienable right to self-determination of the Palestinian people should be realized through total and unconditional withdrawal of Israel's presence from the occupied territories, not subject to negotiation.
"It is regrettable that eight months after the ICJ Advisory Opinion, most States continue to ignore their obligations – this may render them complicit with internationally wrongful acts as the court concluded," the experts said.
They also welcomed efforts by some States since October 2023 to protect human rights and preserve multilateralism, most notably the case filed by South Africa and Nicaragua at the ICJ with third States joining proceedings.
The experts concluded their statement by strongly encouraging other States "to join The Hague Group or articulate similar initiatives and operationalize these actions, if they no longer want to represent the legal, political and moral shield of Israeli atrocities."
Notes
1. The members of The Hague Group have committed to implementing the ICJ provisional measures in the case of South Africa v. Israel and to complying with the ICC arrest warrants of November 2024. They have also pledged to abide by the ICJ Advisory Opinion of July 2024 by particularly preventing the transfer of arms, munitions and related goods to Israel. The Hague Group was founded by Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, Senegal and South Africa.
2. For the UN Special Rapporteurs who signed the statement click here.
(UN Human Rights Comission. Photo: Palestine Online)
This article was published in
Volume 55 Number 6 - April 11, 2025
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2025/Articles/TS55065.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca