[News] Russell Tribunal on Palestine finds EU states guilty of breaches law

[Anti-Imperialist News]

Russell Tribunal on Palestine finds EU states 
guilty of breaches of International and internal EU law

The first session of The Russell Tribunal on 
Palestine (RTP) has found European Union member 
States to be in Breach of International and 
internal European Union Law with respect to the 
protection of Palestinian human rights.

Full findings here: 
http://www.russelltribunalonpalestine.org/article-findings-first-session-ofrussell-tribunal-on-palestine-barcelona-session-45974035.html

The jury, comprised of eminent legal experts and 
human rights defenders heard two days of
reports from international experts and witnesses on the issues of:
    * the principle of respect for the right of 
the Palestinian people to self-determination;
    * the settlements and the plundering of natural resources;
    * the annexation of East Jerusalem;
    * the blockade of Gaza and operation “Cast Lead”;
    * the construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory;
    * the European Union/Israel Association Agreement.
The RTP found that Israel was violating the 
Palestinian right to self determination as 
enshrined in The Declaration on the granting of 
independence to colonial countries and peoples 
(A/Res. 1514(XV), 14 Dec. 1960) and all United 
Nations General Assembly (NGA) resolutions that 
have reaffirmed the right of the Palestinian 
people to self-determination since 1969 (A/Res. 
2535 B (XXIV), 10 Dec. 1969, and, inter alia, 
A/Res. 3236 (XXIX), 22 Nov. 1974, 52/114, 12 Dec. 1997, etc);

Furthermore, by occupying Palestinian territories 
since June 1967 and refusing to leave them, 
Israel violates the Security Council resolutions 
that demand its withdrawal from the territories 
concerned (SC/Res. 242, 22 Nov. 1967; 338, 22 Oct. 1973)

The RTP also found Israel´s discriminatory acts 
towards Palestinian populations inside Israeli 
territory and occupied Palestinian territory as 
violating the Convention on the Suppression and 
Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid of 18 July 
1976, which is not binding on Israel, though this 
does not exonerate Israel in that regard.

The acts include the closure of the borders of 
the Gaza Strip and restrictions on the freedom of 
movement of its inhabitants; prevention of the 
return of Palestinian refugees to their home or 
land of origin; prohibition on the free use by 
Palestinians of certain natural resources such as 
the watercourses within their land.

By annexing Jerusalem in July 1980 and 
maintaining the annexation, Israel violates the 
prohibition of the acquisition of territory by 
force, as stated by the Security Council (SC/Res. 478, 20 August 1980).

By constructing a Wall in the West Bank on 
Palestinian territory that it occupies, Israel 
denies the Palestinians access to their own land, 
violates their property rights and seriously 
restricts the freedom of movement of the 
Palestinian population, thereby violating article 
12 of the International Covenant on Civil and 
Political rights to which Israel has been a party 
since 3 October 1991; the illegality of the 
construction of the Wall was confirmed by the 
International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its 
Advisory Opinion of 9 July 2004, which was 
endorsed by the UNGA in its resolution ES-10/15.

By systematically building settlements in 
Jerusalem and the West Bank, Israel breaches the 
rules of international humanitarian law governing 
occupation, in particular article 49 of the 
Fourth General Convention of 12 August 1949, by 
which Israel has been bound since 6 July 1951. 
This point was noted by the ICJ in the above-mentioned Advisory Opinion.

By pursuing a policy of targeted killings against 
Palestinians whom it describes as “terrorists” 
without first attempting to arrest them, Israel 
violates the right to life of the persons 
concerned, a right enshrined in article 6 of the 
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966.

By maintaining a blockade on the Gaza Strip in 
breach of the provisions of the Fourth Geneva 
Convention of 12 August 1949 (art. 33), which prohibits collective punishment.

By inflicting extensive and serious damage, 
especially on persons and civilian property, and 
by using prohibited methods of combat during 
operation “Cast Lead” in Gaza (December 2008 – January 2009).

EU member states were found to be violating 
provisions of the Lisbon Treaty (2010) including 
foundational principles of the EU itself as set 
down in article 2 which confirms attachment ´to 
the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, 
democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights´.

EU states as high contracting parties to the 
Geneva Conventions 1949 were found to be 
breaching elementary obligations of due diligence 
and ensurance of peremptory legal norms which 
cannot be derogated from, by failing to react to 
and remedy violations of the convention committed 
by Israel. As such they were found to be 
assisting Israel in its breaches of international 
law. Article 146 compels EU Member states ´to 
undertake to enact any legislation necessary to 
provide effective penal sanctions for persons 
committing, or ordering to be committed, any of 
the grave breaches of the present Convention defined in the following Article.´

Grave breaches include: willful killing, torture 
or inhuman treatment, including biological 
experiments, willfully causing great suffering or 
serious injury to body or health, unlawful 
deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement 
of a protected person, compelling a protected 
person to serve in the forces of a hostile power, 
or willfully depriving a protected person of the 
rights of fair and regular trial and extensive 
destruction and appropriation of property, not 
justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly.

International Law Commission articles on state 
responsibility for wrongful acts were found to 
apply to EU member states as is the 1966 covenant 
on Civil and Political Rights which states:

´Every State has the duty to promote through 
joint and separate action universal respect for 
and observance of human rights and fundamental 
freedoms in accordance with the Charter´.

Reports from experts brought to light passive and 
active forms of assistance in the alleged 
commission of breaches by the EU and its member states particularly through:

    * exports of weapons and components of 
weapons by EU states to Israel, some of which 
were used during the conflict in Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009;
    * exports of produce from settlements in occupied territories to the EU;
    * participation by the settlements in European research programmes;
    * failure of the EU to complain about the 
destruction by Israel of infrastructure in Gaza 
during the Cast Lead operation;
    * failure of the EU to demand Israeli 
compliance with clauses concerning respect for 
human rights contained in the various association 
agreements concluded by the EU with Israel;
    * the decision by the EU to upgrade its 
relations with Israel under the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership Agreement;
    * tolerance by the EU and its member states 
of certain economic relations between European 
companies and Israel involving commercial 
projects in the occupied territories, such as the 
management of the Tovlan landfill site in the 
Jordan valley and the construction of a tramline in East Jerusalem.
The participation of illegal Israeli settlements 
in European research programmes, the failure of 
the EU to complain during the “Cast Lead” 
operation about the destruction by Israel of 
infrastructure that the EU had funded in Gaza, 
and the (proposed) upgrading of bilateral 
relations between the EU and Israel are 
characterized by a number of experts as 
assistance to Israel in its alleged violations of international law.

In conclusion of the first Barcelona session, the RTP calls on:

(i) the EU and its member states to fulfil its 
obligations forthwith by rectifying the breaches
specified in the final ruling

(ii) the EU in particular to implement the EU 
Parliament resolution requiring the suspension
of the EU-Israel Association Agreement and 
thereby putting an end to the impunity that Israel has
benefited from until now.

(iii) EU Member states to implement the 
recommendation at para 1975 (a) of the UN Fact
Finding Mission Report on the Gaza Conflict 
(Goldstone Report) regarding the collection of
evidence and the exercise of UJ against Israeli and Palestinian suspects; and

(iv) EU Member states to repeal of any 
requirements in any member state that a suspect must
be a resident of that member state or of any 
impediments to the compliance with the duty to
prosecute or extradite for trial all suspected 
war criminals sought out by the member states

(v) EU Member states to ensure that UJ laws and 
procedures are made as effective as possible
in practice, including through co-ordination and 
the implementation of agreements on the mutual
co-operation of states on criminal matters, 
through the EU contact points on cross-border and
international crime, EUROPOL and INTERPOL etc.

(vi) EU Member states to make no regressive 
changes that would blunt the effect of existing
Universal Jurisdiction laws, so as to ensure that 
no EU member state becomes a safe haven for
suspected war criminals

(vii) The Parliaments of Austria, France, Greece 
and Italy to pass laws providing the penal
legislation required by article 146 IVGC to 
enable UJ to be exercised in those countries.

(viii) individuals, groups and organisations to 
take all avenues open to them to achieve
compliance by EU member states and the EU of 
their aforementioned obligations, as exemplified
by the use of universal jurisdiction over 
individual criminal suspects, domestic civil proceedings
against individual governments and/or their 
departments or agencies and private companies, in
respect of which it is the intention of the RTP 
to commission and/or encourage others to
commission research into which countries and 
jurisdictions these matters can most effectively be
pursued; and

(ix) the existing legal actions and campaigns in 
the context of BDS to be stepped up and
widened within the EU and globally.

The Russell Tribunal on Palestine calls on the 
European Union and on each of its member states to
impose the necessary sanctions on its partner 
Israel through diplomatic, trade and cultural 
measures in order to end the impunity that it has 
enjoyed for decades. Should the EU lack the 
necessary courage to do so, the Tribunal counts 
on the citizens of Europe to bring the necessary 
pressure to bear on it by all appropriate means.

CONTACT – Russel Tribunal on Palestine 
Co-ordinator Frank Barat 0044 771 8998 695
russelltribunal at yahoo.co.uk






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