As the Palestinian death toll rises, the future of international law hangs in the balance not just for Gaza but for human rights the world over, writes Tatiana Svorou.
IN THE PAST TWO WEEKS, over 1,000 Palestinians, including women and children, have been killed by relentless Israeli airstrikes — a brutal violation of the ceasefire that leaves the concept of international justice increasingly hollow.
These attacks, conducted under the guise of self-defence, are yet another chapter in the ongoing tragedy of Palestinian suffering. This massacre is not an isolated incident but a continuation of a broader pattern of violence that continues to be perpetrated with little to no consequence. And as the world looks on in horror, the international community's response remains, at best, tepid.
Where do we stand? International law is not collapsing on its own; it is being deliberately dismantled by those who invoke it when it suits their interests and violate it when it obstructs them. The very states that are supposed to uphold justice and human rights have instead transformed them into tools of political manipulation. They sacrifice the integrity of international law in favour of their geopolitical and economic agendas, furthering their own interests at the expense of the most vulnerable.
This calculated disregard for justice erodes the credibility of international law, leaving it as little more than a convenient narrative for those in power.
The effectiveness of legal discourse rooted in international human rights law and humanitarian law is disintegrating before our eyes. Once heralded as frameworks that could protect the most vulnerable, they are now being weaponised by those who claim to be their defenders.
Governments, once tasked with defending these principles, have increasingly resorted to shielding one another, enabling egregious crimes to continue with impunity. Instead of holding those responsible for atrocities accountable, they have enabled the machinery of violence to continue unchecked.
This chain of absolute impunity sets a dangerous precedent, allowing the mass extermination and systematic destruction of Palestinian lives to persist under the world's watch. The inadequacy of relying solely on legal frameworks has never been more evident. When laws, which were intended to protect human rights, are distorted to justify violence, they cease to fulfill their original purpose. Rather than serving as instruments of justice, they become tools of oppression, facilitating the silencing of those who resist.
Western governments, which self-identify as bastions of democracy, liberty and human rights, have not only remained silent in the face of these crimes but have actively worked to suppress those who dare to raise their voices in defence of Palestinians. This includes advocating for the fundamental right of Palestinians to live with dignity or simply to live.
What is particularly disturbing is the active criminalisation of solidarity. Those who stand in support of justice for Palestinians are branded as “inciters of hate” or “sympathisers with terrorism”. In these political environments, resistance is not seen as a moral duty but as a criminal act.
Those who refuse to conform to this narrative face the consequences of persecution. Advocates for Palestinian rights have been arrested on university campuses and at protests, their voices silenced in a desperate attempt to stifle dissent. Many are banned from entering European territories and others are stigmatised as threats to national security.
This coordinated effort to silence moral resistance speaks volumes about the political motivations at play. It is not simply the failure of international law that has led us here; it is the deliberate and calculated weaponisation of that law by the very forces that claim to uphold it.
This intentional silencing of solidarity is nothing more than a strategic cover-up of crimes. The culture of impunity is not a product of accident or coincidence, it is a political choice made by governments that are more interested in preserving their own interests than in ensuring justice for the oppressed.
Impunity, in this case, is not an unfortunate byproduct of ineffective systems; it is the outcome of a carefully orchestrated decision to shield the perpetrators of violence from accountability. And this political choice paves the way for even greater atrocities in the future — more mass slaughter, greater displacement and an unstoppable deconstruction of the very definition of human life that deserves protection.
When laws are not applied to protect the weak but are instead manipulated to legitimise repression and delegitimise resistance, law becomes a weapon in the hands of the powerful. This is not an abstract problem; it is a direct challenge to the human rights and dignity of millions of people.
The message is clear: if you are not part of the geopolitical interests that govern the global stage, your life does not matter. Your rights are not protected by international law; they are easily disregarded in the face of state interests.
The time for reforming or slightly adjusting the status quo is long gone. We do not simply need a change in approach, we need a complete reversal of the way we understand international responsibility and solidarity. The current system, which allows for the silencing of moral resistance and the legitimisation of oppression, must be dismantled. If we do not act now, we will be complicit in a world where injustice is not the exception but the rule.
This moment is a call to action for all those who believe in human dignity and the protection of rights. The framework of international law can no longer be a passive observer in the face of injustice. It must become an active force in the fight for justice, not just a tool for the powerful to wield as they see fit. If we fail to demand change, if we fail to challenge the political forces that perpetuate impunity, we will not only witness the continued destruction of Palestinian lives but the erosion of international law itself.
We cannot stand by as this injustice unfolds. The world must act now, for the sake of the oppressed, for the sake of justice and for the future of international law itself. It is time to confront the uncomfortable reality that the current system of impunity is a threat not only to Palestinians but to all who believe in the basic tenets of human rights.
Tatiana Svorou is a human rights and humanitarian advocacy specialist.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
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