[Panel discussion] Israel’s unlawful occupation of Palestine and the impact of States’ (non-)compliance with UNGA Resolution ES-10/24

On 18 September 2024, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted Resolution A/RES/ES-10/24. The resolution, introduced by the State of Palestine, welcomed the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion from 19 July 2024 on the Legal consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. It also communicated the UNGA’s demand that, amongst other things, “...Israel brings to an end without delay its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which constitutes a wrongful act of a continuing character entailing its international responsibility, and do so no later than 12 months from the adoption of the present resolution”(*).

The resolution further called upon all States to comply with their obligations under international law, both in respect to their joint and separate actions, as well as the actions of their nationals, companies and entities under their jurisdiction. Still, with the expiry of the 12-month deadline for Israel to end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory fast approaching, contemporary reports from the United Nations describe escalating attacks in Gaza by Israel’s military, and the spread of famine. The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher has damningly stated that: “Death, destruction, starvation and displacement of Palestinian civilians are the result of choices that defy international law and ignore the international community.”

In this panel event, co-organised by the Asser Institute and the Council of Arab Ambassadors in The Hague, four experts, including Ambassador Ammar Hijazi, Head of the Palestinian mission to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and Permanent Representative of the State of Palestine to International organisations in The Hague, will reflect on state compliance with UNGA Resolution A/RES/ES-10/24. They will particularly reflect on the legal and political consequences which may follow for states and the international legal order as a whole, taking into account the UNGA resolution’s deadline.

Speakers:

• Ambassador Ammar Hijazi – Ambassador and Head of the Palestinian Mission to the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Permanent Representative of the State of Palestine to International Organisations in The Hague
• Prof. André Nollkaemper – Professor of International Law and Sustainability at the University of Amsterdam
• Dr Alessandra Spadaro – Assistant Professor of Public International Law at Utrecht University
• The event will be chaired by Carl Emilio Lewis – researcher at the Asser Insitute.

(*) UNGA Resolution, A/RES/ES-10/24, p.5, para. 2.