The Artistic Sect of the Islamic Republic held an international conference on Wednesday morning to discuss the challenges of implementing the decisions of international courts regarding the crimes committed in Gaza by the Zionist regime with lectures by university professors of Tehran universities and international lawyers from South Africa, Lebanon, and Algeria.
Israel waged a genocidal war on the besieged Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas Resistance group carried out a historic operation against the occupying entity in retaliation for the regime’s intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
Israel has imposed a complete siege on the densely populated territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food, and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.
South Africa brought the genocide case before the ICJ, based in The Hague, the Netherlands, in January.
In late January, the top UN court issued provisional measures that ordered the Tel Aviv regime to take all measures within its power to prevent acts prohibited by the Genocide Convention but stopped short of calling for a ceasefire.
Reffering to the legal challenges of implementing the ICJ order, the first lecturer, Ziyaad Ebrahim Patel, a human rights attorney from South Africa who also was a legal advisor in South Africa's lawsuit against Israel in ICJ noted that we must use the capacities of internal law to stop war crimes.
He stated that by organizing international campaigns, we should try to guide the public opinion in the world to genocide in Gaza, adding that we should utilize national capacities to force Israel to carry out the ICJ ruling.
He also said that independent countries along with the establishment of internal laws should stress their solidarity with the Palestinians.
He pointed out that we are witnessing today that even in the countries that support Israel, people are opposing with Zionist regime loudly and the student movements that are happening these days are just the beginning of the change and we will see significant changes in the world, shortly.
boycotting the Zionist regime politically and economically is one of the effective ways that countries can use to put pressure on Israel, he said, stressing that sending military aid and weaponry to Israel should be stopped.
"What is happening in Palestine is a violation of the UN resolution and collective punishment of Palestinians which is considered a war crime," he said, adding that we must try to show Israel's terrorist actions to the world.
He also emphasized that according to the resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly, all governments that are members of the Rome Statute must try to ensure that the International Criminal Court fulfills its obligations.
The second lecturer, Samer Maher Abdallah, an attorney and professor at Lebanon University stated that the Axis of Resistance and the Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves in all possible ways because what is happening in Gaza today is against all international regulations.
He said that after October 7, the Resistance created a new challenge by capturing several Zionists.
South Africa took effective action based on the Convention on the Prohibition of Genocide, he noted.
He stressed that the main perpetrator of these crimes was the US which supported Israel by sending military aid.
The temporary order of the International Court of Justice was a victory for the Axis of Resistance and anti-Zionist countries, he noted.
He pointed out that the ICC has the authority to issue orders since Palestine is a member of the court and crimes are happening in Palestine's territory.
According to the investigation that the prosecutor started against Israel before October 7 and has been continuing after the Al-Aqsa Storm, the arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu's arrest is expected, he stated.
He pointed out that countries in the region, especially BRICS member states can take effective measures through convergence to support Palestinians.
He stressed that Iran's military action and response to Israel's crime in Syria was timely and appropriate.
The Axis of Resistance was able to prove its effectiveness and timely measures in Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon, he said.
Issuing a warrant requires the cooperation of all member states of ICJ, he noted, adding that the world order will change soon significantly.
The third lecturer was Amar Rouabhi, a member of the International Lawyers Union and Algeria's university professor stated that the dismissal of the prosecutor of ICJ for failing to handle the case of war crimes in Gaza is a serious matter.
The double standard of the court, especially the prosecutor in handling the case puts the position and role of ICJ in danger, he said.
He noted that according to article 46 of the Rome Statute, a complaint can be filed against the prosecutor for failing to handle the case and ignoring the crimes in Rafah, pointing out that if two-thirds of the ICJ members agree, the prosecutor can be dismissed from the case.
South Africa on May 10 filed an “urgent request” with the ICJ for additional measures amid Israel’s attacks on Gaza, particularly in the city of Rafah, where more than 1.4 million Palestinians are taking shelter.
The previous provisional measures “are not capable of fully addressing the changed circumstances and news facts,” the ICJ said on Friday, three days after the Israeli army stormed and occupied the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt, closing Gazan Palestinians' only gateway to the world.
“(The) situation brought about by the Israeli assault on Rafah, and the extreme risk it poses to humanitarian supplies and basic services into Gaza, to the survival of the Palestinian medical system, and to the very survival of Palestinians in Gaza as a group, is not only an escalation of the prevailing situation but gives rise to new facts that are causing irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people in Gaza,” South Africa said in its request, according to the ICJ.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will hold public hearings on May 16-17 following South Africa’s request for additional measures amid Israel’s attacks on Gaza and Rafah.
Reported by Sahar Dadjoo
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