War crimes round-up: international justice faces daunting challenges on Gaza
Geneva Solutions’s monthly “war criminal hunt” in collaboration with the Geneva-based NGO Civitas Maxima.
As the war in Gaza escalates and the number of civilian casualties increases by the day, those of us who work in the field of international criminal justice can only wonder if, where, and when the war crimes that are being and have been committed will ever be prosecuted.
In view of the explosive political nature of the situation, it seems likely that any country where a legal case were to be initiated by a national court under the principle of universal jurisdiction would face immense political pressure. In 2002, cases in Belgium against former Israeli and Palestinian leaders Ariel Sharon and Yasser Arafat led nowhere and strained relations between Israel and Belgium. In a case against former Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni in the United Kingdom, Israel heavily criticised the move despite the arrest warrant being quickly revoked.
As often, all eyes will be on the International Criminal Court (ICC). In 2021, judges ruled that the court has the jurisdiction to investigate crimes committed in Palestine since June 2014, and just a few days ago, the ICC Prosecutor, Karim Khan, stated that this mandate applies to current recent events.
For that to happen, his office must first finalise its own assessment as to whether local possibilities to sanction and hold accountable alleged perpetrators exist in Israel or in Palestine. According to its statute, the ICC can only pursue a case if a given domestic justice system is either unwilling or unable to investigate and prosecute international crimes.
It will also depend on whether the ICC has enough resources to navigate the situation under investigation in Palestine. In March 2023, before the recent escalation, 22 United Nations special rapporteurs, seven members of UN working groups and other UN experts wrote to the ICC Prosecutor calling for increased resources for the investigation. This came at a time when additional resources were allocated to the ICC by its state members at the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) at the end of 2022, in large part because of the war in Ukraine.
The ASP’s 123 member states will reconvene in New York from 4 to 14 December to decide on the ICC’s budget for 2024. One can only hope that they will send a strong message to the victims – current and past – of the crimes committed by Israel and Hamas.
Every violation of the Geneva Convention deserves international justice and not only in cases welcomed for political reasons. The ASP should ensure that the only permanent international criminal court that we have has enough means to effectively do its work and to have a real impact on the rule of law.
Here’s what else happened this month
– ICC under fire for releasing Maxime Mokom from prison. Karim Khan withdrew all charges against the Central African Republic’s former minister of disarmament, accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in the country. This is a blow to the International Criminal Court, as it was held that the evidence collected was “crumbling” and that the case had no reasonable prospects of success. The court also heard the defence in its first trial on Darfur. The defendant claims that between 2003 and 2004, he was running a small pharmacy, and is not Ali Kushayb, the militia leader accused of committing war crimes during the genocide in Darfur, Sudan.
-Armenia takes Nagorno-Karabakh crisis to international courts. Armenia has joined the ICC in an effort to hold Azerbaijan accountable and to prevent it from committing further international crimes in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. In addition, the International Court of Justice has heard Armenia’s submissions for provisional measures in its discrimination case against Azerbaijan on its treatment of ethnic Armenians during the armed conflict between the two countries.
– European rights court upholds oil firms bribery conviction. The European Court of Human Rights has validated the conviction against firms Total and Vitol for bribing public officials. They had been found criminally liable by French Courts for a joint scheme which allowed former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to re-sell petrol to his acquaintances instead of exchanging it for humanitarian assistance in violation of the UN “oil for food” programme. The court also ordered Turkey to pay € 10,000 in compensation to a man who was tortured by police in 2003.
– Western militaries under scrutiny. A public inquiry into the deaths of 80 civilians in Afghanistan, reportedly committed by military special forces between 2010 and 2013, has commenced before the British Royal Courts of Justice. It follows allegations of a cover-up. In a highly criticised decision, French judges confirmed the dismissal of investigations into the French military’s alleged role in the Bisesero massacres, which took place during the Rwandan genocide.
– Nazi soldier applauded by Canadian parliament charged with genocide. Last month, Ukrainian Yaroslav Hunka was hailed as a war hero and received a standing ovation before Presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Justin Trudeau at the Canadian parliament. This month, following revelations of his alleged past as a Nazi SS solider, Russia charged him with genocide and Poland announced that it was launching its own investigations into him. Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau apologised for the “terrible mistake”.
– Cases on Rwandan genocide move forward. Former Rwandan military officer Pierre-Claver Karangwa, whose Dutch nationality was revoked over genocide allegations, will be not be extradited to Rwanda but will be prosecuted in the Netherlands. In Belgium, courts heard cases against former Rwandan officials Séraphin Twahirwa and Pierre Basabose, accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to the country’s genocide in 1994.
– Syria faces first international case over civil war. The International Court of Justice began hearings on Syria’s alleged widespread torture system, in the first international case over the country’s civil war. Meanwhile, France issued four international arrest warrants against high-ranking Syrian army officials for the murder of Franco-Syrian teacher Salah Abou Nabout.
– Colombian special tribunal opens probe into sexual and gender-based violence. Colombia’s Special Jurisdiction for Peace has been applauded after opening a dedicated case on gender-related crimes committed during the country’s armed conflict. Due to its ambitious mandate, covering all crimes committed across the 52-year conflict, this transitional justice mechanism has developed an innovative model of thematic ‘macro’ cases. Each case focuses on specific patterns of violations, such as forced disappearance, the recruitment and use of child soldiers, and the systematic targeting of political opponents.
Picture: Damage in Gaza Strip during October 2023: COMMONS WIKIMEDIA.
