Human Rights Council 10th Session
Oral Intervention- Agenda Item 7 ID / Palestine
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
24 March, 2009
Delivered by Mr. Jeremie Smith
Thank you Mr. President
The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies commends the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the OPTs on his clear and depoliticized assessment of violations of international law resulting from the Israeli offensive on Gaza, fully endorses the findings and recommendations of his report, and strongly urges the HRC to implement all recommendations contained therein.
CIHRS notes with concern that the Special Rapporteur was detained and subject to mistreatment by Israeli security forces.
CIHRS agrees with the Special Rapporteur that the Israeli offensive against Gaza would seem to constitute a war crime of the greatest magnitude.” As such, third parties to the conflict have several legal responsibilities:
The UN, in particular the Security Council, is obligated to ensure that international law is upheld, including, if necessary, by establishing an ad hoc tribunal to investigate and prosecute any war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel within the OPTs.
If the Security Council fails to act, then the General Assembly, under the Uniting for Peace Resolution (GA/377), and in accordance with its ability to establish subsidiary bodies, is empowered to establish an ad hoc tribunal for the purposes of ensuring the implementation of international law and peace.
Furthermore, under Art. 146 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, all High Contracting Parties have an individual responsibility to search for and prosecute before their courts any persons committing grave breaches to the 4th Geneva Convention.
Pursuant to Article 12 (3) of the Rome Statute, the ICC has the ability to initiate an investigation if a non-State Party accepts the jurisdiction of the Court on an ad hoc basis. The Palestinian Authority has accepted such jurisdiction through a declaration submitted to the court on 22 January, 2009.
As such, war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip have not occurred in a legal void, but within an international legal context that legally requires direct and immediate action to be taken by a multiplicity of actors and organizations, and which places a strong obligation on the international community as a whole to ensure that a full investigation and prosecution of any crimes committed by both parties to the conflict takes place. If political will falters in this respect then international standards of justice falter as well.
Thank you Mr. President.
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