During a period when evidence of genocide in Gaza has increasingly emerged and its deliberate commission has been unequivocally admitted by Israeli authorities, reference to multiple global standards clarifies the obligation of advocates and truth-seekers.
Following the devastating attack by the United States and its allies (the Allied Powers of World War II) due to the violation of two international resolutions, Iraq fell into chaos. After the war, due to power vacuums, the emergence of ISIS, and the destruction of a significant portion of the Middle East’s intellectual heritage, Saddam Hussein was never defensible by Iranians. However, the destruction of Iraq after the violation of UN Resolution 1441 and the support of the Allies for Israel after the violation of 81 UN resolutions is a clear sign of the fundamental disbelief of Israel’s supporters in adhering to international laws and the instrumental use of international organizations.
Even in the legal arena, there was no determinance for the court rulings regarding the violation of criminal laws and the commission of war crimes. While the International Court of Justice issues an immediate halt to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a few months later, despite evidence of genocide, the court did not issue an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Multiple standards and the classification of citizens and non-citizens in second and third degree are appropriate criteria for distinguishing between good and evil. Although we cannot justify the fundamental weaknesses of our global system, we can challenge these international apartheid systems. As Molana (Rumi) says, “we can not fall into all Rhymes, some of this Rhyme and some of that Rhyme”11.
This important matter was the subject of my master’s thesis in international law2. The difference between a thesis (پایان نامه) and a dissertation (رساله) is that a dissertation may not end until the hopes and theories of research are put into practice, while a thesis is for obtaining a degree and finding a job3.
These systems, in their fundamental and historical moments, exhibit apartheid attitudes among decision-makers. For example, the termination of US government subsidies to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) for $65 million on charges of ambulances participating in Hamas operations and in parallel their attempts to pass a $95 billion aid package to Israel and Ukraine after charges of war crimes in the International Court are enough for such justification of multiple standards.
Not only such apartheid provokes civil concerns, at the time when a country is under investigation for allegations of Genocide, any support including financial and arms support would invoke charges regarding Art. III (e) of the Convention of Genocide regarding assistance and support and collaboration in Genocide.
Dr. Amirali R. Davoudpour (Ph.D., LLM.)
Secretary of the Law and Healing Society
- ساعتی موزون آنی ، ساعتی موزون این ↩︎
- The necessity of developing new non-governmental systems in dealing with multiple international standards – Dr. Amirali Davoudpour, Iranian Medical and Legal Association (CanMedLaw), 1402 (2024) ↩︎
- No direct translation could be indicated in English for the Persian terms ↩︎
