UN rapporteurs and other experts called for “full compliance” with the warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, reports Middle East Monitor.
The experts published a joint statement on Tuesday in which they said that the arrest warrants “can help save lives” and must be respected and fully complied with.
“The ICC decision marks a historic step towards justice and accountability, offering hope for ending decades of impunity for long-standing serious violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT),” added the signatories.
“The protracted lack of accountability, especially of the State of Israel, has been an enabling factor to the increasing and untenable violence in the region, affecting the lives and futures of both Palestinians and Israelis.”
They stressed that, “Since 7 October 2023, and the military assault on Gaza and the rest of the OPT, the independent experts have received and documented evidence of grave violations of international law committed against civilian populations. These violations, often amounting to international crimes, must stop immediately and cannot go unpunished.”
The forty-four signatories include Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967; and Ashwani K. P., Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
In welcoming the ICC’s decision, the experts reminded States of their legal and moral obligation to uphold international law and punish war criminals. “The power to enforce these arrest warrants rests with governments. Compliance with the arrest warrants is critical to overcome long-standing impunity, benefiting perpetrators, and to end grave crimes in the OPT and Israel.”
The experts concluded: “We are particularly attentive to the fundamental right of victims and their families to comprehensive and meaningful reparations and urge all relevant parties to ensure their rights are upheld. In order to guarantee the rights of victims and their families, it is imperative that the ICC be able to carry out their work without interference or other undue pressure.”
The ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant on 21 November on charges of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Member states are now legally obligated to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant if they enter their territory, and hand them over to the ICC for appropriate legal action.
