He also outlines the “very serious consequences” Israel could face at the United Nations in light of the recent World Court order.
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 administration’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 3(e) 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 2(c) 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 by human rights lawyer and former UN official Craig Mokhiber and British ambassador turned author, broadcaster, and human rights activist, Craig Murray.
ICJ Rules Israel Must ‘Take All Measures’ to Avoid Acts of Genocide in Gaza, Public Incitement
Following ICJ Ruling, Western Countries Step Up Genocide Support Efforts by Suspending Aid to UNWRA
Has International Law Survived, or Has the Western Political Class Killed It?
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