The US Veto Must Be Condemned. The General
Assembly Must Assert the Will of the World 
Sam Husseini / Substack & World BEYOND War

(July 19, 2024) — The International Court of Justice ruled today:

• The State of Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful;
• The State of Israel is under an obligation to bring to an end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible;
• The State of Israel is under an obligation to cease immediately all new settlement activities, and to evacuate all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory;
• The State of Israel has the obligation to make reparation for the damage caused to all the natural or legal persons concerned in the Occupied Palestinian Territory;
• All States are under an obligation not to recognize as legal the situation arising from the unlawful presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by the continued presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory;
• International organizations, including the United Nations, are under an obligation not to recognize as legal the situation arising from the unlawful presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory; and
• The United Nations, and especially the General Assembly, which requested the opinion, and the Security Council, should consider the precise modalities and further action required to bring to an end as rapidly as possible the unlawful presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

See video and background via here.

The UN Security Council has been prevented from action by the US (and British) veto.

As I have argued, the General Assembly must act, especially using Uniting for Peace. See my piece: “‘Uniting for Peace’ is Next Step in Invoking Genocide Convention Process to Protect Palestine.”

This is a major organizing challenge to people around the world; to get as many countries as possible to back as strong action as possible against Israel’s crimes.

Some resources are in my piece, above. Another key is action should be in NYC in front of the UN and various missions to the UN. 

Here’s another great resource from World Beyond War.

The crime of genocide is happening. The intentional destruction of a people, in whole or in part, is genocide. The law is meant to be used to prevent it, not just review it after the fact.

We sent over half a million emails to key governments urging them to invoke the genocide convention at the International Court of Justice. South Africa did so, charging Israel with genocide. Nicaragua, Mexico, Libya, and Colombia formally filed declarations of intervention in support of the case. Several other nations said they would do so as well.

The court has ordered Israel to cease its genocidal acts, and the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has requested arrest warrants. And still the United Nations Security Council does not act, and in fact allows its members to provide Israel with the weaponry needed to continue the crime.

United Nations General Assembly Resolution 377 (Uniting For Peace) allows the General Assembly to act when the Security Council fails. The General Assembly should NOT escalate the war or deploy armed troops.

It should convene an emergency session and use “Uniting For Peace” to impose an arms embargo and targeted sanctions on the Israeli government, suspend the Israeli government from the United Nations, and send to Palestine unarmed peacekeepers (who have repeatedly shown their superiority to armed peacekeepers).

The General Assembly has already voted overwhelmingly for a ceasefire, but not for the actions above.

Emails sent below will go simultaneously to the governments of South Africa, Nicaragua, Brazil, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Egypt, Honduras, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Turkey, Mexico, Pakistan, Spain, Libya, China, Russia, Algeria, Ecuador, Guyana, Japan, France, Malta, Mozambique, Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Switzerland, Canada.