Journalist, Sam Husseinicross-posted the following Substack blog by Decensored News this morning with the this comment:
Francis Boyle states that with States (including US and UK govs) cutting off funding to UNRWA, it is "no longer the case of these States aiding and abetting Israeli Genocide against the Palestinians in violation of Genocide Convention article 3 (e) criminalizing 'complicity' in genocide. These States are now also directly violating Genocide Convention article 2(c) by themselves: 'Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part...'"
See him make this and other points, which could open the door to advancing more legal measures against the US and other governments.
Please watch the embedded video included by Decensored News in their Substack article which I am reposting below.
During an appearance on MSNBC on Saturday, international law professor Francis Boyle discussed the implications of this week’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) order in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, the cutoff of funds to UNRWA, the Biden admin’s legal complicity under both international and US law, and how this might play out at the UN Security Council and General Assembly.
Boyle is well-qualified to weigh in on the matter: After becoming the first lawyer to successfully argue a genocide case at the ICJ (also known as the World Court) on behalf of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Boyle then went on to win a second order in that case—“massive and overwhelming in their favor against Yugoslavia, to cease and desist from committing all acts of genocide,” he explains.
“This was the first time ever that any lawyer had won two orders in one case since the World Court was founded in 1921.”
Here’s a summary of some of the key points Boyle made during the interview:
The Biden administration’s aiding and abetting of Israel’s genocide is a violation not only of Article 3e of Genocide Convention, but also the US government’s own Genocide Convention Implementation Act, which Biden himself sponsored as a Senator.
Countries abruptly cutting off UNRWA funds are now in violation of Article 2c of the Convention: “Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”
The Biden admin’s UNRWA funding cut is a felony under the Genocide Convention Implementation Act.
Countries who send weapons to Israel can now be sued at the ICJ for their role in the genocide. “This is exactly what I did for the Bosnians.”
He suspects the Biden administration will veto any resolution of enforcement in the UN Security Council.
It would then be turned over to the UN General Assembly (UNGA) under the Uniting for Peace resolution, where there could be “very severe consequences for Israel.”
The UNGA could: (1) Suspend Israel from UN participation, (2) Set up an int’l criminal tribunal and start prosecuting top Israeli officials, (3) Recommend that all member states sever diplomatic relations with Israel, (4) Recommend comprehensive economic sanctions against Israel, and/or (5) Admit Palestine as a full-fledged UN member state.
Professor Boyle teaches international law at the University of Illinois College of Law. You can read his full bio here.
Further analysis of the ICJ order has been provided in recent days by human rights lawyer and former UN official Craig Mokhiber, as well as British ambassador turned author, broadcaster, and human rights activist, Craig Murray.
Below is a screenshot I took from the embedded video above of Article II of the Genocide Convention which the U.S., UK, Canada, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Finland have contravened by aiding and abetting Israel by supplying weapons and/or in the act of cutting their funding to the UNRWA which results in “Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”
The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), considered a lifeline for two million people in the besieged enclave, has suffered funding cuts after several of its staff were accused by Israel of involvement in the October 7 Hamas attack.
The UN on Saturday said that it had terminated nine out of 12 staff over the allegations and vowed to hold its employees accountable, but expressed its shock at the swift funding cut by several Western countries amid a humanitarian disaster in Gaza, which has been devastated by nearly four months of Israel’s aerial and ground war.
It would be immensely irresponsible to sanction an Agency and an entire community it serves because of allegations of criminal acts against some individuals, especially at a time of war, displacement and political crises in the region,” Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA chief, said in a statement on Saturday.
The UN and Palestinian officials have called for continued funding for the agency’s “crucial work” since the announcement of the claims on Friday.
Here is what you need to know about the controversy.
What is UNRWA and who funds it?
The acronym stands for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. It was established in 1949 to cater to tens of thousands of Palestinians ethnically cleansed from their homes by Jewish militias from areas that currently form part of Israel.
The UN agency operates in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, as well as in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria – the neighbouring countries where the Palestinian refugees took shelter after their violent expulsion known as the Nakba or catastrophe.
According to its website, the UN agency supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees, working in a number of areas.
Examples of these fields are primary and vocational education, primary healthcare, relief and social services, infrastructure and camp improvement, microfinance, and emergency response.
The agency is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions apart from a limited subsidy from the UN, which is used exclusively for administrative costs, according to UNRWA.
The work of UNRWA could not be carried out without sustained contributions from countries worldwide and the European Union, which represented 94.9 percent of all contributions in 2022, the agency says.
In 2022, 44.3 percent of the agency’s total pledges, or $1.17bn, came from the EU member states, who contributed $520.3m, including funds allocated by the institution via the European Commission.
The United States, Germany, the EU and Sweden were the largest individual donors in the year in question, contributing 61.4 percent of the agency’s overall funding in total.
Chris Gunness, a former UNRWA spokesman, said the UN agency has weeks only before it runs out of money for its crucial aid work to save Palestinian lives in Gaza. More than 26,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its offensive on October 7.
“My message to the Arab world, particularly to the Gulf, is where are you? Because they’re making billions each day on oil revenues. A tiny fraction of those oil revenues would see UNRWA’s financial problems disappear overnight. This unconscionable gap inflicted by these Western countries would be filled very quickly,” Gunness told Al Jazeera.
“Some of the most desperate people in the Middle East are now facing starvation, they’re facing famine, and the Arab states need to step up to the plate.”
The analysis by Human Rights lawyer, Craig Mokhiber linked in the last paragraph of the Decensored News post above is the one he did with Max Blumenthal and Aaron Maté which I had included in the following post:
"Some eyes have been opened. In December, the National Council of Switzerland decided to cut its funding to UNRWA. In the same month, Germany announced that it would halt new aid commitments for long-term UNRWA development projects in Gaza — although after some back-and-forth it decided not to cut its funding altogether."
Strange that Francis Boyle has not accused Switzerland and Germany of complicity in genocide.
This move is horrible, cowardly and destructive, and Canada is guilty of it too. Shame!
"Some eyes have been opened. In December, the National Council of Switzerland decided to cut its funding to UNRWA. In the same month, Germany announced that it would halt new aid commitments for long-term UNRWA development projects in Gaza — although after some back-and-forth it decided not to cut its funding altogether."
Strange that Francis Boyle has not accused Switzerland and Germany of complicity in genocide.
https://melaniephillips.substack.com/p/the-rotten-edifice-of-humanitarianism