The Flotilla serves as a critical test for the international community and the current „Board of Peace“ architecture. Legal experts argue that such frameworks cannot be used as colonial gatekeepers to convert the legal right of humanitarian access into a foreign-administered permission regime which perpetuates the denial of Palestinian self-determination. There is a growing demand for United Nations member states to seek an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice regarding whether the Security Council may lawfully endorse a regime that displaces Palestinian self-determination. By sailing, the Flotilla forces a choice upon international institutions to either uphold the rule of law or be complicit in a system that conditions life-saving relief on political approval.
Archiv: International Court of Justice (ICJ) / UN Court / World Court / Internationaler Gerichtshof / Weltgerichtshof / established 1945
Sudan: Hallmarks of Genocide in El-Fasher – Report of the independent international fact-finding mission for the Sudan
10. International human rights law applies concurrently with international humanitarian law, including the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948, to which Sudan is a state Party. International criminal law also applies, and the situation in Darfur from 1 July 2002 is subject to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court pursuant to United Nations Security Council resolution 1593 ( 2005 ).
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14. The Rapid Support Forces’ military campaign was reinforced by local Arab militias and allied groups, and by mercenaries reportedly deployed through foreign security firms or networks and equipped with advanced weaponry and communications systems. Witnesses described the Rapid Support Forces’ use of heavy artillery, drones and electronic warfare capabilities. The Rapid Support Forces appear to have benefited from logistical military support, in violation of the arms embargo under Security Council resolution 1593 (2005 ).
Cuba’s alliances are crumbling in Trump’s world
Trump’s return to power is ushering in a new world order in which multilateralism and international organizations, starting with the United Nations, are in retreat.
UNRWA Commissioner-General: The burning of UNRWA’s headquarters is an unprecedented attack on the United Nations
(January 25, 2ß26)
There are no limits to the defiance of the United Nations and international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
After having been stormed and demolished by the Israeli authorities, the UNRWA Headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem has now been set on fire.
UN chief warns he could refer Israel to ICJ over laws targeting UNRWA
(January 13, 2026)
In a January 8 letter to Netanyahu, Guterres said the UN cannot remain indifferent to “actions taken by Israel, which are in direct contravention of the obligations of Israel under international law. They must be reversed without delay.”
Nicaragua v. United States
The Case Concerning the Military and Paramilitary Activities in and Against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v. United States of America) (1986)[2] was a case where the International Court of Justice (ICJ) held that the U.S. had violated international law by supporting the Contras in their rebellion against the Sandinistas and by mining Nicaragua‘s harbors. The case was decided in favor of Nicaragua and against the United States with the awarding of reparations to Nicaragua.
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In response to the ICJ‘s decision that US aid to the contra rebels violated international law, US State Department lawyer, Abraham Sofaer, said that the US would no longer recognize the ICJ‘s ‚compulsory jurisdiction‘ authority. Sofaer said „We felt the Nicaragua case was an unfortunate signal to us that we should be concerned about our security interests and about the use of the court for political-public relations purposes. . . . The President does not want the court used for those purposes–at the same time, he and others in this Administration want to continue to use the court for its intended purposes“. Paul Reichler, one of the lawyers representing Nicaragua in the case, said: „It‘s another indication that this Administration has no regard for international law–when international law conflicts with a foreign policy objective of the Administration, they will throw international law into the waste basket“.
Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza continues unabated despite ceasefire
In December 2024 Amnesty International issued an extensive study concluding that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza arguing that Israel had carried out three acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention, with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza, including killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm, and deliberately inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction.
Today despite a reduction in scale of attacks, and some limited improvements, there has been no meaningful change in the conditions Israel is inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza and no evidence to indicate that Israel’s intent has changed.
“Israel has inflicted devastating harm on Palestinians in Gaza through its genocide, including two years of relentless bombardment and deliberate systematic starvation. So far, there is no indication that Israel is taking serious measures to reverse the deadly impact of its crimes and no evidence that its intent has changed. In fact, Israeli authorities are continuing their ruthless policies, restricting access to vital humanitarian aid and essential services, and deliberately imposing conditions calculated to physically destroy Palestinians in Gaza,” said Agnès Callamard.
At least 347people, including 136 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire was announced on 9 October. Israel continues to restrict access to critical aid and relief supplies, including medical supplies and equipment necessary to repair life-sustaining infrastructure, violating multiple orders from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for Israel to ensure that Palestinians have access to humanitarian supplies, in the case brought by South Africa to prevent Israel’s genocide. In January 2024, the ICJ found that Palestinians’ rights under the Genocide Convention, namely their survival were plausibly at risk.
The objective probability that the current conditions would lead to the destruction of Palestinians in Gaza persists, particularly considering the enhanced vulnerability of the population to sickness and spread of disease following months of famine caused by years of unlawful blockade and months of total siege earlier this year. This has created circumstances that would lead to a slow death of Palestinians resulting from the lack of proper food, water, shelter, clothing or sanitation.
Israel‘s genocide in Gaza continues as Palestinians face ‚slow death‘, Amnesty says
Ceasefire violations by Israel, no housing, destroyed farmland and ongoing sea blockade are intended to destroy Palestinians in Gaza, report says
OBLIGATIONS OF ISRAEL IN RELATION TO THE PRESENCE AND ACTIVITIES OF THE UNITED NATIONS, OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND THIRD STATES IN AND IN RELATION TO THEOCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
(October 22, 2025)
223. For these reasons,
THE COURT ,
(1) Unanimously,
Finds that it has jurisdiction to give the advisory opinion requested;
(2) Unanimously,
Decides to comply with the request for an advisory opinion;
(3) Is of the opinion that the State of Israel, as an occupying Power, is required to fulfil its obligations under international humanitarian law. These obligations include the following:
(a) Unanimously,
to ensure that the population of the Occupied Palestinian Territory has the essential supplies of daily life, including food, water, clothing, bedding, shelter, fuel, medical supplies and services;
(b) By ten votes to one,
to agree to and facilitate by all means at its disposal relief schemes on behalf of the population of the Occupied Palestinian Territory so long as that population is inadequately supplied, as has been the case in the Gaza Strip, including relief provided by the United Nations and its entities, in particular the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, other international organizations and third States, and not to impede such relief;
IN FAVOUR: President Iwasawa; Judges Tomka, Abraham, Xue, Nolte, Charlesworth, Brant,
Gómez Robledo, Cleveland, Tladi;
AGAINST: Vice-President Sebutinde;
(c) Unanimously,
to respect and protect all relief and medical personnel and facilities;
(d) Unanimously,
to respect the prohibition on forcible transfer and deportation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory;
(e) Unanimously,
to respect the right of protected persons from the Occupied Palestinian Territory who are detained by the State of Israel to be visited by the International Committee of the Red Cross; and
(f) Unanimously,
to respect the prohibition on the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare;
‚Disappointing‘: ICJ grants Israel another extension in South Africa genocide case
On 29 December 2023, South Africa accused Israel, before the ICJ, of breaching the Genocide Convention of 1948.
The subsequent hearing, a couple of weeks later, drew huge attention as Israel’s war was formally challenged on the world stage for the first time since the start of the genocidal war.
For cases of such complexity, the ICJ often takes years to come to a judgement. ICJ experts have previously explained that the judgment is expected to be made by early 2028.
OBLIGATIONS OF ISRAEL IN RELATION TO THE PRESENCE AND ACTIVITIES OF THE UNITED NATIONS, OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND THIRD STATES IN AND IN RELATION TO THEOCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
223. For these reasons,
THE COURT ,
(1) Unanimously,
Finds that it has jurisdiction to give the advisory opinion requested;
(2) Unanimously,
Decides to comply with the request for an advisory opinion;
(3) Is of the opinion that the State of Israel, as an occupying Power, is required to fulfil its obligations under international humanitarian law. These obligations include the following:
(a) Unanimously,
to ensure that the population of the Occupied Palestinian Territory has the essential supplies of daily life, including food, water, clothing, bedding, shelter, fuel, medical supplies and services;
(b) By ten votes to one,
to agree to and facilitate by all means at its disposal relief schemes on behalf of the population of the Occupied Palestinian Territory so long as that population is inadequately supplied, as has been the case in the Gaza Strip, including relief provided by the United Nations and its entities, in particular the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, other international organizations and third States, and not to impede such relief;
IN FAVOUR: President Iwasawa; Judges Tomka, Abraham, Xue, Nolte, Charlesworth, Brant,
Gómez Robledo, Cleveland, Tladi;
AGAINST: Vice-President Sebutinde;
(c) Unanimously,
to respect and protect all relief and medical personnel and facilities;
(d) Unanimously,
to respect the prohibition on forcible transfer and deportation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory;
(e) Unanimously,
to respect the right of protected persons from the Occupied Palestinian Territory who are detained by the State of Israel to be visited by the International Committee of the Red Cross; and
(f) Unanimously,
to respect the prohibition on the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare;
(4) By ten votes to one,
Is of the opinion that, as an occupying Power, the State of Israel has an obligation under
international human rights law to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of the population of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including through the presence and activities of the United Nations, other international organizations and third States, in and in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory;
IN FAVOUR: President Iwasawa; Judges Tomka, Abraham, Xue, Nolte, Charlesworth, Brant,
Gómez Robledo, Cleveland, Tladi;
AGAINST: Vice-President Sebutinde;
(5) By ten votes to one,
Is of the opinion that the State of Israel has an obligation to co-operate in good faith with the United Nations by providing every assistance in any action it takes in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, in and in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory;
IN FAVOUR: President Iwasawa; Judges Tomka, Abraham, Xue, Nolte, Charlesworth, Brant,
Gómez Robledo, Cleveland, Tladi;
AGAINST: Vice-President Sebutinde;
(6) By ten votes to one,
Is of the opinion that the State of Israel has an obligation under Article 105 of the Charter of the United Nations to ensure full respect for the privileges and immunities accorded to the United Nations, including its agencies and bodies, and its officials, in and in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory;
IN FAVOUR: President Iwasawa; Judges Tomka, Abraham, Xue, Nolte, Charlesworth, Brant,
Gómez Robledo, Cleveland, Tladi;
AGAINST: Vice-President Sebutinde;
(7) By ten votes to one,
Is of the opinion that the State of Israel has an obligation under Article II of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations to ensure full respect for the inviolability of the premises of the United Nations, including those of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, and for the immunity of the property and assets of the Organization from any form of interference;
IN FAVOUR: President Iwasawa; Judges Tomka, Abraham, Xue, Nolte, Charlesworth, Brant,
Gómez Robledo, Cleveland, Tladi;
AGAINST: Vice-President Sebutinde;
(8) By ten votes to one,
Is of the opinion that the State of Israel has an obligation under Articles V, VI and VII of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations to ensure full respect for the privileges and immunities accorded to the officials and experts on mission of the United Nations, in and in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
IN FAVOUR: President Iwasawa; Judges Tomka, Abraham, Xue, Nolte, Charlesworth, Brant,
Gómez Robledo, Cleveland, Tladi;
AGAINST: Vice-President Sebutinde.
Israel is obliged to let aid flow into Occupied Palestinian Territory, says World Court
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) says that Israel must uphold its responsibilities as the “occupying power” by ensuring aid can flow freely and by respecting the rights of the UN and other humanitarian agencies working in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
THE HAGUE – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivers its Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of Israel
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, delivers its Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of Israel in relation to the Presence and Activities of the United Nations, Other International Organizations and Third States in and in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, on 22 October 2025, at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the seat of the Court. Session held under the presidency of Judge Iwasawa Yuji, President of the Court.
United Nations Charter, Chapter XIV: The International Court of Justice
Article 96
(1) The General Assembly, the Governing Council or the Security Council may request the International Renewal Court of Justice to give an advisory opinion on any legal question.
(2) Other organs of the Renewed United Nations and specialised agencies, which may at any time be so authorised by the Governing Council or by the General Assembly, may also request advisory opinions of the Court on legal questions arising within the scope of their activities.
CONVENTION ON THE PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES OF THE UNITED NATIONS Adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 13 February 1946
SECTION 3. The premises of the United Nations shall be inviolable. The property and assets of the United Nations, wherever located and by whom soever held, shall be immune from search, requisition, confiscation, expropriation and any other form of interference, whether by executive, administrative, judicial or legislative action.
(…)
SECTION 30. All differences arising out of the interpretation or application of the present convention shall be referred to the International Court of Justice, unless in any case it is agreed by the parties to have recourse to another mode of settlement. If a difference arises between the United Nations on the one hand and a Member on the other hand, a request shall be made for an advisory opinion on any legal question involved in accordance with Article 96 of the Charter and Article 65 of the Statute of the Court. The opinion given by the Court shall be accepted as decisive by the parties.
Obligations of Israel in relation to the Presence and Activities of the United Nations, Other International Organizations and Third States in and in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory
THE HAGUE, 9 October 2025. On Wednesday 22 October 2025, the International Court of Justice will deliver its Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of Israel in relation to the Presence and Activities of the United Nations, Other International Organizations and Third States in and in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
A public sitting will take place at 3 p.m. during which Judge Iwasawa Yuji, President of the Court, will read out the Advisory Opinion.
World Court to give opinion on Israel‘s obligations to allow aid to Palestinians
The opinion, which was requested by the U.N. General Assembly in December, will be closely watched as it could have effects beyond the Gaza conflict. It is expected to address the protections states must provide for U.N. staff worldwide.
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The request for an ICJ opinion was prompted by a 2023 Israeli law that banned U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA from operating in the country, as it said the organisation had employed members of Hamas who took part in the attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Can the US legally ban Mahmoud Abbas and the PA from the UN General Assembly?
(August 31, 2025)
The issue was brought before the International Court of Justice, an agency of the UN, which ruled that the US was legally bound by the headquarters agreement. But the ICJ never issued a final ruling on the Arafat visa denial because the issue was brought to arbitration, although that process too was never brought to a definitive conclusion.
Turkey says Israel should be suspended from UN General Assembly
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday urged Islamic nations to work toward suspending Israel from participating in United Nations General Assembly meetings and activities.
(…)
“Therefore, we must join our efforts in sustaining and expanding the momentum for Palestine’s recognition, while also launching an initiative within the UN for Palestine’s full membership – and considering the suspension of Israel from the work of the General Assembly,” Fidan added.
In Swipe at UK, Huckabee Cites Allied Bombing of Dresden to Defend Israel‘s Gaza Genocide
U.S. and British warplanes indiscriminately bombed Dresden with munitions including 4,000-pound „blockbusters“ and incendiary explosives over two days in February 1945. The heat generated by the inferno melted human flesh, turning many victims into piles of goop. Men, women, children; the sick and the elderly; refugees and Allied prisoners of war—even the animals in the city zoo—were incinerated together.
Acclaimed author Kurt Vonnegut—an American POW imprisoned in Dresden at the time, whose seminal novel Slaughterhouse-Five was inspired by the firebombing—later described the attack as „carnage unfathomable.“ After viewing images of the bombing, then-British Prime Minister Winston Churchill asked: „Are we beasts? Are we taking this too far?“
As the old adage posits, „history is written by the victors,“ and no Allied officials were ever held accountable for atrocities committed against their Axis enemies. However, after the war, the Nuremberg trials, Fourth Geneva Convention, and Genocide Convention sought to ensure that horrors like Nazi and Japanese war crimes and what the British described as the „terror bombing“ of Germany never happened again.
In the face of Israel‘s genocide in Gaza, ongoing silence and inaction is complicity
For nearly two years, we have witnessed a live-streamed genocide. War crimes have been well-documented by journalists, rights groups, doctors and civilians. There’s enough evidence to sift through for decades to come.
Activists and celebrities have reminded the western world of their vow to “never again” allow something like this to happen. Countless social media campaigns have pleaded with the public to keep “all eyes on Rafah” and on Gaza.
But still the genocide persists. Israel’s actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank have become more brazen and violent than ever.
Why is this happening? It’s not because Israel is a small beacon of democracy in the Middle East surrounded by enemies. Rather, it’s because Israel is a rogue state surrounded by capitulators who have allowed this to unfold.
Any government in the world could expel the rogue state of Israel from the United Nations. None does.
(April 27, 2025)
It‘s not the world order that has failed the Palestinians. It‘s the world.
‘They’ll kill us all’: Gazans plead for intervention as Israeli attacks intensify
(April 7, 2025)
“We are civilians in our homes,” Al-Aqqad pleaded. “We don’t want to be displaced to unsafe areas. The army targets everyone without exception. We want the world to act and save us, otherwise they’ll kill us all.”
Any government in the world could expel the rogue state of Israel from the United Nations. None does.
(April 27, 2025)
It‘s not the world order that has failed the Palestinians. It‘s the world.
Gaza is a mirror reflecting the world‘s absolute shame: Opinion
Never in recent history has a civilian population been locked into a fenced strip of land – denied food, water, and fuel – while being bombed from air, land, and sea.
This is not siege. It is the world’s first televised extermination.
A concentration camp under constant aerial assault.
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What is happening in Gaza does more than violate law – it obliterates it.
It tears through every principle of humanity, every treaty that claims to uphold it.
The world did not merely fail Gaza. It abandoned her. And in doing so, it exposed itself.
Gaza is not just a killing field.
She is a mirror – and in her reflection, we see our absolute, unvarnished shame.
Terror and chaos for Gaza’s people now entering the ‘death phase’
In an alert, the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, relayed desperate testimonies from its colleagues who are also struggling to survive in the war-torn enclave.
“We’re in the death phase,” one UNRWA worker said. “Everything around people at the moment is death, whether it’s bombs or strikes, children wasting away in front of their eyes from malnourishment, from dehydration, and dying.”
Doctors and nurses who continue to work in the UN agency’s clinics and medical centres “are watching children disappear and die in front of their eyes, and there‘s absolutely nothing that they can do about it,” the worker continued.
Civilians ‘faced sniper and tank-fire’
The development comes after desperate Gazans seeking aid came under fire at the weekend “from Israeli tanks, snipers and other gunfire”, according to the UN World Food Programme (WFP).
In a detailed statement after the incident on Sunday 20 July, it explained that a 25-truck lorry convoy crossed the Zikim border point in northern Gaza “destined for starving communities”.
Shortly after passing the final checkpoint after the Zikim crossing point, the convoy encountered large crowds of civilians waiting to access food supplies. This was when the shooting began, leaving “countless” Gazans dead, WFP said, echoing reports by the health authorities.
Condemning the incident, WFP noted that the victims “were simply trying to access food to feed themselves and their families on the brink of starvation”. ….
Francesca Albanese: A revolutionary shift is underway
I ask you to consider this moment as if we were sitting here in the 1990s, discussing the case of apartheid South Africa. Would you have proposed selective sanctions on SA for its conduct in individual Bantustans? Or would you have recognised the state’s criminal system as a whole? And here, what Israel is doing is worse. This comparison— is a legal and factual assessment supported by international legal proceedings many in this room are part of.
This is what concrete measures mean. Negotiating with Israel on how to manage what remains of Gaza and West Bank, in Brussels or elsewhere, is an utter dishonor international law.
And to the Palestinians and those from all corners of the world standing by them, often at great cost and sacrifice, I say whatever happens, Palestine will have written this tumultuous chapter—not as a footnote in the chronicles of would-be conquerors, but as the newest verse in a centuries-long saga of peoples who have risen against injustice, colonialism, and today more than ever neoliberal tyranny.