The “Legal Department of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine” praised the positions of the President of the International Criminal Court, Judge Tomoko Akane, during the UN General Assembly’s discussion of the Court’s annual report, particularly her call on member states to provide full support for the implementation of the arrest warrants issued by the Court against individuals accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, including Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Gallant.
The Legal Department affirmed that the moral and legal responsibility to support these warrants is not limited to the states that are parties to the Rome Statute, but extends to all countries worldwide, whether they are parties to the Statute or not, as they are directly concerned with supporting the Court’s decisions and implementing its arrest warrants, considering the Court a fundamental pillar of the legal system and a reference for international and humanitarian justice.
The Department stressed that the responsibility of the international community today is reflected in meeting two essential demands: First, enforcing the international arrest warrants against Netanyahu, Gallant, and all other Israeli war criminals to ensure that no perpetrator escapes accountability. Second, imposing comprehensive and multifaceted sanctions on the occupying state to compel it to comply with international law and the UN Charter, as it continues to defy the will of the international community.
The Legal Department pointed out that the UN’s tolerance of grave violations of international law—and the subjugation of justice to political considerations and interests—has contributed to strengthening the phenomenon of impunity and encouraging perpetrators to continue their crimes. Despite the issuance of international arrest warrants against Netanyahu and others, and despite Israel’s blatant violation of the UN Charter through its war on UNRWA and its refusal to grant entry visas to several UN officials, the General Assembly still allows Netanyahu its platforms to justify crimes that UN investigative committees have described as genocide.
The Legal Department of the Democratic Front added: “We join our voice with all the free voices around the world calling for protection of the judges of the International Criminal Court and for defending their independence in the face of intimidation campaigns and sanctions imposed on the Court by states that continue to provide political cover to criminals and violate international law”.
The Department warned of the danger of international silence in the face of attempts to undermine the ICC, stressing that what the President of the UN General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock, warned about, namely, that intimidation and sanctions against the Court constitute an assault on international law itself, should serve as an alarm bell for the entire international community.
The Legal Department of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine concluded by reaffirming that the International Criminal Court, despite the pressure exerted by some states, remains a glimmer of hope in the face of killing and destruction. It still holds a historic opportunity to prove that accountability and justice remain possible even in the darkest moments, as expressed by the President of the UN General Assembly. The persistence of the Court’s judges in carrying out their judicial duties with impartiality and independence restores hope in achieving international justice and securing redress for the tens of thousands of Palestinian martyrs who fell victim to Israeli war crimes. It also affirms that the will of international law, no matter how many obstacles it faces, will always be stronger than the will to escape accountability.