REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta

198 Organizations Call on ICC to Expedite Investigation of Israel’s Crimes in Palestine and Protect Palestinian Civil Society

In Arab Countries, International Advocacy Program by CIHRS

On 23 November 2022, ahead of the 21st session of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC), 198 organizations sent an open letter to the ASP President Ms. Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi and another letter to the ICC Prosecutor Mr. Karim A. A. Khan KC. The organizations called on the ASP President to publicly condemn and call for the revocation of the Israeli Minister of Defense’s illegal designation of six Palestinian organizations as terrorist organizations, and to expedite the investigation of apartheid crimes against Palestinians, with the aim of defending Palestinian civil society and activists who cooperate with the ICC. The ASP President was also urged to encourage state parties to the ICC to acknowledge and condemn the threats and sanctions imposed on Palestinian civil society organizations.



In the second letter, the ICC Prosecutor was called on to publicly confirm that crimes committed during the unjustified Israeli military offensive on Gaza in August 2022 will be part of his expanded investigation on the situation in Palestine. He was also urged to take appropriate measures, within the limits of his mandate under the Rome Statute, towards preventing and deterring further war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians. The letter also urged Jordan, Palestine, and Egypt, as state parties to the International Criminal Court, to support the investigation of Israeli crimes in Palestine.



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