Latest news with #TheHague
Arab News
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Dutch to ban far-right Israeli ministers over Gaza
THE HAGUE: The Netherlands will ban two far-right Israeli ministers from entering the country, in the latest European response to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Gaza, the country's foreign minister ban and other measures were announced in a letter Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp sent to lawmakers late Monday evening, declaring 'The war in Gaza must stop.'The ban targets hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, key partners in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's pair are champions of the Israeli settlement movement who support continuing the war in Gaza, facilitating what they call the voluntary emigration of its Palestinian population and the building of Jewish settlements Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway imposed financial sanctions on the two men last on Tuesday, leaders will meet in Brussels to discuss a European Union response, including evaluating a trade agreement between the bloc and Israel. The Netherlands wants part of that agreement to be and Smotrich remained defiant. In a statement on social media, Smotrich said European leaders were surrendering to 'the lies of radical Islam' and that Jews may not be able to live safely in Europe in the said he will 'continue to act' and said that in Europe 'a Jewish minister from Israel is unwanted, terrorists are free, and Jews are boycotted.'Pressure has been mounting on the Dutch government, which is gearing up for elections in October, to change course on Israeli policy. Last week, thousands demonstrated at train stations across the country, carrying pots and pans to signify the food shortage in government will also summon the Israeli ambassador to the Netherlands to urge Netanyahu to change course and 'immediately take measures that lead to a substantial and rapid improvement in the humanitarian situation throughout the Gaza Strip,' Veldkamp international pressure, Israel over the weekend announced humanitarian pauses, airdrops and other measures meant to allow more aid to Palestinians in Gaza. But people there say little or nothing has changed on the ground. The UN has described it as a one-week scale-up of aid, and Israel has not said how long these latest measures would asserts that Hamas is the reason aid isn't reaching Palestinians in Gaza and accuses its militants of siphoning off aid to support its rule in the territory. The UN denies that looting of aid is systematic and says it lessens or ends entirely when enough aid is allowed to enter and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, are currently wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. The men are accused of using 'starvation as a method of warfare' by restricting humanitarian aid, and of intentionally targeting civilians in Israel's campaign against Hamas in Gaza. Member states of the ICC are obliged to arrest the men if they arrive on their territory.
Washington Post
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Dutch to ban far-right Israeli ministers over Gaza
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The Netherlands will ban two far-right Israeli ministers from entering the country, in the latest European response to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Gaza , the country's foreign minister said. The ban and other measures were announced in a letter Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp sent to lawmakers late Monday evening, declaring 'The war in Gaza must stop.'
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
World Court's ruling opens the door wider for climate justice
In a unanimous decision, a 15-member bench of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague in the Netherlands ruled on July 23 that government failures to protect vulnerable populations and ecosystems from climate change could amount to breaches of international law. The court's non-binding ruling, which says that countries must comply with climate treaties, has been hailed as a great victory for youth activism from small island nations facing the brunt of the climate crisis. The triumph at the ICJ is the culmination of a unique university project started by a group of law students at the University of the South Pacific's law school in Vanuatu in 2019. Their lecturer set up an extracurricular activity, for which 27 students volunteered, to discuss the most productive legal actions Pacific Island countries could take under international law and design a plan of action for their governments. The students embarked on a campaign, eventually forming the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change, determined to hold polluting nations accountable so they and their children would have a home to live in. They wanted to test whether international law could save them from the impacts of climate change. Their initial efforts focused on persuading the Pacific Island Forum – of which Australia and New Zealand are members – to take the issue to the world's top court. Undeterred by the lack of traction, the student group was eventually joined by the World's Youth for Climate Justice, which helped the campaign go global. Thanks to this campaign, in March 2023, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution supported by over 130 countries requesting that the ICJ give an advisory opinion that clarifies the obligations of countries under international law in respect of climate change. The ICJ has handed down a ruling that vindicates the efforts of young activists from the Pacific region and around the world. Rising sea levels threaten to cut off a road that runs along an atoll in Tuvalu. Photo: Kalinga Seneviratne Sera Sefeti, a University of the South Pacific journalism graduate who reported on the issue for Pasifika TV from The Hague, said climate change is 'a violation of our rights, our cultures and our very existence'. She added that the ruling exceeded the expectations of many Pacific youth.
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
World Court's ruling opens the door wider for climate justice
In a unanimous decision, a 15-member bench of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague in the Netherlands ruled on July 23 that government failures to protect vulnerable populations and ecosystems from climate change could amount to breaches of international law. The court's non-binding ruling, which says that countries must comply with climate treaties, has been hailed as a great victory for youth activism from small island nations facing the brunt of the climate crisis. The triumph at the ICJ is the culmination of a unique university project started by a group of law students at the University of the South Pacific's law school in Vanuatu in 2019. Their lecturer set up an extracurricular activity, for which 27 students volunteered, to discuss the most productive legal actions Pacific Island countries could take under international law and design a plan of action for their governments. The students embarked on a campaign, eventually forming the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change, determined to hold polluting nations accountable so they and their children would have a home to live in. They wanted to test whether international law could save them from the impacts of climate change. Their initial efforts focused on persuading the Pacific Island Forum – of which Australia and New Zealand are members – to take the issue to the world's top court. Undeterred by the lack of traction, the student group was eventually joined by the World's Youth for Climate Justice, which helped the campaign go global. Thanks to this campaign, in March 2023, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution supported by over 130 countries requesting that the ICJ give an advisory opinion that clarifies the obligations of countries under international law in respect of climate change. The ICJ has handed down a ruling that vindicates the efforts of young activists from the Pacific region and around the world. Rising sea levels threaten to cut off a road that runs along an atoll in Tuvalu. Photo: Kalinga Seneviratne Sera Sefeti, a University of the South Pacific journalism graduate who reported on the issue for Pasifika TV from The Hague, said climate change is 'a violation of our rights, our cultures and our very existence'. She added that the ruling exceeded the expectations of many Pacific youth.
Free Malaysia Today
a day ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
ICJ says countries must address climate change threat
The 2015 Paris Agreement has so far failed to curb the growth of global greenhouse gas emissions. (EPA Images pic) THE HAGUE : The United Nations' highest court today said countries must address the 'urgent and existential threat' of climate change by cooperating to curb emissions, as it delivered an opinion set to determine future environmental litigation. The opinion by the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, was immediately welcomed by environmental groups. Legal experts said it was a victory for small island and low-lying states that had asked the court to clarify states' responsibilities. 'Climate change treaties establish stringent obligations on states,' judge Yuji Iwasawa said, adding that failing to comply with them was a breach of international law. 'States must cooperate to achieve concrete emission reduction targets,' Iwasawa said, as he read out the court's advisory opinion. He said that national climate plans must be of the highest ambition and collectively maintain standards to meet the aims of the 2015 Paris Agreement that include attempting to keep global warming below 1.5°C. Under international law, he said: 'The human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is essential for the enjoyment of other human rights.' Earlier, as he started reading the court's opinion, judge Iwasawa laid out the cause of the problem and the need for a collective response. 'Greenhouse gas emissions are unequivocally caused by human activities which are not territorially limited,' he said. Although it is non-binding, the deliberation of the 15 judges of the ICJ in The Hague carries legal and political weight and future climate cases would be unable to ignore it, legal experts say. 'This is the start of a new era of climate accountability at a global level,' said Danilo Garrido, legal counsel for Greenpeace. Climate justice The two questions the UN General Assembly asked the judges to consider were: what are countries' obligations under international law to protect the climate from greenhouse gas emissions; and what are the legal consequences for countries that harm the climate system? In two weeks of hearings last December at the ICJ, wealthy countries of the Global North told the judges that existing climate treaties, including the 2015 Paris Agreement, which are largely non-binding, should be the basis for deciding their responsibilities. Developing nations and small island states argued for stronger measures, in some cases legally binding, to curb emissions and for the biggest emitters of climate-warming greenhouse gases to provide financial aid. Ahead of the ruling, supporters of climate action gathered outside the ICJ, chanting: 'What do we want? Climate justice! When do we want it? Now!' Paris agreement In 2015, at the conclusion of UN talks in Paris, more than 190 countries committed to pursue efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C. The agreement has failed to curb the growth of global greenhouse gas emissions. Late last year, in the most recent 'Emissions Gap Report', which takes stock of countries' promises to tackle climate change compared with what is needed, the UN said that current climate policies will result in global warming of more than 3°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100. As campaigners seek to hold companies and governments to account, climate‑related litigation has intensified, with nearly 3,000 cases filed across almost 60 countries, according to June figures from London's Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. So far, the results have been mixed. A German court in May threw out a case between a Peruvian farmer and German energy giant RWE, but his lawyers and environmentalists said the case, which dragged on for a decade, was still a victory for climate cases that could spur similar lawsuits. Earlier this month, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which holds jurisdiction over 20 Latin American and Caribbean countries, said in another advisory opinion its members must cooperate to tackle climate change. Campaigners say today's court opinion should be a turning point, even if the ruling itself is advisory. The ruling could also make it easier for states to hold other states to account over climate issues. Although it is theoretically possible to ignore an ICJ ruling, lawyers say countries are typically reluctant to do so.
