GENEVA: A group of United Nations experts warned arms and ammunition manufacturers on Thursday against partaking in the transfer of weapons to Israel, stating that it could make them complicit in human rights abuses and violations of international law.
The group, consisting of 30 experts including several UN Special Rapporteurs, urged arms manufacturers supplying Israel to halt their transfers of war materiel, “even if they are executed under existing export licenses.”
“These companies, by sending weapons, parts, components, and ammunition to Israeli forces, risk being complicit in serious violations of international human rights and international humanitarian laws,” the experts said in a statement.
The UN experts stated that the risk to arms firms had increased since the International Court of Justice ordered Israel last month to halt its military offensive in Rafah, in the southern tip of the Gaza Strip. This ruling came in response to South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide.
“In this context, continuing arms transfers to Israel may be seen as knowingly providing assistance for operations that contravene international human rights and international humanitarian laws and may result in profit from such assistance,” the experts said.
Furthermore, British weapons manufacturers were warned that their sales of military equipment to Israel could lead to criminal charges for failing to prevent war crimes amid the Israeli offensive in Gaza.
Four anti-arms trade campaign groups, including the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), highlighted “potential criminal liability for atrocity crimes currently taking place in Gaza” in a letter to 20 UK firms that contribute parts or software used in F-35 fighter jets by the Israeli air force.
The letter cited a section in the 2001 International Criminal Court Act, which states that it is an offense under English and Welsh law “to engage in ‘conduct ancillary’ to a war crime or a crime against humanity” in foreign jurisdictions.
The firms targeted by the activists include the UK arm of Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, and Northrop Grumman, according to the Guardian.
The UN human rights office stated on Wednesday that Israeli forces may have repeatedly violated the laws of war and failed to distinguish between civilians and fighters in the Gaza conflict. Israel dismissed the findings as flawed.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, Israel’s air and ground offensive has killed more than 37,400 people in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of war on October 7.
