TEHRAN— July 17 marks the World Day for International Justice. The Day of International Criminal Justice is celebrated by honoring individuals working to advocate the fundamental human rights of victims affected by criminal acts. People also come together around the world to host events promoting international criminal justice and support for the International Criminal Court.

International Justice Day commemorates the historic adoption of the Rome Statute on 17 July 1998 and marks the importance of continuing the fight against impunity and bringing justice for the victims of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. 

The day is a reminder of the urgency for all states committed to justice around the world to ensure continued support for the international justice system. It demonstrates the crucial role of civil society members in ensuring that ICC member states live up to their obligations. 

This year's theme for the Day of International Criminal Justice is "social justice in the digital economy", a timely topic for a modern age where criminals are increasingly relying on advanced internet-based means instead of traditional criminal tactics.

However, true justice cannot be tolerated by some Americans and their friends, the occupiers, as they think of the concept of justice as something that needs to be done based on their belief system. They cannot accept an opposite view.  

On September 2, 2020, the United States imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, and another senior prosecution official, Phakiso Mochochoko. In addition, U.S. then-Secretary of State Michael Pompeo announced that Washington had restricted the issuance of visas for certain unnamed individuals “involved in the ICC’s efforts to investigate U.S. personnel.”

The sanctions on Bensouda and Mochochoko followed a sweeping executive order issued on June 11, 2020, by President Donald Trump. This order declared a national emergency and authorized asset freezes and family entry bans against ICC officials who were identified as being involved in certain activities. Earlier, the Trump administration had repeatedly threatened action to thwart ICC investigations in Afghanistan and Palestine. In a precursor step, in 2019, the Trump administration revoked the prosecutor’s U.S. visa.

The U.S. addiction to sanctions is not something hidden. The whole world knows of it. Yet, this time, Trump and his associates took the issue many steps further. They sanctioned justice as well. Can International Justice Day be celebrated while oppressive countries such as the United States live and breathe?

Justice can only be fully accomplished when countries like Afghanistan, Yemen, Iraq, and Syria get rid of war, violence, occupation, and terrorism. Of course, let’s not forget the biggest violator of justice, the occupying regime of Israel. 

The people of Palestine have not tasted the sweet taste of justice and liberty for well over 70 years. 

Palestinians are being continuously killed and injured by the Israeli occupying forces in deadly military raids, and by extremist Israeli settlers. Palestinians are regularly arrested and imprisoned without a charge or trial. Children have not been spared, but are rather growing in numbers on both the casualty and prisoner lists. Palestinian homes and properties continue to be seized and demolished regularly. Palestinian families continue to be forcibly displaced, callously rendered homeless, and destitute. And the state of Palestine continues to be fragmented and scarred as the occupiers persist with their settlement policies to annex as many Palestinian lands as possible. All of this is being done in a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention and against the backdrop of deafening silence and paralysis of the international community, particularly the Security Council.

While it is impossible to list all the violations and crimes committed by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem al-Quds, I am compelled to highlight certain incidents reflective of the systematic, unlawful behavior and insidious intentions of the occupying regime, neither of which render any hope for progress towards peace soon.

For over 70 years, Israel has subjected Palestinians to systematic human rights abuses, severe discrimination, and deadly military force. The fourth generation of Palestinian children are being brought up in refugee camps, in chronic poverty, denied the right to return to their family homes. Over a million Palestinians suffer discrimination over access to public services, land, and employment. Israel’s siege of Gaza has condemned its 1.9 million inhabitants to poverty and psychological violence. The construction of the apartheid wall, the military closure of the Jordan Valley, and the annexation of East Jerusalem are creating an irreversible reality of permanent occupation.
This is pure injustice committed by the Israeli regime, but if you imagine that Israel has no accomplice, you are wrong.  

The United States has imposed brutal and crippling sanctions on Iran, some are so brutal that prompted international bodies to react. 

“These unjust and harmful sanctions are destroying the economy and currency of Iran, driving millions of people into poverty and making imported goods unaffordable,” United Nations Special Rapporteur Idriss Jazairy stressed while questioning whether the United States would provide food and medicines to the millions of Iranians no longer able to afford them.

“The current system creates doubt and ambiguity which makes it all but impossible for Iran to import these urgently needed humanitarian goods. This ambiguity causes a “chilling effect” which is likely to lead to silent deaths in hospitals as medicines run out, while the international media fail to notice,” Mr. Jazairy said.

“We had always said the sanctions are unjust but coronavirus revealed this injustice to the world,” Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said in a recent video message. He referred to the sanctions as “economic terrorism.”

The United States tried to use the virus to squeeze Iran beyond what sanctions alone could do. 

The U.S. Treasury Department on November 5, 2018, imposed sanctions on Iran's crucial oil, banking, and transportation sectors. The sanctions cover 50 Iranian banks and subsidiaries, more than 200 persons and vessels in its shipping sector, and targets Tehran's national airline, Iran Air, and more than 65 of its aircraft.

The United States and its long-time friend Israel, don’t deserve to celebrate International Justice Day, as they are the biggest violators of the very notion of justice itself. 

SA/PA