The strongest proponents of Israel’s genocide in Gaza today are those who supported the “responsibility to protect” theory in the past.
The Israeli attack on Gaza has left the region on “the precipice of a humanitarian catastrophe,” according to an open letter released on October 18 by the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P). The letter demanded an immediate ceasefire. In less than a week, over 460 non-governmental organizations from throughout the globe joined it.
The GCR2P, which was established in 2008 to advance the idea of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), issued five warnings this year against atrocities being committed by Israel in the occupied Palestinian areas, even prior to the most recent Israeli war on Gaza.
According to a report released on August 31, there has been a systematic violation of human rights by Israel in the occupied Palestinian areas, which includes collective punishments and the establishment of “apartheid.” These actions amount to crimes against humanity or war crimes.
Remarkably, the United States and several European nations—some of the strongest proponents of the GCR2P and the R2P doctrine—appear to disagree with the center’s evaluation of the Gaza situation. They are also not fulfilling the “duty to protect” when it comes to Israeli forces killing Palestinians without cause. Rather, they are openly supporting Israeli war crimes, disobeying international legal norms that they have been vociferously advocating for decades.
The establishment of R2P
The international response to the repeated atrocities committed throughout the 1990s in conflicts in Rwanda, Bosnia, and other places serves as the foundation for the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) theory.
The UN, founded to prevent mass atrocities like the Holocaust, is deeply alarmed by the spread of such crimes in the heart of Europe.
Many regional and international actors felt obliged to participate in civil wars prior to the introduction of Responsibility to Protect (R2P). The Organization of African Unity, which changed its name to the African Union in 2002, began advocating for peace, security, democracy, and development on the continent in the early 1990s.
A failed doctrine?
Silent witnesses to this televised cruelty are complicit in it. The perpetrators of Israeli crimes bear direct responsibility for their actions.
It is undoubtedly illegal to repeat and encourage the murderous language of Israel’s most radical government, to mimic its inflammatory propaganda, and to provide weapons, money, and intelligence assistance for the genocidal attack on civilians.
It is definitely against the law to replicate the deadly rhetoric of Israel’s most extremist regime, to imitate its provocative propaganda, and to supply the genocidal onslaught on civilians with weapons, cash, and intelligence support.
It is instructive to witness the leaders of the most powerful nations banding together to rally the world’s most potent ships and arsenals against the most downtrodden and impoverished people on the planet. It seems to support those criticizing Responsibility to Protect (R2P) who have maintained that the theory has always been a ruse for morally dubious imperialism that is only somewhat covered up.
The Gaza siege violates international humanitarian and criminal law, marked by impractical evacuation orders and forced population transfers, with specialists condemning its severe impact.
They reminded everyone that it is expressly forbidden by international criminal law to intentionally and methodically destroy civilian dwellings and infrastructure—a practice known as “domiciled”—as well as to cut off vital Essential provisions: food, medicine, and clean water.
We are warning you that crimes against humanity are being committed in Gaza as a result of an ongoing Israeli operation. The experts stated that there is a possibility of genocide against the Palestinian people in light of remarks made by Israeli political figures and their sympathizers, military action in Gaza, and an increase in detentions and killings in the West Bank.
“Crimes have no justification or exception. We’re dismayed by international inaction against belligerent war-mongering,” the experts expressed.
As per the experts, “the Gazan population, of which half are children, has already endured many decades of unlawful brutal occupation and lived under the blockade for sixteen years.”
Extinguish the fire promptly, and swiftly acquire essential humanitarian supplies: food, water, shelter, medicine, fuel, and electricity, without obstacles. It is imperative to ensure the physical protection of the civilian populace.
