Justice and Accountability in and for Palestine: How Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza affects human rights politics in the Euro-Mediterranean region

in collaboration with Euromed Rights

The scale of the war crimes committed by the Israeli armed forces in Gaza, according to the International Court of Justice, could reach the legal threshold of genocide. As the months have passed, an unprecedented humanitarian crisis has emerged that has spread to all levels of Palestinian society, also affecting refugee communities in the region and in the diaspora. The horrors of war and the perpetuation of impunity for crimes committed under international humanitarian law and human rights law have polarized political opinion around the world. It has mobilised millions of people, ignited social and mainstream media and galvanised supporters and allies of the warring parties. As such, it has brought the issue of justice and accountability in and for Palestine back to the forefront of Euro-Mediterranean human rights politics and geopolitics in the region and beyond.

The seminar will bring together international experts and policymakers to shed light on how key international actors and institutions are responding – from the EU and its member states to the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court and social movements around the world.

9.30-9.45 Introduction by session chairs, Wadih Al Asmar, President for EuroMed Rights and Raffaella Bolini, Vice-President for Associazione Ricreativa e Culturale Italiana

9.45 – 10.05 Keynote by Francesca Albanese, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories

10.05- 10.30 Q&A session

10.30-11.45 Perspectives on the impact from the Gaza on the human rights movement

• Hamdi Shaqqura, Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
• Enabtawy Rafaa, Kayan Feminist Organization
• Issam Younis, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights
• Mazen Darwish, Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression
• Aarti Narsee, European Civic Forum

11.45- 12.15 Q&A session

12.15-12.30 Concluding remarks by Rasmus Alenius Boserup, EuroMed Rights forEuroMed Rights Executive Director and Fatima Shehadeh, Head of Middle East Department for EuroMed Rights