New York/The Hague, 6 August 2014: Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) welcomes the ceasefire between both sides of the conflict in the Gaza Strip and in Israel and calls for a lasting cessation of violence.[1]
PGA recognizes the importance of the negotiations of Israeli and Palestinian delegations, with the facilitation of the Government of Egypt, aimed at reaching a durable ceasefire as the situation in Gaza and in Israel has long been the source of deep concern for its members due to the serious violations of international humanitarian law and laws of armed conflict from both sides, which has led to the death of a large number of civilians, including children.
PGA calls upon the State of Israel and Palestine to promptly ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court so as to ensure access to justice for victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity, taking into account the principle of complementarity. These ratifications would also send an important message that such crimes cannot be committed with impunity anymore in the future.
The repeated attacks against civilian and humanitarian installations and the use of civilians as human shields constitute crimes of concern to the International Community as a whole and represent the last and most severe manifestation of an armed conflict that, in and of itself, appears to have been used as a justification for the exercise of power by the Parties involved in the conflict.
In particular, the global membership of PGA condemns the attacks directed against civilians, by all sides, and stresses that the rules of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) must be respected by all parties participating in an armed conflict of international or non-international character, whether these parties are state or non-state armed forces.
The IHL objective is to regulate the actions of all Parties engaged in hostilities as a way to protect the unarmed civilian population and humanize conflict. The “principle of distinction”, a principle codified in Articles 48, 51(2) and 52(2) of the Additional Protocol I of 1977 to the 1949 Geneva Conventions and recognised under customary International Law, requires that belligerent States distinguish between combatants and non-combatants. As the International Court of Justice stated in its Advisory Opinion in the Nuclear Weapons case at paragraphs 78 and 79, page 257), the principle of distinction is one of the “cardinal principles” of International Humanitarian Law and one of the “intransgressible principles of international customary law”.
According to the UN and other sources, over the last two and a half weeks, approximately 1800 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed and more than 5,000 injured, of whom the vast majority were civilians.
Indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks (where the likely number of civilian casualties or damage to civilian property outweighs the anticipated military advantage to be gained) are also prohibited and all sides in any conflict must cancel or suspend an attack if it becomes apparent that the target is civilian or that the attack would be disproportionate. It is important that the parties in a conflict strictly abide by the principle of precaution in carrying out their attacks highly populated locations, such as the Gaza Strip[2], as there are greater risks that the attacks could cause civilian casualties.
PGA stresses that indiscriminate and widespread attacks against civilians, including those involving the use of blind weapons as rockets, may be qualified as crimes against humanity, given they represent a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population, in accordance with Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the ICC and relevant Customary International Law.
PGA calls both sides in the current conflict to take note of, and comply with, the Lucens Guidelines, created to protect students and teachers around the world from the use of schools for military purposes. [3]
PGA also welcomes UN Human Rights Council Resolution S-21/1 adopted on 23 July 2014 which seeks to ensure respect for international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. Such resolution among other important measures and recommendations to UN State Parties established a commission of inquiry to investigate all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly in the occupied Gaza Strip, in the context of the military operations conducted since 13 June 2014 “ to establish the facts and circumstances of such violations and of the crimes perpetrated and to identify those responsible, to make recommendations, in particular on accountability measures”. PGA welcomes the objective of the Commission of Inquiry, which aims to avoid and end impunity by ensuring that those responsible, from all parties to the current conflict, are held accountable. We strongly believe that the Commission of Inquiry must be independent and impartial as well as adequately resourced. PGA calls all States to cooperate with the work of the Commission, which represents one of the international mechanisms necessary to put an end to the impunity for crimes under international law which have existed for many years in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Finally, PGA encourages the international community to continue its effort to bring the crisis to an end and appreciates the vital support of key regional stakeholders, as well as calls States to unite their voice to assist Egypt and the parties to reach a durable cessation of violence as soon as possible.
Statement prepared by PGA’s Secretariat (International Law and Human Rights Program)
[1] See relevant media statement issued today by the President of PGA, Mr. Ross Robertson, MP (New Zealand) at https://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/24640965/gaza-pga-calls-for-end-to-violence/.
[2] According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the attacks have resulted in widespread destruction of buildings and infrastructure, as over 3,300 houses have been targeted resulting in their destruction or severe damage. Attacks on schools like the UNRWA school in Jabalya, where 3,300 displaced people had taken shelter not only threaten the lives of children and adults taking shelter there, but have a devastating impact on children, which effects will last beyond the current conflict. Reports indicate that the attack killed at least 15 people and wounded scores more. It is also important to take into consideration that Palestinian armed groups in Gaza have also compromised the civilian nature of schools. On July 16, UNRWA staff found 20 rockets stored in an empty building at one of its schools. Under the Geneva Conventions, schools are civilian in nature and must not be attacked unless they are being used for military purpose but the military use of schools may make these structures legitimate targets of attack, putting students and teachers at risk.
[3] The Draft Lucens Guidelines preface states: “The use of schools and universities as bases, barracks, firing positions, and armouries may transform these places of learning into legitimate military objectives under international law, thus endangering students and teachers, and rendering their educational infrastructure and materials vulnerable to attack. Moreover, the presence of the fighting forces of parties to armed conflict in schools and universities often leads to students dropping out, reduced enrolment, lower rates of transition to higher levels of education, and overall poorer educational attainment. Girls are often disproportionately affected.¨