This is a serious blow to the International Criminal Court (ICC), especially by one of its founding states, which also prides itself on being the “homeland of human rights”. With a cryptic statement, on Wednesday, November 27, France undermined the authority of this judicial body and reduced the weight of the arrest warrant issued six days earlier by its judges against Benyamin Netanyahu for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the context of the Gaza war. All this, according to corroborating sources, in order not to break with the Israeli Prime Minister, who questioned the role of mediator claimed by Paris in the search for a ceasefire in Lebanon won after a hard fight and announced on Tuesday night. by Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron. .
After several confusing comments, France clarified its position on the arrest warrant issued by the ICC against the Israeli head of government. By stating that she “It will respect its international obligations” and that the Rome Statute, the founding text of the Court, “requires full cooperation with the International Criminal Court”, the press release published by the Quai d’Orsay highlights that this text “It also provides that a State cannot be required to act in a manner inconsistent with its obligations under international law with respect to the immunities of States that are not parties to the ICC.”. A reference to article 98 of the Rome Statute. And the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continued: “Such immunities apply to Prime Minister Netanyahu and other relevant ministers and must be taken into consideration if the ICC requests their arrest and surrender. » As the Jewish State has not signed the Rome Statute, it has not waived the immunities of its current leaders, unlike the 124 States parties to the ICC, including France.
This “clarification” had all the more the effect of a A thunderclap that occurs in a context of recurring tensions between the French and Israeli governments, at the end of weeks of negotiations to obtain a ceasefire in Lebanon. In the final stretch of these talks, the ICC’s announcement of the issuance of mandates on Thursday, November 21, further strained the often acrimonious exchanges between Emmanuel Macron and Benjamin Netanyahu. To such an extent that the latter, according to an important source, asked the French president by telephone on Friday to rule against the Court’s decision. With great urgency, he reiterated a threat raised in recent months during his friction with the tenant of the Elysée: to challenge France’s mediation efforts in Lebanon and exclude him from the monitoring committee of a possible ceasefire. the advice of Beirut and Washington, who insisted, on the contrary, on keeping Paris on board.
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