Iran’s oral statement regarding the consequences of the Israeli regime’s actions in the occupied territories

According to the foreign policy group Tasnim News, Reza Najafi, Deputy Minister of Legal and International Affairs as the representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the International Court of Justice, oral statement The Islamic Republic of Iran read out the legal consequences resulting from the policies and actions of the occupation regime of Israel in the occupied territories of Palestine, including East Jerusalem, in a consultative hearing.

The full text of this oral statement is as follows:

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Mr. Chairman, MembersE Honorable Divan,

On behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran, it is an honor to appear before the International Court of Justice.

The Islamic Republic of Iran, relying on its long-standing principled position, in support of the full realization of the Palestinian people’s inherent right to determine their own destiny, eagerly pursues the court’s consultative proceedings. What makes this process more prominent and attention of all the nations of the world is its coincidence with the current deplorable conditions in Palestine, especially the Gaza Strip.

To understand the seriousness of the situation in Gaza, I refer to only three reports of the United Nations and the World Health Organization:

First) according to Secretary-General of the United Nations, as a result of Israel’s military operations, all the residents of Gaza are suffering destruction at a scale and speed that has not been seen in modern history, and 2.2 million Palestinians are trying to live another day without proper shelter, heating, sanitary facilities. , leave food and drinking water behind.

Second) according to the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, “especially for children, except the terrible sound of war; There is no food, water or schools, and every day people see their lives threatened – while the world watches.” ; And

third) According to the World Health Organization, the population of Gaza is facing severe hunger, insufficient food and widespread malnutrition. At the same time, the situation in Gaza is getting worse every day.

We are at one of the turning points in the history of humanity The opinion of this court can provide the ground to save the lives of thousands of innocent women and children and help the legitimate demands of the people who have been deprived of their inherent right to self-determination for decades.

It is hoped that this court will make history by presenting its landmark advisory opinion in support of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, which can ultimately help stop the long-term illegal occupation of Palestine. /p>

Mr. President, members of the court,

In this oral statement, the following things are explained:

Firstly, this respected court is competent to provide the requested advisory opinion and secondly The long-term occupation of Palestinian land by the occupying Israeli regime is a violation of the rights of the Palestinian people, who have never experienced the right to self-determination, and this violation has legal consequences; And third, by explaining the legal consequences of the current situation for all governments and the United Nations, the comprehensive plan for holding a referendum that the Islamic Republic of Iran has previously submitted to the United Nations with the aim of realizing the Palestinians’ right to self-determination. I emphasize. The jurisdiction of the court :justify”>Mr. Chairman, Members of the Court,

First of all, I acknowledge that the Court has requested an advisory opinion in the resolution No. 77/247 of the General Assembly on December 30, 2022, has the necessary authority. Here, we believe that the elements of Article 65 (1) of the Court’s statutes, i.e. the existence of a “legal issue” and a “competent member” i.e. the General Assembly, have been fulfilled in this case. It should be noted that the International Court of Justice, as the main judicial pillar of the United Nations, can assist the General Assembly in performing its duties based on the United Nations Charter by providing a requested advisory opinion.

Therefore, exactly as the Court identified its jurisdiction in the advisory opinion “Legal Consequences of Building a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”, it also has jurisdiction in the present case based on the same evidence, and while There is no compelling reason to refuse to provide an advisory opinion.

Legal Consequences of the Persistent Violation of the Palestinian Right to Self-Determination

Mr. President, members of the court,

Now I will address the first part of my argument regarding the nature of the matter; Here, I first state that the occupying Israeli regime has violated the right to self-determination of the Palestinians in various ways and continues to violate it.

Right Self-determination is a legal status that is generally defined in relation to the “nation” and is established first in the United Nations Charter, several resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly, and in Article 1 of the International Covenant on Human Rights. Based on this, “All people have the right to determine their political position and place in the international community freely and without foreign interference, and to pursue their economic, social and cultural development, and every country is obliged to respect this right according to the provisions of the charter.” ».

In line with the dimensions stated in the question in the resolution of the General Assembly regarding the provision of an advisory opinion, I am about a set of measures that are witnesses of continuous violations by the occupying regime of Israel, I briefly present my arguments as follows:

1) Long-term occupation

2) Changing the population composition in the occupied territories

3 ) changing their status and the position of the holy city of Quds

4) discriminatory actions

5) Violating the Palestinian people’s permanent sovereignty over their natural resources.

1) Long-term occupation

First and foremost, the long-term occupation proves that the occupying regime of Israel violates the principle of not occupying the land by resorting to Force intends to make it permanent. The occupation of the Palestinian territories is the longest existing military occupation until today. As long as this occupation continues, the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people is continuously violated. This continuous violation ignores the possibility of Palestine to exercise sovereignty based on international rules and deprives them of their indisputable, permanent and undeniable right to self-determination. , including their rights to live in freedom, justice and dignity. as an effective component of the violation of the right to self-determination of the Palestinians.

Mr. President, members of the Court,

Apart from the long-term occupation, the change in population composition in the occupied territories has led to the violation of the Palestinians’ right to self-determination. The United Nations Security Council has issued several resolutions regarding the occupation of the Palestinian territories, including condemning the change in the demographic composition of these territories by the occupying Israeli regime. Therefore, it is an undisputed fact that the occupying regime of Israel has always committed gross violations of international law. Geneva states: “The occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of the civilian population to the territory it occupies”.

Apart from that , in the opinion of this court in the case known as the barrier wall, it was stated:

“This article is not only Deportation or forced transfer of population, as was done during World War II, but also prohibits any action taken by an occupying power to organize or encourage the transfer of part of its population to occupied territory.

Also, the Court, in the same case, on the violation of the right to self-determination by the occupation power The change in the demographic composition of Palestine has been approved. src=”https://newsmedia.tasnimnews.com/Tasnim/Uploaded/Image/1402/12/03/1402120313570735429443524.jpg”/>

The forced expulsion of civilians, known as the “Day of Nakbat” due to one of its most notorious examples, has a long history. Basically, with the illegal formation of the occupying regime of Israel to replace the former British Mandate of Palestine in 1948, the population composition changed dramatically with the displacement of more than 700,000 Palestinians. In fact, in that year, under the pressure of the Zionist movement and with the intention of creating a colony with a Jewish majority, the occupying regime of Israel expelled or forced hundreds of thousands of native Palestinians from their land through a violent process.

By renouncing the right of return of Palestinians who have been forced into exile, the Israeli regime continues to deprive Palestinians of the right to live in their land. The majority of Palestinians live outside of Palestine, mainly in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, and many live statelessly in crowded refugee camps that lack basic infrastructure.

It goes without saying that the forced displacement of civilians is so important that it is defined as a war crime according to Article 8 of the Statute of the International Criminal Court.

3) Change of name and position of the holy city of Quds

Mr. President,

The next step that violates the right to self-determination of the Palestinians is changing them and the location of the holy city of Quds. The actions of the usurping Israeli regime regarding the holy city of Quds have completely ignored the Palestinian nation’s right to self-determination. It has had significant religious and cultural significance for the Palestinian people. Quds Sharif is of special religious and historical importance for Palestinians, as well as for Muslims, Christians and Jews around the world. By changing the existing status of the city and its holy places, the occupying regime of Israel has damaged the cultural heritage and identity of the Palestinian people and in addition violated their right to self-determination.

Also, the construction and development of settlements, together with the restriction of movement of Palestinians and the cancellation of residence permits, has changed the demographic and cultural character of the city.

4) Discriminatory measures

Mr. President, members of the court,

The next series of actions that violate the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people include discriminatory actions that target the fundamental rights of the people in the occupied territories. have given. This issue has been emphasized by the United Nations General Assembly and has been widely documented regarding the killing and injury of civilians, their forced displacement and the systematic policy of denying access to humanitarian aid.

The actions of the occupying Israeli regime, as manifested in various laws and policies, have established a discriminatory system that has a negative effect on the Palestinian population. In Palestine, the expansionism of the occupying Israeli regime has turned into an apartheid regime through the longest occupation in modern history. It has been rightly proven that apartheid is a crime against the conscience and dignity of humanity, and beyond that, it violates the fundamental principles of international law contained in the United Nations Charter and crystallized in international human rights law, and it seriously threatens international peace and security. .

The special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Palestine has come to the conclusion that the political system of current regulations in the occupied Palestinian territory taken as a racial-national-ethnic group; Enjoyed significant rights, benefits and privileges, while the other group is deliberately living behind walls and checkpoints under a permanent military regime “deprived of pride, equality, dignity and freedom”, a condition common to the criteria for proving apartheid.

Since 1948, many laws, policies and procedures by the usurping Israeli regime aimed at disintegrating the Palestinian population and dividing them adopted and implemented to different groups; This clearly ignores the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination. In addition, the construction and development of settlements, separation of roads, barriers and checkpoints have practically isolated the Palestinian communities and established the apartheid system, which clearly violates numerous provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Therefore, the court is requested to announce an opinion on the immediate stop of these policies and actions that continue to violate the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people.

5) violation of the right of permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people over their natural resources

Mr. President, members of the Court,

the right to exercise permanent sovereignty over Natural resources are an inevitable part of the right to self-determination. Two international human rights treaties and a number of UN General Assembly resolutions recognize this right. The United Nations General Assembly has expressed deep concern over a wide range of actions of the occupying Israeli regime that negatively affect the natural resources of Palestine.

The Palestinian people’s right to permanent sovereignty over their wealth and natural resources has been confirmed as an integral part of the right to self-determination. It is also acknowledged that this right should be used for the benefit of the national development and welfare of the Palestinian people and as part of their right to self-determination.

Legal consequences of this situation for other countries and the United Nations /strong>

This Court, in several cases, specifically in the Retaining Wall case, the obligation of “respecting the right has identified “self-determination” as “one of the basic principles of contemporary international law” as a universal rule.

as a rule Generally, according to international law, in cases where the general obligations of international law are violated, third countries basically have three obligations: first, “non-cooperation”, second, “non-recognition” and finally “cooperation to end the Violation”. In this context, the “beneficiary” or “third” state can be defined as a party that is not directly affected or harmed by an internationally wrongful act, nevertheless, the third state, due to the indicative importance of that right It is of interest to all governments as a member of the international community, it has legal interests in protecting and participating in the fulfillment of that right.

The primary obligations of third states towards the long-term occupation and annexation of Palestine, the above-mentioned three obligations, are consistent with paragraph 146 of the 2004 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice in the Barrier Wall case.

In addition to the jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice, the performance of the UN bodies also well supports the three obligations of third countries for serious violations of universal rights. . The United Nations Security Council, in its resolution 2334 (2016), clearly reiterated the importance of governments avoiding recognizing the illegal international actions of the occupying power.

The International Law Commission, in the draft article (1) 41 of the 2001 draft articles of this commission, regarding the responsibility of governments for international wrongful acts, while emphasizing the responsibility of governments for non-recognition and non-recognition Assisting in maintaining the situation that was formed due to serious violations of general rules; has emphasized the duty of all governments to cooperate in efforts to deal with the effects of these violations.

Mr. President, members of the court

In light of the above-mentioned cases, the Court is requested to inform all governments of their obligations under international law as follows to remind:

First, to avoid any aid or assistance, direct or indirect, that would allow the occupation regime of Israel to continue its long-term occupation in Palestine and / or enable any of its continuous policies and actions that violate the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination; This especially includes avoiding any kind of political, military, economic cooperation. . . It is with the Israeli regime which enables this regime to continue such violations. Israel in the Palestinian land and/or any of its ongoing actions that violate the right of self-determination of the Palestinian people.

Third, effective cooperation with each other in all relevant fields and forums with the aim of ending any obstacle that results from the continuous violation of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, including its long-term occupation by the occupying regime of Israel and the actions of this regime with the aim of changing the demographic composition and the status of the holy city of Al-Quds .

Obviously, considering the current situation in the Gaza Strip, according to estimates, “the Israeli army kills an average of 250 Palestinians per day and its casualties are more than other major conflicts of recent years”; Such cooperation has a special urgency and necessity.

In this context, the important decision of this honorable court on January 26, 2024, regarding the request of South Africa I remind you to issue temporary measures. This appointment is related to the implementation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and thus, legally, all countries, especially the supporters of Israel, are obliged to prevent genocide by stopping any aid to Israel.

They are also obliged to punish the perpetrators of the crime of genocide. Considering the current tragic situation in the Gaza Strip, the court is respectfully requested to once again call the occupying regime to fully comply with the order. It is obvious that, from a practical point of view, the partial compliance of the Israeli regime with paragraph 1 of paragraph 86 of that order is only possible through the complete end of its military operations in the Gaza Strip.

Mr. Chairman, Members of the Court,

I would like the main responsibility of the Security Council to maintain peace and security I remind the international based on paragraph 1 of Article 24 of the United Nations Charter. I believe that the inaction and/or insufficient action of the Security Council is one of the main reasons, if not the main reason, for the prolonged occupation of the Palestinian land.

all The tragedies and crimes committed by the Israeli regime in the past 80 years are the result of such inaction. Even today, the Security Council is paralyzed due to the impasse caused by the actions of one of the permanent members. Other organs related to the United Nations are also responsible for monitoring and documenting human rights violations in order to bring criminals to justice.

This fact alone emphasizes It is necessary for the Court to remind the Security Council of its obligations based on the charter. It should also be clarified that these obligations will not be fulfilled by holding meetings or issuing procedurally ineffective resolutions. Rather, it requires decisive decisions under the seventh chapter of the UN Charter and a follow-up mechanism to ensure its full and rapid implementation by the Israeli regime.

Summary

Mr. President, members of the court,

The supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran said: “The tragedy of Gaza is the tragedy of humanity and the world community.” Therefore, all the relevant countries and international organizations jointly and individually have a legal and moral responsibility to act decisively and immediately to prevent the ongoing crimes of the Israeli regime in the Gaza Strip.

Definitely, this court as the “main judicial pillar of the United Nations” has a valuable role in this regard. Now the countries of the world expect the court to present its advisory opinion in an effective and practical way that will strengthen the rule of law against the rule of power and give hope to the Palestinians that justice will be done in the end.

We should not leave them alone and let them down in the days when they need the support and help of humanity the most. This is a collective legal and moral responsibility and we must fulfill it responsibly.

Finally, Mr. President, I must emphasize that our participation in this meeting and the content of our statement here does not harm the Islamic Republic of Iran’s permanent position on the Palestinian issue.

From the point of view of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the only legal, practical, democratic and fair solution for the effective realization of the inherent right of the Palestinian nation to determine its destiny is to hold a national referendum in Palestine. The details of this plan are in the official document of the United Nations issued in 2019.

Finally, this statement in no way means We do not recognize the Israeli regime.

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