Netherlands must do everything in its power to prevent genocide: Committee

The Netherlands must take action to prevent the threat of genocide anywhere in the world, said the Advisory Committee on International Law Issues (CAVV) in an unsolicited advisory report to politicians. Although the committee did not specifically mention Israeli violence in Gaza, the advice clearly relates to it.

Even if a country cannot do enough on its own to prevent genocide, it must take all steps “reasonably available to it” to do so, the CAVV said. “These must involve measures that have a deterrent effect on those who commit or threaten to commit genocide.”

The committee mentions possible actions, including “naming and shaming,” stricter visa requirements, and freezing assets. If diplomatic efforts are ineffective, the Genocide Convention calls for “a change of course and increased diplomatic pressure.”

According to experts and international organizations, including recently two Israeli human rights organizations, Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip. The International Court of Justice, which has jurisdiction over the Genocide Convention, has not yet established this, but has already ruled that there is a risk of irreparable harm to the rights under the convention. That is sufficient to invoke the obligations, the CAVV said.

The Dutch government has so far relied primarily on diplomacy to try to convince Israel to stop violating human rights. Recently, the government took some more concrete steps, including banning two extremist Israeli ministers from entering the Netherlands.

As of August 4, Israel has killed 60,933 people, including at least 18,430 children, in the Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera reported based on the latest figures from the Palestinian Health Ministry. That is one out of every 36 people in Gaza dead, and over 90 people killed per day since this war started on October 7, 2023, provoked by a Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, killing 1,137 people. The Gaza death toll does not include the thousands of missing people buried under the rubble.

At least 150,027 people in the Gaza Strip are injured, including 40,500 children and babies. 180 people have starved to death in Gaza due to Israel restricting aid. 93 of them were children and babies. One in ten children in Gaza are malnourished.