The Construction of the Israeli Apartheid Wall

Dr. Hans Koechler, the moderator of last panel discussion which was held on March 26 2010 at the UN Vienna during the Seminar on Assistance to the Palestinian People, said that the big problem, as far as international law was concerned, was the gap between legal norms and the situation on the ground. The norms were clear, as had been confirmed by the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion.

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The basic elements of that Opinion were: the construction of the wall was contrary to international law; Israel was under obligation to terminate its construction, dismantle it and repeal all legislative acts that related to it; Israel was under obligation to pay reparations for all damage caused by the wall; all States were under obligation not to recognize any consequences of the wall construction and not to aid such construction; and the United Nations should consider what further action was required to bring an end to the construction.

It was therefore appropriate for the United Nations to organize meetings such as the current one. The implementation of the law was unfortunately something that was left to international politics as international law was not self-enforcing. There stood only two avenues open in terms of enforcement. First, there were compulsory measures under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, which were impossible to use as long as one permanent Member of the Security Council would cast a negative vote. Second, those States that had ratified the Geneva Conventions could take measures, including economic ones, against Israel. The realistic action was to exercise political pressure. That was the predicament the United Nations and the international community was in. It was therefore appropriate that civil society stepped in, especially in the countries that were permanent members of the Security Council.

by Kawther Salam

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