Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR UK) strongly condemns the objection of Canada, Germany, Australia and the US to the ruling of the International Criminal Court which confirmed its jurisdiction over all crimes committed in the Palestinian occupied territories in 1967, including Jerusalem.
Since the decision was made public on February 5, 2021, Israel has been threatening the ICC to stop any kind of investigations against those involved in crimes.
The US was the first to object to this ruling, joined by Germany, Canada and Australia, despite claiming that they protect justice and the rule of law.
The stance of these countries is not surprising, as the US –despite the recent change of its administration- is a very strong allay to Israel.
Germany, Australia, Austria, the Czech Republic and Brazil have appealed to the pre-trial chamber in February and March 2020, claiming that Palestine is not a state, thus the court does not have jurisdiction over crimes committed there, despite the UN General Assembly’s resolution No. 19/67 on November 29, 2012, and the ruling of the International Justice Court on July 9, 2004, which both affirmed the status of Palestine as a state within the borders of June 4, 1967 and Jerusalem as its capital.
The stances of these countries are hypocritical, since they support the ICC’s judgements in some countries but in the case of Israel, they strongly reject it without any legal basis, accordingly they support the bullying and blackmailing of Israel.
AOHR UK affirmed the legal status of the ICC’s decision, given that the judges confirmed that they do not have the jurisdiction to decide whether or not Palestine is a state, for it is decided by the international law, UN resolutions and the competent bodies, which all affirmed the status of Palestine as a state, and therefore it was able to join the Rome Statute.
AOHR UK called on the aforementioned countries to adhere to the international law and cease attempting to hinder the work of the ICC on the serious crimes committed by Israeli leaders, as the world is facing two choices; either to abide by justice and accountability or spread impunity.
