Looking back at the event co-organized by the International Institute of Social Studies on 3 December 2024 shedding light on the project to clear Palestine of Palestinians.
On 3 December 2024, with the director and other colleagues of the International Human Rights Clinic at Boston University, the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians, Al Haq Europe and Al Haq Organization, and the Legal Mobilization Platform, we co-organized an event at the International Institute of Social Studies entitled Gaza at the ICC: Denial of Palestinians’ Right to Return under International Criminal Law. The event was recorded.
Arrest warrents
This event had a compelling context. On 21 November 2024, the International Criminal Court's Pre-Trial Chamber (ICC or 'the Court') issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, respectively Prime Minister and a former Minister of Defense of Israel, for crimes in Palestine. The arrest warrants allege that Netanyahu and Gallant may be responsible for several crimes related to the ongoing war on Gaza, perhaps most notably war crimes related to the targeting of civilians and the deprivation of food and other survival necessities, causing starvation and denial of critical care to the entire Gazan population.
The ICC has also stated that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Gazans are being denied fundamental rights on the basis of political or national affiliation, amounting to the crime against humanity or persecution. The exact evidence which underlies these alleged crimes has not yet been made public. However, as this case unfolds, the investigation which led to the warrants could uncover and catalogue evidence related to decades of human rights violations that amount to crimes against humanity, including transgressions against Palestinians’ right to return to their land.
The right to return is a fundamental human right
The crime against humanity of persecution is integral to the International Human Rights Clinic’s (IHRC) project on the Palestinian Right to Return, a joint effort with the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP). The right to return is a fundamental human right, codified in humanitarian law, human rights law, and nationality law. Our communication to the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP or 'the Prosecutor') of the International Criminal Court sets out how violations of this right are justiciable – in other words – the extent to which these violations amount to international crimes under the Rome Statute and could be prosecuted by the ICC.
Prosecuting violations of the right to return
One legal theory that would allow violations of the right to return to be criminally prosecutable asserts that widespread or systematic violations of the right of a particular ethnic, religious, or national group amount to the international crime of persecution. This could compel the ICC, in its current investigation into the crime against humanity of persecution, to take into account evidence related to land expropriation, evictions, and other forms of dispossession. There is evidence that these acts have been committed on an ongoing basis by Israeli agents. Victims of these acts should be able to obtain justice and recognition for decades of systematic denial of Palestinians’ right to return to their homeland.
...illegal Israeli settlements have been funded and supported by state policies and constructed on formerly Palestinian land...
A historical account of Palestinian displacement is vital to understand the right to return, and the severity of violations of this right to the present situation. Our submission, and a significant body of existing scholarship and documentation, identify Israeli laws, policies, and practices which have forcibly displaced Palestinians, wrongfully expropriated their land, destroyed their homes and community buildings, and erected an administrative and physical infrastructure which bars Palestinian return.
For example, illegal Israeli settlements have been funded and supported by state policies and constructed on formerly Palestinian land, shrinking the space where Palestinians can live on their own territory. This historical background is crucial to understanding how these violations amount to crimes against humanity, particularly since the crimes have not stopped.
3 December event
The 3 December 2024 event took place on the sidelines of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to the Rome Statute in The Hague. The event allowed us to shed light on an aspect of the situation in Palestine and the war in Gaza which ought not to be overlooked: the genocide in Gaza is a part of a project to clear Palestine of Palestinians.
Susan Akram, IHRC's Director, spoke about the fundamental nature of the Right to Return in international law, describing how foundational the right is across multiple bodies of law, and providing examples of Palestinian villages and communities who have sought to assert their Right to Return through the Israeli judicial system and various international human rights bodies. She also gave a thorough account of the laws and practices through which Israel has accomplished its goals of expelling Palestinians, taking Palestinian land and claiming it exclusively for Jewish Israelis, and preventing Palestinians from returning and obtaining restitution of their homes and lands.
Haydee Dijkstal, Chief External Counsel at ICJP, expanded on our legal theories about crimes against humanity which violate the Right to Return. As an expert on international criminal law and practitioner before the ICC, Dijkstal made the case for the prosecution of certain crimes and presenting the OTP with evidence that can be used in a potential case. Her comments touched on the arrest warrants, the ongoing investigation, and the applicability of crimes against humanity to the return of Palestinian people to their land.
Finally, Ahmed Abofoul, Senior Legal Advisor at Al Haq, the oldest human rights organization in Palestine, spoke about the present situation in Gaza and specifically about the current forced displacement. Abofoul was offered a sobering, and razor-sharp perspective about the denial of Palestinians' access to their ancestral lands.
Other ASP-related events
The conversation that we co-organized at ISS was one of several events that took place at the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) of the ICC that was relevant to the situation in Palestine. In addition, Al-Haq co-hosted an event titled Documenting Attacks on Healthcare in Sudan, Ukraine and Palestine - Leveraging Tech and Authenticated Footage for Accountability.
Furthermore, ICJP hosted an event that highlighted how violations of healthcare facilities and medical personal amount to war crimes. Entitled Destruction of Gaza’s Healthcare Facilities, the ICJP’s colleagues shed light on the immense human cost of the war. All of these conversations reflect a growing commitment among civil society actors and legal practitioners to amplify Palestinian voices, underscoring the need for an immediate ceasefire, and why there are multiple justice and accountability-related claims regarding Gaza.