Peter Kenny
04 April 2025•Update: 04 April 2025
GENEVA
More nations must join the Hague Group, a bloc of states coordinating efforts to ensure accountability for Israeli breaches of international law and uphold decisions by the international judicial bodies, said a group of independent human rights experts.
A statement from the experts came on Thursday before the Human Rights Council concluded its session on April 4, calling for upholding decisions by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The Hague Group was established on Jan. 31, “creating a historic precedent demonstrating how nations can unite to avert the tangible risk of erosion of the international legal system, the rule of law, and the protection of all human rights,” according to the experts.
They said the system is endangered by the general inaction of the international community “in the face of the most egregious violations of international law perpetrated by the State of Israel.”
“At this historical crossroads, protecting the international human rights system requires decisive, principled, and concerted action,” the experts said.
“If States fail to act, the multilateral system will be set back decades,” they added.
Violations
The experts said that since the “creation of the State of Israel, violations of international law and lack of accountability have been the norm rather than the exception.”
“Israel’s assault against the Palestinian people, the United Nations and basic tenets of international law, undermines the foundations of the multilateral order,” they added.
In its July 2024 Advisory Opinion, the ICJ clarified that "the inalienable right to self-determination of the Palestinian people should be realized through total and unconditional withdrawal of Israel’s presence from the occupied territories, not subject to negotiation," the experts noted.
“It is regrettable that eight months after the ICJ Advisory Opinion, most States continue to ignore their obligations – this may render them complicit with internationally wrongful acts as the court concluded,” they said.
The experts welcomed efforts by some countries since October 2023 to protect human rights and preserve multilateralism, most notably the case filed by South Africa and Nicaragua at the ICJ with third States joining proceedings.
The experts also cited referrals on the situation of Palestine to the ICC by South Africa, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros, Djibouti, Chile, and Mexico.
They also cited the backing of the arrest warrants issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024.
In addition, the experts noted the recognition of Palestinian statehood by some States: Armenia, Bahamas, Barbados, Ireland, Jamaica, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, and Trinidad and Tobago.
“So much more remains to be done by policymakers,” they said.
The founding members of the Hague Group were Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, Senegal, and South Africa. According to experts, these states have committed to implementing the ICJ provisional measures in the case of South Africa v. Israel and complying with the ICC arrest warrants of November 2024.
