Experts accuse UK of hypocrisy for not backing claim of genocide in Gaza before ICJ

by gajan
Jan 8, 2024

The UK government is facing accusations of hypocrisy for not supporting South Africa's case accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. 

Six weeks earlier, the UK submitted legal arguments to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague supporting claims that Myanmar committed genocide against the Rohingya ethnic group. 

In its submission on Myanmar, the UK argues that the threshold for determining genocide is lower if it is the case that damage has been inflicted on children as opposed to adults. 

Further, the submission highlights that given the rarity of declarations of intent to commit genocide, the court should not rely solely on explicit statements or numbers killed. Rather the ICJ should consider reasonable inference drawn from a pattern of conduct and factual evidence. 

Speaking to the Guardian, lawyer Tayab Ali stated that the significance of the UK's submission on Myanmar "lay in showing the importance the UK attaches to adherence of the UN Genocide Convention, and in showing that the UK took a wide, and not a narrow, definition of the acts of genocide, and the intent to commit genocide." 

Ali continues to say that "it would be wholly disingenuous if the UK, six weeks after advancing such a significant and broad definition of genocide in the case of Myanmar, now adopts a narrow one in the case of Israel."

Read more on The Guardian. 

 

 

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Amaran - Problematic propaganda

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The genre of war epic makes its grand re-entry to Tamil cinema with director Rajkumar Periasamy’s sophomore feature film, ‘Amaran.’ As is often the case with this genre, one cannot help but feel the events of the ‘true story’ onscreen have been heavily modified for easy consumption.

 

 

 

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Official trailer for film below.

UN Special Committee finds Israel warfare methods in Gaza consistent with Genocide

un_spcial

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“It is the collective responsibility of every State to stop supporting the assault on Gaza and the apartheid system in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem,” the Committee said.

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The Special Committee is composed of three Member States: Malaysia, Senegal and Sri Lanka. This year the Member States are represented by H.E. Mr. Ahmad Faisal Muhamad, Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the United Nations in New York, H.E. Mr. Cheikh Niang, Permanent Representative of Senegal to the United Nations in New York, and H.E. Mr. Peter Mohan Maithri Pieris, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in New York.. The committee called on member states to urgently act on the following 

(a) Implement their erga omnes obligations, including as they relate to the prevention and prohibition of genocide, torture, racial segregation and apartheid, and refrain from aiding or abetting the commission of all violations of peremptory norms of international law;

(b) Leverage their influence to ensure Israel ceases its policies and practices negatively affecting the human rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs of the occupied territories;  

(c) Halt all offensive arms transfers, including weapons, explosives, guns and/or ammunition, to Israel;

(d) Hold nationals, including those with dual Israeli citizenship, involved in settler violence or violations in Gaza, accountable for violations of international law;  

(e) Review financial transfer policies that allow religious and charitable organizations to fund activities in Israel, which enable the further sustenance of an apartheid system;  

(f) Support UNRWA politically and financially, including by increasing funding through the United Nations regular budget;  

(g) Protect and ensure respect for human rights in economic activities, including by setting out clear expectations for businesses in terms of responsible conduct consistent with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and exercising heightened due diligence when supporting business enterprises;

(h) Hold business entities fully accountable for complicity in violations of international law, whether through their supply of arms, provision of digital products and services and/or engagement in technology transfer and facilitation (including artificial intelligence) or links to value chains (including algorithmic-based decisionmaking systems) that enable Israel’s ongoing onslaught in Gaza and apartheid system of injustice in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem;

(i) Give full effect to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice of 19 July, by adhering to the legal obligations outlined by the Court, and considering specific measures or further measures required to put an end to the illegal presence of Israel in the occupied territories;

(j) Fully cooperate with the International Criminal Court. 

Read more here

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