Hundreds of prominent European and American figures signed a communication submitted to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court accusing the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, of complicity in a number of violations of international humanitarian law that rise to the level of crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court.

The "Group of Jurists for the Respect of International Obligations" in France and the "Geneva International Peace Research Institute" published a joint document consisting of 27 pages - a copy of which was obtained by Al-Jazeera Net - revealing the provision of facts and evidence about "reasonable reasons" to believe that the unconditional support provided by German citizenship Ursula von der Leyen for Israel enabled it to commit war crimes and ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip.

The legal memorandum, submitted pursuant to Article 15 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, also calls on Prosecutor Karim Khan to initiate investigations on his own initiative on the basis of the information and facts provided against the President of the European Commission.

Unconditional support

The communication contains a set of quotes from von der Leyen's previous statements, which - according to the signatories - can be considered to meet all the criteria for "complicity", namely aiding or abetting in any way to commit or attempt to commit crimes against humanity and genocide, which she continues to commit. Israeli forces in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Commenting on this official request, international law expert Jean-Pierre Dupin explained that the file was supported by a group of documents to the Public Prosecutor’s Office to open an investigation.

Dupin pointed out that "the President of the European Commission and Western leaders are the most engaged and determined to provide any form of unconditional support to Israel since October 7th. Von der Leyen is at the top of the leaders who have shown the greatest amount of military, economic and financial support."

He added in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, "We referred in the text of the lawsuit to the Association Agreement between Israel and the European Union dating back to 2001, which stipulates the possibility of questioning it or suspending it in the event of a human rights violation because the agreement is conditional on respecting this clause, because there is a very thin line between the criminal and The direct person who kills and the partner in the crime.

Dupin continued, saying, "On the other hand, the President of the European Commission not only refused to suspend the agreement, but she has negotiated new international agreements since the Al-Aqsa Flood operation. So, we are facing huge economic and financial support, given that the European Union is one of Tel Aviv's most important economic partners."

It is noteworthy that von der Leyen was the Minister of Defense of Germany before assuming the presidency of the European Commission. In this context, Berlin has been documented to export a large proportion of weapons to Israel in 2023.

Diplomatic collusion

After the Al-Aqsa flood attack on October 7, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Western leaders to guarantee Israel's freedom of action in its response to Palestinian resistance attacks. Von der Leyen is considered one of those who quickly responded to this call under the guise of "self-defense."

In an analysis of this collusion, Alfred Maurice de Zayas, professor at the Geneva School of Diplomacy, independent expert and former rapporteur on the international system at the United Nations, praised the strength of the file submitted to the International Criminal Court.

He attributed this "because the 1948 Genocide Convention talks about complicity, and that means support that is military, economic, diplomatic, propaganda, and even what we call hatred." He described the statements of von der Leyen and several European Union officials as a "defense of genocide."

American professor Zayas believes that the European Commission “has a kind of explicit public relations activity, not only in favor of Israel, but also in favor of all ideas that have been called “neo-colonialism.” And “Israel is a colonial state that occupied purely Palestinian land and gradually caused ethnic genocide.” For the people of Palestine.”

For his part, French lawyer Dupin described this as “moral and political support” because “the crimes committed against the Palestinian people would not have occurred - at least this horrific - if Tel Aviv had not been given the green light.”

“Even if everyone believes that the influence and support of the United States is the most decisive, the power of Europe must not be denied, which still has great weight on the international scene,” Dupin estimated.

In light of Israel's refusal to comply with international law and the orders of international courts, the former United Nations rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, Richard Falk, believes, in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, that one of the roles of international courts is to raise awareness of civil society. It seems that people's interest in history and morals has a more effective impact than the institutions and governments of sovereign states that have failed to protect the Palestinian people and fulfill their obligations to prevent war.

In light of Israel's refusal to comply with international law and the orders of international courts, the former United Nations rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, Richard Falk, believes, in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, that one of the roles of international courts is to raise awareness of civil society. It seems that people's interest in history and morals has a more effective impact than the institutions and governments of sovereign states that have failed to protect the Palestinian people and fulfill their obligations to prevent war.

Functional override

While the positions of the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, were described as “the most balanced” in the current conflict, the signatories of the legal memorandum find that von der Leyen interfered in Borrell’s duties to impose her agenda in support of Israel.

In this context, Morris, a professor at the Geneva School of Diplomacy, pointed out, “The President of the European Commission speaks on behalf of the European Union on the basis of fake news and focuses on the October 7 attack, ignoring that the illegal siege of the Gaza Strip began in 2007. Therefore, we must not turn a blind eye to The right of this people to defend themselves and violations of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949.”

Morris stressed that "thanks to Al Jazeera and other media that publish verified news, awareness is spreading among the general public to shed light on the issue of complicity in genocide."

Emphasizing the fact that von der Leyen went beyond her assigned duties as Commission President, Dupin explained that “her position does not entitle her to responsibility for the EU’s foreign policy because these tasks fall within the remit of Borrell, who immediately warned of Israel’s violations of international humanitarian law and condemned them very early on, as He went so far as to ask about stopping the delivery of weapons to Israel.”

In turn, former rapporteur Richard Falk believes that the failure of institutions and governments to protect the rights of Palestinians provided “the opportunity and responsibility to act for civil society to exercise its influence and challenge what their governments are doing,” describing the confusion that Tel Aviv has been experiencing in the recent period as “the most self-destructive act” that Israel has taken. Throughout its entire history, it finds itself today “a rogue, outcast, and most rejected state in modern history.”

It is expected that the International Criminal Court will summon von der Leyen to justify its position, and then the decision will return to the court’s prosecutor to announce the order to open an investigation or not.

Source: Al Jazeera