The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, holds public hearings on the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by Nicaragua in the case Nicaragua v. Germany on 8 and 9 April 2024, at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the seat of the Court. Session held under the presidency of Judge Nawaf Salam, President of the Court.
Archiv: Genfer Konventionen / Geneva Conventions
THE HAGUE – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) holds public hearings in the case Nicaragua v. Germany – oral argument of Nicaragua
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, holds public hearings on the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by Nicaragua in the case Nicaragua v. Germany on 8 and 9 April 2024, at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the seat of the Court. Session held under the presidency of Judge Nawaf Salam, President of the Court.
Proceedings instituted by Nicaragua against Germany on 1 March 2024 – Request for the indication of provisional measures – Public hearings to be held on Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 April 2024
(15.03.2024)
It is recalled that Nicaragua filed an Application instituting proceedings against Germany concerning alleged violations by Germany of its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols, “intransgressible principles of international humanitarian law” and other norms of general international law in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly the Gaza Strip (see press release 2024/19).
The hearings will be devoted to the request for the indication of provisional measures
contained in Nicaragua’s Application. Nicaragua asks the Court to indicate provisional measures as a matter of extreme urgency, pending the Court’s determination on the merits of the case, with respect to Germany’s “participation in the ongoing plausible genocide and serious breaches of international humanitarian law and other peremptory norms of general international law occurring in the Gaza Strip”.
Proceedings instituted by Nicaragua against Germany on 1 March 2024 – Request for the indication of provisional measures – Public hearings to be held on Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 April 2024
(01.03.2024)
It is recalled that Nicaragua filed an Application instituting proceedings against Germany concerning alleged violations by Germany of its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols, “intransgressible principles of international humanitarian law” and other norms of general international law in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly the Gaza Strip (see press release 2024/19).
The hearings will be devoted to the request for the indication of provisional measures contained in Nicaragua’s Application. Nicaragua asks the Court to indicate provisional measures as a matter of extreme urgency, pending the Court’s determination on the merits of the case, with respect to Germany’s “participation in the ongoing plausible genocide and serious breaches of international humanitarian law and other peremptory norms of general international law occurring in the Gaza Strip”.
Proceedings instituted by Nicaragua against Germany on 1 March 2024 – Request for the indication of provisional measures – Public hearings to be held on Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 April 2024
It is recalled that Nicaragua filed an Application instituting proceedings against Germany concerning alleged violations by Germany of its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols, “intransgressible principles of international humanitarian law” and other norms of general international law in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly the Gaza Strip (see press release 2024/19).
The hearings will be devoted to the request for the indication of provisional measures contained in Nicaragua’s Application. Nicaragua asks the Court to indicate provisional measures as a matter of extreme urgency, pending the Court’s determination on the merits of the case, with respect to Germany’s “participation in the ongoing plausible genocide and serious breaches of international
humanitarian law and other peremptory norms of general international law occurring in the Gaza
Strip”.
Beihilfe zum Völkermord? IGH verhandelt Klage gegen Deutschland im April
Am 8. und 9. April wird der Internationale Gerichtshof (IGH) im Verfahren gegen Deutschland verhandeln. Nicaragua wirft der Bundesrepublik Beihilfe zum Völkermord im Gazastreifen vor, indem sie Israel politisch, finanziell und militärisch unterstützt sowie die Mittel für das UN-Palästinenserhilfswerk gestrichen habe.
Im Gazastreifen bestehe seit Oktober 2023 „die anerkannte Gefahr eines Völkermordes am palästinensischen Volk“. Deutschland habe durch seine Unterstützung für Israel gegen seine Verpflichtungen aus der Völkermordkonvention verstoßen, heißt es in der Klage Nicaraguas.
ICJ to hold hearings on Nicaragua’s case accusing Germany of facilitating ‘genocide’ in Gaza
Top UN judges will start listening to submissions next month in the case filed by Nicaragua accusing Berlin of facilitating “genocide” in Gaza because of its support for Israel in the war against Hamas, officials say.
Two weeks ago Nicaragua filed a case against Germany before the International Court of Justice, saying Berlin was “facilitating the commission of genocide and… failed in its obligation to do everything possible to prevent the commission of genocide,” in Gaza.
The Republic of Nicaragua institutes proceedings against the Federal Republic of Germany and requests the Court to indicate provisional measures
THE HAGUE, 1 March 2024. Nicaragua today filed an Application instituting proceedings against Germany before the International Court of Justice for alleged violations by Germany of its obligations deriving from the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the “Genocide Convention”), the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols, “intransgressible principles of international humanitarian law” and other norms of general international law in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly the Gaza Strip.
The Applicant states that “[e]ach and every Contracting Party to the Genocide Convention has a duty under the Convention to do everything possible to prevent the commission of genocide” and that, since October 2023, there has been “a recognised risk of genocide against the Palestinian people, directed first of all against the population of the Gaza Strip”. Nicaragua argues that by providing political, financial and military support to Israel and by defunding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), “Germany is facilitating the commission of genocide and, in any case has failed in its obligation to do everything possible to prevent the commission of genocide”.
Nicaragua files case at World Court against Germany for aiding Israel
Nicaragua has filed a case at the International Court of Justice against Germany for giving financial and military aid to Israel and for defunding the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), the U.N.‘s top court said on Friday.
Nicaragua asked the ICJ, also known as the World Court, to issue emergency measures requiring Berlin to stop its military aid to Israel and reverse its decision to stop funding UNRWA.
US State Department says that assassination of noncombatants by death squad is justice. The US is now against the Geneva Conventions, which protects noncombatants. Further, extrajudicial assassination is a major attack on the very concept of law.
GAZA STRIP: Hostilities leave the entire population highly food insecure and at risk of Famine
Between 24 November and 7 December, over 90 percent of the population in the Gaza Strip (about 2.08 million people) was estimated to face high levels of acute food insecurity, classified in IPC Phase 3 or above (Crisis or worse). Among these, over 40 percent of the population (939,000 people) were in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and over 15 percent (378,000 people) were in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5).
Between 8 December 2023 and 7 February 2024, the entire population in the Gaza Strip (about 2.2 million people) is classified in IPC Phase 3 or above (Crisis or worse). This is the highest share of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity that the IPC initiative has ever classified for any given area or country
The UN says more than 1 in 4 people in Gaza are starving because of war
“It doesn’t get any worse,’’ said Arif Husain, chief economist for the U.N.’s World Food Program. “I have never seen something at the scale that is happening in Gaza. And at this speed.”
Israel says it is in the final stages of clearing out Hamas militants from northern Gaza, but that months of fighting lie ahead in the south.
Israel: Starvation Used as Weapon of War in Gaza
International humanitarian law, or the laws of war, prohibits the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court provides that intentionally starving civilians by “depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including willfully impeding relief supplies” is a war crime. Criminal intent does not require the attacker’s admission but can also be inferred from the totality of the circumstances of the military campaign.
In addition, Israel’s continuing blockade of Gaza, as well as its more than 16-year closure, amounts to collective punishment of the civilian population, a war crime. As the occupying power in Gaza under the Fourth Geneva Convention, Israel has the duty to ensure that the civilian population gets food and medical supplies.
U.N. Security Council Calls for Dayslong Humanitarian Pauses in Gaza
The resolution put forth by Malta passed after weeks of division and inaction over the Israel-Gaza war. It stopped short of calling for a cease-fire, and it did not spell out the number of days for a humanitarian pause, instead calling for “a sufficient number of days” for “the full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access.”
The resolution is legally binding and called for all parties to comply with international laws of conflict that demand that civilians, especially children, be protected. It also called for the immediate and unconditional release of hostages held by Hamas.
UNSC adopts Malta’s resolution on Gaza
Approved resolution
The Security Council,
Reaffirming the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,
Reaffirming that all parties to conflicts must adhere to their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law,
Stressing that international humanitarian law provides general protection for children as persons taking no part in hostilities, and special protection as persons who are particularly vulnerable, and recalling that the taking of hostages is prohibited under international law,
Recalling that all parties to armed conflict must comply strictly with the obligations applicable to them under international law for the protection of children in armed conflict, including those contained in the Geneva Conventions of 12th August 1949 and the Additional Protocols of 1977, as well as the relevant conventions regarding the involvement of children in conflict situations,
Expressing deep concern at the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and its grave impact on the civilian population, especially the disproportionate effect on children, underlining the urgent need for full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access, and stressing the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence and the obligation to respect and protect humanitarian relief personnel,
Rejecting forced displacement of the civilian population, including children, in violation of international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law,
Expressing deep concern that the disruption of access to education has a dramatic impact on children, and that conflict has lifelong effects on their physical and mental health,
Commending the ongoing efforts of several regional and international actors as well as of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to address the hostage and humanitarian crises.
Demands that all parties comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, notably with regard to the protection of civilians, especially children;
Calls for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip for a sufficient number of days to enable, consistent with international humanitarian law, the full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access for United Nations humanitarian agencies and their implementing partners, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other impartial humanitarian organizations, to facilitate the continuous, sufficient and unhindered provision of essential goods and services important to the well-being of civilians, especially children, throughout the Gaza Strip, including water, electricity, fuel, food, and medical supplies, as well as emergency repairs to essential infrastructure, and to enable urgent rescue and recovery efforts, including for missing children in damaged and destroyed buildings, and including the medical evacuation of sick or injured children and their care givers;
Calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups, especially children, as well as ensuring immediate humanitarian access;
Calls on all parties to refrain from depriving the civilian population in the Gaza Strip of basic services and humanitarian assistance indispensable to their survival, consistent with international humanitarian law, which has a disproportionate impact on children, welcomes the initial, although limited, provision of humanitarian supplies to civilians in the Gaza Strip and calls for the scaling up of the provision of such supplies to meet the humanitarian needs of the civilian population, especially children;
Underscores the importance of coordination, humanitarian notification, and deconfliction mechanisms, to protect all medical and humanitarian staff, vehicles including ambulances, humanitarian sites, and critical infrastructure, including UN facilities, and to help facilitate the movement of aid convoys and patients, in particular sick and injured children and their care givers;
Requests the Secretary-General to report orally to the Security Council on the implementation of this resolution at the next mandated meeting of the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, and further requests the Secretary-General to identify options to effectively monitor the implementation of this resolution as a matter of prime concern;
Decides to remain seized of the matter.
What does the Geneva Convention say about the protection of civilians inside hospitals?
Biden : The one thing I did say is that it is really important that Israel, with all the anger and frustration… that exists, is that they operate by the rules of war
We are documenting multiple similar incidents around Gaza. Phosphorus munitions are an indiscriminate incendiary weapon that ignites on contact with oxygen. In closed spaces, the toxic fumes can cause asphyxiation & permanent respiratory damage (2/2)
ISRAEL’S OCCUPATION: 50 YEARS OF DISPOSSESSION
(June 2017)
For half a century, Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip has resulted in systematic human rights violations against Palestinians living there.
Ex-Israeli General Says Army Partner in West Bank War Crimes, Invokes Nazi Germany
Speaking to Israel’s public broadcasting station Kan, Amiram Levin, former head of the Israeli army’s Northern Command, said that “there hasn’t been a democracy there in 57 years, there is total apartheid.” According to Levin, “the IDF, which is forced to exert sovereignty there, is rotting from the inside. It’s standing by, looking at the settler rioters and is beginning to be a partner to war crimes. These are deep processes.”
When asked to elaborate on the specific “processes,” Levin invoked Nazi Germany. “It’s hard for us to say it, but it’s the truth. Walk around Hebron, look at the streets. Streets where Arabs are no longer allowed to go on, only Jews. That’s exactly what happened there, in that dark country.”
The Legal Coup Is the Means. The Ends Are Annexation and Apartheid
The settlers’ patience has paid off. After 27 years, they have managed to bring about a change in the way the system operates. (…)
In other words, the settlers will decide for themselves and the state will fall in line. Next week, the Supreme Planning Council will discuss plans for building thousands of homes in the settlements.
Ukraine war: international alarm grows after Nova Kakhovka dam destroyed
The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on Tuesday following requests from Russia and Ukraine.
Dam supplying water to Crimea blown up in southern Ukraine
It also supplies water to the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014, and to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which is also under Russian control.
Moscow-installed officials said there was no danger yet to the plant, Europe‘s largest nuclear power plant, from the destruction of the dam. The nuclear power station gets its cooling water from the reservoir.
Israeli troops kill Palestinian teen in raid as settlers march through West Bank
The Israeli army said its troops were operating in the Aqabat Jaber refugee camp next to Jericho in the West Bank. The Palestinian Health Ministry said 15-year-old Mohammed Balhan was killed by army fire.
The army gave no further details.
Netanyahu‘s cabinet member joins settlers‘ march for reopening of illegal West Bank outpost
Far-right Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir joined thousands of Israeli settlers who staged a march demanding the reopening of Evyatar, an illegal settler outpost in the occupied West Bank. CNN‘s Frederik Pleitgen reports.
In mass rally, Israeli settlers march to West Bank outpost
The march to Eviatar, an unauthorized settlement outpost in the northern West Bank that was evacuated by the previous Israeli government in 2021, was being led by hard-line ultranationalist Jewish settlers.
Daniella Weiss, another settler leader, told Kan public radio that the ministers‘ participation in the march could be a “therapy for the government to free yourselves from the dictates of the U.S. and Europe” concerning West Bank settlement.
Dear President Biden and Secretary Blinken,
(…)
As such, we call on your administration to promptly:
– Ensure U.S. taxpayer funds do not support projects in illegal settlements;
– Determine whether U.S.-origin defense articles have been used in violation of existing U.S. laws, including for a purpose not authorized by Section 4 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. § 2754) or to commit or support gross violations of human rights
by the Israeli government in violation of Section 502B(a)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act (22 U.S.C. § 2304(a)(2)) and the U.S. „Leahy Laws,“ Section 620M of the Foreign Assistance Act (22 U.S.C. § 2378d and 10 U.S.C. § 362).
Furthermore, we call on your administration to ensure that all future foreign assistance to Israel, including weapons and equipment, is not used in support of gross violations of human rights, including by strengthening end-use monitoring and financial tracking. We ask that you respond with a detailed plan as to how the administration plans to achieve that goal.
Progressive Democrats Plan to Make Strongest Statement Yet Against Netanyahu’s Far-right Government
The progressive lawmakers are further urging the Biden administration to ensure U.S. taxpayer funds are not supporting Israeli settlements projects, and to determine whether U.S. military aid is in violation of the Arms Export Control Act or the so-called “Leahy Laws.”
The Arms Export and Controls Act stipulates that U.S. weapons are sold only for legitimate self-defense, while the Leahy Law prohibits U.S. funding from being used to equip or train foreign military forces suspected of human rights abuses or war crimes.
US State Dept puts out statement following Aqaba summit that Israel will hold off on settlements for 4-6 months, minutes later Netanyahu tweets “there will not be any freeze.”
(26.02.2023)
Warning Situation in Occupied Palestinian Territory ‘at Its Most Combustible’ in Years, Secretary-General Urges Action to Ease Tensions, as Rights Committee Begins Session
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the opening of the 2023 session of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, in New York today:
It is my privilege to join this meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. I congratulate the Chair, Ambassador Cheikh Niang, and other members of the Bureau on your election. And I commend all of you for your tireless commitment.
We meet as the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is at its most combustible in years. Just this morning, we had more deeply concerning news. An operation by Israeli security forces and ensuing clash in Nablus left 10 Palestinians dead and over 80 injured.
Israelis Decry ‘Dictatorship of Criminals’ in Sixth Week of anti-Netanyahu Gov’t Protests
The anti-occupation bloc was also present, chanting “no apartheid government… from Sheikh Jarrah to Jenin, Palestine will be free.” Members of the group carried Palestinian and LGBTQ pride flags.
„Democracy is not built on the bodies of children. Democracy is not built on house demolitions and evictions,“ they shouted. Later in the evening, a man in the crowd reportedly attacked the bloc‘s protesters and was detained by the police.
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese
9. In recent years, a number of reputable scholars and organizations have concluded that systemic and widespread discriminatory Israeli policies and practices against the Palestinians amount to the crime of apartheid under international law. While the international community has not fully acted upon it, the concept that Israeli occupation meets the legal threshold of apartheid is gaining traction. This may help overcome a certain tendency to scrutinize Israeli violations, often individual and
decontextualized, under specific bodies of international law rather than the very system through which Israel rules over the Palestinians.
10. At the same time, if considered alone and not as part of a holistic examination of the experience of the Palestinian people as a whole, the apartheid framework presents some limitations:
(a) First, with few exceptions, the scope of recent reports on Israeli apartheid is primarily “territorial” and excludes the experience of Palestinian refugees. The recognition of Israeli apartheid must address the experience of the Palestinian people in its entirety and in their unity as a people, including those who were displaced, denationalized and dispossessed in 1947–1949 (many of whom live in the occupied Palestinian territory);
(b) Second, a focus on Israeli apartheid alone misses the inherent illegality of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem. The Israeli occupation is illegal because it has proven not to be temporary, is deliberately administered against the best interests of the occupied population and has resulted in the annexation of occupied territory, breaching most obligations imposed on the occupying Power. Its illegality also stems from its systematic violation of at least three peremptory norms of international law: the prohibition on the acquisition of territory through the use of force; the prohibition on imposing regimes of alien subjugation, domination and exploitation, including racial discrimination and apartheid; and the obligation of States to respect the right of peoples to self-determination. By the same token, Israeli occupation constitutes an unjustified use of force and an act of aggression.9 Such an occupation is unequivocally prohibited under international law and contrary to the values, purposes and principles of the United Nations as enshrined in its Charter;
(c) Third, the apartheid framework does not address the “root causes” of the web of racially discriminatory laws, orders and policies that have regulated daily life in the occupied Palestinian territory since 1967 and Israeli animus (intention) in seizing land while subjugating and displacing its indigenous people and replacing them with its nationals. This is the hallmark of settler-colonialism, and a war crime
under the Rome Statute.
11. In essence, the limitations of the apartheid framework as currently applied bypass the critical issue of the recognition of the Palestinian people’s fundamental right to determine their political, social and economic status and develop as a people, free from foreign occupation, rule and exploitation. Dismantling the Israeli apartheid in the occupied Palestinian territory in particular, while necessary, will not
automatically address the question of Israeli domination over the Palestinians, restore permanent sovereignty over the lands Israel occupies and the natural resources therein, nor, on its own, fulfil Palestinian political aspirations.
Putin declares four areas of Ukraine as Russian
– President Putin has announced the illegal seizure of four areas of Ukraine – saying they are now Russian territory
– In an angry speech decrying the West, he claimed people living in the regions had made their choice – but „referendums“ held there have been labelled shams
– The territory being seized is in Russian-held Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions
– Ukraine has responded by asking Nato to speed up giving it membership of the US-led defence alliance
Putin-Rede in Moskau: Besetzte Gebiete zu Teilen Russlands erklärt
In seiner Rede im voll besetzten Festsaal im Kreml verwies Putin zuvor auf die in den besetzten Gebieten durchgeführten Abstimmungen, bei denen eine „eindeutige Wahl“ getroffen worden sei. Es gebe „nichts Wichtigeres als den Willen von Millionen, in ihre historische Heimat zurückzukehren“, so Putin, der in diesem Zusammenhang den Zerfall der Sowjetunion vor rund 30 Jahren als Tragödie bezeichnete.
Doppelagent Abbas
(1.Mai 2018)
Abbas abgesonderter Wahnsinn über die Shoa soll verdecken, dass er der effektivste Kollaborateur der israelischen Besatzungsmacht über Palästina ist und dieser permanent in die Hände spielt.
Family of British man facing the death penalty in Donbas call for his release
„Shaun should be accorded all the rights of a prisoner of war according to the Geneva Convention and including full independent legal representation. We sincerely hope that all parties will co-operate urgently to ensure the safe release or exchange of Shaun.“
Britain has called the court‘s decision a „sham judgment“ and condemned Russian proxy authorities in Donbas for what it called an „egregious breach“ of the Geneva convention.
Moroccan Man Who Fought With Ukraine Sentenced to Death in Donetsk
While the court tried the men on the basis of them being foreign mercenaries, the defendants and their families maintained that they were living in Ukraine legally and fought officially with Ukraine, which would grant them the protection of being legitimate prisoners of war, protected by the Geneva convention.
Only a small portion of the closed trial was made public through pro-Russian media. Observers said it’s a “show trial” with “trumped up charges” put on “to imitate trials of Russian soldiers in Ukraine.”
Who are Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner? How the British men sentenced to death sought a new life in Ukraine
Mr Aslin, 28, is known by multiple names. When he fought alongside Syria’s Kurdish militia the People’s Protection Units (YPG) against Isis he was known as Rojhat, he then adopted the name Cossack Gundi when he joined as a volunteer fighter in the ranks of the Ukrainian Army. To some, he is known simply as Johnny.
Mr Aslin, a care worker at his hometown of Newark, Nottinghamshire, had no military experience when he left the UK for Syria in 2015. Before he boarded a plane to Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq, he reportedly told border authorities he was going on a backpacking trip.
So-called court in Donetsk sentences two captive Britons and one Moroccan to death
UK citizens Shaun Pinner, Aiden Aslin and Moroccan Saadun Brahim were charged with being mercenaries and participating in operations aimed at seizure of power and overthrow of the so-called constitutional order of the so-called „Donetsk People‘s Republic“, which is not recognized by anyone but Russia.