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The Call Defend International Law

On March 14, 2024

In 2019, 44 Norwegian jurists/lawyers/professors launched the initiative Defend International Law, that several hundred jurists and organizations have joined subsequently. The initiative is the framework for this call, which was adopted at the Foundation’s meeting of the Association on the 14th of March 2024.

The association works to ensure that the Norwegian authorities are consistent in their enforcement and compliance with international law, human rights, and humanitarian law. This includes the principle whereas countries that seriously and persistently violate international law must be met with economic and political sanctions, and that war crimes must be investigated and castigated.

Norway is currently participating in sanctioning about 30 regimes and restrictive measures targeting countries and regions. Compared to these regimes, there is no correlation between them and the Norwegian authorities’ reactions to Israel’s violations of international law, human rights, and humanitarian law. While Israel’s grave and pertinacious violations are only criticized verbally, other countries that violate international law are exposed to reactions from the international community through definite actions and sanctions.

Despite conventions, UN resolutions and condemnation from the international community, Israel has continued its oppression of the Palestinians by the siege and warfare against the population of the Gaza Strip, increased settlement activity and annexation of Palestinian land for several decades, while decisions in the UN Security Council and the International Court of Justice are highly neglected. In addition to UN bodies the criticism put forward by human rights organizations, humanitarian organizations, institutions such as the EU and individual countries. Among others Norway has advanced its criticism against preceding violations several times. Reports from recognized institutions and UN organizations document that Israel’s extensive human rights violations against Palestinians are integral of a system that constitutes apartheid.

Israel is not solitary state that violates international law, humanitarian law, and human rights. What is special for Israel is its long-term, serious, and systematic violations of international law committed against Palestinians that has not entailed consequences or accountability for the state.

Israel is in a special stance when it comes to reactions from the Western world. The absence of punitive reactions to Israel’s notorious violations of and lack of respect for international law appears and is perceived as support for a state that considers itself above the norms that apply to the protection of an occupied and suppressed people. Even after colossal amount of past ongoing violations of international law, reactions continue to be limited to rhetoric and belief that dialogue and cooperation is the single sufficient solution. The indication of Norway’s and the West’s lack of reaction is perceived in large parts of the world as an expression of a double standard that prevents international law from altering into an effective legal system by enforcing violations of our common legal system.

Due to an interwar period, there was an absence of a system of international law. Consequently, the international community was without instruments to confront the violations committed by states against ethnic groups in a number of countries around the globe. Whereas today we have international regulations and international bodies to protect individuals and groups of people from such atrocities. If we are not consistent in shielding of our legal system, it will compromise and lose its significance as a protecting mechanism of fundamental human rights.

The Association s aim is to restore respect for international law. It is crucial that the Norwegian authorities in any circumstances show the will and ability to protect and comply with international legal norms, regardless of whom the perpetrator is.