UNITED NATIONS, Feb 25 (IPS) – On February 24, the human rights group Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) referred to as on the Worldwide Prison Court docket (ICC) to research former U.S. President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Secretary of Protection Lloyd Austin, amongst different U.S. authorities officers, for aiding and abetting Israeli conflict crimes that intentionally infringed on human rights within the Gaza Strip. This poses important implications for the way forward for U.S. international coverage and the function of impunity in world conflicts.
“There are strong grounds to research Joe Biden, Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin for complicity in Israel’s crimes. The bombs dropped on Palestinian hospitals, faculties and houses are American bombs, the marketing campaign of homicide and persecution has been carried out with American assist. US officers have been conscious of precisely what Israel is doing, and but their assist by no means stopped,” mentioned Reed Brody, a human rights lawyer and DAWN board member.
This latest motion marks the primary time {that a} U.S. group has submitted a referral for members of the U.S. authorities for alleged complicity in conflict crimes. In accordance with DAWN’s communication to ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan on January 19, U.S. officers have contributed over 17.9 billion {dollars} in funding the switch of weapons, intelligence, and the diplomatic safety of Israel, regardless of being conscious of the potential for Israel utilizing these funds to facilitate abuse in Gaza.
“Not solely did Biden, Blinken and Secretary Austin ignore and justify the overwhelming proof of Israel’s grotesque and deliberate crimes, overruling their very own employees suggestions to halt weapons transfers to Israel, they doubled down by offering Israel with unconditional army and political assist to make sure it might perform its atrocities. They supplied Israel with not solely important army assist however equally important political assist by vetoing a number of ceasefire resolutions on the UN Safety Council to make sure Israel might proceed its crimes,” mentioned Sarah Leah Whitson, Government Director of DAWN.
Figures from the Council on International Relations (CFR) present that Israel has been the biggest cumulative recipient of U.S. international support since 1948, receiving roughly 310 billion {dollars} in funding, nearly all of which has been allotted for Israel’s army. Previous to the eruption of the Israel-Hamas Battle in 2023, the U.S. has provided Israel with roughly 3.9 billion in army help. This quantity has skyrocketed to 12.5 billion {dollars} in 2024. Nonetheless, funding for Israel’s financial sector has regularly decreased since 2008, falling to 453.9 thousand {dollars} in 2024.
Moreover, the U.S. has supplied diplomatic assist for Israeli officers. In accordance with a spokesperson for DAWN, the U.S. authorities vetoed seven United Nations (UN) Safety Council resolutions that might have issued sanctions on Israeli conduct within the Gaza Strip. The U.S.’s public assist of Israel has additionally generated worldwide sympathy for Israeli conflict crimes, together with indiscriminate bombardment and blockages of important humanitarian support.
Leahy Legislation is a U.S. statutory provision on the Departments of State and Protection that prohibits the U.S. from supplying safety help to nations which can be more likely to commit severe conflict crimes. Regardless of this, Israel has by no means been denied funding. “What the (U.S.) state division is asking the world to imagine is that no Israeli unit has ever dedicated a gross violation of human rights. This flies within the face of mountains of human rights reviews and journalistic investigations. It flies within the face of the state division’s personal human rights reviews,” mentioned Whitson in December 2024.
DAWN’s name for an ICC investigation comes after President Donald Trump’s signing of an govt order that might prosecute ICC officers for investigating Israel’s actions in Gaza. Although the U.S. is just not a member of the ICC, Palestine falls beneath ICC jurisdiction and perpetrators could be prosecuted no matter nationality.
DAWN is claiming that this order constitutes obstruction of justice beneath Article 70 of the Rome Statute and will entail Trump being held criminally accountable. Trump’s proposed plans to evacuate the Gaza Strip and forcibly displace 2.2 million Palestinians might additionally trigger Trump to be charged with orchestrating conflict crimes and crimes of aggression beneath Article 8 of the Rome Salute.
“Trump isn’t simply obstructing justice; he’s attempting to burn down the courthouse to forestall anybody from holding Israeli criminals accountable. His plan to forcibly displace all Palestinians from Gaza must also advantage ICC investigation—not only for aiding and abetting Israeli crimes however for ordering forcible switch, a criminal offense towards humanity beneath the Rome Statute,” mentioned Raed Jarrar, DAWN’s advocacy director.
The measures to research excessive rating U.S. officers has been described as “historic” by DAWN and units a brand new precedent surrounding accountability and U.S. international coverage. Whitson instructed an IPS correspondent that “authorities officers in any respect ranges around the globe needs to be on discover that they too could be prosecuted by the courtroom for aiding and abetting odious crimes. Nobody needs to be above the legislation, least of all officers from the highly effective governments of the world who assume they’ll get away with something”.
Whitson provides that DAWN’s name for an investigation has important implications for the ICC. If the ICC fails to make sure accountability for conflict crimes in Gaza, it stands to lose legitimacy and belief from the worldwide neighborhood. Moreover, an finish to impunity for U.S. crimes can stop additional struggling in Gaza and discourage different world leaders, significantly Trump, from committing violations.
“Whereas our referral to the ICC focuses on President Biden and his high officers, we hope that the Trump administration sees this as a wake-up name that they, too, could face particular person felony legal responsibility for his or her function in aiding and abetting Israel’s crimes in Gaza. The pursuit of justice doesn’t finish with one administration—any U.S. official who has contributed to those atrocities have to be held accountable beneath worldwide legislation,” mentioned Jarrar.
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