Category Archives: Israel

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

Courts in Conversation: The International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice and their mutual and respective roles in Addressing International Crimes

Posted on July 10, 2025 by Mark Kersten

The following essay examines the relationship between the ICJ and the ICC, at a time when both courts have increasingly found themselves seized of the same situations of mass atrocity crimes, including in Gaza, Myanmar, Ukraine and Afghanistan. It was … Continue reading →

Posted in Burma/Myanmar, Gaza, ICC Prosecutor, International Court of Justice (ICJ), International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, International Law, Israel, Myanmar, Palestine, Palestine and the ICC, Rohingya, Russia, Ukraine | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

“It is time for the further concrete action that has been promised”: an Open Letter to Prime Minister Carney to take decisive action to end genocide in Gaza

Posted on June 9, 2025 by Mark Kersten

The following is an open letter to Canadian PM Mark Carney, written (in both English and French) by 412 Canadian legal, human rights, social justice, international relations, diplomatic, civil society, faith and labour leaders from across the country. The letter … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Gaza, ICC Prosecutor, International Court of Justice (ICJ), International Criminal Court (ICC), Israel, Palestine, Sanctions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

An Accountability Game-Changer? Canada opens structural investigation into atrocities committed in the Israel – Palestine war

Posted on June 4, 2025 by Mark Kersten

Canadian authorities are conducting a structural investigation into war crimes and other atrocities committed in the Israel-Palestine war. First reported by journalist Ben Mussett, the news comes amidst mounting evidence of the intentional starvation of civilians in Gaza, the refusal of Hamas … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Gaza, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, Israel, Palestine, Palestine and the ICC, Structural Investigation, Universal Jurisdiction | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Trump’s Gaza “Plan” would mean committing every core international crime

Posted on February 6, 2025 by Mark Kersten

It is hard to keep track of the number of international crimes being proposed in Washington as a response to the destruction of Gaza. There are solid arguments to be made that President Donald Trump’s “plan” for the United States to “own” … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime of Aggression, Crimes against humanity, Gaza, Genocide, ICC Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC), Israel, Palestine, United States, War crimes | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The International Criminal Court is facing an existential challenge from the United States. How does it survive it?

Posted on December 18, 2024 by Mark Kersten

The world’s only permanent international tribunal mandated to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide is facing its greatest challenge to date. With the incoming Trump administration and sanctions looming over the Court and its staff, a simple question … Continue reading →

Posted in ICC Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, Israel, Palestine, Palestine and the ICC, United States | Tagged | 1 Comment

The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. What’s next?

Posted on November 26, 2024 by Mark Kersten

Dear readers, Last Thursday was a good day for justice and accountability, one that many thought would never come or believed was even possible. I therefore thought some might be interested in this interview that I did with Al Jazeera … Continue reading →

Posted in Benjamin Netanyahu, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Justice, Israel, Palestine, Palestine and the ICC, Yoav Gallant | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment