Appeal by attorneys and professors of law for immediate action by Switzerland to ensure respect for international law in Palestine

This petition was launched by a petitionary committee made up of attorneys and an international law professor, Milena Peeva, Bénédict De Moerloose, Emma Lidén, Roxane Sheybani, Shereen El Agamy, Melanie Aebli, Fiona Stämpfli  and Damien Scalia.

The Petition Committee invites you to sign the text below

 

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Federal Councillors,

Members of the Foreign Policy Commissions of the Federal Assembly,

We, the undersigned, are attorneys and law professors in Switzerland, committed to the universal protection of human rights.

We attach great importance to the respect of international law, in particular international humanitarian law, which includes the Geneva Conventions of which Switzerland is the depositary.

We are deeply concerned about the disastrous situation in occupied Palestine and in the Gaza Strip, where nearly 2.2 million people have been victims of serious violations of their fundamental rights since 7 October 2023. We also express our strong concern about the situation in the West Bank where human rights violations are increasing and settler violence is rising with impunity.

Situation in Gaza

For 250 days, the civilian population of Gaza has been the target of daily massive bombings and ground attacks by the Israeli army, destroying more than 60% of the civil[1], medical[2], and judicial[3] infrastructure.

To date, more than 35,000 civilians have been killed, including more than 12,300 children[4]; the number of injured exceeds 78,000[5]. More than 80% of the population is in a state of forced displacement and faces imminent famine (the northern part of Gaza is already in famine) caused by humans, used as a weapon of war and mainly caused by the intentional blockade of humanitarian aid at Gaza's borders[6]. Currently, no humanitarian aid can be provided through the temporary pier built by the United States[7].

On 7 May 2024, the Israeli army launched its ground military offensive in Rafah, adding to the incessant bombings and putting more than 1.4 million surviving Palestinians at imminent risk of death and completely blocking any possibility of leaving Gaza[8].

During the night of Sunday, 26 May 2024, the Israeli army heavily bombed UNRWA neighbourhoods in the Al-Mawasi area designated as humanitarian, where hundreds of civilians were taking refuge. An airstrike killed more than 45 people and injured more than 200 others. Less than 30 hours later, the Israeli army continued its bombings on a camp for displaced persons, causing 21 deaths and seriously injuring more than 60 people[9].

These flagrant human rights violations have been denounced or even classified as war crimes, crimes against humanity, or acts that could meet the criteria for genocide by many UN bodies, including the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres[10], the UN Special Rapporteur for Palestine and the occupied territories[11], the UN Special Rapporteur for the right to health[12], UN treaty bodies[13], the WHO[14], UNICEF[15], WFP[16], and all credible non-governmental organisations, including Amnesty International[17], Human Rights Watch[18], and OXFAM[19].

Due to these atrocities, the survival of hundreds of thousands of people depends on aid provided by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). UNRWA is the only entity that can still offer vital assistance in terms of housing, education, and food to the surviving population, with direct access to the population, structures, and personnel.

On 20 April 2024, the independent report by Catherine Colonna, former head of French diplomacy, concluded that there was no evidence of a link between UNRWA staff members and terrorist organisations[20].

Despite these findings and the massive resumption of funding by many other European countries, on 8 May 2024, the Swiss government decided to pay only part of the CHF 20,000,000 contribution initially guaranteed to UNRWA and announced its intention to stop funding the Agency in the medium term[21]. In the current context, Switzerland's refusal to continue its full funding of UNRWA constitutes a direct endangerment of the human rights of the Palestinian population, particularly the inalienable right to life, and could constitute a violation by Switzerland of its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

We recall that on 26 January 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued its judgment finding that there was sufficient prima facie evidence that Israel had violated the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 9 December 1948 (Genocide Convention) and recognising a plausible risk of the commission of genocide of the Palestinian population in Gaza. It issued provisional measures, ordering in particular that the State of Israel refrain from committing any act falling within the scope of the Genocide Convention, prevent public incitement to commit such acts, and take immediate measures to allow the provision of humanitarian aid to the civilian population of Gaza, setting a one-month deadline for the submission of a report on compliance with these measures.

According to the 25 March 2024 report by Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, the context, facts, and analysis presented allow for the conclusion that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold indicating that Israel has committed genocide has been met. More generally, they also indicate that Israel's actions have been motivated by a genocidal logic integral to its colonisation project in Palestine[22].

On 20 May 2024, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Karim Khan requested arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, for "alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, following the widespread and systematic attack directed against the Palestinian civilian population pursuant a State policy", in the Gaza Strip, as well as against Hamas leaders for the October 7 attacks [23]. On 24 May 2024, the ICJ noted the exceptional severity of the situation's evolution, reaffirmed the previously pronounced precautionary measures, and in particular ordered the State of Israel to "immediately stop its military offensive and any other action carried out in the Rafah governorate, which would be likely to subject the group of Palestinians in Gaza to living conditions capable of causing their total or partial physical destruction"[24].

We believe that the actions of the State of Israel are likely to constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law and crimes against humanity, but also, when taken into account with the evidence of genocidal intent in the statements of senior Israeli officials cited by the ICJ, violations of the Genocide Convention. This risk concerns in particular Article II of the Genocide Convention: (a) "killing members of the group"; (b) "causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group"; and (c) "deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part". In light of the rates of infant and maternal mortality and the destruction of Gaza's health system, these facts may also give rise to violations of Article II(d), namely "imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group".

Insufficient Action and Responsibility of Switzerland

In these circumstances and in the face of this major crisis, under Article 54 para. 2 of the Constitution and according to the axes of the Foreign Policy Strategy, we judge Switzerland's action to be largely insufficient. The absence of public condemnations by Switzerland and its silence on ongoing violations concerning the armed conflict in the Middle East are not acceptable and demonstrate a manifest and unjustified double standard compared to other situations Switzerland follows closely. Repeated calls for the respect for international law in the current circumstances are not sufficient.

Furthermore, the lack of a clear stance by Switzerland regarding violations of international law and international humanitarian law, an immediate cessation of Israeli army military incursions in the Gaza Strip, as well as the lack of imperative measures to cease any commercial relationship financing in any way the war effort of a state accused of perpetrating genocide and Switzerland's refusal to resume full funding of UNRWA would constitute a violation of our country's treaty commitments and could engage its responsibility. Indeed, under the common Article 1 to the Geneva Conventions, all states parties have the obligation to "respect and ensure respect" for these conventions "in all circumstances". According to the ICJ, this provision results in the obligation for each state party to these conventions, "whether or not it is a party to a specific conflict, to ensure compliance with the provisions of the relevant instruments"[25]. Similarly, regarding the Genocide Convention, the ICJ considers that the obligation to prevent the commission of the crime of genocide, under Article 1, requires states parties that were aware, or should normally have been aware, of the existence of a serious risk of the commission of acts of genocide, to take all measures reasonably within their power to prevent, as far as possible, the genocide[26].

Based on the above, the undersigned expect Switzerland to honour its constitutional mandate and respect its international obligations. They ask that Switzerland use all the instruments of bilateral and multilateral diplomacy at its disposal to immediately take the following measures:

  1. Act actively and effectively for an immediate and permanent ceasefire by all parties and the release of civilians illegally detained, namely through its role at the Security Council.;
  2. Ensure unrestricted access to humanitarian aid for the Palestinian population;
  3. Condemn at the multilateral and public level the violations of international humanitarian law and human rights committed by Israel in Gaza and the West Bank;
  4. Publicly commit to supporting the independence of international justice, as it has done in the past, and actively engage for the implementation of the legally binding decisions of the ICJ and respect its obligation to prevent the commission of international crimes, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide;
  5. Actively commit to ending the impunity of crimes committed against the Palestinian population, including through unconditional support of the International Criminal Court and its independence in the ongoing investigation into the situation in Palestine;
  6. Recognise the State of Palestine;
  7. Impose concrete economic and diplomatic sanctions, in particular:
    1. Ban on all military commercial relations and any other related products and/or services, notably the ban on the import and export of any type of military material and dual-use goods (specific military, intended for military and technological reinforcement or the development of the defence and security sector);
    2. Ban on any financial support to Israeli public institutions and state-owned companies;
    3. Pronounce individual sanctions against those who have made statements inciting genocide;
    4. Pronounce any other useful sanctions, such as those imposed on Russia;
  8. Immediate payment of the entire CHF 20,000,000 contribution for the year 2024 to UNRWA and guarantee its long-term funding;
  9. Open its borders and welcome refugees and injured people from Gaza;
  10. Ensure that the Swiss National Bank and any other public fund do not invest in companies involved in serious violations of international law;
  11. Commit to respecting freedom of expression in Switzerland, notably within the framework of a dialogue with the cantons and cities of Switzerland, to allow demonstrations against the massacre in Gaza and prevent the repression of demonstrations.

Sincerely yours

 

[1] État de situation par the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs du 29 janvier 2024(https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-105?_gl=1*1xdmvu6*_ga*OTY0MTI2OTk1LjE2OTY0OTU5NDM.*_ga_E60ZNX2F68*MTcxNTY4NzM0My45LjEuMTcxNTY4NzM2Ny4zNi4wLjA); BBC, « At least half of Gaza’s buildings damaged or destroyed, new analysis shows”, 30 janvier 2024 (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68006607); [2] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) (https://www.ochaopt.org/); Médecins sans frontières “Gaza’s silent killings: The destruction of the healthcare system in Rafah”, 29 avril 2024 (https://www.msf.org/gazas-silent-killings-destruction-healthcare-system-rafah); [3] Communiqué de presse, “Israel/Gaza: UN experts condemn destruction of judicial infrastructure, call for protection of justice operators”, 16 avril 2024; (https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/04/israelgaza-un-experts-condemn-destruction-judicial-infrastructure-call); [4] Médecins sans frontières, Urgence Gaza, 27 mai 2024  (https://www.msf.ch/nos-actualites/dossiers/urgence-gaza); ONU info, « Plus d’enfants tués en 4 mois à Gaza qu’en 4 ans de conflits dans le monde », 13 mars 2024 (https://news.un.org/fr/story/2024/03/1143927); [5] France 24, Suivi en direct de la situation Israel-Gaza, 13 mai 2024 (https://www.france24.com/fr/moyen-orient/20240513-%F0%9F%94%B4-en-direct-une-offensive-%C3%A0-rafah-n-%C3%A9liminerait-pas-le-hamas-juge-blinken); [6] Human Rights Watch, « Gaza : la famine imposée par Israël est mortelle pour des enfants », 9 avril 2024 (https://www.hrw.org/fr/news/2024/04/09/gaza-la-famine-imposee-par-israel-est-mortelle-pour-des-enfants); ONU Info, « Gaza : les derniers développements à Rafah pourraient aggraver les niveaux de faim déjà catastrophiques », 14 mai 2024 (https://news.un.org/fr/story/2024/05/1145546) ; IPC ACUTE FOOD INSECURITY ANALYSIS, 15 FEBRUARY - 15 JULY 2024, 18 March 2024 (https://www.ipcinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ipcinfo/docs/IPC_Gaza_Strip_Acute_Food_Insecurity_Feb_July2024_Special_Brief.pdf); Déclarations de Cindy McCain, Directrice exécutive du Programme alimentaire mondial, 4 mai 2024 (CNN :https://edition.cnn.com/2024/05/05/middleeast/gaza-famine-world-food-programme-intl-hnk/index.html ; AP News : https://apnews.com/article/gaza-famine-world-food-program-israel-hamas-war-476941bf2dc259f85a706408b2a665ff). [7] RTS, A la une, nouvelles en continu (https://www.rts.ch/info/dossiers/2023/guerre-entre-israel-et-le-hamas/) [8] « L’armée israélienne a déployé des chars dans Rafah et pris le contrôle de passage frontalier avec l’Egypte », RTS, 7 mai 2024 (https://www.rts.ch/info/dossiers/2023/guerre-entre-israel-et-le-hamas/2024/minute-par-minute/l-armee-israelienne-a-deploye-des-chars-dans-rafah-et-pris-le-controle-du-passage-frontalier-avec-l-egypte-28494575.html) [9] RTS, A la une, nouvelles en continu (https://www.rts.ch/info/dossiers/2023/guerre-entre-israel-et-le-hamas/2024/minute-par-minute/la-jetee-americaine-a-gaza-endommagee-l-aide-humanitaire-est-suspendue-28518680.html) [10] Déclarations d’Antonio Guterres, Conférence de presse du 28 mai 2024 (https://media.un.org/unifeed/en/asset/d321/d3212245), Déclarations d’Antonio Guterres au Sommet de la Ligue des États arabes, 16 mai 2024 (https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/speeches/2024-05-16/secretary-generals-remarks-the-summit-of-the-league-of-arab-states) [11] Francesca Albanese, « Anatomy of a Genocide – Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory a since 1967 to Human Rights Council, 25 mars 2024, (https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/anatomy-genocide-report-special-rapporteur-situation-human-rights-palestinian-territories-occupied-1967-francesca-albanese-ahrc5573-advance-unedited-version). [12] Conférence de presse du CDH : Rapporteuse spéciale sur le droit à la santé sur la situation sanitaire à Gaza, 22 avril 2024 (https://www.unognewsroom.org/teleprompter/fr/2146/conference-de-presse-du-cdh-rapporteuse-speciale-sur-le-droit-a-la-sante-sur-la-situation-sanitaire-a-gaza-22-avril-2024). [13] Communiqué de presse, « Gaza : le Comité des droits de l’enfant demande l’arrêt immédiat de la guerre afin d’éviter que les enfants ne meurent d’une famine imminente », 21 mars 2024 (https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/03/gaza-halt-war-now-save-children-dying-imminent-famine-un-committee-warns). [14] OMS, « Conflit en Israël et dans le Territoire palestinien occupé » (https://www.who.int/fr/emergencies/situations/conflict-in-Israel-and-oPt); OMS, « Gaza hostilities 2023 / 2024 – Emergency Situation Reports, No 30 du 8 mai 2024.  (https://www.emro.who.int/opt/information-resources/emergency-situation-reports.html). [15] UNICEF, « En un mois, la malnutrition aiguë a doublé dans le nord de la bande de Gaza », 18 mars 2024 (https://www.unicef.ch/fr/actualites/nouvelles/2024-03-18/en-un-mois-la-malnutrition-aigue-double-dans-le-nord-de-la-bande-de); [16] PAM, « Urgence : Etat de Palestine » (https://fr.wfp.org/urgences/urgence-palestine) [17] Amnesty International, « Gaza ne peut plus attendre le cessez-le-feu et l’aide-humanitaire », 6 avril 2024 (https://www.amnesty.ch/fr/pays/moyen-orient-afrique-du-nord/israel-et-territoires-occupes/docs/2024/manifestation-gaza-ne-peut-plus-attendre-le-cessez-le-feu-et-l-aide-humanitaire) ; https://www.amnesty.org/fr/search/gaza/. [18] Human Rights Watch, « Israël : La famine utilisée comme arme de guerre à Gaza », 6 avril 2024, (https://www.hrw.org/fr/news/2023/12/18/israel-la-famine-utilisee-comme-arme-de-guerre-gaza); Israeli Forces’ Conduct in Gaza, Human Rights Watch and Oxfam Submission to Biden Administration’s NSM-20 Process (https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/03/19/israeli-forces-conduct-gaza) [19] OXFAM, “Half a million civilians caught in northern Gaza “siege within a siege!”. 3 novembre 2023, (https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/half-million-civilians-caught-northern-gaza-siege-within-siege-oxfam). [20] Groupe d’examen indépendant s’agissant de l’UNRWA, Independent Review of Mechanisms and Procedures to Ensure Adherence by UNRWA to the Humanitarian Principle of Neutrality (20 avril 2024), pp 4 – 5. [21] RTS, “La Suisse versera finalement 10 millions de francs à l’UNRWA », 8 mai 2024, (https://www.rts.ch/info/suisse/2024/article/la-suisse-versera-finalement-10-millions-de-francs-a-l-unrwa-28496248.html). [22] Cf. NBP No 9. [23] RTS, “La CPI demande un mandat d’arrêt contre Benhamin Netanyahu et des dirigeants du Hamas pour crimes de guerre », 21 mai 2024 (https://www.rts.ch/info/monde/2024/article/la-cpi-demande-un-mandat-d-arret-contre-benjamin-netanyahu-et-des-dirigeants-du-hamas-pour-crimes-de-guerre-28508986.html) [24] Ordonnance du 24 mai 2024 de la CIJ (https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240524-ord-01-00-fr.pdf) [25] Conséquences juridiques de l’édification d’un mur dans le territoire palestinien occupé, avis consultatif, C.I.J. Recueil 2004 (I), p. 199-200, par. 158 [26] Application de la convention pour la prévention et la répression du crime de génocide (Bosnie-Herzégovine c. Serbie-et-Monténégro), arrêt, C.I.J. Recueil 2007 (I), p. 221-222, par. 430-431)


For the petition committee, Milena Peeva, Bénédict De Moerloose, Emma Lidén and Damien Scalia    Contact the author of the petition