Lebanon-Israel deal may stop war crime victims seeking justice, experts say
✓A new agreement between Lebanon and Israel could block victims of Israeli war crimes in Lebanon from pursuing accountability and hinder future efforts to give the international criminal court jurisdiction in the country, legal experts have said.
Lebanon and Israel signed a 14-point framework agreement in Washington on Friday designed to work towards an end to fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
Article 13 of the deal says Israel and Lebanon will “cease all hostile or negative actions in international political or legal forums” to establish good faith between the two sides.
The text, which is broadly phrased, could prevent victims of Israeli war crimes allegedly committed during fighting since 8 October 2023 from seeking justice through international or national courts.
Legal experts have also understood this to mean that Lebanon would not be able to grant the ICC jurisdiction in the country, which advocates have pushed for to prosecute Israel and its leaders for alleged war crimes.
“This will kill any hope of granting the ICC jurisdiction, even any hope of a UN fact-finding mission,” said Farouk al-Moghrabi, a former adviser to the ministry of human rights who helped draft a law to give the ICC jurisdiction in Lebanon. He said the law also would kill internal efforts to investigate and document crimes.
Nizar Saghieh, a lawyer and head of Legal Agenda, a Lebanese NGO, said: “The government is normalising the crime and waiving its rights to ensure any investigation or the prosecution of these crimes, or even to assist the victim in their search for justice.”
A spokesperson for the Lebanese presidency did not reply to a request for a comment.
The head of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, has rejected the agreement signed in Washington as a “humiliation”. The group has consistently called on the Lebanese government to stop direct negotiations with Israel.
Israel and Hezbollah have been fighting since 2023, when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel in solidarity with Hamas, triggering two Israeli invasions of southern Lebanon and widespread bombing campaigns. Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed more than 8,000 people, while Hezbollah attacks have killed dozens of Israeli soldiers and at least 49 civilians in Israel.
As part of its campaign in Lebanon, Israel has killed more than a dozen journalists, more than 300 emergency responders and hundreds of women and children.
Human rights experts have said Israel may have committed numerous war crimes in Lebanon, including the targeting of journalists on 13 October 2023, mass forcible displacement of hundreds of thousands of people and specific instances deliberately targeting civilians.
One of the avenues for accountability for victims of alleged Israeli war crimes in Lebanon has been petitioning the government to grant the ICC limited jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute on its territory.
The ICC issued arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the former defence minister, Yoav Gallant ,for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza. Israel and the US have undertaken an aggressive campaign against the ICC in response, including the US placing sanctions on ICC judges.
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The Lebanese government has so far not granted the ICC jurisdiction because of initial resistance from Hezbollah and potential US sanctions. Friday’s framework agreement would be another obstacle to accountability in the country.
Lebanon’s national human rights commission put out a statement commenting on the framework agreement, emphasising that no agreement should prevent victims from seeking justice.
“The commission emphasises that prosecuting perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and torture does not constitute an act of hostility or a political stance, but rather a legitimate exercise of the rights to justice,” the statement said.
The vague and broad nature of the framework agreement also made it uncertain what would be considered a “hostile or negative action”, it said.
The office of the UN high commissioner for human rights recently arrived in Lebanon for a fact-finding mission on possible war crimes committed during the last war. It is unclear whether such work will be prohibited under the new agreement.
“The fact that this is happening after all of these crimes, this is normalisation of the crimes and ensuring some kind of impunity to Israel,” Saghieh said.
Read the full story at Al Jazeera ↗ · The Guardian ↗
Lebanon and Israel signed a ceasefire framework agreement designed to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The agreement's Article 13 requires both sides to cease hostile actions in international legal forums. Legal experts have interpreted this language as potentially blocking victims of alleged Israeli war crimes from pursuing justice through courts or granting the ICC jurisdiction to investigate crimes in Lebanese territory. The agreement uses broad language that creates ambiguity about what actions would be considered violations. Lebanese human rights bodies have stated that prosecuting war crimes should not be classified as hostile action. An ongoing UN fact-finding mission on alleged war crimes is underway, and it remains unclear whether the agreement would restrict such investigations.
Read the full story at Al Jazeera ↗ · The Guardian ↗
A new agreement between Lebanon and Israel could block victims of Israeli war crimes in Lebanon from pursuing accountability and hinder future efforts to give the international criminal court jurisdiction in the country, legal experts have said.
Lebanon and Israel signed a 14-point framework agreement in Washington on Friday designed to work towards an end to fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
Article 13 of the deal says Israel and Lebanon will “cease all hostile or negative actions in international political or legal forums” to establish good faith between the two sides.
The text, which is broadly phrased, could prevent victims of Israeli war crimes allegedly committed during fighting since 8 October 2023 from seeking justice through international or national courts.
Legal experts have also understood this to mean that Lebanon would not be able to grant the ICC jurisdiction in the country, which advocates have pushed for to prosecute Israel and its leaders for alleged war crimes.
“This will kill any hope of granting the ICC jurisdiction, even any hope of a UN fact-finding mission,” said Farouk al-Moghrabi, a former adviser to the ministry of human rights who helped draft a law to give the ICC jurisdiction in Lebanon. He said the law also would kill internal efforts to investigate and document crimes.
Nizar Saghieh, a lawyer and head of Legal Agenda, a Lebanese NGO, said: “The government is normalising the crime and waiving its rights to ensure any investigation or the prosecution of these crimes, or even to assist the victim in their search for justice.”
A spokesperson for the Lebanese presidency did not reply to a request for a comment.
The head of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, has rejected the agreement signed in Washington as a “humiliation”. The group has consistently called on the Lebanese government to stop direct negotiations with Israel.
Israel and Hezbollah have been fighting since 2023, when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel in solidarity with Hamas, triggering two Israeli invasions of southern Lebanon and widespread bombing campaigns. Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed more than 8,000 people, while Hezbollah attacks have killed dozens of Israeli soldiers and at least 49 civilians in Israel.
As part of its campaign in Lebanon, Israel has killed more than a dozen journalists, more than 300 emergency responders and hundreds of women and children.
Human rights experts have said Israel may have committed numerous war crimes in Lebanon, including the targeting of journalists on 13 October 2023, mass forcible displacement of hundreds of thousands of people and specific instances deliberately targeting civilians.
One of the avenues for accountability for victims of alleged Israeli war crimes in Lebanon has been petitioning the government to grant the ICC limited jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute on its territory.
The ICC issued arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the former defence minister, Yoav Gallant ,for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza. Israel and the US have undertaken an aggressive campaign against the ICC in response, including the US placing sanctions on ICC judges.
after newsletter promotion
The Lebanese government has so far not granted the ICC jurisdiction because of initial resistance from Hezbollah and potential US sanctions. Friday’s framework agreement would be another obstacle to accountability in the country.
Lebanon’s national human rights commission put out a statement commenting on the framework agreement, emphasising that no agreement should prevent victims from seeking justice.
“The commission emphasises that prosecuting perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and torture does not constitute an act of hostility or a political stance, but rather a legitimate exercise of the rights to justice,” the statement said.
The vague and broad nature of the framework agreement also made it uncertain what would be considered a “hostile or negative action”, it said.
The office of the UN high commissioner for human rights recently arrived in Lebanon for a fact-finding mission on possible war crimes committed during the last war. It is unclear whether such work will be prohibited under the new agreement.
“The fact that this is happening after all of these crimes, this is normalisation of the crimes and ensuring some kind of impunity to Israel,” Saghieh said.
Read the full story at Al Jazeera ↗ · The Guardian ↗
Lebanon and Israel signed a 14-point framework agreement in Washington on Friday designed to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Article 13 of the agreement requires Israel and Lebanon to 'cease all hostile or negative actions in international political or legal forums' to establish good faith. Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed more than 8,000 people since 2023; Hezbollah attacks have killed dozens of Israeli soldiers and at least 49 Israeli civilians. The agreement's language could prevent war crime victims from seeking justice through international or national courts. Legal experts understand the agreement to mean Lebanon cannot grant the ICC jurisdiction in the country. Human rights experts have said Israel may have committed numerous war crimes in Lebanon, including targeting journalists, mass forced displacement, and deliberate targeting of civilians. Lebanon's national human rights commission stated that prosecuting perpetrators of war crimes does not constitute hostile action but rather a legitimate exercise of rights to justice.
Read the full story at Al Jazeera ↗ · The Guardian ↗
- Lebanon and Israel signed a 14-point ceasefire framework agreement on Friday that includes language requiring both sides to 'cease all hostile or negative actions in international political or legal forums'
- Legal experts warn Article 13 of the agreement could prevent war crime victims from pursuing accountability through international or national courts and block Lebanon from granting the International Criminal Court jurisdiction
- The vague phrasing creates uncertainty about what constitutes 'hostile' action, potentially affecting ongoing UN fact-finding missions and internal investigations into alleged Israeli war crimes since October 2023