16 January 2025
Responding to the statement issued by Australia’s Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus KC MP, regarding his current trip to Israel and the unlawfully Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) this week, the Australian Centre for International Justice (ACIJ) is deeply concerned by the legal implications associated with such a blatantly political trip. It is alarming that this woeful and ill-informed decision was made despite significant international legal rulings issued by international courts against Israel and Israeli officials in the past twelve months, which also placed clear and unequivocal obligations on third States, of which Australia is no exception. These include orders by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In 2024, the ICJ issued three orders for provisional measures to protect the plausible rights of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip not to be subjected to genocide after finding that there is a real and imminent risk of irreparable prejudice to these rights. Israel has breached these orders time and again. In July 2024, the ICJ also issued a landmark ruling in respect of Israel’s decades long illegal occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, calling for the illegal occupation to end. In November 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants in the Situation of the State of Palestine, including warrants for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity, with the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC progressing its investigation into other Israeli government and military officials.
As a State Party to the Rome Statute, Australia has an obligation under international and Australian law to uphold the rulings of the ICC, including acting on arrest warrants issued by the Court. It is highly concerning that the Attorney-General, in his capacity as the first law officer of Australia, has deemed it appropriate to proactively nurture a relationship with a State that stands credibly accused of violating the Genocide Convention and other peremptory norms of international law. Moreover, the Attorney-General has indicated that he intends to meet with Israeli officials – officials who may include the Israeli Prime Minister charged with the gravest of crimes or other officials who remain complicit in the ongoing and egregious assault on the Palestinian people in Gaza and throughout the West Bank. This decision raises serious questions about the ethical and legal judgment guiding Australia’s diplomatic actions. The Attorney-General places himself in a precarious position by fostering deeper political and diplomatic ties with Israeli officials who may be implicated in serious violations of international law, of which he may one day be in a position to make determinations in respect of, specifically, in relation to the Attorney-General’s consent that must be obtained before any international crimes prosecutions can proceed under the Commonwealth Criminal Code.
The Attorney-General has responsibility for protecting and defending the rule of law, and upholding international and Australian law. The Attorney-General should not take steps to hinder justice and accountability efforts, but instead should ensure appropriate support for current and future prosecutions in relation to the grave violations of international and Australian law committed in the unlawfully occupied Gaza and the West Bank.
Rawan Arraf, Executive Director and Principal Lawyer at the Australian Centre for International Justice said:
“The Attorney-General’s fleeting reference to ‘upholding international law’ provides no comfort that his trip will indeed emphasise this demand of Israeli officials. Instead his trip gives credibility to a regime accused of the gravest international crimes. The Attorney-General should rather be demanding they give themselves up for trial in The Hague and to respect the decisions of international courts.
“It is alarming that in his first meeting, the Attorney-General granted an audience to a pro-annexation and pro-apartheid member of Netanyahu’s government. These types of meetings give legitimacy to perpetrators and advocates of international crimes, especially when they are hosted by the Attorney-General of Australia, and should be condemned. War criminals should not be entertained, they must be held accountable. No one is above the law.
“The Attorney-General’s voice in defending the rule of law in relation to the serious allegations of international crimes being committed by Israeli authorities, has been noticeably absent despite both him and the Australian Government being put on notice on several occasions these past 14 months. It is concerning for example, that there is no evidence of support from the Attorney-General or the Australian Government for the investigation of Australian citizens engaged in service with the Israeli military, given the real possibility of their participation in the commission of international crimes in the OPT and Lebanon. The Government should need no reminding that the gravest crimes committed by Israel’s occupation forces are also offences against the Commonwealth of Australia.
“Despite the recent and welcome ceasefire agreement, the road to accountability and justice is long and must be at the forefront of all discussions on Gaza and Palestine. It is the impunity with which Israeli leaders have acted for decades, and the cover provided to them by namely Western powers, including Australia, that has perpetuated and entrenched the decades long conflict and oppression of the Palestinian people.
“We further call on the Attorney-General, and the Australian Government to support and defend the ICC from attacks against its operation and independence, including against any imposition of sanctions on officials of the Court, due to their work in the investigation of the Situation in the State of Palestine.”
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For media enquiries contact Rawan Arraf on +61(0)450 708 870.