“Rules and promises are made to be broken” – perhaps the world community is heading towards following this proverb. By observing the devastating conditions in the last few months in Palestine, Syria, and other Middle Eastern states, and the pin-drop silence and absence of any action against these unjustified attacks on innocent civilians and non-combatants, it has become quite clear that all international rules and laws are being violated, and promises to humanity have been denied.
From the very beginning of civilisation, men came up with laws to bind human behaviour into a pattern. Within states, municipal laws are followed to avoid punishment and to protect the rights of the citizens. And when a law comes under a global shed, states follow that international law considering it as custom or norm, to maintain the relationship between states.
The fundamental characteristic of any law is its binding force. We abide by the laws because we are aware of the fact that punishment will be imposed otherwise. But, what will the consequence be when no punishment stands for non-compliance with the law?
In fact, the modern world witnesses that even in the absence of sanctions, laws are being abided with due diligence. States discharge their conduct with other states through international laws, and also maintain their relations with each other under the terms and conditions of international laws.
However, states are not the only subjects of the international laws. International organisations, non-state entities, and even individuals have been considered as legitimate subjects of international laws.
And, among the international organisations, the United Nations has the responsibility to regulate international relations among its member states. It also maintains peace, ensures international security, and prevents war. After the disastrous end of World War II, the UN was established with a view to check security and maintain peace in the world community.
Among the six principle organs of this international organisation, the Security Council is the most authoritative one comprising of a total of 15 members, in which five members are permanent (China, Russia, the United States, France, and Britain), and the other 10 members are elected every two years.
According to Article 34 of the charter of the UN: “The security council may investigate any dispute or any situation that leads to international friction or gives rise to a dispute, in order to determine whether the continuance of the dispute or situation is likely to endanger international peace and security”.
After determining the existence and extent of such threat, the Security Council may recommend which measures shall be taken to restore international peace and security (Article 39 of UN charter). So, from the beginning of its establishment, the Security Council has been given extensive power and authority in pen and paper to control friction or disputes between states.
Now, what comment shall we pass when we see the current situation between Israel and Palestine? So far, 2,016 people have been killed in Gaza by the Israeli armed force. Among them, 542 were children, 250 were women, 95 were elderly men, and 10,000 people were injured. 475,000 people have been forcibly displaced to save their lives, and approximately $5bn will have to be spent by the Palestinian government to rebuild the blockaded enclave.
Ayelet Shaked, an honourable member of the Israeli Parliament wrote a comment on a social networking page: “Behind every terrorist stand dozens of men and women, without whom he could not engage in terrorism. They are all enemy combatants, and their blood shall be on their heads.”
These types of racial statements legalise the continuous attacks by Israel on Palestine. And the astonishing fact is that still, no step has been taken so far by the UN to stop this mass killing.
The reason behind this could be the passing of a motion by the UN General Assembly changing Palestine’s “entity” status to “non-member observer state” on November 29, 2012.
But since May 11, 1949, Israel has been a member state of the UN. Then, isn’t it the duty of this member state to maintain the agenda of the UN, which starts with the vow of maintaining peace and international security worldwide? This is how the rules and laws have been broken by a member state of the world’s most influential organisation.
Another question arises regarding this Israel and Palestine issue – the existence of war. Actually, there is no war at all, because what has been happening are nothing but crimes against humanity. According to Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, crimes against humanity include murder, extermination, deportation, or forcible transfer of population, torture, etc.
Again, the probability of ensuring justice for the people of Palestine seems little. But, it is not only about ensuring justice, but also standing up for humanity.
If we cannot stop this injustice by enforcing the laws, then we have to at least make sure that we support the victims in Palestine morally. That is how we will be able to fulfill our promises which we made as a state in the international community.
On July 12, 2014, the foreign ministry of Bangladesh issued a statement that Bangladesh strongly condemned the Israeli aggression and called for an immediate cessation of atrocities in Gaza. In the statement, it was also mentioned that Bangladesh was shocked at the recent Israeli violence perpetrated in Gaza. This is our stand about Palestine. In fact, this is our stand about humanity.
But, it might not suffice. The whole world will have to come forward to restore peace and help the people of Palestine to live without fear of death and to overcome the tragedy which they have been facing in the last few months.
