International Legal News - 17 February 2025
- Feb 17, 2025
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 18, 2025
The following media round up on international and foreign policy issues from around the world for the period of 10 February to 16 February 2025. Guernica 37 will provide weekly media updates from the International Criminal Court, European Court of Human Rights, United Nations, European Union and other sources. Should you wish to contribute or submit a media summary, opinion piece or blog, please send to Ned Vucijak at nenadv@guernica37.com for consideration.
Guernica 37 International Legal News
14 February 2025
The OHCHR condemns continuing Israeli military operation in West Bank
The OHCHR condemned the intensifying Israeli military operation in the northern West Bank, warning that nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been displaced already amid an “alarming wave” of violence and destruction. Many of those killed were unarmed and posed no imminent threat, said the OHCHR, calling the killings “part of an expanding pattern of Israel’s unlawful use of force in the West Bank where there are no active hostilities.”
The OHCHR also highlighted an unprecedented scale of mass displacement not seen in decades in the occupied West Bank. It cited reports from displaced residents of a pattern where they were led out of their homes by Israeli security forces and drones under the threat of violence.
14 February 2025
38th African Union Summit: Sudan and DRC are top on the agenda, along with renewed focus on reparations
African leaders are set to gather in Addis Ababa for the 38th African Union Summit. The conflict in Sudan, which has created the worst humanitarian crisis in the world according to the AU, is expected to overshadow deliberations. An estimated 12 million people have been displaced, and hundreds of thousands of children are now suffering malnourishment as a result of the war, according to the AU as well as the UN. While the Sudanese army controls the east and the north of the country, the RSF has made gains across most of the Darfur region, which already is in a dire state after the civil war ended five years ago, which cost 300,000 lives, according to UN estimates.
At the same time, the conflict in DR Congo, where M23 rebels captured Goma, the capital of the North Kivu province, in late January, is also a key talking point at the summit. The violence in the region has resulted in the deaths of more than 2,700 people. Independent observers say that number could be much higher. As violence continues to surge in eastern Congo, the displacement of civilians also grows, with over 7 million people having to flee their homes across the country, including close to 3 million in North Kivu alone.
Another major theme for this summit will be a renewed focus on reparatory justice and racial healing in Africa. Leaders attending the AU event are expected to reflect on “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations,” which is the theme of the 2025 summit. In a statement, the African Union said, “the scope of this conversation goes beyond historical injustices and into the current fabric of societies around the world.”
13 February 2025
Azerbaijan files claim against Armenia before the Permanent Court of Arbitration for environmental damage
Azerbaijan has filed a claim against Armenia in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague over what it says is evidence of extensive environmental destruction in areas of Azerbaijan once controlled by Yerevan. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that Armenia had engaged in "widespread deforestation, environmentally unsustainable logging, mining, and construction of hydropower plants" in regions Baku retook from Armenia following a series of wars stretching back to the late 1980s. Azerbaijan’s claim accuses Armenia of violating the 1979 Berne Convention, an international treaty protecting nature areas in Europe and some parts of Africa.
According to Armenia’s representative for international and legal affairs, Yeghishe Kirakosyan, this is not a new claim. Azerbaijan initially filed a preliminary complaint in 2023 and has now submitted its main documents to the court. He stated that Armenia will vigorously defend its position in the proceedings and refute Azerbaijan’s baseless claims, including demands for compensation.
13 February 2025
US sanctions the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan
The US Treasury Department officially sanctioned Karim Khan, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, over the court’s investigation of alleged Israeli war crimes against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the issuing of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials.
The sanctions on Khan include asset freezes in the US, a ban on American citizens engaging in commercial dealings with him, and a travel ban to the United States, as is customary in cases where individuals are added to the US Treasury Department's sanctions list. These measures could also affect his immediate family. The executive order also prohibits donations or assistance in any way to help Khan circumvent the sanctions, as anyone involved would face sanctions themselves.
12 February 2025
Munich Security Conference: Amnesty International’s Secretary General calls on States to resist attacks on human rights protections
Agnès Callamard has called on world leaders and senior officials to resolutely come together to resist attacks on human rights and the global multilateral architecture and avoid further harm to human rights protections and the rules-based order. “The past 12 months have laid bare precisely how hellish the world can be when states don’t apply universal standards and insist that international law and multilateral decisions do not apply to their actions. Consider Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, the conflict still raging in Sudan, the worsening catastrophe in Myanmar, and the recent uptick in fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” Agnès Callamard said.
“Following the long overdue ceasefire in Gaza and the transition of power in Syria, the question turns to how lasting peace and justice can be achieved in such contexts. States must commit their full support to bodies like the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court in their efforts to uphold the law, as failure to hold perpetrators accountable will only embolden other aggressors and fuel further cycles of violence and destruction.”
10 February 2025
UN experts condemn US sanctions against ICC staff and affiliates
The Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, and the Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order condemned an executive order by US President Donald Trump authorising sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC), including asset freezes and travel restrictions on staff and affiliates.
The experts stated that the order violates the rule of law, obstructs justice for victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity and weakens the ICC’s ability to hold perpetrators accountable. They claimed that by punishing ICC personnel, the US is effectively empowering war criminals and obstructing global accountability efforts. Their joint statement accused Trump of undermining “the ‘never again’ legacy of Nuremberg.”
The experts also stressed that “[j]ustice must apply equally to all,” without exception and attempts to intimidate ICC officials violate the Rome Statute. Article 70 of the Rome Statute prohibits “efforts to impede or intimidate an official of the Court or to retaliate against an official of the Court on account of duties performed by that official.” The article also extends the court’s jurisdiction over such offenses. The US is not a signatory to the Rome Statute and rejects ICC jurisdiction.
