New York: Europe and the Arabs
More than 30 independent UN experts said that any transfer of weapons or ammunition to Israel, for use in Gaza, would likely violate international humanitarian law and should stop immediately. They stated that such transfers of weapons and ammunition are prohibited even if the exporting State does not intend for the weapons to be used in violation of the law or knows with certainty that they will be used in such a way, as long as there is a clear risk of doing so.
In a press statement, the experts said that all states must ensure respect for international humanitarian law by parties to armed conflict under the 1949 Geneva Conventions and customary international law. Therefore, the experts said, states should refrain from transferring any weapons, ammunition or spare parts if it is expected - given the facts and past patterns of conduct - that they will be used to violate international law.
Experts welcomed a decision by the Dutch Court of Appeal on February 12 ordering the Netherlands to stop exporting F-35 warplane parts to Israel. The court found that there was a clear risk that these parts would be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law, given that there were many indications that Israel had violated the humanitarian law of war in quite a number of cases, as stated in the experts’ statement.
Experts also welcomed the suspension of arms transfers to Israel from Belgium, Italy, Spain and the Japanese company Itochu. The experts urged countries to immediately halt arms transfers to Israel, including export licenses and military aid. They said that the United States of America and Germany are the largest arms exporters, and that shipments have increased since October 7. Other exporters include France, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.
The statement stated that more than 29,313 Palestinians have been killed and 69,333 injured in Gaza since October 7, the majority of whom are women and children. Experts said that Israel has repeatedly failed to comply with international law.
The independent United Nations experts said that states parties to the Arms Trade Treaty have additional obligations under the treaty that require them to refuse to export weapons if they know that they will be used to commit international crimes or if there is a high risk that those weapons may be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law.
The experts stated that "the need to impose an arms embargo on Israel was reinforced by the ruling issued by the International Court of Justice on January 26 regarding the existence of a reasonable risk of genocide in Gaza and the serious harm to civilians that has continued since that time."
They pointed out that the 1948 Genocide Convention requires states parties to use all means reasonably available to them to prevent the commission of genocide in another country as much as possible. They said that this requires stopping arms exports under the current circumstances.
The UN experts noted that the transfer of weapons to Hamas and other armed groups is also prohibited under international law, given their serious violations of international humanitarian law on October 7, including the taking of hostages and the subsequent indiscriminate firing of rockets.
According to experts, the duty to ensure respect for humanitarian law applies in all circumstances, including when “Israel claims to be combating terrorism.”
The experts said: “State officials involved in arms exports may be individually criminally liable for aiding and abetting the commission of any war crimes, crimes against humanity or acts of genocide.” Under the principle of universal jurisdiction and the International Criminal Court, all states may be able to investigate such crimes and prosecute their perpetrators, according to human rights experts.
It is noteworthy that special rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Human Rights Council in Geneva, which is an intergovernmental body responsible for promoting and protecting human rights around the world. Rapporteurs and experts are tasked with studying human rights situations and submitting reports on them to the Human Rights Council. It should be noted that this position is honorary, and these experts are not considered employees of the United Nations and do not receive compensation for their work.