AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL - MEDIA ADVISORY
Thursday 8 May 2014.- Seventeen local and international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have called on Palestine to become a party to the International Criminal Court (ICC), in a joint open letter to President Mahmoud Abbas delivered to his office today.
If Palestine signed up to the Rome Statute of the ICC, the Court would have jurisdiction over war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on Palestinian territories and by its nationals elsewhere.
“President Mahmoud Abbas should take the necessary steps for Palestine to become a party to the International Criminal Court. Doing so would sent an important message that entrenched impunity for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on Palestinian territories must end once and for all,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme.
Last month Palestine acceded to 20 international treaties and conventions in a promising signal that it was committed to upholding human rights within the areas it controls.
Saleh Hijazi, Amnesty International campaigner and Stephanie Barbour, head of the organization’s Centre for International Justice, are available for interviews:
Possible talking points:
- What accession to the Rome Statute will mean for Palestinians
- Human rights concerns in the West Bank and Gaza
- The jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court
- Palestine’s accession to other international treaties and conventions
For more information see:
Palestinian Authority: Joint open letter to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
To arrange an interview, please contact:
Sara Hashash MENA Press Officer in London +44 (0)207 413 5511 sara.hashash@amnesty.org or contact Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 email: press@amnesty.org
