After the recent fight is over, the US and UK administrations have indicated that they are thinking about recognizing Palestine as a condition.
Giving Palestinians the chance to become states would be “absolutely important for the long-term peace and security of the region,” according to UK foreign director David Cameron, who visited Lebanon on February 1 and stated that this would not be possible while Hamas was still in power in Gaza.
While this was going on, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced to US media outlet Forbes that he had asked the State Department to look into possible options for US and worldwide reputation of a Palestinian position. Prior to now, US policy toward Israeli sovereignty had been that Israel and the Palestinian Authority should negotiate this.
A new stage for the establishment of Arab independence would begin with international recognition. More foreign bodies dealing with international human rights and responsibilities may be added to the lawful framework for addressing the situation.
The distinction between independence and reputation should be emphasized first. State conduct foreign relations in accordance with international law on the basis of bilateral and multilateral reputation of one another’s independence as sovereign nations. Under international standards, this identification also serves as the foundation for how states act and impose a variety of obligations and duties that are legally binding.
139 of the 193 UN people have acknowledged Palestine as an impartial position. Importantly, however, the US, UK, and other G7 nations, such as Germany, Italy, or France, have no.
Palestine has been a “non-member watcher state” in the UN since 2012. In 2014, it signed several human rights treaties. The International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights ( ICESCR ), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women ( CEDAW), and other international agreements are among them.
Palestine’s inclusion in these contracts reflects its legal status as a royal state, complete with all the duties and obligations that come with that.
Palestine is a member of numerous other international organizations, such as the International Criminal Court ( ICC), the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
Recognizing oneself
The Montevideo Convention on the rights and duties of says established in 1933 a thorough and complicated process by which new says are recognized under international law. The following four requirements are listed in Article 1:
The following requirements must be met by the state in order for it to be considered a person of international law: ( a ) an ever-present population, ( b ); ( c ); government; and ( d ) the ability to engage in relations with other states.
Whether Palestine really has a “defined place” and an “effective government” is still up for debate.
The UK has steadfastly refused to recognize the sovereignty of Palestine. It did not participate in the 2012 UN general assembly voting that gave the non-member spectator standing at the organization. Recognition would therefore be a big step.
However, the reputation of Palestine as a royal status goes beyond simple political declaration. It has the ability to open up a wider range of legal channels that are based on the duties of claims under the regulations governing foreign armed conflicts and are responsible for atrocities and human rights violations.
At the moment, the ongoing fighting in Gaza is seen as a conflict between an Israeli state and an unaffiliated group ( Hamas ). This dynamic may be drastically changed by recognizing Palestine as a sovereign nation. A global military conflict in which one or more states use force against one another would result from this shift in the situation.
Since it ratified the Rome Statute in 2015, Palestine has been a part of the ICC. The ICC attorney started looking into the” position in the state of Palestine” in 2021.
This came after a pre-trial chamber ruling that the court could exercise criminal jurisdiction in the circumstances ( the ICC uses the term” situation” to refer to the boundaries of the jurisdiction within which an investigation is conducted ). This authority and investigation’s geographic range includes East Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank.
South Africa, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros, and Djibouti sent the ICC chief prosecutor a state group recommendation for Palestine on November 17, 2023, requesting that he look into crimes committed there in accordance with the Rome Statute.
Palestine’s duties
Recognition as a condition may entail certain commitments on Palestine’s element, both in terms of international law and individual rights. According to international laws, states have specific obligations and responsibilities in regards to how they handle armed conflicts. Additionally, they are required to work in accordance with international law when recognizing and defending human rights in the area under their control.
The 2023 ruling in the Mangisto and al-Sayed v. the State of Palestine case, which involved the removal of two Israeli citizens in Gaza, serves as an illustration of this concept in action.
The UN’s Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities made the decision because it was determined that both of the two Israelis who had vanished had mental disability, which had influenced their decision to enter Gaza and vanish there despite the risks involved.
The legitimate object of Palestine had a legal duty to respect and protect the rights of the people as enshrined by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, even though there was no Israeli government with effective control over Gaza and the West Bank.
Therefore, declaring Palestine a condition goes beyond merely being symbolic. It has authorized ramifications that will be crucial when negotiating for peace, the Arab people’s future, and both sides ‘ accountability for war crimes.
Tonny Raymond Kirabira teaches law at the University of East London.
Under a Creative Commons license, this post has been republished from The Conversation. read the article in its entirety.