Latest news with #ConventiononthePreventionandPunishmentofGenocide
Saba Yemen
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
European Official: Israel's actions in Gaza constitute genocide & ethnic cleansing
Gaza - Saba: Dutch rapporteur to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Saskia Kluit, described Israel's actions in Gaza on Friday as "genocide and ethnic cleansing." In a statement, she emphasized that the ongoing massacre in Gaza is a man-made tragedy, noting that the situation in the region has deteriorated beyond expectations. Kluit pointed out that "the blockade on humanitarian aid to Gaza has been imposed since March 2, and Israel has resumed its large-scale aggression against Gaza. The first victims of this systematic violence are children, who are deprived of food, water, medical care, and safe shelter, with their right to life violated." She stated that "the minimal amount of aid allowed into Gaza by the Israeli government has been insufficient to feed the population and has not reached the most vulnerable groups. Children are dying of starvation," stressing the need for humanitarian aid to be delivered unconditionally and in adequate quantities. Kluit called on Israel to "end its killing operations against the people of Gaza," comply with its obligations under international law, and ensure immediate, independent, unrestricted, and neutral access for humanitarian organizations—such as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA)—to the region, as well as guarantee sufficient aid reaches Gaza. She noted that "plans to deprive Gaza's children of their right to return to their homeland and to forcibly displace Gaza's population must be canceled immediately." Kluit urged the international community to fulfill its legal obligations under the Geneva Conventions, including the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, calling on Council of Europe member states to do everything in their power to ensure a ceasefire in Gaza and respect for international law. The Dutch rapporteur stressed the necessity of protecting and treating civilians in Gaza in a manner consistent with human dignity. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
Middle East Eye
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Watch live: ICJ hears Sudan's case accusing UAE of 'complicity in genocide'
The International Court of Justice on Thursday begins oral hearings in the case brought by Sudan accusing the United Arab Emirates of breaching the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide. It is a historic precedent for the UN's top court to hear a case against an Arab country for allegedly violating the 1948 convention. Sudan filed its application on 5 March 2025 over the UAE's alleged complicity in acts of genocide against the Masalit community since at least 2023. In its application, Sudan said that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group and allied militias had perpetrated genocide, murder, theft, rape and forcible displacement, and was "enabled" to do so by direct support from the UAE. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Sudan contended that the Emiratis were "complicit in the genocide on the Masalit through its direction of and provision of extensive financial, political, and military support for the rebel RSF militia". Khartoum requested that the world court implement a number of provisional measures, including ordering the UAE to take measures to prevent: the killing and causing serious harm towards the Masalit, deliberately inflicting conditions to bring about the physical destruction of the group, and the imposition of measures that are intended to prevent births within the group. It also called for provisional measures ordering the UAE to ensure that any armed units supported by it do not carry out or attempt genocidal acts and do not directly or publicly incite to commit genocide. Middle East Eye has reported on the network of supply lines that exist to funnel arms and other goods from the UAE to the RSF, via allied groups and governments in Libya, Chad and the Central African Republic. The UAE denies providing support to the RSF. Last year, an independent inquiry carried out by the Raoul Wallenberg Centre found that there is 'clear and convincing evidence' that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary and its allied militias 'have committed and are committing genocide against the Masalit,' a Black African group in the country. West Darfur state was the site of intense ethnic-based attacks by the RSF and its allied Arab militias against the Masalit in 2023. The Raoul Wallenberg Centre report found that there were 'reasonable grounds to believe the RSF and allied militias are responsible for genocide against non-Arab groups other than the Masalit, including the Fur and Zaghawa'. It named the UAE, among other countries, as being 'complicit in the genocide'. The RSF and Sudan's army have been at war since April 2023. The conflict has displaced more than 10 million people, and left over 12 million facing high levels of acute food insecurity. Doubts on jurisdiction Both Sudan and the UAE are parties to the Genocide Convention. But doubts remain on whether the court has jurisdiction to hear a case against the UAE because of its reservation to Article 9 of the convention, Michael Becker, assistant professor of international human rights law at Trinity College Dublin, told Middle East Eye in March. Article Nine of the convention allows dispute settlement before the ICJ when a state party violates the treaty. States are allowed to opt out of the provision in advance of signing the treaty. By making a reservation to the article, the UAE withheld its consent to this provision, said Becker. Many other states have opted out of this clause, including the US, China, Algeria, Bahrain, Morocco, Malaysia, Yemen and India. International law allows states to express reservations on treaty provisions, if such reservations do not contradict the object and purpose of the treaty. "Sudan will likely argue that opting out of ICJ jurisdiction runs contrary to the object and purpose of the Genocide Convention," Becker told Middle East Eye. "This argument is almost certain to fail." The ICJ previously ruled in a case between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda in 2006 that reservations to Article Nine do not contradict the object and purpose of the convention. In response to Becker's comments to that effect, Sudanese UN envoy Ammar Mahmoud said the above arguments have been "duly considered" by the Sudanese government. "Indeed, the submission explicitly addressed this issue, asserting that such a reservation carries no legal weight, as the UAE's actions fundamentally contradict and undermine the core principles of the Genocide Convention - a position affirmed by the International Court of Justice as early as 1951," Mahmoud wrote on X, referring to the court's landmark advisory opinion of 1951, although it ruled that reservations to the Genocide Convention are not prohibited.
