The announcement by several countries to suspend their disbursement of funds to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNWRA) violates the ruling of the International Court of Justice, and could even violate the international convention on genocide, said an independent UN expert on Sunday. Francesca Albanese, United Nations special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, recalled that the ICJ had ordered to “allow effective humanitarian aid” for the inhabitants of Gaza.
This decision by several countries therefore amounts to “openly disobeying the order of the ICJ”. “This is a decision that will result in legal liabilities – or else see the end of the international justice system,” she wrote on X.
“Collectively punish millions of Palestinians”
Francesca Albanese, who is an independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but does not speak on behalf of the UN, highlighted the very rapid sequence of events concerning the UNWRA. “The day after the International Court of Justice concluded that Israel may be committing genocide, some countries decide to stop funding the UNRWA, collectively punishing millions of Palestinians at a particularly “critical, and thus likely violating their obligations under the Genocide Convention,” she said, in a separate post also on X.
The International Court of Justice on Friday called on Israel to prevent possible acts of “genocide” and to “take immediate measures” to enable the provision of “humanitarian aid urgently needed by the Palestinians” in the Strip. from Gaza. Shortly after this announcement, Israel accused several UNWRA employees of participating in the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel. The United States immediately responded by announcing that it was ceasing funding to UNWRA, and was subsequently followed by a number of countries, including Germany, Australia, Italy, Finland and the United States. United Kingdom.
UNRWA, for its part, immediately reacted to the Israeli accusations by dismissing the people involved and promising a thorough investigation and, if this participation was proven, legal proceedings, but Israel nevertheless announced its decision to ban the agency to continue working in Gaza after the war.
Hamas’ surprise attack in Israel left around 1,140 dead, mostly civilians, and 250 people taken hostage. The military offensive against Hamas subsequently launched by Israel in the Gaza Strip left more than 26,000 dead, mainly civilians, according to figures given by the Gaza Health Ministry, controlled by Hamas, which rules the territory.