GENEVA, (PIC)
The Euro-Med human rights Monitor warned of the seriousness of attempts by some states to undermine justice and to promote impunity through filing dozens of notes to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to appeal and question its judicial jurisdiction regarding the Palestinian issue.
The Euro-Med said, in a statement on Wednesday, that this aims to obstruct the ICC’s ability to issue arrest warranties against Israeli security and political leaders, and thus prevent it from proceeding in the procedures of their trials on charges of committing war crimes against the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territories in 1967, especially the crimes committed in the Gaza Strip since October 7 last year.
The Euro-Med underlined that these interventions represent a threat to international peace and security, and would harm the ICC’s legitimacy, integrity and independence, in an effort to uphold political interests on the considerations of achieving international justice, and protecting the perpetrators instead of the victims, which will lead to the institutionalization of impunity and the denial of the victims’ right to justice and at all levels, especially at the international level.
The human rights group warned that these interventions indicate a frank complicity with Israel in continuing its violations of the Palestinian people’s rights and proceeding in committing crimes including the ongoing genocide in the Strip for the tenth month now.
The Euro-Med Monitor pointed out that the ICC’s arrest warranties against Israeli officials who were accused of committing crimes against Palestinians, raise serious questions about the court’s ability to move forward in issuing these orders and proceeding to trial the accused without being subjected to external political pressures, that take multiple forms, to undermine the work of the court and obstruct its procedures in this context.
The Euro-Med renewed its calls for the ICC to take legal decisions in accordance with the Rome Statue and its Rules of Procedure and Evidence for the purpose of protecting the Palestinian people, ensuring accountability of the criminals, and activating the role of the court as the competent international judicial authority.
