Advocating for a just approach to Palestine
Ending Australia’s complicity with Israel’s human rights abuses
Together with a coalition of prominent Palestinian human rights organisations, we are calling on the Australian Government to undertake an urgent review of all trade cooperation with Israel and implement effective measures to protect the Palestinian people’s fundamental human rights. The Australian Government is considering strengthening trade, and the possibility of entering into a Free Trade Agreement with Israel. Our research highlighted programs, agreements and other instances that are evidence of Australia’s complicity with Israel’s violations of international law, violations which amount to international crimes. The various Palestinian human rights organisations which form the Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC), have decades of experience in documenting and providing legal support to Palestinian communities impacted by these human rights abuses and international crimes, including at the UN and the ICC.
Our research points to evidence of Israel’s breaches of international law from which it derives significant economic benefits from its subjugation of the Palestinian people while implementing a settler-colonial apartheid regime that deprives the Palestinians of their own economic growth and prosperity. The ACIJ and PHROC provide a list of ten recommendations and concrete actions that the Australian Government must undertake to comply with Australia’s own obligations under international law and end its complicity with Israel’s human rights abuses and the commission of international crimes. The recommendations have helped interested persons and groups formulate statements and positions to call for concrete actions. They will also help our ongoing legal support work with communities impacted by international crimes.
Supporting accountability at the ICC: Palestine
The ACIJ is committed to working with our NGO partners in Palestine and around the world, who represent victims groups from the occupied Palestinian territory in Gaza and the West Bank, to ensure access to justice at the ICC without discrimination.
Against annexation
Our briefing paper on Australia’s international law obligations regarding Israel’s annexation of the West Bank was released in June 2020 in anticipation of Israel’s imminent annexation of the West Bank. It was widely read and shared. It may even have influenced the statement released by the Foreign Minister which recognised “land appropriations, demolitions, and settlement activity” the issues that formed the focus of our brief. In a climate where the Australian Government is often dismissive of Palestinian human rights on the global stage, this was a welcome step.
We recommended the implementation of effective measures against any imminent annexation and present de facto annexation policies such as targeted sanctions, and other measures for violations of international law arising from Israel’s occupation and settlement enterprise, which have expressly denied the Palestinian people fundamental human rights guarantees. We recognised Australia’s response in respect of Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and recommended Australia consider other places impacted by occupation and annexation, such as Western Sahara and West Papua.
Latest on Accountability for Crimes in Palestine
MEDIA RELEASE: Legal groups demand police investigation of Israeli President, Herzog for incitement to genocide
Australian and Palestinian legal groups have jointly made a formal request to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to investigate Israel’s President, Isaac Herzog on allegations that Herzog engaged in conduct that amounted to the offences of incitement to genocide and advocating genocide under the Commonwealth Criminal Code. The request is timely in light of Herzog’s expected imminent visit to Australia.
STATEMENT: Unified Call to Confront Famine in Gaza – Launch the Diplomatic Humanitarian Convoy Now
Palestinian civil society, joined by humanitarian and human rights organisations worldwide, issues this urgent and unified call: The manufactured famine in Gaza must be halted. The international community must act decisively, immediately, and with full moral and legal responsibility.
STATEMENT: Israel is committing genocide, Australia must act
The Australian Government’s statement overnight on the recognition of Palestine falls far short of what is required. Crucially, it fails to acknowledge the ongoing genocide in Gaza and imposes no concrete measures in response, despite last week’s significant determination by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry that Israel is perpetrating genocide in Gaza. Australia cannot credibly claim to support Palestinian self-determination while remaining silent on the gravest of international crimes. The failure to recognise and respond to the UN Commission of Inquiry’s conclusion reflects a profound abdication of Australia’s obligations under international law, including the Genocide Convention. The Genocide Convention imposes clear and binding duties on all States, including Australia, to prevent and punish genocide, to refrain from complicity, and to ensure accountability. Mere recognition of Palestine, while symbolically significant, does not discharge these obligations. Absent urgent and tangible measures, Australia risks complicity in the commission of genocide and other grave international crimes.
STATEMENT: ACIJ Condemns US Sanctions on Palestinian Human Rights Organisations Supporting the ICC
The Australian Centre for International Justice unequivocally condemns the United States’ unjustifiable decision on 4 September 2025 to sanction Al-Haq, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, and the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights. These leading Palestinian human rights organisations have been sanctioned solely for engaging with the International Criminal Court (ICC), which fulfils a critical function in advancing international justice and accountability as a court of last resort for countless victims.
MEDIA RELEASE: Australia’s Joint Statement on Palestine Must Be Backed by Concrete Action
The Australian Centre for International Justice welcomes yesterday’s Joint Statement signed by the Australian Foreign Minister alongside counterparts from 27 other countries calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and condemning violations of international law by Hamas and the Israeli authorities. But we must be clear: these words, while overdue, fall far short of what the gravity of the situation demands—and they cannot obscure the Australian Government’s long-standing failure to act decisively in the face of mounting atrocities.
MEDIA RELEASE: Australian Government cannot rely on UK High Court decision on export of F-35 arms parts to Israel
The Australian Centre for International Justice notes the judgment issued by the UK High Court yesterday on the challenge brought by the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq and the Global Legal Action Network against the UK Government’s decision to continue the supply of indirect F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel. While the High Court did not uphold Al-Haq’s claim, citing limitations on the role of domestic courts in assessing compliance with international law, the case has nonetheless marked a critical step in efforts to hold States accountable for arms transfers in the context of alleged atrocity crimes.
MEDIA RELEASE: Australian Government should take legal action against Australians fighting in the Israeli military
On 6 June 2025, the Australian Centre for International Justice wrote to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister for Home Affairs, the Attorney-General’s Department and the Australian Federal Police requesting the urgent issuance of clear and unequivocal warnings to the Australian public, and to take all necessary steps to investigate Australian citizens and residents who have been, or are currently, engaged in hostilities in Israel and the unlawfully Occupied Palestinian Territory since 7 October 2023, for their potential involvement in the commission of international crimes.
MEDIA RELEASE: ACIJ together with leading human rights legal organisations warn privatised “humanitarian” operators in Gaza of the risk of legal liability for complicity in serious violations of international law
The Australian Centre for International Justice joins a group of 15 leading human rights and legal organisations in releasing an open letter urging an end to the current privatised, militarised aid delivery model operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) and calling for a return to internationally recognized humanitarian channels through the United Nations across the occupied Gaza Strip. The letter also warns all individuals and entities involved—including State actors, private security contractors, consulting firms, and donors—of potential legal liability for complicity in war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possibly genocide.
MEDIA RELEASE: ACIJ welcomes Australia’s decision to sanction Israeli ministers
The Australian Centre for International Justice (ACIJ) welcomes the Australian Government’s decision to impose targeted sanctions on Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, announced in today’s joint statement by the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom.
The Australian Centre for International Justice fights to hold accountable those responsible for the most serious international crimes. It continues to be an enormous challenge.
We work with survivors of torture, sexual violence, genocide and war to research and develop strategies to fight for justice.
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We take action against the impunity of those responsible for committing atrocity crimes. We all benefit by supporting communities in Australia and around the world access justice.
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Copyright©ACIJ. All Rights Reserved.
ABN: 55 630 673 308
Privacy Policy | Refunds Policy | Image Credits | Terms & Conditions | Acknowledgement of Country
Site by Squeeze Creative