Gaza Tribunal: A voice for humanity to address crisis, says former UN rapporteur

By Zuhal Demirci

LONDON (AA) — The "Gaza Tribunal," a group of academics, jurists, rights advocates, artists, and media and civil society representatives doing important work to pursue justice on behalf of Palestinians, a former UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories has said.

In an interview with Anadolu, Richard Falk emphasized that the aim of the symbolic tribunal, an independent initiative based in London to investigate the legal, political, and ethical aspects of what is happening in Gaza amid Israel's genocidal offensive, is to speak directly to humanity.

Falk underlined that the current situation in Gaza, Lebanon, and the occupied West Bank has reached a "critical level."

"I think that it is a dangerous period for the region, more so than previously, because it (Israel) seems to be aiming its strategic goals at some kind of encounter with Iran, and that would be an extreme hazard as far as the peace and stability of the region is concerned, and even short of that, the devastation and destruction and loss of life in Lebanon is a terrible addition to the Gaza genocide, which is the underlying process."

Highlighting Israel’s expansionist aims in Gaza and the West Bank, he said: "From the political expressions we hear from the Israeli leadership now, the annexation of the West Bank is at the top of their expansionist agenda."

"There is all kinds of evidence that not only is Israel destroying the Gaza Strip and devastating the people and their infrastructure, but it seems to want to dispossess as many as possible.

"Hard to know where they would end up, but the idea of making a whole population into permanent refugees is unacceptable from the perspective of human rights."

This situation, according to Falk, "represents an ongoing genocide risk, an increased risk of mass starvation and disease, as well as the destruction of the ecological infrastructure of the entire area."

Falk also emphasized that support from the US and some European countries for Israel has deepened the problems in the region.

"These are the major concerns that are accentuated by the continuing support given to Israel by the US and some other European countries that they have done very they've talked some about limiting What Israel does, but they have not imposed any meaningful restraint," he explained.

- 'Germany doesn’t see genocide as primary concern'

Mentioning Germany’s unconditional support for Israel and the historical reasons behind it, Falk said Berlin has misinterpreted the lessons of the Holocaust.

Germany views the Holocaust as solely a genocide targeting Jews and believes its past mistake was punishing Jewish people as a national minority, he elaborated.

This is why “Germany does not see genocide as a primary concern ... they think, or are conscious of, anything against Israel as a repetition of antisemitism.”

"They don't look at the genocide as the primary concern. They look at anything that is against Israel that would be viewed ... as a repetition of antisemitism."

- 'ICC being manipulated by geopolitical pressures'

Falk also commented on the discrepancy between the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) prompt approval of the arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin, while the request for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has been pending for six months.

He noted that the ICC, established by the 1998 Rome Statute and not part of the UN system, is highly susceptible to political pressure and financially insecure.

"There is no doubt that there's a double standard, both in practice and in terms of the degree to which the ICC is manipulated by geopolitical pressures," said Falk. "The ICC is very vulnerable to political pressure, insecure about its funding base, and generally has played a biased role."

"The ICC should be distinguished from the International Court of Justice, which has upheld a professional responsibility to address the international law dimension of a dispute of this magnitude and character, and their decision last January, an interim decision which was defied by Israel, was an admirable display of political independence.

"Even the US and other supportive governments of Israel, the judges that had those national affiliations, voted professionally, not as mere subjects of their particular country, and that's what an international tribunal should do," he added.

- 'Gaza Tribunal speaks on behalf of the people'

Emphasizing the global significance of the Gaza Tribunal, which he leads, Falk emphasized that one of its justifications was that it "speaks on behalf of the people and doesn't attempt to be an organ that is addressed principally to government."

He outlined four priority issues for the tribunal, with the first being to address the genocide in Gaza. "That's the core motivation for the establishment of the tribunal, to not only depict and give the evidence that confirmed a reading of the genocide but to also deal with the whole international problem of genocide and Its prevention."

The second priority is to actively help end hostilities in the region, said Falk. "In other words, to implement successfully a cease-fire that will stop the spread of the war and prevent any further and then intolerable suffering for the peoples of the occupied Palestinian territory," he underlined.

The third issue it aims to address is the foreign support Israel has received and especially "the complicity of governments in Europe and North America, and principally the US role."

Falk noted that while the US has recently attempted to demonstrate humanitarian concerns, it has not taken steps to stop Israel’s daily genocidal acts that cause severe suffering.

He also expressed disappointment over the failure of the Arab states neighboring Israel to take more action to oppose Tel Aviv.

Despite this, he welcomed a recent joint summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League in the Saudi capital Riyadh and a statement by the kingdom's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman against an attack on Iran. According to Falk, this was a significant development that could shift the balance in the region.

The fourth issue is the failure of the UN and other international institutions to address the dramatic international crimes and human tragedies that have taken place in the region.

This, said Falk, suggests "that there needs to be a substantial reform of the global system to structure it in such a way that it can protect human interest and not just be a vehicle of clashing national interests."

- Gaza Tribunal

Taking an alternative route to international justice, the Gaza Tribunal aims to spotlight voices from civil society in the examination of abuses following the conflict that escalated after Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Its Presidential Committee includes former UN special rapporteurs Michael Lynk and Hilal Elver, alongside academics such as Raji Sourani, Susan Akram, Ahmet Koroglu, John Reynolds, Diana Buttu, Cemil Aydin, and Penny Green.

The tribunal's formation reflects growing frustration with perceived constraints and delays in formal international justice systems, such as the ICJ and ICC, where cases related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have been slow to progress.

* Writing and contributions by Aysu Bicer