The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) wishes to express its extreme disappointment following the decision by the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) not to open an investigation in the situation Palestine. This situation has been under examination by the Court for more than 3 years; in response to the suspected commission of grave war crimes and possible crimes against humanity in the context of Israel’s 27 December 2008 – 18 January 2009 offensive on the Gaza Strip (Operation ‘Cast Lead’), Palestine lodged a declaration recognizing the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in accordance with Article 12(3) of the Court’s Statute on 22 January 2009.
Following all parties’ proven failure to fulfil their obligations to effectively investigate the crimes committed in the context of Operation Cast Lead, the ICC represented the most appropriate forum to pursue accountability. This was in fact one of the key recommendations of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, which triggered a complex (and as yet uncompleted) follow-up process at the UN level.
Full Statement
http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8313:a-dark-day-for-international-justice-icc-office-of-the-prosecutor-decides-not-to-open-investigations-into-situation-of-palestine-&catid=36:pchrpressreleases&Itemid=194
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