A Washington-based human rights organization has filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court, calling on the ICC to launch investigations against Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken and former Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) accuses the three of aiding and abetting Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza through extensive arms shipments and unwavering diplomatic support.
According to DAWN, the actions of these officials during the Gaza war intentionally contributed to gross abuses against civilians, in violation of international criminal law under the ICC’s Rome Statute. The 172-page indictment was submitted to the Court’s Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan earlier in January.
The organization assesses that Biden, Blinken and Austin “aided and abetted” war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Israeli military in Gaza. The legal basis is invoked in Article 25(3) of the Rome Statute, which criminalizes knowingly facilitating the commission of a crime by another person.
Among the crimes listed are deliberate attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, widespread destruction, killing and displacement of civilians – acts that constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute.
“They ensured that U.S. support continued despite the knowledge that such support violated U.S. laws prohibiting military assistance to abusive security forces, ignored pleas from United Nations officials and agencies, and defied the International Court of Justice’s orders to cease the sale, transfer and diversion of weapons to Israel that could be used to commit genocide in Gaza”, the organization writes.
US bombs destroyed schools
DAWN emphasizes that the three US decision-makers acted with full knowledge of the consequences of their decisions, and that their support essentially enabled Israel’s military operations despite reports of serious abuses and war crimes.
The organization points out that the bombs that destroyed Palestinian hospitals and schools were of American origin, which, according to DAWN, underscores the direct role of the United States in the genocide.
It points to how the Biden administration provided Israel with at least $17.9 billion worth of weapons and other military equipment and shared intelligence information with its military.
“President Biden personally made the transfer of U.S. weapons and funds to Israel possible within and outside strict U.S. regulations, including by, in some cases, bypassing congressional review, preventing public scrutiny, and substantially contributing to the commission of the crimes”, the human rights organization argues.
Stopping UN resolutions
It also points out that it was Biden who authorized the US ambassador to the UN to veto resolutions that sought to stop or limit Israeli attacks on civilians.
“These vetoes underline President Biden’s role in depriving civilians in the Gaza Strip of objects indispensable to their survival, a starvation-related crime. Moreover, President Biden repeatedly made public statements demonstrating his personal and unwavering support for Israel despite knowledge of its ongoing crimes, even justifying these crimes as acceptable ‘self-defense’“, it notes.
As for Blinken, he too supported the decisions and openly defended Israel’s military action – despite objections from his own advisers that the weapons were used against civilians.
The then Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, in turn ensured that the Pentagon continued to supply advanced weapons equipment, despite knowing that it was being used in Gaza, and repeatedly stressed that the US stood behind Israel’s invasion and bombing.
“Pure anti-Semitism”
The International Criminal Court has been investigating suspected war crimes in Palestine. The semi-autonomous territory joined the ICC in 2015, giving it jurisdiction over crimes committed on Palestinian land.
The court has already issued arrest warrants against senior Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, for war crimes committed during the invasion.
Although the US and Israel are not parties to the ICC, the court ruled that non-member nationals can be prosecuted for crimes committed on the territory of a member – in this case, Palestine. DAWN writes that US courts have little interest in investigating the alleged war crimes and that it is therefore up to the ICC to try the cases.
Both Washington and Jerusalem are expected to oppose the ICC moving forward with the case and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously dismissed the ICC’s investigations as “pure anti-Semitism”.
Democracy for the Arab World Now describes itself as a democracy and human rights organization and was founded in 2018 by Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The organization says it works to create "a world where the human rights, liberty, and dignity of every person in the Middle East and North Africa are upheld by democratically elected governments, safeguarded by independent institutions and civil society organizations working under the rule of law, and supported by international governments and institutions around the world".
The goal of the work in the US is for the US government to "stop supporting undemocratic governments" in the Middle East and instead recognize that US interests are "better protected by policies that foster peace, freedom, equality, and justice".
The organization's founder, Khashoggi, was murdered in 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul – reportedly by Saudi agents on behalf of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
