It is not once or twice but numerous times the two nuclear-armed States, the USA and Israel, have attacked non-nuclear weapon States, including Iran, that is a signatory to the NPT (The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, a treaty that allows peaceful use of nuclear energy). It is pertinent to note that the USA is the only country that has used nuclear weapons not once but twice against the innocent civilians of Japan, a non-nuclear armed State.
When a country that already has a record of attacking a country, using nuclear weapons, and the highest leader of that country threatens another sovereign State with wiping out the whole civilization, it becomes a very serious act.
Donald Trump made numerous very serious statements, and he recently stated on social media, “a whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back again”, with reference to Iran.
This statement reflects a genocidal intent of the Iranian nation merely because the Iranian nation remains unwilling to bow down before the imperialist aggressors. Threatening a nation with total destruction is unlawful and a grave crime. Acts committed with an intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such may amount to crimes under the UN’s Genocide Convention and the Rome Statute under which the International Criminal Court (ICC) is established. It should be noted that inciting, ordering or committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide entail individual criminal responsibility under international law. The US has repeatedly targeted civilian infrastructure and the civilian population, and combined with threats or incitement of wiping out the whole civilization
becomes very serious considering the definition of genocide framed by the West.
It should be noted that the USA, under the Trump leadership, apparently has complicity in the alleged genocide in Gaza committed by the Israeli government. The crimes of the USA are not limited merely to Gaza or Iran. Rather, the USA has a long history of mass crimes against the weaker nations.
In the background of historical mass crimes allegedly committed by the USA, not a single US president has ever been held accountable. Because of the complete impunity, they have attacked one country after another.
This points to the fact that there was no accountability at the international level by which the American mass perpetrators could be held accountable and punished. Considering this sad and bitter historical reality, a well-established accountability system is essential to prevent the USA from committing more crimes against the weaker or vulnerable nations.
The USA has not signed the ICC Statute. Rather, whoever talks about the accountability of the USA’s leaders and Israel’s leaders for the alleged crimes they have committed, the USA has targeted those individuals and put them under sanctions. As a result, those individuals suffer in various ways. The USA has targeted even the ICC judges, which has an impact on the proper and effective functioning of the ICC Court. It is already known that the USA and Israel have no regard for any law or the institutions established thereunder.
The international community, therefore, must take effective measures. For this purpose, the UN Security Council needs to be modified by removing the USA’s monopoly, including its veto power. If not, a new legal order is essentially required to bring the USA under the process of accountability for crimes it has committed since the 2nd world war.
It is the West that, after the 2nd world war, has established the current legal order, including the rules related to genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, whereas it is the West that has recklessly trodden over these rules and mutual agreements. Palestine, Libya, Iraq, Syria and Iran are a few examples that explain how the West has targeted Muslim countries, one by one, by using various tactics.
The expansion of Israel by committing genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity must not be tolerated anymore. The perpetrators of these grave crimes must not be allowed to enjoy impunity anymore. The current legal order has utterly failed in achieving peace based on mutual respect. This, as a result, calls for a new legal order that can ensure accountability of these perpetrators who have no regard for any rule or humanity.
- The writer of the article is Maqsood Ali, who is a doctoral researcher in International Criminal
Law. - maqsoodali_326@yahoom.com