Its being reported today that Germany and the Australians will abstain...
** ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q&A: Implications of the recognition of Palestinian statehoo<http://972mag.com/qa-implications-of-the-recognition-of-palestinian-statehood/61048/> d http://972mag.com/qa-implications-of-the-recognition-of-palestinian-statehood/61048/ What Palestinian statehood means for ICC jurisdiction over Israeli crimes *The Palestinian bid for statehood at the UN has Israel especially worried about one implication from the move Israeli conduct on Palestinian territory becoming subject to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. * By Noam Wiener Tomorrow is November 29, a day that in my childhood memories is associated with a static recording reading: Afghanistan, no; Argentina, abstain; Australia, yes and with black and white photos of people dancing in circles in the streets of Tel Aviv following the approval of the Partition Plan for Palestine <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBHxEbJgzY4>. But children today will have a different memory. Obviously many Israeli opinion makers do not like to be reminded that the state they live in was a conceived alongside what was meant to be a state on land Israel has been occupying for the past 45 years. But the Palestinian Authoritys request from the UN General Assembly to recognize it as a non-member state creates further concerns <http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4312717,00.html> for the Israeli political and media establishment on this special date. This piece will be limited to one of the key issues relating to the Palestinian bid for statehood its ability, should the bid be accepted, to join the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC was created in 1998<http://untreaty.un.org/cod/icc/statute/romefra.htm>as a court with the authority to try individuals as opposed to states who commit international crimes (including the crime of aggression, genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes). Most international institutions do not have universal authority and can only exercise power over individuals from member states who chose to join the organization. The ICC is different. The ICC has jurisdiction over crimes committed by individuals, be they citizens of member states or otherwise, if these crimes were committed in the territory of a member state. This means, for example, that if a citizen of the United States (not an ICC member), commits an international crime on French soil (an ICC member), the ICC will have jurisdiction over that individual even though the U.S. never consented to ICC jurisdiction. This seemingly imperial power over a non-member state does not seem so unusual, however, when we remember that if a U.S. citizen commits any sort of crime in France, French courts have authority to try that individual by virtue of Frances territorial sovereignty. Thus, the ICC only follows the territorial jurisdiction of the member states. Israeli officials find the ICCs jurisdiction worrisome in relation to the Palestinian bid for recognition as a state. As long as Palestine is not a state, it cannot become a member of the ICC, and Israeli conduct on Palestinian territory is not subject to ICC jurisdiction (unless the UN Security Council refers the matter to the to the ICC, or Israel joins the ICC both unlikely events in the foreseeable future). Palestines non-state status is the reason the Palestinian bid<http://www.icc-cpi.int/en_menus/icc/structure%20of%20the%20court/office%20of%20the%20prosecutor/comm%20and%20ref/decision%20not%20to%20proceed/palestine/Pages/palestine.aspx>for ICC investigation in 2009 was rejected<http://www.icc-cpi.int/NR/rdonlyres/9B651B80-EC43-4945-BF5A-FAFF5F334B92/284387/SituationinPalestine030412ENG.pdf>last April by the ICC Prosecutor. But if Palestine gains recognition as a state from the members of the UN, it could then ask to join the ICC, and then international crimes committed in its territory could be subject to ICC jurisdiction. Notably, this does not mean that we will be seeing Israeli generals and politicians hauled off to The Hague on November 30. The ICC gains jurisdiction only prospectively, so alleged crimes committed before the new member joined are not subject to ICC investigation. Second, the ICC would only have jurisdiction over crimes committed on Palestinian sovereign territory, but where that territory starts and ends is entirely unclear and will doubtlessly be subject to prolonged legal wrangling. Third, even if alleged crimes have been committed (and this needs to be investigated on a case by case basis), because of the ICC complementarity regime (on which I have already commented in +972<http://972mag.com/sham-trials-wont-defend-israeli-officers-from-international-courts/9581/>), the Prosecutor will only investigate cases that Israel has itself neglected to investigate. Finally, the Prosecutor will only apply his or her very limited resources to those cases considered to be the most grievous violations of international law. As inhumane as the occupation of Palestine is, even if the Prosecutor is convinced that specific crimes have been committed in the occupied territories, it is unclear whether he or she will also think that these crimes are grave enough to warrant her attention in light of other instances of international crimes committed around the world. Despite these four caveats, Israels leaders are right to be worried about potential ICC investigations into Israeli conduct in the occupied territories. The mere launch of an investigation against Israeli leaders could turn them into diplomatic pariahs. But the best means to avoid this is, of course, to refrain from committing crimes, rather than to avoid being investigated for them. And more important still, to acknowledge the Palestinian right to statehood, so that November 29 can be celebrated as the day the right of both Palestinians and Israelis to live as free and sovereign peoples was recognized. *Noam Wiener is an Israeli doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan Law School. His research focuses on international criminal law.* *----------------------------------* * * In Rebuke to Obama, Netanyahu Much of Western Europe to Support Palestine as UN Observer State<http://www.juancole.com/2012/11/in-rebuke-to-obama-netanyahu-much-of-western-europe-to-support-palestine-as-un-observer-state.html> Posted on 11/29/2012 by Juan The confidence scam that Israel and the United States have been running on the Palestinians, of a peace process, is finally about to meet a well-deserved demise. There are now over 600,000 Israeli settlers on the Occupied Palestinian territory<http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/07/jewish-settlers-in-west-bank-pass-350000-mark.html> of the West Bank (including the areas unilaterally annexed by Israel to its district of Jerusalem). It now seems all but certain that the United Nations General Assembly will vote on Friday to grant the Palestine Authority observer state status<http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-11-28/palestinians-press-statehood-aspirations-at-un-q-and-a> at the United Nations, the same position enjoyed by the Vatican. It is an upgrade from entity recognized as permanent observer. Its primary significance is that as an observer, Palestine will have some of the same prerogatives of members within the UN legal structure. In particular, it will be in a much strengthened position to launch protests against the war crimes and crimes against humanity practiced by Israel against the Palestinians. Euronews has a report <http://youtu.be/hS3B72jOz1c>: Aside from the new legal status of Palestine that will result, this event signals a sea change in the relationship of Europe to Palestine and Israel. For decades, Europeans felt guilt about the Holocaust, or saw the Israelis as underdogs, or viewed them as fellow Europeans facing barbarian hordes, and so consistently supported Israel against the Palestinians. That would still be the case if the Likud Party had not foolishly destroyed the Oslo Peace process and if Israeli governments had not implemented an illegal blockade on Gaza and pursued large-scale population transfer of Israelis into the Occupied West Bank, which is illegal under the 1949 Geneva Conventions. The Lebanon and Gaza Wars, and the Israeli attack on the peaceful aide ship from Turkey, the Mavi Marmara, all drastically undermined Israels standing in the eyes of Europeans. Reuters reported that<http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/28/palestinians-statehood-idUSL5E8MS7VK20121128> As of Wednesday afternoon Austria, Denmark, Norway, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland had all pledged to support the Palestinian resolution. Other observers suggested that the same 11 that voted in 2011 <http://euobserver.com/foreign/118149> for Palestinian membership in UNESCO were likely to repeat that vote this year, with the possible exception of Cyprus: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia and Spain. In addition, it was originally thought that the Netherlands might well vote for Palestine this time, since there has been a change of government there (theyve now said now), and Portugal and Switzerland have already joined this group. Here is a notional map of how the European voting might go (not just EU but the continent): <http://www.juancole.com/2012/11/in-rebuke-to-obama-netanyahu-much-of-western-europe-to-support-palestine-as-un-observer-state.html/europalest-2> Once the Palestinians have gained a friend with the stature of France, in many ways the Israeli attempt to keep them in a box has already failed. Flanked by Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, and Switzerland, the pro-Palestinian bloc encompasses much of what was traditionally thought of as Western Europe. And Greece, after all, was the cradle of Europe. Lots of reasons might be given for their willingness to give Palestinians their due. There is resentment of Anglo-American hegemony. These countries were all strong-armed by the Obama administration to deep-six the Palestinians, and they are refusing. The Irish now see Israel as doing to the Palestinians what the British used to do to them. Spain and France also have foreign policy aspirations in the Arab world. France has a significant Muslim voting bloc, which largely goes for the now-ruling Socialists. But ultimately the real reason is that the high officials in Europe find the far right wing Israeli government and its Apartheid policies toward the Palestinians increasingly distasteful. The scales have just fallen from their eyes. In the law, standing is a crucial concept. Standing dictates who has a right to bring a law suit. You cant proceed with a civil action unless the judge agrees that you have standing. Typically, you couldnt sue on behalf of your cousin if you werent affected by the alleged tort. Up until now, the entity of the Palestine Authority did not have the standing to bring complaints against Israel to the UN. But Palestine as a UN observer will have such standing, and it could be significant. Since almost no one else in the US will do so, let me direct readers to the Palestinians own position paper<http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/national/3207-position-paper-palestines-enhancement-of-status-at-the-un> on the step. (One of the consistent features of colonialism and Orientalism is that the oppressed are deprived of a voice first of all by being made invisible in mass media and only ever represented by their enemies and detractors. It is very rare that we see an actual Palestinian with good English interviewed about Palestine on American television evening magazine shows.) As an observer state, Palestine can join UN bodies and can sign treaties. One it might like to sign is the Rome Statutes that created the International Criminal Court, a body that the United States and Israel, as hegemons, hate the way the devil hates holy water. Being a hegemon means never having to be tried for your war crimes (most of the government leaders prosecuted by the ICC so far have been from weak, despised African dictatorships). As a member of the ICC, Palestine could then bring complaints against Israel for its annexation of Palestinian land and practice of Apartheid (which is recognized in the Rome Statutes as a war crime). Whereas the US consistently vetoes all condemnations of Israel by the four other UN Security Council members, making sure that the Palestinians are always screwed over, it has no ability to stop the UN committees of the General Assembly, the UNGA itself, or the ICC from criticizing or sanctioning Israel. The US and Israeli tactic has been to prevent any official world body from ever producing a text condemning Israels treatment of the Palestinians, lest a body of international law grow up that would stand in the way of further Israeli colonization of the Palestinian West Bank, or of its creepy and illegal blockade of the civilians of the Gaza Strip. That tactic is about to be defeated. [image: West Bank Archipelago]<http://www.juancole.com/2012/11/in-rebuke-to-obama-netanyahu-much-of-western-europe-to-support-palestine-as-un-observer-state.html/palesarchi> H/t this site<http://lawrenceofcyberia.blogs.com/photos/maps/palestine-archipelago.html> The some 11 million Palestinians, promised a state (no, not Jordan) by the League of Nations and by the British mandatory powers, were largely uprooted and rendered stateless by a concerted campaign of ethnic cleansing by Jewish settlers in Palestine in 1947-48, who had been planted there by a combination of British imperial interests and the rise in Europe of a terrifying and vicious fascist racism in the 1930s. The helpless, stateless Palestinians, many still living in refugee camps, were successfully slandered by Israels fanatic supporters as mindlessly violent oppressors of the Jews. When the West remembered National Socialism vividly, the Palestinians were depicted in Zionist propaganda as Nazis. At the height of the Cold War, the burghers, retailers and engineers among the Palestinians were painted as dangerous Communists. After 9/11, the Palestinians (among the more secular groups in the Middle East) were reconfigured as al-Qaeda. While some Palestinians (amazingly few) did mobilize some 20 years after the disaster of their expulsion from their homeland to resist further Israeli expansionism in the region, with the taking of Gaza and the West Bank in 1967, and Israel has at times been embattled (so that you could understand fear of or anger toward its enemies) it was never acceptable to smear and marginalize an entire people. Meanwhile, in the decade after the Oslo Peace Accords were signed in the early 1990s, the Israelis doubled the number of settlers on Palestinian land, land from which the Israelis had dishonestly pledged to withdraw by 1998 (they still havent withdrawn). [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
