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| International Legal Consideration of the Barrier/Wall | Date: 20-02-2004 |
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The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network Welcomes International Legal Consideration of the Barrier/Wall by the ICJ The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) welcomes the consideration by the International Court of Justice of the legal consequences of the construction of the Barrier/Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). The referral of the matter by the UN General Assembly to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the request that the ICJ urgently render its Advisory Opinion is a critical assertion that international law is a vital interest of the international community of states. Clearly, its respect must supersede the political interests of individual states. The Barrier/Wall, as planned and undertaken to date, notably its construction within the OPT, is a breach of Israel’s obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law. Many of the provisions binding Israel are contained both in treaties to which Israel is a party and in customary international law, which binds all states without exception. Israel’s construction of the Barrier/Wall has had a devastating effect on the Palestinian people through such extreme measures as extensive land confiscation, property destruction, and the forcible separation of Palestinians from their land, schools, health clinics, etc. The creation of additional facts on the ground - facts which will prevent the emergence of a viable independent Palestinian state - unquestionably has political motives. As noted by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the OPT, [t]he amputation of Palestinian territory by the Wall seriously interferes with the right of self-determination of the Palestinian people as it substantially reduces the size of the self-determination unit (already small) within which that right is to be exercised. The EMHRN firmly believes that the consideration of this matter by the ICJ will ensure that the Barrier/Wall is addressed through rule of law, respecting both the Statute of the ICJ which empowers it to consider such matters and the means of their referral as upheld in the Statute and the UN Charter. The valuable role of the ICJ in the development and understanding of international human rights and humanitarian law through the issuance of Advisory Opinions has been repeatedly proven, notably through such cases as Reservations to the Genocide Convention (1951), South West Africa (1971), and Opinion Concerning the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons (1996). Consideration by the ICJ of the Barrier/Wall will provide the opportunity for greater understanding of the fundamental values of the international community and clarification of their legal basis. Indeed, we find it troubling that Israel has objected to such a hearing, as this appears to be a breach of its commitment undertaken at the time of its acceptance as a UN Member State to unreservedly accept the obligations of the UN Charter and to honour them from the day it becomes a Member State. Further, the argument of the European Union and individual states against bringing the matter before the ICJ appears to be a dismissal of the fundamental role of international humanitarian law and the basic values of human rights in the achievement of a just and durable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The EMHRN condemns the illegal construction of the Barrier/Wall on the OPT and the grave violations of Palestinian human rights which have accompanied its construction. The issue is ripe for adjudication by the ICJ, which can ensure that the Barrier/Wall and the human rights issues related to it are reviewed on the basis of international law. For further information please contact: Marit Floe Joergensen, Information Officer Tel: +45-32 69 89 12 / Fax: +45-32 69 89 01 E-mail: info@euromedrights.net |
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