December 5, 2024

MASTER LIST of Articles DWF NEWS 12/5/24

Breaking down the US opposition to International Law

The US Raises a Middle Finger to the International Criminal Court

Vijay Prashad       TRANSCEND Media Service

US Could Deal Death Blow to International Law

Marjorie Cohn      Truthout

ICC President Warns Attacks on Court Threaten 'Future of Humanity'

Jessica Corbett

Why the EU's Stance on Israel is Starting to Change

Catherine Gegout

ICC Application for an Arrest Warrant in the Situation in Bangladesh/Myanmar

Karim A.A. Khan KC International Criminal Court   

How Does War Make Money?

Global Affairs Explained  TRANSCEND Media Service

Breaking down the US opposition to International Law

The US Raises a Middle Finger to the International Criminal Court

Vijay Prashad       TRANSCEND Media Service

EXCERPTS

 As the ICC finally issues arrest warrants for Israeli leaders Netanyahu and Gallant, the US confirms it has no regard for international law or a genuine rules-based order.

... The reactions to the ICC indictment from the United States and Germany – the two countries with the largest arms transfers to Israel during this genocide – have been expected, but nonetheless shocking. Biden’s cavalier reaction confirms that the United States either does not understand or does not care about the gravity of its callousness and that the United States fails to grasp that its rejection of the ICC warrants is the final nail in the coffin of the US’s ‘rules-based international order’. ...

... If the US throws the ICC warrants to the winds, then it has told the world with finality that it does not believe in the rules, or that the rules are only made to discipline others and not itself. It is remarkable to see the list of international treaties that the United States either never signed or never ratified. A few examples are sufficient to make the case about its disregard for a genuine rules-based international order:

1. Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (1949, never signed).
2. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951, never signed).
3. Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960, never signed).
4. Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage, and Registration of Marriages (1962, signed but never ratified).
5. Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity (1968, never signed).
6. United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982, never signed).
7. Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (1989, signed but never ratified).
8. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006, signed but never ratified).

Even more horrifying are the arms control conventions that the United States has either refused to sign or from which it has unilaterally withdrawn:

1. Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty (1972, withdrew in 2002).
2. Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty (1987, withdrew in 2019).
3. Mine Ban Treaty (1997, never signed).
4. Convention on Cluster Munitions (2008, never signed).
5. Arms Trade Treaty (2013, signed but withdrew in 2019).

It is because the US unilaterally left the ABM Treaty and the INF Treaty that the conflict over Ukraine has become so inflamed. Russia had made it clear on several occasions that the absence of any arms control regime regarding mid-range nuclear missiles would pose a threat to its major cities, were its neighbors (Ukraine) to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). 

 ... The US disregard for the arms control regime is only part of its absolute disregard for any international law, ... READ MORE

US Could Deal Death Blow to International Law

Marjorie Cohn     Truthout

Marjorie Cohn raises the prospect of the U.S. government invoking the 2003 “Hague Invasion Act” to extract Israeli officials from the ICC if they are arrested.

EXCERPTS

The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) stunning issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity is a major game changer. After years of impunity, the chickens unleashed by Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza have finally come home to roost.

In 2003, Congress passed and Bush signed the American Service-Members’ Protection Act, which is known as “The Hague Invasion Act.” It says that if a U.S. or allied national is detained by the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands, the U.S. military can use armed force to extricate them. This would apply to close U.S. ally Israel.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has introduced bipartisan legislation to sanction ICC prosecutors who try to file charges against Israeli officials. Forty-two Democrats voted for the House version of Thune’s bill.

When he was president, Donald Trump imposed sanctions on ICC prosecutors in a reprisal against the court’s investigations of Israeli leaders, and investigations of U.S. officials for war crimes committed in Afghanistan. ...

... the Fourth Geneva Convention requires Israel, as Occupying Power, to protect the occupied Palestinian people. And it is Israel’s genocidal actions, not the ICC’s arrest warrants, that are fomenting anti-Semitism. The widespread opposition to the genocide is not based in anti-Semitism, but rather revulsion at the atrocities Israel is committing ... READ MORE

ICC President Warns Attacks on Court Threaten 'Future of Humanity'

Jessica Corbett

EXCERPTS

Less than two weeks after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, the ICC president on Monday warned that the tribunal faces "existential" threats—taking aim at Russia and the United States without naming either.

Judge Tomoko Akane's comments came at the start of the 23rd session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, set to run through Saturday in The Hague, the Netherlands. Established in 2002, the treaty-based ICC prosecutes individuals for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression.

"We are at a turning point in history. Regretfully, this is not rhetorical," the ICC president said. "International law and international justice are under threat. So is the future of humanity. The International Criminal Court will continue to carry out its lawful mandate, independently and impartially, without giving in to any outside interference." READ MORE

Why the EU's Stance on Israel is Starting to Change

Catherine Gegout

EXCERPTS

 (The Conversation) – The EU has stood in solidarity with Israel since the start of the war with Hamas, and has been consistent in saying the country has the right to defend itself. But the EU has always said that this has to be done in line with international law, which Israel has been accused of breaching.

One month later, on November 21, the International Criminal Court (ICC) decided to issue arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif.

Netanyahu and Gallant are wanted for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the war in Gaza. And Deif is wanted on the same charges for crimes committed both in Israel and Palestine from October 7 onwards.

Only five EU states – Belgium, Latvia, France, Estonia and Cyprus – were in favour of a resolution adopted by the UN general assembly in September that demanded Israel end “its unlawful presence” in the occupied territories of Palestine within 12 months. Bulgaria, Austria, Sweden, Italy and Germany abstained.

There has been a notable shift in the position of EU leaders since then. When Israeli forces fired on a UN peacekeeping position in Lebanon in October, Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, denounced the incident as “unjustifiable”.  READ MORE

ICC Application for an Arrest Warrant in the Situation in Bangladesh/Myanmar

Karin A.A. Khan KC International Criminal Court

Statement from ICC's Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC

28 Nov 2024 – Today, my Office is filing an application for a warrant of arrest before Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court in the Situation in Bangladesh/Myanmar.

Since 14 November 2019, we have been investigating alleged crimes committed during the 2016 and 2017 waves of violence in Rakhine State, Myanmar, and the subsequent exodus of Rohingya from Myanmar to Bangladesh.

After an extensive, independent and impartial investigation, my Office has concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Senior General and Acting President Min Aung Hlaing, Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Defence Services, bears criminal responsibility for the crimes against humanity of deportation and persecution of the Rohingya, committed in Myanmar, and in part in Bangladesh.

My Office alleges that these crimes were committed between 25 August 2017 and 31 December 2017 by the armed forces of Myanmar, the Tatmadaw, supported by the national police, the border guard police, as well as non-Rohingya civilians.

I wish in particular to express my deep, profound gratitude to the Rohingya. More than a million members of their community have been forced to flee violence in Myanmar. We are grateful to all those who provided testimony and support to my Office, those that have shared their stories, those that have given us information and material. READ MORE

How Does War Make Money?

Global Affairs Explained   TRANSCEND Media Service

EXCERPTS

Wars causes massive death and destruction. People’s lives are torn apart and nations are ruined, sometimes for generations. If you think about war, most people only view the human misery and pain. However, other people see war and view an opportunity. ...

... There are large profits to be made from armed conflict, but how? How do wars make money? Well, we’ll tell you…

A first way that war makes a profit is for companies that develop the weapons used in wars.

As well as profiting during times of war, arms manufacturers often get lucrative government contracts to supply a country’s armed forces during peace time in preparation for conflicts. They also make money by developing new military technologies ready for future wars. This adds further to how they profit from war.

No government wants to be accused of under funding its military during a war.

Therefore, governments can provide almost unlimited funds to their armed forces when they are at war. ...

Wars cause immense destruction. In urban areas, houses, apartments businesses and infrastructure can all be destroyed. In rural areas, agricultural land and farms can be badly damaged. When a conflict ends, there is often a need for widespread reconstruction. This can cost massive amounts of money. However, the companies that get the contracts to undertake post-war reconstruction can often make huge profits.  READ MORE