Sometime between 1- 2 April 2024 the State of Israel stepped off the cliff and became a pariah state

 

Sometime between 1 & 2 April 2024 the State of Israel under the direction of the Likud Government did what it had done many times since 7 October 2023, it killed humanitarian aid workers during its war on the Palestinian population within the Gaza Strip.

This time it was six international aid workers with the food aid charity World Central Kitchen and their Palestinian translator. One of those killed was a Melbourne-born Australian citizen, Ms. Lalzawmi "Zomi" Frankcom. Sadly they joined the 176 United Nations aid workers killed since 7 October 2024.

After six months the Palestinian death toll stands at 33,091 civilians killed in ongoing Israeli Defence Force (IDF) attacks - including 13,000 children. With the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child confirming in March 2024 that 27 children have died of preventable starvation - though this number is thought to be a gross underestimation. There is no count possible of the men, women & children missing presumed dead under the rubble in this violent chaos.

This time the world surprised the Likud Government and its IDF - it did not bow down to an international bully and it no longer accepted that what has been occurring in occupied Gaza is a legitimate response by the Likud Government to the death of 1,200 Israelis in a terrorist incursion into Israel on 7 October 2023. 

So on 3 April in a public video statement the unrepentant Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to this rising outrage: "Unfortunately in the past day there was a tragic event in which our forces unintentionally harmed non-combatants in the Gaza Strip". However, he could not stop himself from further stating "This happens in wartime. We are thoroughly looking into it..."

Around forty-eight hours later on 5 April this statement was released:

April 5, 2024

Conclusion of the investigation of the General Staff Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism into the incident in which seven employees of the World Central Kitchen were killed during a humanitarian operation in the Gaza Strip

The investigation of the grave incident in which seven workers of the World Central Kitchen (WCK) were killed in the Gaza Strip as a result of IDF fire was carried out by the Joint Chiefs of Staff's Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism (FFAM), led by MG (res.) Yoav Har-Even, was presented yesterday (Thursday) to the IDF Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi.

After presenting the findings of the investigation to the Chief of the General Staff, MG (res.) Har-Even presented them to the WCK organization and reiterated the IDF’s deep sorrow about the incident. The findings were also presented in briefings to international ambassadors and journalists.

The event occurred on April 1, 2024, during an operation to transfer humanitarian aid from the WCK to the Gaza Strip. The investigation found that the forces identified a gunman on one of the aid trucks, following which they identified an additional gunman. After the vehicles left the warehouse where the aid had been unloaded, one of the commanders mistakenly assumed that the gunmen were located inside the accompanying vehicles and that these were Hamas terrorists. The forces did not identify the vehicles in question as being associated with WCK. Following a misidentification by the forces, the forces targeted the three WCK vehicles based on the misclassification of the event and misidentification of the vehicles as having Hamas operatives inside them, with the resulting strike leading to the deaths of seven innocent humanitarian aid workers. The strikes on the three vehicles were carried out in serious violation of the commands and IDF Standard Operating Procedures.

The investigation’s findings indicate that the incident should not have occurred. Those who approved the strike were convinced that they were targeting armed Hamas operatives and not WCK employees. The strike on the aid vehicles is a grave mistake stemming from a serious failure due to a mistaken identification, errors in decision-making, and an attack contrary to the Standard Operating Procedures.

After being presented with, and considering the investigation's findings, the IDF Chief of the General Staff decided that the following command measures will be taken: the brigade fire support commander, an officer with the rank of major, will be dismissed from his position. The brigade chief of staff, an officer with the rank of colonel in reserve, will be dismissed from his position. Additionally, the brigade commander and the 162nd Division commander will be formally reprimanded. The IDF Chief of Staff decided to formally reprimand the commander of the Southern Command for his overall responsibility for the incident.

The IDF takes seriously the grave incident that claimed the lives of seven innocent humanitarian aid workers. We express our deep sorrow for the loss and send our condolences to the families and the WCK organization. We consider the vital humanitarian activity of international aid organizations to be of utmost importance, and we will continue to work to coordinate and assist their activities, while ensuring their safety and safeguarding their lives.

The IDF once again emphasizes its commitment to fighting against the Hamas terrorist organization, while upholding the values of the IDF, the laws of war, and avoiding harming civilians. The IDF will learn the lessons of the incident and will incorporate them into the IDF's ongoing operations.

Again the world reacted in a way that the Likud Government had perhaps not anticipated. Many of its allies saw this statement as merely rapping the knuckles of the IDF soldiers involved and glibly moving on with its disproportionally destructive war aimed at ethnic cleansing in occupied Palestinian territory. 

On the same day the UN Human Rights Council issued this press release:

Human Rights Council Adopts Five Resolutions, including a Text Calling foran Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza, Urging States to Prevent theContinued Forcible Transfer of Palestinians Within or From Gaza, andCalling on States to Cease the Sale or Transfer of Arms to Israel

05 April 2024

The Human Rights Council this morning adopted five resolutions, including a text in which it demanded that Israel immediately lift its blockade on the Gaza Strip and all other forms of collective punishment, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The Council called upon all States to take immediate action to prevent the continued forcible transfer of Palestinians within or from Gaza, and to cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel.

The five resolutions concerned the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, realising the rights of the child and inclusive social protection, the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan, and Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan.

Concerning the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and the obligation to ensure accountability and justice, the Council adopted by a vote of 28 in favour, 6 against and 13 abstentions (as orally revised) a resolution in which it demanded that Israel, the occupying power, end its occupation of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem. The Council also demanded that Israel immediately lift its blockade on the Gaza Strip and all other forms of collective punishment, and called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The Council called upon all States to take immediate action to prevent the continued forcible transfer of Palestinians within or from Gaza. It called upon all States to cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel and requested the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel to report on both the direct and indirect transfer or sale of arms, munitions, parts, components and dual use items to Israel, the occupying power, and to present its report to the Council at its fifty-ninth session.  [my yellow highlighting]

The Council also requested the Office of the High Commissioner to deploy the additional necessary personnel, expertise and logistics to the occupied Palestinian territory country office to document and pursue accountability for violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law committed in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem. The Council requested the High Commissioner for Human Rights to report on the implementation of the present resolution to the Council at its fifty-eighth session, to be followed by an interactive dialogue.

As for the rights of the child: realising the rights of the child and inclusive social protection, the Council requested the High Commissioner to prepare a report on child rights mainstreaming across the United Nations, including on the implementation of the Guidance Note of the Secretary-General, and to present the report to the Council at its fifty-ninth session. It also requested the High Commissioner to prepare a report on the rights of the child and violations of the human rights of children in armed conflict and to present the report to the Human Rights Council at its sixtieth session. It requested the Office of the High Commissioner to organise the annual full-day meeting on the rights of the child in 2026 on the theme of the rights of the child and violations of the human rights of children in armed conflicts.

On the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, the Council adopted by a vote of 42 in favour, 2 against and 3 abstentions, a resolution in which it called upon Israel, the occupying power, to immediately end its occupation of the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and to reverse and redress any impediments to the political independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Palestine, and reaffirmed its support for the solution of two States, Palestine and Israel, living side by side in peace and security. The Council urged all States to adopt measures as required to promote the realisation of the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people and decided to remain seized of the matter.

Regarding human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan, adopted by a vote of 29 in favour, 14 against and 4 abstentions, the Council demanded that Israel immediately cease all settlement-related plans and activities in the occupied Syrian Golan and determined that all legislative and administrative measures and actions taken or to be taken by Israel that seek to alter the character and legal status of the occupied Syrian Golan are null and void. It requested the Secretary-General to disseminate the resolution as widely as possible and to report on this matter to the Council at its fifty-eighth session.

As for Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan, the Council adopted by a vote of 36 in favour, 3 against and 8 abstentions (as orally revised) a resolution in which it called upon Israel to comply with all its obligations under international law and to cease immediately all actions causing the alteration of the character, status and demographic composition of the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan, and to end without delay its occupation of the territories occupied since 1967. The Council requested the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel to prepare a report on the identities of settlers, as well as settler groups and their members, that have engaged in or continue to engage in acts of terror, violence or intimidation against Palestinian civilians and the actions taken by Israel and by third States, and to present the report to the Council at its fifty-ninth session.

The webcast of the Human Rights Council meetings can be found here. All meeting summaries can be found here. Documents and reports related to the Human Rights Council’s fifty-fifth regular session can be found here.....

Action on Resolution under Agenda Item Two on the Annual Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General

In a resolution (A/HRC/55/L.30) on the Human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and the obligation to ensure accountability and justice, adopted by a vote of 28 in favour, 6 against and 13 abstentions (as orally revised), the Council demands that Israel, the occupying power, end its occupation of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem; also demands that Israel immediately lift its blockade on the Gaza Strip and all other forms of collective punishment; calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, for immediate emergency humanitarian access and assistance, and for the urgent restoration of basic necessities to the Palestinian population in Gaza; calls upon all States to take immediate action to prevent the continued forcible transfer of Palestinians within or from Gaza; calls upon all States to cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel; urges all States to continue to provide emergency assistance to the Palestinian people and calls upon all States to ensure that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East receives predictable sustained and sufficient funding to fulfil its mandate; invites the General Assembly to recommend that the Government of Switzerland promptly convene the Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Convention on measures to enforce the Convention in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem; requests the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel to report on both the direct and indirect transfer or sale of arms, munitions, parts, components and dual use items to Israel, the occupying power, and to analyse the legal consequences of these transfers, and to present its report to the Council at its fifty-ninth session; requests the Secretary-General to ensure the availability of all additional resources, including through voluntary resources, necessary to enable the Commission of Inquiry to carry out its mandate; requests the Office of the High Commissioner to deploy the additional necessary personnel, expertise and logistics to the occupied Palestinian territory country office to document and pursue accountability for violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law committed in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem; and requests the High Commissioner for Human Rights to report on the implementation of the present resolution to the Council at its fifty-eighth session, to be followed by an interactive dialogue; and decides to remain seized of the matter.

The results of the vote are as follows:

In favour (28): Algeria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Burundi, Chile, China, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Eritrea, Finland, Gambia, Ghana, Honduras, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Morocco, Qatar, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, and Viet Nam.

Against (6): Argentina, Bulgaria, Germany, Malawi, Paraguay and United States.

Abstentions (13): Albania, Benin, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, France, Georgia, India, Japan, Lithuania, Montenegro, Netherlands, and Romania.

In Australia these words were penned in a small daily newsletter and a pithy cartoon drawn......

The Echidna, newsletter, 5 April 2024:

Israel on the brink of becoming a pariah state

Thursday April 4, 2024

John Hanscombe

Shit happens, especially in war. At least that's what Benjamin Netanyahu tells us with brute insensitivity while admitting the IDF was responsible for the strike that killed seven aid workers, including Australian Zomi Frankcom, in Gaza.

Any comfort for the families of the slain that may have come from the admission of responsibility evaporated with the caveat the Israeli PM appended to his wafer thin expression of remorse. But we shouldn't be surprised, nor should we be shocked.

Netanyahu has been making poor excuses for the abominable conduct of the war in Gaza for months now. Every hospital or school obliterated, every air strike that takes the lives and futures of Palestinians dug out of the rubble of their crowded homes has been rationalised as the unfortunate but necessary mechanics of war.

Whatever high moral ground Israel had after the October 7 Hamas atrocities has been abandoned. After months systematically levelling Gaza, claiming more than 30,000 lives in the process and ignoring pleas from the global community to exercise restraint, the country now teeters on the brink of becoming another pariah state. Just like those it routinely condemns.

Many Israelis know this. They're out on the streets in their thousands demanding the resignation of Netanyahu because of his mishandling of the war. They know the chances of seeing hostages returned diminish every day the relentless bombing continues. Some no doubt wonder if Netanyahu ever really intended to have the hostages returned or whether in his ruthless calculus they were always collateral damage.

And Jewish people around the world are coming to the same realisation. The Jewish Council of Australia yesterday called on Australia to cut all military ties with Israel and impose sanctions while the Zionist Federation of Australia predictably sheeted blame for the Australian's death on Hamas.

Until now, I'd been loath to weigh into the Gaza conflict. Nothing I could do or so say would make any difference and there was the risk of a pile-on from one side or the other. But I'd encountered the good work of World Central Kitchen at another catastrophe on the other side of the world, which somehow made Zomi Frankcom's death seem personal.

Covering the aftermath of the Lismore floods, I'd come across WCK volunteers providing meals for the residents of that shattered town. This was no distant disaster response seen through the lens of the TV news. It was up close and very real. And the gratitude of the traumatised flood survivors who gathered to be fed was palpable. [My yellow highlighting]

They found not only physical sustenance but fellowship as well. Tears flowed in the troubled eyes of one fellow, who told me his soul was filled with mud, as he gave thanks to the people like the WCK crew who had helped him, not just with food but with kinds words and hope.

Now, the help that was given to Palestinians has been paused, not just by WCK but by other aid groups who fear for their workers' safety.

Yet again the innocent suffer. Yet again, shit happens.

Peter Broelman

State of the Global Natural Environment 2021: fighting to hold nations, governments, industries accountable for the catastrophic environmental harm they cause

American Society of International Law, 2 July 2021:

A group of legal experts, in a collaborative effort to confront environmental destruction, have proposed an amendment to the ICC Rome Statute that would add the crime of ‘ecocide’ to the Court’s jurisdiction. The proposal defines ‘ecocide’ as “unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts.” As reported by JURIST, the legal experts believe that the policies and precedents that are currently in place to address similar issues are “inadequate.” While the ICC maintains a history of delivering sentencing and legal precedents in war crimes cases, this amendment could alter the concept of accountability and extend it to the pressing issue of human contributions to climate change. If an ICC member state issues a recommendation for the proposal of the amendment to go forward, a vote will be taken on whether to execute the amendment. To succeed, two-thirds of the total vote are required. [my yellow highlighting]

STOP ECOCIDE FOUNDATION, Independent Expert Panel for the Legal Definition of Ecocide, COMMENTARY AND CORE TEXT, June 2021, excerpts:

It is widely recognised that humanity stands at a crossroads. The scientific evidence points to the conclusion that the emission of greenhouse gases and the destruction of ecosystems at current rates will have catastrophic consequences for our common environment. Along with political, diplomatic and economic initiatives, international law has a role to play in transforming our relationship with the natural world, shifting that relationship from one of harm to one of harmony.

Despite significant progress, the inadequacies of current global environmental governance are widely acknowledged. National and international laws are in place to contribute to the protection of the natural systems upon which our well-being depends, yet it is apparent that such laws are inadequate and more is needed.

It is against this background that in late 2020 the Stop Ecocide Foundation convened an Independent Expert Panel for the Legal Definition of Ecocide (‘Panel’). It comprises twelve lawyers from around the world, with a balance of backgrounds, and expertise in criminal, environmental and climate law. They have worked together for six months, charged with preparing a practical and effective definition of the crime of ‘ecocide’. The Panel was assisted by outside experts and a public consultation that brought together hundreds of ideas from legal, economic, political, youth, faith and indigenous perspectives from around the globe.

Between January and June 2021 the Panel convened for five remote sessions. Panel sub-groups were tasked with specific research and drafting tasks. A consensus on a core text of a definition of ecocide as an international crime was reached in June 2021.

It is the hope of the Panel that the proposed definition might serve as the basis of consideration for an amendment to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Statute addresses crimes that are deemed to be of international interest and relevance, and the time has come to extend the protections for serious environmental harm, already recognised to be a matter of international concern.

The inclusion of ecocide in the Rome Statute would add a new crime to international criminal law. This would be the first to be adopted since 1945. It would build on the existing crime of severe damage to the environment during armed conflict, whilst reflecting the fact that today, most severe environmental damage occurs during times of peace, a situation that currently falls outside the jurisdiction of the ICC. This definition of ecocide offers the States Parties to the Rome Statute the opportunity to meet current challenges.

Proceeding to agree a crime of ecocide could contribute to a change of consciousness, in support of a new direction, one that enhances the protection of the environment and supports a more collaborative and effective legal framework for our common future on a shared planet. It offers a new and practical legal tool.

The work has been inspired by earlier efforts, in 1945, to forge definitions of new international crimes, including ‘genocide’ and ‘crimes against humanity’. Ecocide draws from both terms, in form and substance.

Taken with these two crimes, and with war crimes and the crime of aggression, we hope that ecocide might take its place as the fifth international crime…..

II. Proposed Amendments to the Rome Statute

To add ecocide as a new crime to the Rome Statute, the Panel recommends the following amendments. We note that consequential amendments may also be required for other provisions of the Rome Statute, such as Article 9, and to the ICC Rules of Procedure and Evidence, and the Elements of Crimes.

A. Addition of a preambular paragraph 2 bis

Concerned that the environment is daily threatened by severe destruction and deterioration, gravely endangering natural and human systems worldwide,

B. Addition to Article 5(1)

(e) The crime of ecocide.

C. Addition of Article 8 ter

Article 8 ter

Ecocide

1. For the purpose of this Statute, “ecocide” means unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts.

2. For the purpose of paragraph 1:

a. “Wanton” means with reckless disregard for damage which would be clearly excessive in relation to the social and economic benefits anticipated;

b. “Severe” means damage which involves very serious adverse changes, disruption or harm to any element of the environment, including grave impacts on human life or natural, cultural or economic resources;

c. “Widespread” means damage which extends beyond a limited geographic area, crosses state boundaries, or is suffered by an entire ecosystem or species or a large number of human beings;

d. “Long-term” means damage which is irreversible or which cannot be redressed through natural recovery within a reasonable period of time; 

e. “Environment” means the earth, its biosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere, as well as outer space.

NOTE: This was signed by all twelve members of the Independent Expert Panel.

Five Australian Prime Ministers & Nine Immigration Ministers Named In Communique To The International Criminal Court in 2016

“Perpetrators – Individual responsibility

40. On the basis of the brief factual outline provided above, there are a number of persons who have, or would have had whilst elected, knowledge of the relevant facts outlined in the elements detailed below, and played a considerable role in the implementation and enforcement of the Immigration Policies. Further, these people have, or would have had whilst elected, the requisite intent to cause a particular consequence or were aware that the consequence would occur in the ordinary course of events (for example, that the implementation and enforcement of the Immigration Policies would result in Immigration Detention, or deportation and Immigration Detention, of boat people).” [In The Matter Of A Prosecution Of The Australian Government In Relation To Indefinite Detention And Forcible Removal Of Asylum Seekers (2016), p.]

In a communique to the International Criminal Court, Malcolm Turnbull, Tony Abbott, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, John Howard, Peter Dutton, Scott Morrison, Tony Burke, Brendan O’Connor, Chris Bowen, Chris Evans, Kevin Andrews, Amanda Vanstone, Phillip Ruddock, Baron Waqa and Rimbink Pato were all named as administrating authorities in relation to the offence of unlawful confinement.

COMMUNIQUÉ TO THE PROSECUTOR AT THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (2016) by clarencegirl on Scribd

https://www.scribd.com/document/366816793/COMMUNIQUE-TO-THE-PROSECUTOR-AT-THE-INTERNATIONAL-CRIMINAL-COURT-2016

International Criminal Court: cause and effect?

“As detailed in previous reporting, the Office has found that the information available provides a reasonable basis to believe that crimes under articles 7 and 8 of the Statute have been committed in the situation in Afghanistan, including crimes against humanity of murder under article 7(1)(a), and imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty under article 7(1)(e); murder under article 8(2)(c)(i); cruel treatment under article 8(2)(c)(i); outrages upon personal dignity under article 8(2)(c)(ii); the passing of sentences and carrying out of executions without previous judgement pronounced by a regularly constituted court under article 8(2)(c)(iv); intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population or against individual civilians under article 8(2)(e)(i); intentionally directing attacks against personnel, material, units or vehicles involved in a humanitarian assistance under article 8(2)(e)(iii); intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to education, cultural objects, places of worship and similar institutions under article 8(2)(e)(iv); and treacherously killing or wounding a combatant adversary under article 8(2)(e)(ix).” [International Criminal Court (ICC), The Office of the Prosecutor, Report on Preliminary Examination Activities (2015), p27]

It is hard not to suspect a link between the International Criminal Court and Austraiian Defence Force investigations, given that the preliminary ICC investigation would have begun sometime between 2013 to 2015 and the Australian Government would have been aware that it might become one of the nations under formal criminal investigation.

CAUSE?

On 30 October 2017 the Presidency of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague was notified by the Prosecutor and on 3 November the situation in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was assigned to Pre-Trial Chamber III with the following composition: Judge Antoine Kesia-Mbe Mindua ,Judge Chang-ho Chung and Judge Raul C. Pangalangan.

The New York Times, 3 November 2017:

The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor said Friday that she would request permission to open an Afghanistan investigation, a step that may lead to the court’s first indictments of Americans for war crimes.

The prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, has been collecting information on the war in Afghanistan for years. She has suggested before that she has evidence for a prosecution — not only of allegations of atrocities committed by combatants in Afghanistan, including the Taliban, the Afghan armed forces and the United States military, but of related crimes in other countries where C.I.A. operatives once held and tortured Afghan prisoners.

Ms. Bensouda said she would ask the judges in the court, which is based in The Hague, for authorization to pursue a formal investigation. If they agree, the Afghanistan investigation and any resulting indictments could pose a legal test for the United States — which does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction — to cooperate with it, especially if any defendants are American.

“In due course, I will file my request for judicial authorization to open an investigation, submitting that there is a reasonable basis to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in connection with the armed conflict in Afghanistan,” Ms. Bensouda said in a statement.

Should the judges grant her request, she said, her office will conduct an independent and impartial investigation into accusations of atrocities “committed by any party to the armed conflict.”

EFFECT?

ABC News, 11 July 2017:

Hundreds of pages of secret defence force documents leaked to the ABC give an unprecedented insight into the clandestine operations of Australia’s elite special forces in Afghanistan, including incidents of troops killing unarmed men and children.

The ABC can reveal that some of the cases detailed in the documents are being investigated as possible unlawful killings.

This comes a day after the ABC revealed the alleged cover up of the killing of an Afghan boy and another alleged incident in which a father and son were shot dead during a raid.

The documents, many marked AUSTEO — Australian Eyes Only — suggest a growing unease at the highest levels of Defence about the culture of Australia’s special forces as they prosecuted a bloody, secretive war against insurgents across a swathe of southern Afghanistan.

One document from 2014 refers to ingrained “problems” within special forces, an “organisational culture” including a “warrior culture” and a willingness by officers to turn a blind eye to poor behaviour.

Another document refers to a “desensitisation” and “drift in values” among elite Special Air Service soldiers serving in Afghanistan, while others allude to deep divisions between the two elite units which primarily comprise the special forces - the SAS based in Perth and 2 Commando Regiment based in Sydney.

A large proportion of the documents are reports on at least 10 incidents between 2009-2013 in which special forces troops shot dead insurgents, but also unarmed men and children.

The Inspector General of the Australian Defence Force is investigating at least two of the incidents as part of its inquiry into the conduct in Afghanistan of special forces, which includes alleged unlawful killing.

What the international legal system is hearing about Abbott's Australia

The West Australian 23 March 2015:

One of the nation's senior barristers, Julian Burnside, has started a campaign to convince the International Criminal Court to investigate Prime Minister Tony Abbott and former immigration minister Scott Morrison for crimes against humanity committed on refugees in offshore detention centres.

Mr Burnside, a Melbourne QC, told a Perth audience at the weekend he was trying to recruit high-profile international lawyers, including Amal Clooney, to conduct the investigation.

"If we got Tony Abbott, Scott Morrison and a couple of others in the dock at The Hague, the Nuremberg Defence ("I was only following orders") wouldn't work," Mr Burnside told a sold-out auditorium at the University of WA.

"I'm working on a plan to persuade the ICC to investigate the things that we are concerned about.

"I think the fact that an investigation was happening would have a real, chilling effect on their conduct.

"I'm trying to recruit (leading British barrister) Geoffrey Robertson and Amal Clooney."…..

ANDREW WILKIE Independent MP For Denison, media release 19 March 2015:

UN ADDS WEIGHT TO CASE AGAINST GOVERNMENT AT THE HAGUE

The Independent Member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie, and eminent human rights lawyer Greg Barns will be available to discuss the most recent correspondence with the International Criminal Court in regard to Australia’s non-compliance with the Rome Statute and crimes against humanity against asylum seekers.

In essence Mr Wilkie, in cooperation with Mr Barns, has drawn the Prosecutor’s attention to the damning findings in this month’s United Nations Report of the Special Rapporteur, Juan Méndez, on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.  He has also highlighted that the Prime Minster and his Cabinet have also repeatedly rejected the findings by the UN Human Rights Committee that the continued detention of refugees subject to adverse security assessments constitutes arbitrary detention.

Extracts of Mr Wilkie’s letter

           

``I wish to draw your attention to the findings contained in the United Nations Report of the Special Rapporteur, Juan Méndez, on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Report was released in Geneva by the Human Rights Council on 6 March 2015.

``In particular I respectfully draw the attention of the Office of the Prosecutor to the conclusions of the Special Rapporteur about the ongoing detention of 203 Sri Lankan asylum seekers and their incommunicado detention. I also note the Special Rapporteur’s conclusions about the impact of legislation drafted and introduced in the Australian Parliament by the members of the Cabinet of Prime Minister Tony Abbott. The Migration and Maritime Powers Legislation Amendment (Resolving the Asylum Legacy Caseload) Bill 2014 and the Migration Amendment (Character and General Visa Cancellation) Bill 2014 are now Australian law.

``The Special Rapporteur concludes that the above legislation violates the rights of a group of persons, namely asylum seekers and migrants, to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

``I would also like to take this opportunity to draw your attention to the Prime Minister’s response to this Report. In a public statement he said that “Australians are sick of being lectured by the United Nations, particularly given that we have stopped the boats and by stopping the boats we have ended the deaths at sea”.

``It is respectfully submitted that the Prime Minister’s comments in relation to the Report indicate a state of mind that is, at the very least, reckless as to whether or not breaches of the Rome Statute are occurring as a consequence of his and the Cabinet’s policies. The issue of intent is of course one for your office.

``The Prime Minster and his Cabinet have also repeatedly rejected the findings by the United Nations Human Rights Committee that the continued detention of refugees subject to adverse security assessments constitutes arbitrary detention.

``For instance recently their government failed to comply with, and missed by almost a year the 180-day deadline to respond, the Committee’s July 2013 ruling regarding more than 30 recognised refugees. These people were subject to indefinite detention without trial and the Committee recommended they be released and compensated.’’

Background

In October last year Mr Wilkie, in cooperation with Mr Barns, requested the Prosecutor at the ICC initiate an investigation in accordance with Article 15(1) of the Rome Statute.

Article 7 of the Rome Statute defines ‘crimes against humanity’ to mean acts such as deportation, imprisonment or other severe deprivation of liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law, and torture and other similar acts that are committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population.  Actions such as forced transfers to other countries, detention without trial, detention of children and conditions of detention clearly constitute breaches of Article 7.

``The actions of the Prime Minister and members of his Government against asylum seekers are criminal,’’ Mr Wilkie said.

Last month, Mr Wilkie provided the Prosecutor with a comprehensive brief on this matter.  The Office of the Prosecutor has replied that it is analysing the situation to decide if there is reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation.

A copy of the letter is attached.Andrew_Wilkie_MP_to_ICC_Prosecutor_19_Mar_2015.pdf

Communiqué for the Office of the Prosecutor regarding Mr Andrew Wilkie MP’s application relating to crimes...