The High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security, Josep Borrell, is not going to let the idea of calling Israel to discuss the violation of human rights in Gaza and a possible review of the association agreement with the EU, as requested by Spain and Ireland, languish. This Monday, in the face of Israel’s refusal to participate and the little appetite for calling the meeting by some countries, such as Austria or the Czech Republic, the head of European diplomacy has tried to push through a draft agenda at the meeting with the foreign ministers of the member states. On the table, a devastating report by the EU representative for human rights, which reports multiple violations of international humanitarian law.
The document, to which EL PAIS has had access, lists the analyses of specialized organizations on the ground, such as those of the UN, which speak of the “possible commission” of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes “by all parties” in Gaza.
The text, which was reviewed by member states on Monday, also warns that member states must respect and enforce the law, and as parties not involved in the conflict, not facilitate through their actions the commission of violations of international humanitarian law. It also recalls that states must not authorize the transfer of arms to a state if they are aware that they will be used to commit serious violations of international law.
“The EU treaties enshrine a principled defence of human rights and the rule of law in EU foreign policy,” warns the report by EU representative Olof Skoog. The 33-page document is purely descriptive, but provides material for member states in view of that possible meeting of the Association Council and the proposed suspension of at least several of its chapters.
The EU’s association agreement with Israel, one of the oldest between the community club and a third country, provides for trade between the two parties worth more than 63 billion euros annually in goods and services. At its core, it speaks of respect for human rights and democratic principles as an essential element of the relationship.
The request made in February by Spain and Ireland to the European Commission, headed by the German Ursula von der Leyen, to review the commercial part of this association agreement remains unanswered. Community sources stated that it is “difficult” to make an analysis of the situation. Now that analysis is available.
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The EU representative for Human Rights is based on the assessments of the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) – which has an open case of genocide against Israel following a complaint from South Africa, which Spain has joined – the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the office of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and other entities.
“Since the 7 October Hamas attacks against Israel that led to the Israeli army’s siege of Gaza and the escalation of hostilities in Gaza, the humanitarian and human rights situation has steadily deteriorated. Observers have found that the mass loss of life, the scale of destruction and the severe shortage of basic goods and services point to the “possible commission of atrocity crimes by all sides.” “Atrocity crimes,” they explain, are crimes within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, “notoriously difficult to prove.”
The report also mentions human rights violations by Hamas and the terrible attacks of 7-O by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups. The EU analysis also points out that specialised organisations, such as those of the UN, have asked Israel for access to investigate human rights violations and have received no response.
Regarding Gaza, the document reports a very high number of victims, especially women and children, and says that the figures handled by the Ministry of Health in Gaza, more than 37,200 Palestinians dead and more than 84,000 wounded, are credible. It also says that the UN agency for human rights has been able to identify by name and surname, despite the difficulty, 9,000 fatalities, the majority of them women and children. The study speaks of the “collective punishment” suffered by civilians in the Strip, obstacles to humanitarian assistance, attacks on hospitals, collapse of the health system, massive destruction and damage to civilian homes and infrastructure, torture and ill-treatment, hostage-taking and mass arbitrary arrests. It also highlights the impunity with which human rights violations committed by Israel in Gaza and the West Bank have been treated for years, to which it also devotes a devastating chapter.
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