PCHR, Amnesty Lead Gaza Lawfare Claims, Ignore Hamas Crimes
Since the 2001 Durban Conference, the NGO strategy of exploiting legal mechanisms to pursue political goals, has been ongoing (see NGO “Lawfare”: Exploitation of Courts in the Arab-Israeli Conflict and Lawfare Update).
In the wake of the Gaza War, NGOs (including International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH (France)) are lobbying the UN for either a Security Council referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC) or a General Assembly referral to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). According to media reports, Amnesty International is transferring files to the ICC Prosecutor regarding alleged “war crimes” committed by Israel. These reports make no mention of any Amnesty initiative or transferring of files to the ICC Prosecutor regarding Hamas war crimes aided by Iran and Syria.
PCHR (funded by the EU, Denmark, Norway, Ireland, Holland, the Ford Foundation, Open Society Institute and Christian Aid) has declared that it is preparing for lawsuits to be filed abroad and appears to be focusing on filing a case for the killing of Nizar Rayan, one of the leading architects of Hamas atrocities and who sent his son on a suicide bombing mission in 2001. An Indian newspaper reported on January 25, that PCHR is preparing cases in six countries, targeting 87 Israelis for harassment. In the article, PCHR’s Director claims that “dozens of arrest warrants have already been issued.”
Other NGOs calling for lawfare in the wake of the Gaza war include the Alternative Information Center (“Barak and all Israeli Leaders—To the Hague“), Adalah (Statement to the UN Human Rights Council), Amnesty International (Oral Statement to the UN HRC, Open Letter to George Mitchell), Ittijah (Adalah is a coalition member — January 7, 2009 Press Release), and the Arab Association for Human Rights (“Israel is not above International Law,” January 7, 2009 Press Release). One anonymous group established a website, entitled “Wanted,” with pictures of Israeli government and military officials. The website asks those with “information about the suspect[s] when [they] are outside of the Israeli borders” to contact the Prosecutor of the ICC.
See NGO Monitor in the Media on Gaza lawfare:
- FM flies to Europe despite arrest scare, Rebecca Anna Stoll, Jerusalem Post, January 21, 2009
- Operation Cast Lead heads to the courtroom, Rebecca Anna Stoil, Jerusalem Post, January 18, 2009