The ceasefire is a humanitarian need and unless international communities repeatedly urge Israel and Russia to ceasefire, it will result in a gross violation of human values.
Authors
Abhinav Mehrotra, Assistant Professor, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
Biswanath Gupta, Associate Professor, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
Summary
In recent times there have been two armed conflicts that forced us to revisit the fundamentals of international law, these are the Ukraine and Gaza conflicts. Both these conflicts have seen rampant violations of international law. The illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories has been one of the most shocking incidents affecting the world order since World War II ended. It sets a dangerous precedent for all independent nations formerly part of big empires from asserting their own identity as sovereign nations as per international and domestic norms.
International law is dealing with the unique challenge posed by Russia’s defiant behaviour including the acts of claiming exclusive rights and privileges; the need to claim a higher position in the international social hierarchy due to diminished reputation and importance, relative to other nations; and a belief that all these actions are necessary for national prestige, security and wealth. On the other hand, in the Israel Hamas Conflict, it has witnessed numerous violations of international law.
Hamas is an Islamist militant movement which was created due to the fact that a group of Palestinians in Gaza believed the Palestinian Authority to be seeking compromise and is often criticised as being ineffective, whereas a violent extremist group in Hamas was dedicated to Israel’s total destruction. It’s act of taking hostages, in particular, violates Article 8 of the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court (ICC). The total seige of Gaza with electricity, food, and water prohibited is resulting in collective punishment being awarded to all residents of Gaza which is also illegal in international law.
Published in: The Geopolitics
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