Palestinians
could pursue war crimes charges without full statehood: ICC prosecutor
By
Olivia Ward, Sep 28 2011
ICC
chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo says if Palestine becomese a
non-member observer state at the UN, it could be eligible to pursue
claims against Israel even without full statehood.
It’s
that of Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court
— the body Israel has long feared would take up Palestinian allegations of war
crimes if its statehood bid is successful.
A
few blocks away from the UN this week, the man at the centre of the controversy
said if Palestine becomes a member state, or a lower-ranked non-member observer
state, it could be eligible to pursue claims against Israel.
Moreno-Ocampo
has scrutinized the issue of the Palestinians’ claims for two years, since
they filed a declaration giving jurisdiction to the court for acts
committed on their territory.
Sources
inside the 15-member (UNSC) council say it’s likely to be bogged down there, as
the U.S. and other members of the Quartet mediating Middle East peace pressure
the Palestinians to go back to the bargaining table with Israel.
Nor
is it clear whether a newly admitted state could press claims on actions that
happened before it gained its new status — such as the 2008-09 Gaza war in
which more than 1,200 Palestinians and 13 Israelis died. (retrospective under art.11.(2)
?)
Dapper,
determined and never at a loss for words, Argentine Moreno-Ocampo has fielded
brickbats from all sides of the political spectrum, with accusations
that he has impeded peace in Sudan by issuing an arrest warrant for
President Omar al-Bashir, and that warrants for more than 20 other suspects
have brought few results. He has been criticized for raising unrealistic
expectations.
With
just nine months to wind up his work, Moreno-Ocampo believes his legacy is in
building the fledgling court.
The
Tone-Deaf ICC Prosecutor, by Kevin Jon Heller , Sep 29th, 2011
Moreno-Ocampo
has always had the reputation of being more politically savvy than legally
savvy. Frankly, he seems completely politically tone-deaf to me.
Witness his recent comments on the
implications of a possible UN General Assembly decision to give Palestine
“observer state” status:
I
am completely in favor of the General Assembly granting the Palestinians
observer-state status, and there is no question that such a decision would
strengthen the legal case for the OTP recognizing the Palestinians’ declaration
accepting the ICC’s jurisdiction.
But I cannot
imagine why Moreno-Ocampo chose to offer his opinion on that issue now — just as debate
over the Palestinian’s request for full membership in the UN is getting underway.
After
all, Israel and the U.S. have made clear that fear of an ICC investigation of
the situation in Gaza is one of the primary reasons they oppose observer-state status,
much less full membership, for the Palestinians. Neither Israel nor the
U.S. has the ability to block a General Assembly decision to that effect.
But they can certainly make that decision more difficult and costly for
various states. So wouldn’t it have made more sense for Moreno-Ocampo to
say nothing until after the
General Assembly resolved the Palestinian issue? By tipping his hand so
overtly, all he’s done is make the Palestinians’ road to self-determination
that much more difficult.
June
2012 cannot come soon enough.
