November 15, 2024 in Paris,
Mr. President of the Republic,
Our association, Lawyers for the Respect of International Law (JURDI), welcomes your statement of October 5th that "the priority is (...) to stop the delivery of weapons to wage war in Gaza." This position is consistent with the letter and spirit of the requirements of international law applicable to the transfer of conventional weapons, the content of which is outlined in the annex attached to this letter. Our association calls for the immediate implementation of this statement by the competent French authorities.
However, she wishes to share with you her concerns about an announcement that seems to us too late, too limited and too imprecise.
The announcement came too late, since the transfers of arms and other military equipment and components to the State of Israel should have ceased when France became "aware," as early as October 2023, of the massive and systematic violations of the rules of international humanitarian law committed by the Israeli armed forces in the occupied territory of the Gaza Strip, sometimes using weapons and military components transferred by France, which has an imperative obligation to respect and enforce these rules by the State of Israel.
These arms transfers should have ceased, especially since France was also aware of the "overwhelming risk" that international crimes and serious violations of international humanitarian law would be committed by Israeli armed forces. Many of these serious violations are also being committed in the occupied West Bank and the sovereign state of Lebanon.
These transfers should a fortiori have ceased on January 26, 2024, when the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in legally binding provisional measures, recognized the existence of a "plausible, real and imminent risk" that a crime of genocide was being perpetrated in the Gaza Strip and recalled the obligation for all States to prevent the commission of a crime of genocide by Israel.
France should, in fact, have then, as it still must today, suspended or prohibited any authorization for the transfer of weapons and export licenses (among others known as "ML3", "ML4" or "ML5") of military equipment such as ammunition parts or other components for machine guns, 5.56 mm cartridge links produced in France to the State of Israel or sold to its companies such as IMI Systems, "exclusive supplier to the Israeli defense forces", without control over their use and whose use by the Israeli armed forces to commit certain war crimes is established.
This suspension or ban is necessary, whether this material is intended for possible re-export to third countries, whether or not it is for "defensive use" or "dual use".
The announcement of the suspension of arms transfers to Israel is then too limited since it only mentions the "delivery of weapons to conduct the fighting in Gaza" without encompassing all transfers, all types of equipment transferred and the potential use of such weapons and components in the occupied West Bank and Lebanon.
The announcement of the suspension of arms transfers to Israel is ultimately too vague. It reflects a lack of transparency on the part of the relevant French authorities regarding the reality of these transfers (nature, quantities, recipients, dates). The annual reports submitted to the Secretariat of the Arms Trade Treaty, the official declarations made at the last conference of States Parties to this treaty (August 2024), the lack of responses to recent questions or letters from members of parliament, the lack of communication with the press, and the absence of any real mechanisms for ex-ante and ex-post control on-site of the end use of these weapons are all cause for concern.
The silence of the Minister of the Armed Forces and then recent statements acknowledging certain transfers made since October 2023 revealed for example by Disclose in partnership with Marsactu in March and April 2024 or by Mediapart and by other organizations and research work are indicative of a lack of necessary transparency and raise fears of a desire to conceal arms transfers to Israel.
All of these elements create a risk that the responsibility of the French State and the individual criminal responsibility of its leaders may be engaged, for having taken the risk of providing direct or indirect aid and assistance or any form of complicity in the commission of internationally unlawful acts such as the international crimes mentioned.
France must return to the path of absolute respect and good faith for its international legal obligations and refrain from authorizing such transfers of conventional weapons to Israel, the occupying power of the territory of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
By respecting all its obligations, France can help prevent the commission of international crimes, limit the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Gaza Strip, and thus contribute to the maintenance of regional and global peace and security.
Our association, Jurists for Respect for International Law (JURDI), is at your disposal to contribute to and discuss this.
The President of JURDI,
Patrick ZAHND
