Category Archives: Israel

More of the same, or changes on the way? For the first time in a decade, the Canadian War Crimes Program sheds light on what it has been up to.

Posted on December 18, 2025 by Mark Kersten

Atrocities in Sudan, Gaza, and Ukraine raise a question: do people in countries far away, like Canada, have a role in addressing the suffering of others? While these conflicts can appear remote, affecting only distant strangers, the horrors they produce … Continue reading →

Posted in Ahmed Eldidi, Canada, Canadian War Crimes Program, Gaza, Hamas, International Criminal Justice, Islamic State, Israel, Palestine, RCMP Structural Investigation, Structural Investigation, Ukraine, Universal Jurisdiction, War crimes | Tagged | 2 Comments

Signs of resilience amidst troubling times in The Hague: Some thoughts on the good and the bad from this year’s Assembly of States Parties

Posted on December 4, 2025 by Mark Kersten

“We will continue our work undeterred.” That was the message from senior staff and prosecutors at the yearly Assembly of States Parties (ASP) of the International Criminal Court. While admitting that times are difficult, ICC officials repeatedly emphasized that their … Continue reading →

Posted in Argentina, Assembly of States Parties, Cybercimres, Germany, ICC President, ICC Prosecutor, ICC Sanctions, International Criminal Court (ICC), Israel, Libya, Palestine, Palestine and the ICC, Ukraine, Venezuela | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

A litmus test for commitment to international law: Germany needs to speak up and protect the ICC

Posted on October 21, 2025 by Mark Kersten

The following is a guest-post by Maxine Rubin on the relationship between Germany and the International Criminal Court. Maxine is a Research Fellow and the Editor of Africa Spectrum, at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies. She has … Continue reading →

Posted in Germany, Guest Posts, ICC Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, Israel, Palestine, Palestine and the ICC | Leave a comment

We need to talk about the “International Stabilization Force”: Canada and others say they’ll support a military intervention to ‘enforce peace’ and protect civilians in Gaza

Posted on October 15, 2025 by Mark Kersten

As the first stage of the peace plan for Gaza takes shape amidst reported breaches of the fragile agreement between Hamas and Israel, a critical question remains: will military forces be used to secure Gaza? While Canada announced its recognition … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Canada, Gaza, Israel, Palestine, Peace Negotiations, Peace Processes, Peacebuilding, Responsibiltiy to Protect (R2P), United Nations | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Canada and allies recognize Palestine: what does it mean, what does it change, and will real action to end atrocities and annexation follow?

Posted on September 22, 2025 by Mark Kersten

Amidst the atrocities, annexation efforts, and ignored warnings to stop both, it became impossible to defend the status quo. So, on 21 September 2025, Canada joined 150 other states – including erstwhile Israeli allies, France and the UK – that … Continue reading →

Posted in Apartheid, Canada, Gaza, Genocide, Israel, Palestine, United Nations, United Nations General Assembly | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

An Inversion of Pariah Status:  How Washington is undermining the UN General Assembly as a sanctuary for peace to thwart the ICC

Posted on September 16, 2025 by Mark Kersten

Victor Peskin joins JiC for this guest post on the upcoming United Nations General Assembly. Victor is an Associate Professor in the School of Politics & Global Studies at Arizona State University and a Senior Research Fellow at the UC … Continue reading →

Posted in Gaza, ICC Prosecutor, ICC Sanctions, International Criminal Court (ICC), Israel, Palestine, Palestine and the ICC, United Nations, United Nations General Assembly, United States | Tagged | Leave a comment

Canada helped build the ICC. Now its silence is helping destroy it.

Posted on September 8, 2025 by Mark Kersten

The response was swift, until it wasn’t. Reacting to U.S. sanctions against International Criminal Court (ICC) officials – including Canadian judge Kimberly Prost – Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations Bob Rae called the move “disgraceful”. He added that “attacks” on ICC staff “by … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Canada, Donald Trump, ICC Prosecutor, ICC Sanctions, International Criminal Court (ICC), Israel, Palestine and the ICC, United States | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Catching perpetrators to prosecute them abroad: could piecemeal justice contribute to comprehensive accountability for atrocities committed in Gaza?

Posted on August 11, 2025 by Mark Kersten

They thought they’d enjoy the festival, maybe a waffle and a Hoegaarden. Instead, the two Israeli soldiers were detained and questioned by Belgian police after facing allegations of war crimes stemming from the Hind Rajab Foundation, an organization set up to track soldiers … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Crimes against humanity, Gaza, Genocide, Israel, Palestine, Palestine and the ICC, Syria, Universal Jurisdiction, War crimes | Tagged | Leave a comment

To understand Genocide in Gaza and elsewhere, we need to talk about it as a process not an event

Posted on August 2, 2025 by Mark Kersten

A growing consensus of international and Israeli human rights organizations, editorial boards, Israeli Holocaust historians and former Attorney Generals, as well as figures like Romeo Dallaire, have all come to the same conclusion: What is happening in Gaza is a genocide. But it is clear there remains … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Darfur, Gaza, Genocide, Holocaust, Holodomor, Indigenous Peoples, International Criminal Court (ICC), Israel, Palestine, Rwandan Genocide, Sudan, Yazidi Genocide | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Sifting through speculation: What we do and don’t know about Canada’s Structural Investigation into the Israel-Hamas War

Posted on July 15, 2025 by Mark Kersten

In the wake of the recent revelation that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) had opened a structural investigation into international crimes committed during the Israeli-Hamas conflict in early 2024, many have projected their gravest fears, and greatest hopes, on what an … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Crimes against humanity, Gaza, Genocide, International Criminal Court (ICC), Israel, Palestine, RCMP Structural Investigation, Universal Jurisdiction, War crimes, West Bank | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment