Well here we are again. A new year on the calendar and the first quarter of the 21st century is in its final year. The turmoil that has occurred since the 11th September 2001 is by no means insignificant. The escalation of automated military hardware has increased immeasurably and the death toll has trundled along with increasingly conspicuous breaches of crimes against humanity raised by the International Criminal Court.
Indeed, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is Karim Asad Ahmed Khan KC. He was born in Edinburgh and received his qualifications from King’s College London and Wolfson College, Oxford. He assumed his current office on the 16th June 2021 having been elected chief prosecutor of the ICC on the 12th February 2021 for a nine year term.
There is an entry on his Wikipedia page which states:
“On 24 April 2024, Khan was sent a letter signed by 12 Republican U.S. senators threatening him and other UN jurists and their families with personal consequences if the ICC were to seek an international arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu or other members of the Israeli government. The letter cited the American Service-Members’ Protection Act – known informally as "The Hague Invasion Act" which specifically includes "all means". The signatories said they would view any arrest warrant as "a threat not only to Israel's sovereignty, but also to the sovereignty of the United States". They threatened: "Target Israel and we will target you", and that any further action would "end all American support for the ICC" and "exclude [Khan and his associates and employees] and their families from the United States". The letter ended: "You have been warned."”
On the 20th May 2024 Karim Khan KC issued a statement concerning Applications for arrest warrant in the situation in the State of Palestine, in which it is stated, inter alia:
“On the basis of evidence collected and examined by my Office, I have reasonable grounds to believe that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, and, Yoav Gallant the Minister of Defence of Israel, bear criminal responsibility for the following war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the State of Palestine (in the Gaza strip) from at least 8 October 2023:
- Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(b)(xxv) of the Statute;
- Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health contrary to article 8(2)(a)(iii), or cruel treatment as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i);
- Wilful killing contrary to article 8(2)(a)(i), or Murder as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i);
- Intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as a war crime contrary to articles 8(2)(b)(i), or 8(2)(e)(i);
- Extermination and/or murder contrary to articles 7(1)(b) and 7(1)(a), including in the context of deaths caused by starvation, as a crime against humanity;
- Persecution as a crime against humanity contrary to article 7(1)(h);
- Other inhumane acts as crimes against humanity contrary to article 7(1)(k).
My Office submits that the war crimes alleged in these applications were committed in the context of an international armed conflict between Israel and Palestine, and a non-international armed conflict between Israel and Hamas (together with other Palestinian Armed Groups) running in parallel. We submit that the crimes against humanity charged were committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the Palestinian civilian population pursuant to State policy. These crimes, in our assessment, continue to this day…”
At the same time Mr Khan also issued warrant against Yahya SINWAR (Head of the Islamic Resistance Movement (“Hamas”) in the Gaza Strip), Mohammed Diab Ibrahim AL-MASRI, more commonly known as DEIF (Commander-in-Chief of the military wing of Hamas, known as the Al-Qassam Brigades), and Ismail HANIYEH (Head of Hamas Political Bureau) bear criminal responsibility for the following war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of Israel and the State of Palestine (in the Gaza strip) from at least 7 October 2023.
Also the list of defendants before the ICC includes Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin who faces the following charges:
“Allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation (under articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute). The crimes were allegedly committed in Ukrainian occupied territory at least from 24 February 2022. There are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes, (i) for having committed the acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others (article 25(3)(a) of the Rome Statute), and (ii) for his failure to exercise control properly over civilian and military subordinates who committed the acts, or allowed for their commission, and who were under his effective authority and control, pursuant to superior responsibility (article 28(b) of the Rome Statute).”
An arrest warrant was issued by the Court on the 22nd February 2023 for Mr Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation amongst others including Ms Maria Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation. Additionally on the 2nd February 2024 warrants were issued for Sergei Ivanovich Kobylash, a Lieutenant General in the Russian Armed Forces who at the relevant time was Commander of the Long-Range Aviation of the Aerospace Force and Viktor Nikolayevich Sokolov, an Admiral in the Russian Navy, who at the relevant time was Commander of the Black Sea Fleet. Further warrants were issued on 5th `March 2024 for Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu, Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation at the time of the alleged conduct; Valery Vasilyevich Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Federation’s Armed Forces, and First Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation.
I do not know if Mr Khan has received any threats from the Russian Federation, but noting his response on the 20th May 2024 to the threats from the United States on the 24th April 2024, I am sure that he has clearly taken a view in issuing arrest warrants based on the “evidence collected and analysed by his Office pursuant to its independent investigations”.
Mr Khan has been busy in the last couple of years and there
are arrest warrants outstanding in many parts of the world for numerous
defendants, but for those who have screwed up the world in such a major way, it would be nice if the warrants could all be executed at the same time. One would like to see a trial before the court:
The World
-v-
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, Maria Lvova-Belova, Sergei Ivanovich Kobylash, Viktor Nikolayevich Sokolov, Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu, Valery Vasilyevich Gerasimov, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, Ismail Haniyeh hi
Charge:
Conspiracy to screw up the world Etc...
I wonder how they would all get on being in the dock
together at the same time. Personally I think one could add Donald Trump as an
unindicted co-conspirator to round it up to a dirty dozen.
We have had insanity so far and, what with co-Presidents Trump and Musk, the next four years seem to be a continuation of more of the same. Nonetheless, I will remain optimistic. One has a number of delightful events on offer in the near future including, the car passing its MOT midweek, a reconciliation supper next Friday or Saturday Night, Burns Night chez nous, a night out at the theatre to see The Score at the Haymarket in February and who knows what else may crop up of a cultural and life enhancing nature.
I wish you all a very good start to the rest of the century.
