An individual by the name of Yasmine Ahmed, who is a representative of Human Rights Watch, has indicated that the United Kingdom ought not to fight the right of the International Criminal Court to pursue justice for alleged war crimes.
Rishi Sunak’s legal challenge to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court on allegations of war crimes perpetrated by Israel in Gaza should be withdrawn, according to the director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) in the United Kingdom, who stated that the decision should be decided by the new government of the United Kingdom.
The United Kingdom should not continue to oppose the right of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to obtain arrest warrants for Yoav Gallant, the defense minister, and Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, according to Yasmine Ahmed, who indicated that it is “absolutely critical” that the United Kingdom should not continue to challenge this right any longer. It is possible that Gallant is accountable for crimes against humanity, according to Karim Khan, who is the top prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
Sunak expressed his displeasure with the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant, as well as Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, and other Hamas members throughout the month of May. It was his assertion that there was no difference in moral standards between the two groups.
Approximately two weeks ago, it was anticipated that the Labour government would abandon the legal action that it had taken against the International Criminal Court (ICC). The British diplomats, however, refuted this and said that the matter was still under investigation at the time of their statement. Until the 26th of July, the International Criminal Court has given the new Labour government the opportunity to decide whether or not they would file a legal challenge against the existing government.
“Will the government of the United Kingdom be principled and mature enough to adhere to its own statements of complying with and acting consistently with international law and supporting the rules-based order by withdrawing its application to intervene in the case of the International Criminal Court?” Ahmed asked the audience.
“At this point, we will be able to determine where the rubber will actually hit the road.”
Taking into consideration the fact that hostilities are currently taking place in Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine, Ahmed noted that the newly established Labor government has assumed office during a period of huge global crises and uncertainty. This is because of the fact that these wars are currently taking place.
She stated that the government must now actively pursue what the new foreign secretary, David Lammy, has referred to as Labour’s “progressive realism” approach to human rights. She made this statement in response to what she described as years of hostile policies that a Conservative administration had implemented with the intention of undermining international human rights laws and institutions.
According to Ahmed himself, “The world that they are addressing is one that is incredible in its complexity.” I’m not sure if we’ve been through this many crises in the past few decades, but we are currently going through a number of different crises.
In the statement that she released, Ahmed highlighted her contentment with the decisions that the administration made, which included resuming funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine and abandoning the controversial Rwandan deportation scheme. In addition, she claimed that there was a requirement to make the termination of arms licenses with Israel a high priority and requested that quick action be taken in order to address the humanitarian disaster that is occurring in Sudan. She also stated that there was a requirement to make immediate action a priority.
On the domestic front, she claimed that there was a need for a formal commitment to the protection of refugees and asylum seekers, as well as practical initiatives such as restoring the need to comply with international law into the ministerial code. She also stated that there was a requirement for a commitment to the protection of refugees and asylum seekers.
It is hard for us to advocate and be viewed as supporting a rules-based order in international law, or even to actually be advocating such an order, if we are not also duplicating that order within our own borders, as Ahmed indicated. This is because it is impossible for us to promote and be perceived as supporting such an order. It is imperative that we provide [the administration] the opportunity to meet its commitments in order for them to be able to fulfill their pledges.