ICC warrants of arrest: Symbolic riposte to impunity

22 November 2024

GOOD welcomes the decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas military commander Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, aka Mohammed Deif.

While the Netanyahu and Gallant warrants will likely not lead to their arrests, or an immediate ceasefire, the fact they’ve been issued is important for two reasons:

1.      They represent an important riposte to the impunity with which Israel has been carrying out its genocide under cover of US protection at the United Nations (according to Israel, Deif is already dead); and

2.      They will force the suppliers of arms to Israel that have been used to carry out the genocide, principally the US and Germany, to confront the immorality of arming a nation which according to the ICC is led by a war criminal.

The warrants are also of symbolic importance to the ICC, itself, as it is the first time the court has acted against alleged war criminals that the West regards as friends.

Regrettably, however, the enforcement of ICC warrants of arrest have been reduced to political decisions, whether countries are signatories to the Rome Statute, which created the court, or not. South Africa’s failure to effect the arrest of Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir while he was in the country in 2015 contributed to this malaise.

Ignoring our own obligations under international law makes it very difficult for South Africa to insist others abide by ICC decisions.

The GOOD Party has supported and encouraged the South African government’s application to the International Court of Justice to have the devastation of Gaza declared a genocide in terms of the Genocide Convention. That judgement, too, will rely on the political will of nations to adhere to their international obligations.

What all of this tells us is that the world’s systems to hold nation states accountable are broken.

The ICC’s arrest warrants were issued a day after the US used its veto at the UN, for the fourth time, to block a resolution calling for ceasefire in Gaza. Because of the UN’s archaic structure, although the US was outvoted 15-1, its veto prevailed and the war continues…

What’s good for the goose in international law has to be equally good for the gander.

Nation states that veto UN Security Council decisions, facilitating genocide, or who ignore ICJ and ICC rulings, are complicit, and there should be a mechanism to join them as co-accused.

GOOD welcomes the ICC warrants because every confirmation that violations of international law are taking place in Gaza – even if unenforceable in law – will eventually contribute to swaying opinions and ending the genocide.

We reiterate our call for an immediate ceasefire, and for sovereignty for the State of Palestine.

Issued by Brett Herron, GOOD SG, 22 November 2024