Rosemarie Calvert’s Post

#politics The British newspaper Financial Times reports in the attached blog post that prosecutor Karim Khan at the International Criminal Court (ICC) applied for arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders for: 1. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 2. Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant. 3. Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, and Mohammed Deif. The applications relate to allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity. It was long expected it would come to this. There is an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, president of the Russian Federation, for the war in Ukraine, severely restricting the movements of the leader of the world’s largest nuclear power and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council of 5 countries, Perm-5, obligating countries to arrest him should he visit, including countries sympathetic to Russia. International law and due process must be allowed to prevail in both these cases at The Hague to send the signal loud and clear that leaders cannot get away with whatever they want. The next step should be for the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) to diplomatically recognize the State of Israel in simultaneous Israeli recognition of Palestinian statehood, and force the transnational militias in their countries https://lnkd.in/eKxh9Way to renounce terrorism. Civilization is about having a conversation, not weapons, including the law as a weapon, to resolve conflict which is natural to the human condition. Please read, understand, and voluntarily sign this, if you agree. No coercion: #OurCommonFuture https://lnkd.in/eaZe52sD.

ICJ landmark ruling today that Israel systematically discriminates against Palestinians. So our MP's should take actions to: *Support immediate Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories, call for a ceasefire and permanent end to the unlawful killing of civilians in Gaza & West Bank. *Cease our government's assistance for their illegal occupation (i.e. stop licencing for selling arms & dual purpose items to Israeli military). *Cease trading in resources gained from the illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories (i.e. support boycott, divestment & sanctions) https://lnkd.in/etbtGcgW

The recent decision by the Paris Court of Appeal to uphold the arrest warrant against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad, and two senior Syrian military officials for their roles in chemical attacks in Ghouta and Douma in August 2013 is indeed a landmark ruling. It establishes a significant precedent in international law by affirming that there should be no immunity, even for a sitting head of state, when there are grounds to believe they have committed international crimes. This ruling is particularly relevant to Ukraine and the ongoing efforts to establish a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. One of the most contentious issues in this context is the presidential immunity of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The decision by the Paris Court of Appeal could potentially influence the debate and the legal framework regarding the prosecution of heads of state for international crimes. https://lnkd.in/dCn75cvz

When will the British chattering class realise that we, as a country have very little stature with regards to the Gaza war between Hamas and Israel? 600 legal professionals demand that the U.K. should not export arms to Israel because they think that State is breaking international law. A major problem with that is the fact that the U.K. exports a very insignificant amount of arms to Israel. As Grant Shapps told parliament in November that defence exports to Israel were "relatively small" at 42 million pounds in 2022, the last full-year data available. Actually it’s the other way around since Israel supplies the U.K. with a great deal more. Without Israel’s exports to the U.K. our country would be much the poorer. Set this against the context of Israel’s multi billion expenditure on self defence against nihilistic enemies wanting to wipe them out. Just for the record Israel is not breaking international law as it seeks to defend itself. Although every casualty is a tragedy whoever they are one should remember that without the Hamas massacres, rapes, torture and taking of innocent hostages there would be no war. Proportionately the fatalities suffered by civilians set against terrorists is the lowest ratio in modern urban warfare. It’s about three to four times better than those suffered, for instance by the Arab civilians of Mosul when the U.K. and USA went after ISIS. I don’t remember mass demonstrations here or overseas on behalf of those civilians. I wonder why?

🦉Weasel words to #Israel from a complicit #UnitedStates. Not since the Vietnam War and the Iraq invasion has the standing of #America in the world been so low. Both candidates for the #USpresidency have appalling hypocrisy towards the #Israel-#Gaza conflict. This does not augur well for a fair resolution of the ultimate thorny question of whether to create a #Palestinianstate. The slavish support of the United States towards its key #strategically in the #MiddleEast has made it an outlier not a leader on the world stage. After its foot-dragging on #Ukraine the #US finally unlocked its political gridlock to authorise new #military and other #supportpackages. But the future of US support for Ukraine is shadowed by the spectre of another #Trump presidency and a resurgence of the lunatic #MAGA fringe. #Biden has read the polls and has just hardened his stance towards Israel. However the flow of #USweapons to Israel has not stopped (just weapons for use in Gaza) and #Netanyahu is still thumbing his nose at the #WhiteHouse. After 35,000 dead #Palestinians it is a little too late for Biden to try to dissociate himself from the carnage he has enabled in Gaza. 👁️BBC.com https://lnkd.in/grj3Ej7F #IHL #LOAC #internationalhumanitarianlaw #internationallaw #americanweapons

War is the continuation of politics by alternative means. Ensuring the ICC's focus would be on the political leadership of Netanyahu's coalition, would be the obvious path through this situation. My assessment and interpretation of Sigint from elements of 8200, IDF and ShinBet is (their belief is) that this is a politicians war. The prevailing notion is this is connected to the Netanyahu and Mubarak families who have created a deal to secure gas of the Gaza shelf. IDF's primary objective is to secure Israeli citizens. IDF rank and file's assessment seems to be leaning towards securing the flow of weapons between Egypt and Gaza via Gantz coalition leveraging political means. This would enable IDF to achieve their objectives while reducing their individual exposure to ICC related risks; by avoiding an invasion of Rafah. I have also been working on explaining the Leahy law and its ramifications to the Israeli aid bill. My belief is the key stakeholders are now working on the side of peace and reform inside the IDF and Gantz coalitions. https://lnkd.in/ecWS6pNk

All talk about "terror" has become meaningless in relation to the Middle East because Israel and its allies call everyone “terrorist”, who directly or indirectly, peacefully or violently are resisting the oppression of Palestinians. Yassir Arafat, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 alongside Yitzhak Rabin, was eventually labelled the "leader of the terrorists" by Israeli authorities during the Second Intifada. Since then, all aspects of the Palestinians' legitimate struggle for self-determination (peaceful or violent) have been reframed by Israel as a matter of its security and the fight against terror or Islamist terror. The respective war crimes committed by both parties in the current war situation (unfortunately, everything points to Israel’s war against Gaza and its civilian population being characterized by massive and severe war crimes against civilians) can only be meaningfully prosecuted as violations of international law, which is what they are, while all political talk of "terrorism" is simply political propaganda to justify new crimes. Hamas' war crimes do not give Israel the right to violate international law. International law applies to everyone, including both Hamas and Israel. And, of course, the world, including Denmark, needs to recognize the state of Palestine if we are to have even the slightest hope of stopping the killings. When people argue that Hamas cannot be part of the solution, they may be right, but it is up to the Palestinians to decide that (otherwise, they have no right to self-determination). The problem is that in the last half-century, all Palestinian organizations have routinely been labelled by Israel and the U.S. as too villainous to negotiate serious peace agreements with. A small exception was the Oslo Accords, which Israel subsequently effectively sabotaged unilaterally. Yesterday it was the PLO and its members with whom no agreement could be made, and today it is Hamas, with whom agreements also cannot be made. In this way, the war in the Middle East could continue for the next 100 years (or until the last Palestinian has been eradicated).

🔴 Joint Statement by Ukrainian NGOs on the Meeting Between UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Vladimir Putin Today, we raise our voices in strong condemnation of the meeting between United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and Vladimir Putin in Kazan, Russia, as part of the BRICS summit. Let’s not forget: Putin is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes, including the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine. This meeting undermines the authority of the ICC and erodes the principles of international justice that the UN claims to uphold. 🔍 In 2013, guidelines were set by the UN to regulate interactions with individuals subject to ICC arrest warrants. These guidelines state that meetings with such individuals should be strictly limited, yet no adequate justification has been provided for this meeting. This disregard for established rules weakens the legitimacy of the UN’s commitment to justice and human rights. We urge: 1️⃣ The Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute and relevant UN bodies to take immediate action to prevent similar incidents in the future. 2️⃣ The International Criminal Court and the Office of the Prosecutor to respond to this breach of international justice standards, which threatens global peace, security, and the integrity of the ICC. 3️⃣ The Office of the ICC Prosecutor to request information from Mr. Guterres on his meeting with the suspect, as outlined in Article 18 of the UN-ICC Relationship Agreement. The UN must act as a moral guide and stand firm on the principles of justice and accountability. 🔗 Statement: https://lnkd.in/d47QC8qV #JusticeForUkraine #UNday #InternationalLaw #UnitedNations #ICC #BRICS #Ukraine #HumanRights

On June 12, Emeritus Professor of Law, M Rafiqul Islam's write-up titled "Who has paralysed the postwar rule-based world order?" was published from Law & Our Rights, The Daily Star. He opined, "Israel and its allies justify the Gaza invasion as a form of aggressive self-defence to annihilate a target group wholly or partially in the same way the US-UK invented pre-emptive self-defence to justify the Iraq invasion. Neither form of self-defence exists in international law and the UN Charter, yet, they have exercised this self-made self-defence with impunity." You may read it from here.

Sharing this powerful joint statement by Ukrainian NGOs, including Truth Hounds, who stand united in condemning the recent meeting between UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Vladimir Putin—a suspect wanted by the ICC for war crimes. This meeting weakens the credibility of the UN and undermines international justice efforts. It's crucial that we continue to uphold justice and accountability at the highest levels. Let's ensure that actions reflect the values we stand for. #JusticeForUkraine #HumanRights #UN #ICC