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HRT
18
March 09 - Israeli leaders may soon follow in the footsteps of
Sudanese President Al Bashir to be called before the International
Criminal Court (ICC). A coalition of NGOs has filed a complaint to
the Court following Israel’s recent attack on Gaza
Isolda
Agazzi/Infosud/Human Rights Tribune
- “So far the hypothesis that the
International
Criminal Court (ICC) may open an investigation and
that Israel will be found guilty of crimes against humanity is
credible,” said Gilles Devers, an attorney from Lyon (France) who
participated Tuesday (March 17) in a round table organized by the
Arab Commission
of Human Rights (ACHR) at the Palais des Nations.
“At the beginning of January, the NGOs asked what
could be done in face of the Gaza massacre and I advised them to go
to the ICC. I drafted a complaint for war crimes and crimes against
humanity that was filed with the Court on January 22 on behalf of 45
associations and 40 international attorneys. This step was taken in
agreement with all the Palestinian political factions.
The problem is that the Court can only deal with
cases involving citizens of countries that have signed the Treaty of
Rome. “But what has tipped the balance in this case is that the
Palestinian Authority (PA) has validated our action,” said Devers.
“On the same day (January 22) it signed the Treaty and gave the ICC
the authority to launch an investigation in Gaza retroactive to
2002.”
Ali Kashan, the Minister of Justice for the
Palestinian Authority confirmed that the ICC “accepted our
complaint. If there is to be an investigation, we are prepared to
participate.”
In the preliminary phase, the prosecutor will analyze
whether or not it is ‘reasonable’ to open an investigation. “The PA
must present documentation proving that it is in fact a state and a
subject of international law. As for us, we are preparing to
audition witnesses and seeking political support. There are 110
states that have signed the Rome accord and who could speak up,”
Devers added.
“The ideal would be for the Palestinian petition to
be accepted and an investigation opened on that basis because that
would imply recognition of the international legal character of the
Palestinian Authority,” stressed Haytham Manna of the ACHR who is
coordinating the coalition. “Otherwise, we have the possibility of
intervening with other states. Three countries in Africa and Latin
America have declared themselves ready to approach the ICC.”
Are Arab
states not interested?
“The only one to ratify the ICC statute is Jordan,”
Devers revealed. “The Jordanian parliament adopted a resolution one
month ago. Arab countries reproach the ICC prosecutor for applying a
double standard in the case of Al Bashir. It’s true that there is a
double standard and it’s scandalous! But it’s a fact that the UN
Security Council, called for the prosecutor to investigate Sudan, a
non-member of the ICC, but has done nothing against Israel.. It is
not the prosecutor’s fault.”
The coalition of NGOs and attorneys is not only
waiting for the ICC to act. Its members are also working on the
principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows complaints to be
filed before national tribunals for war crimes and crimes against
humanity committed by foreigners in foreign countries. “We have a
team of attorneys in Norway, Spain, the UK, Belgium and France for
such individual complaints and we are trying to activate universal
jurisdiction in Switzerland,” concluded Haytham Manna.
Translated from French by Pamela Taylor
16 high
level calls for the UN to investigate Gaza
A group of 16 high level persons asked the UN
Secretary General to launch a ‘prompt, independent and impartial’
commission of inquiry into the most recent conflict in Gaza.
Underlining that there were violations by both parties – Israel and
Palestinians – that must be taken into consideration, the letter
calls for the inquiry to be organized by the UN but to not be
limited to only those attacks where the UN suffered.. The
signatories included Mary Robinson, a former High Commissioner for
Human Rights, Richard Goldstone, former prosecutor for the tribunals
for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia and Nobel Peace winner,
Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Michel Bührer/HRT, trans.PM |
