Amnesty International comments on the requirement that Israel must comply with the key International Court of Justice ruling ordering it do all in its power to prevent genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. This is an important step that could help protect the Palestinian people in the occupied Gaza Strip from further suffering and irreparable harm. If the UNRWA is forced to suspend its humanitarian response, further suffering and irreparable harm to the Palestinians in Gaza is the grievous likely outcome.
The ruling issued by the ICJ ordered six provisional measures including for Israel to refrain from acts under the Genocide convention, prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to genocide, and take immediate and effective measures to ensure the provision of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza. Crucially, the Court also ordered Israel to preserve evidence of genocide and to submit a report to the Court, within one month, of all measures taken in line with its order. (Israel Must Comply With Key ICJ Ruling Ordering It Do All in Its Power to Prevent Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza, 2024)
Zaha Hassan, a human rights lawyer and a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace comments that in the genocide case involving Israel, the court has effectively ordered the government to stop the mass destruction of Gaza, end the killing of Palestinians, and to take action against those engaged in incitement against them and their dehumanisation.
The US has the power to take decisive action to change Israel’s approach. Instead of blocking UN security council resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire, it must now lead the council to that end. Instead of bypassing Congress to ship arms or proceeding with new military aircraft sales to Israel, it must suspend all offensive arms transfers. As a retired Israeli major general reportedly said about Israel’s dependency on the US to prosecute its war on Gaza: “All of our missiles, the ammunition, the precision-guided bombs, all the planes and bombs, it’s all from the US. The minute they turn off the tap, you can’t keep fighting … Everyone understands that we can’t fight this war without the United States. Period.” (Hassan, 2024)
Mike Corder and Raf Casert, reporting for AP, note some of the humanitarian concerns in the IJC court order.
“The court is acutely aware of the extent of the human tragedy that is unfolding in the region and is deeply concerned about the continuing loss of life and human suffering,” court President Joan E. Donoghue said.
The court also called on Hamas to release the hostages who are still in captivity. Hamas urged the international community to make Israel carry out the court’s orders.
Many of the measures were approved by an overwhelming majority of the judges. Of the six orders, an Israeli judge voted in favor of two — an order for humanitarian aid and another for the prevention of inflammatory speech.
Israeli Judge Aharon Barak said he supported those orders in the hope that they would “help to decrease tensions and discourage damaging rhetoric” while easing the ”consequences of the armed conflict for the most vulnerable.” (CORDER & CASERT, 2024)
Geoffrey York, reporting for the Globe and Mail, comments that Canada’s decision to suspend its funding to the biggest relief agency in Gaza is provoking a wave of criticism from human-rights advocates and several former high-ranking Canadian diplomats. Human-rights activists are protesting the Canadian funding freeze, arguing that those under investigation are less than 0.1 per cent of the agency’s 13,000 staff in Gaza.
Alex Neve, an international human-rights lawyer and a senior fellow at the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, said the Canadian funding freeze is “collectively punishing the people of Gaza.” The Palestinians rely on the UN agency as “an essential lifeline in the best of times and now, the worst of times, more than ever,” he said in a social-media post. (York & Berman, 2024)
Several former diplomats, who held senior posts in the Canadian foreign service before their retirement, have sharply criticized the funding freeze. In social-media posts on the weekend, some noted that Canada had announced the decision on the same day as the International Court of Justice had ordered Israel to ensure an urgent supply of humanitarian relief for Gaza to prevent the risk of genocide in the territory.
“I’m shocked that Canada has suspended funding to UNRWA in response to the alleged crimes of 12 employees,” said Nicholas Coghlan, who held six diplomatic posts in the developing world for Canada. “This is pretty much the definition of collective punishment.”
Alex Bugailiskis, who was Canada’s assistant deputy foreign minister responsible for Europe and the Middle East, said UNRWA is “one of the very few organizations able to deliver life-saving aid at this critical time.” (York & Berman, 2024)
Leo McGuinn in an article in France 24 reports that an Israeli document spelled out allegations against a dozen UN employees of UNRWA, the country says participated in Hamas' Oct. 7 assault – claiming seven stormed into Israeli territory, including two who participated in kidnappings. The agency's commissioner, Philippe Lazzarini, recently announced that he was ordering an external review of the agency's operations and its safeguards.
Since the war began, most of the territory’s 2.3 million people depend on the agency’s programs for “sheer survival,” including food and shelter, Lazzarini said.
A quarter of Gaza’s population is facing starvation as fighting and Israeli restrictions hinder the delivery of aid, which has been well below the daily average of 500 trucks before the war. (McGUINN, 2024)
Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Emma Farge report for Reuters that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres promised to hold to account "any U.N. employee involved in acts of terror".
"While I understand their concerns – I was myself horrified by these accusations - I strongly appeal to the governments that have suspended their contributions to, at least, guarantee the continuity of UNRWA's operations," He said this could include criminal prosecution - a rare move within the global body since most staff enjoy functional immunity, although Guterres has the power to waive it. Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA commissioner-general, also urged countries to "reconsider their decisions before UNRWA is forced to suspend its humanitarian response." (Al-Mughrabi & Farge, 2024)
A U.N. investigation into the Israeli allegations is underway. The ICJ ordered Israel to take immediate and effective measures to ensure the provision of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza. The United States and allies who have cut aid to UNRWA are acting contrary to the intent of the ICJ for immediate and effective measures for the provision of assistance to Gaza.
References
Al-Mughrabi, N., & Farge, E. (2024, January 28). UN urges reversal of funding pause for Palestinian refugee agency. Reuters. Retrieved January 29, 2024, from https://www.reuters.com/world/un-urges-countries-reverse-funding-pause-palestinian-agency-2024-01-28/
CORDER, M., & CASERT, R. (2024, January 27). ICJ genocide case: World court demands Israel limit deaths. AP News. Retrieved January 29, 2024, from https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-genocide-court-south-africa-27cf84e16082cde798395a95e9143c06
Hassan, Z. (2024, January 28). The ICJ ruling on Gaza is a wake-up call for Washington – Biden has to take note | Zaha Hassan. The Guardian. Retrieved January 29, 2024, from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/28/icj-ruling-gaza-wake-up-call-for-washington
Israel must comply with key ICJ ruling ordering it do all in its power to prevent genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. (2024, January 26). Amnesty International. Retrieved January 29, 2024, from https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/01/israel-must-comply-with-key-icj-ruling-ordering-it-do-all-in-its-power-to-prevent-genocide-against-palestinians-in-gaza/
McGUINN, L. (2024, January 29). Israel spells out accusations against UNRWA workers linked to Hamas attack. France 24. Retrieved January 29, 2024, from https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20240129-israel-accusations-unrwa-workers-hamas-attack
York, G., & Berman, D. (2024, January 29). Former top diplomats criticize Canada's funding freeze for UN agency in Gaza. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved January 29, 2024, from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-former-top-diplomats-criticize-canadas-funding-freeze-for-un-agency-in/
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