Legal action possible against US, Germany as they provide 99% of Israel's weapons: UN rapporteur

GENEVA

The UN special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism said that legal action could be taken against the US and Germany as they provide 99% of Israel’s weapons.

Noting that there are a "very small number" of countries that currently supply arms to Israel, Ben Saul told Anadolu that about 69% of arms and ammunition to Israel are supplied by the US, and about 30% by Germany.

"Every country has a duty under international law to ensure that they do not supply weapons to another country where those weapons would be used to commit violations of international humanitarian law," he stated.

The UN rapporteur added that these are obligations arising from the 1949 Geneva Conventions to ensure that other countries respect international humanitarian law.

Saul noted that the US and Germany play a critical role in keeping Israel's “war machine” running, as they are the two countries with the most influence to prevent Israeli violations and fulfill the majority of the international community's demand for an immediate cease-fire.

Describing the crisis in Gaza as “unprecedented in terms of the level of violence and the extent of destruction that has occurred in such a short space of time," Saul added that the humanitarian situation continues to be "catastrophic."

He also added that Israel is trying to dismantle humanitarian work in Gaza by attacking the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, the main UN agency providing aid to Gaza.

US, Germany ‘not properly interpreting, fulfilling’ obligation

Stressing that "the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has warned of the risk of genocide in Gaza," and that the Genocide Convention obligates nations to prevent genocide, Saul said that this includes an obligation to refrain from supplying weapons that could contribute to such acts.

"There are lots of sources of international law and unfortunately it seems like the governments of the United States and Germany have not been properly interpreting and fulfilling their international legal obligations," he said.

Legal action can be taken against these countries under the law, in national or international courts, he added.

Noting that government officials may be criminally liable for making decisions to send weapons knowing that they would be used in violations of humanitarian law, Saul said: “I think the violations, war crimes by Israel are very well documented. They are notorious now.

"Many of the kinds of weapons that the US and Germany have been exporting are the kinds of weapons involved in those violations," he added.


He said countries can condemn such arms exports on an individual level through the UN General Assembly and impose unilateral sanctions on the responsible leaders of these countries, adding that financial, diplomatic and travel sanctions are well-known foreign policy tools when other countries violate international law.

“Governments in their bilateral discussions should make clear that it is completely unacceptable to continue to deliver weapons to Israel when it continues to behave as it has been doing," the official concluded.


Israel has continued a genocidal war on Gaza that has killed nearly 45,400 people, most of them women and children, since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.

Last month, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel is also facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.