United States: Legal organizations warn members of Congress of their complicity in the genocide in Gaza
The National Lawyers Guild, Palestine Legal and the Center for Constitutional Rights sent a letter of demand to all representatives of Congress.
Over there National Lawyers Guild, Palestine Legal and the Center for Constitutional RightsNovember 3, 2023
NOTICE OF POTENTIAL LEGAL LIABILITY FOR ASSISTING, ENCOURAGEMENT, INCITEMENT, OR CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT GENOCIDE THROUGH ACTS OF CONGRESS
Dear Congressional Representatives,
We understand that you will vote on the emergency military financing program for Israel. We are writing to inform you of the legal consequences of your vote in favor of this program and to asking you to vote against the military aid program.
The aid program will provide funds to Israel to, among other things, support its ongoing genocide and war crimes against Palestinians who are confined to the Gaza Strip, and to support apartheid and ethnic cleansing, as well as the underlying crimes of forcible transfer and deportation in the West Bank.
As a signatory to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Genocide Convention, the United States is required to respect and enforce the obligations arising from these international treaties, including preventing the commission of genocide and preventing and punishing the commission of genocide. committing serious breaches of the Geneva Conventions – not aiding and abetting them.
Please note that if you vote in favor of this program, you risk incurring criminal and civil liability for complicity in genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity under international law, and to be investigated and prosecuted before the International Criminal Court and in third States under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
Please also note that under the Rome Statute, public and private officials do not enjoy immunity from prosecution and therefore there is no immunity from official acts for the universally recognized crimes of genocide , war crimes and crimes against humanity, nor immunity for aiding, complicity and incitement to genocide, even if this genocide was not completed.
Please also note that there is no statute of limitations on complaints and prosecutions under these charges.
The U.S. federal code also criminalizes attempt, complicity, and conspiracy to commit genocide, and allows for the prosecution of persons present in the United States who have committed war crimes anywhere in the world.
The evidence of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes of aggression committed by Israel with the material support of the United States has been documented and is overwhelming.
We remind you that “self-defense” does not justify genocides or war crimes.
For the foregoing reasons, we ask you to take this notice with the seriousness it implies and we ask you to refrain from aiding and abetting war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity committed by Israel, by voting against the proposed aid package and by refraining from encouraging or supporting the commission of Israeli crimes against the Palestinians.
SUPPORTED BY :
- Arab American Committee Against Discrimination (ADC)
- Climate Defense Project
- Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN)
- First Defense Legal Aid
- Law For Black Lives
- Majlis Ash-Shura: Islamic Leadership Council of New York
- National Lawyers Guild Anti-Repression Task Force
- International Committee of the National Lawyers Guild
- Palestinian Liberation Assembly: PAL Commission on War Crimes, Reparations, and Justice
Attachment
Request letter from NLG PL CCR to MOC November 2023
Source: Center for Constitutional Rights
ED translation for the Palestine Media Agency
