International Genocide Determination in Gaza Faces Significant Challenges in the Security Council of the United Nations
The United Nations' Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory has concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, according to reports published since the Israel-Hamas war that started on October 7, 2023. The commission found that Israeli authorities and security forces have committed four out of the five genocidal acts defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The specific acts found include killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of the Palestinians, and imposing measures intended to prevent births. However, the commission did not find evidence of the fifth act, "forcibly transferring children of the group to another group."
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, has expressed caution on the matter, stating that while several European priests and bishops may have described the situation in Gaza as genocide and found elements fitting that definition, the Vatican itself has not yet officially done so. He emphasized the need for careful study and that all conditions must be precisely met before making such a declaration.
The UN's 15-member Security Council, which can legally use coercive force against a member state, is hobbled by a "serious weakness" among its five permanent members, each of whom has the total and absolute right of veto. This practical impact of the Genocide Convention is limited due to the United Nations' inability to enforce its decisions. There is no mechanism to override such a veto, and it is not unheard of for a 14-1 resolution to be stopped in its tracks by such a veto.
The term "genocide" was coined in 1944 by Raphael Lemkin, a Polish Jewish jurist who lost 49 members of his own family in the Holocaust. Signatories to the convention are obliged to prosecute and punish genocide that is clearly defined in international law and treaty obligations.
The commission's findings come amidst ongoing conflict in the region, with the Israel-Hamas war causing widespread destruction and loss of life. The practical implications of these accusations remain to be seen, as the international community grapples with how to respond to such allegations and prevent future atrocities.
Father Mallon warned that the real test of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide is how to implement an effective and enforceable policy inhibiting one party from extinguishing another in the context of advances in artificial intelligence and modern weaponry.
Gina Christian, a multimedia reporter for our website, is following this story closely. Follow her on X @GinaJesseReina for the latest updates on this developing situation.
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