이스라엘군이 무장조직 헤즈볼라를 공격한다면서 전선을 레바논으로 확장했다. 국제앰네스티는 이스라엘이 레바논 남부 다이라에서 국제법상 금지된 무기인 백린탄을 썼다는 증거를 지난달 29일 공개하고 “전쟁범죄로 조사해야 한다”고 주장했다.
그 이틀 전, 국제형사재판소(ICC)의 카림 칸 검사는 이집트 카이로에서 기자회견을 하면서 가자지구 민간인들을 봉쇄하고 식량과 의약품마저 끊은 이스라엘을 비난했다. 회견에 앞서 그는 소셜미디어에 동영상 성명을 올리면서 이스라엘이 로마 규약에 따른 ‘형사 책임’을 질 수도 있다고 경고했다. 이번 공격뿐 아니라 ‘2014년 이스라엘이 가자지구와 요르단강 서안에서 저지른 범죄’에 대해서도 “적극 조사하고 있다”고 했고, 가자지구 무장조직 하마스 역시 조사 대상이라고 덧붙였다.
러시아의 우크라이나 침공에 이어 이스라엘과 하마스의 전쟁이 벌어지면서 세계는 비극으로 치닫고 있는 듯하다. 전쟁 없는 세계는 정말 불가능한 것일까. 온 인류가 힘을 합쳐 전쟁을 막아보자고 하면 비현실적인 이야기라고들 할 것이다. 하지만 전쟁에서 민간인 피해를 최소화하자, 핵무기나 화학무기 같은 대량살상무기는 쓰지 못하게 하자, 이런 식으로 전쟁에서 용납할 수 없는 행위들을 목록으로 만들어 어떻게든 제한을 가해보자고 하면 어느 정도는 현실적이고 설득력 있는 이야기로 들릴 것이다.
전쟁 자체가 무엇보다 참혹한 역사적 사건이지만 그래도 조금이나마 덜 참혹하게 만들 수 있다. 전쟁포로를 고문하고 죽이고 강제노동을 시키지 못하게 국제법으로 규정하고, 사람의 신체에 끔찍한 고통을 지속시키는 무기를 쓰거나 민간인들을 대량 학살하면 국제사회가 제재를 하는 식으로 룰을 만드는 목적이 바로 전쟁을 덜 참혹하게 만드는 것이다. 유엔에서 통과된 각종 조약과 국제법들, 유엔의 결의안 등등은 그런 룰을 표현한 틀이다.
시리아 정부군의 화학무기 공격이나 이스라엘의 백린탄 사용, 러시아의 우크라이나 민간지역 폭격 등등 국제법이 지켜지지 않는 경우들이 물론 많다. 그러나 국제적인 룰이 없을 때와 비교해보면, 대부분의 국가들은 불이익을 우려해 규칙을 지키려고 애를 쓴다. 또한 민주주의 국가에서는 국내 여론이 자기네 정부의 ‘너무 잔혹한 행위’에 고개를 젓는 경우도 많다.
대량학살, 의도적인 민간인 살상, 전시 성폭행과 전쟁포로 학대 및 처형, 민간인 지역과 보건 의료 교육 시설 등 인프라 파괴 등 을 가리켜 흔히들 반인도 범죄라 부른다. ‘전쟁범죄’보다 조금 더 포괄적인 개념이다. 잘 알려진 대로 전쟁범죄를 국제사회가 재판 형식으로 법정에서 다루기 시작한 것은 2차 대전 직후의 뉘른베르크 재판과 도쿄재판으로 거슬러 올라간다. 1945년 8월 뉘른베르크 국제군사재판소의 활동 근거가 된 런던헌장에 ‘반인도주의 범죄’라는 새로운 법적 범주가 만들어졌다.
당시 또 하나 덧붙여진 개념은 ‘반평화 범죄’로, 전쟁을 계획하고 일으킨 행위 자체를 범죄로 다루자는 것이었다. 그럼에도 뉘른베르크 재판에서는 나치 독일이 저지른 유대인 학살 자체는 문제시하지 않았다. 홀로코스트가 이슈가 된 것은 1948년 이스라엘이 건국되고 학살자들을 추적하는 과정에서였다.
다른 모든 개념들처럼, 범죄에 대한 인식도 시대와 함께 진화한다. 반인도 범죄의 개념은 국제 관습법과 여러 국제법원의 재판들을 거치며 발전해 왔다. 가장 명확한 기준은 국제형사재판소를 설립하기 위해 1998년 채택된 로마 규약이다. 규약에 따르면 ‘민간인을 대상으로 한 광범위하고 조직적인 공격’으로 살인 및 학살, 노예화, 강제 추방이나 강제 이송, 투옥과 고문, 성폭행과 강제 임신, 강제 불임시술 등을 저지르는 것이 반인도 범죄에 해당된다. 인종이나 민족 혹은 문화적·종교적인 이유로 특정 집단을 박해하는 것이나 인종 분리도 포함된다.
뉘른베르크 재판과 도쿄 재판 이후 구유고연방전범재판소(ICTY), 르완다 내전 전범재판소, 서아프리카 내전 전범재판소, 캄보디아 크메르루주 재판소 등이 만들어졌으나 운영 과정은 말 그대로 ‘케바케(케이스 바이 케이스)’였다. 또한 이 재판들은 시일이 너무 오래 걸려 피의자들이 ‘천수를 누리는’ 경우가 많았고, ‘지연된 정의’가 과연 정의인가에 대한 물음이 나오게 만들었다.
로마 규약은 르완다 내전과 옛 유고연방 내전 뒤 국제사회에서 반인도범죄를 심판할 공통의 틀을 만들어야 한다는 인식이 커지면서 생겨났다. 이 규약에 따라 2002년 헤이그에 국제형사재판소가 설립됐으며 현재까지 한국을 포함해 규약에 123개국이 서명했다.
Gaza: UN experts decry bombing of hospitals and schools as crimes against humanity, call for prevention of genocide
ICC에 사건이 접수되면 검사실에서 사전 검토를 한 뒤 ‘공식 수사’에 들어간다. 이 단계부터 사실상 ICC에 회부된 것으로 본다. 검사가 기소를 하면 ICC 법정으로 넘어간다. 사전심판부에서 정식 재판에 부칠 것인지를 검토하고, 결정이 되면 1심 재판부에서 재판을 맡는다. 분쟁 당사자들에게 적용되는 국제 인도법이나 무력충돌에 관한 국제법은 하나의 성문법으로 정해져 있는 것은 아니지만 1949년의 제네바 협약과 그에 딸린 의정서들이 법전 역할을 한다.
2023년까지 재판이 종료된 것은 31건, 진행중인 것이 5건이며 수사 단계에서 10여년씩 끌고 있는 사건들도 적지 않다. 기소된 사람들은 거의 대부분 아프리카인이다. 그 외 지역에서 공식 기소된 인물은 조지아인 3명과 우크라이나 전쟁 뒤 회부된 푸틴 대통령 등 러시아인 2명 뿐이다. 이 때문에 아프리카 국가들은 ‘아프리카 재판소’라 비판하기도 한다.
무엇보다 큰 문제는 강대국들이나 반인도 범죄 혐의를 받는 국가들이 로마 규약을 거부하고 있다는 점이다. 미국은 로마 규약에 서명을 했다가 철회했다. 러시아, 중국, 인도는 서명도 하지 않았다. 이스라엘도 마찬가지다.
[ICC] State of Palestine
팔레스타인은 2015년 로마 규약 가입국이 됐다. 팔레스타인의 요청에 따라 ICC가 2014년 이스라엘의 가자지구 공격, 요르단강 서안과 동예루살렘의 불법 정착촌 건설을 조사했을 때 이스라엘은 로마 규약 가입국이 아니라며 “ICC의 권한이 적용되지 않는다”고 주장했다. 당시 ICC 검사였던 파투 벤수다는 법정에 관할권 문제를 판결해달라 요청했고, 서안과 가자와 이스라엘에 점령된 동예루살렘에 대해 ICC가 관할권을 가지고 있다는 판단을 받아냈다. 이후 벤수다가 5년 간의 예비조사 뒤 정식 조사에 착수하자 2020년 트럼프 미국 대통령은 벤수다의 미국 비자를 취소하고 금융 제재를 했다. 이듬해 6월 벤수다가 퇴임한 뒤 ICC는 이 사건에 대한 조사를 중단했다.
[하레츠] Israel May Establish Special Court for Hamas Terrorists Who Took Part in October 7 Massacres
가자에서 다시 전쟁이 일어나자 남아공과 스위스, 리히텐슈타인 등 몇몇 나라들이 공식적으로 ICC의 개입을 요청했다. 카림 칸 검사는 “결단력을 가지고” 조사하겠다며 의지를 보이고 있다.
[UN OCHA] Israel commits widespread war crimes in Gaza, humanitarian catastrophe is imminent
이스라엘이 거부하더라도, 로마 규약은 회원국 또는 회원국 국민이 자국 영토에서 저지른 범죄 혐의에 대해 해당국 사법당국이 “조사할 의사가 없거나 할 수 없는” 경우 ICC에 조사할 권한을 부여하고 있다. 이스라엘 정치지도자나 군 지도부를 ICC에서 수사하고 기소해도 법정에 출두하도록 강제할 수는 없다. 그럼에도 엄청난 압박이 되고 행동에 제약이 올 것은 분명하다. 이스라엘 군 관리와 정치인들은 로마 규약 가입국을 방문할 때에 체포될 위험을 감수해야만 한다. 이스라엘은 국제기구에서 미국의 보호에 의존해왔으나, 로마 규약에 가입하지 않은 미국은 ICC에 대한 영향력이 제한적이다. 유럽국들 역시 우크라이나 전쟁과 관련해 ICC에 강력한 수사와 기소를 요구해왔기 때문에, 이스라엘을 옹호하려면 논리적 모순에 빠지게 된다.
숱한 압박 속에서도 이스라엘을 상대로 칼을 빼들면서 ICC는 국제사회 앞에서 ‘정의’의 기준을 보여줘야 하는 위치에 섰다. 팔레스타인뿐 아니라 세계가 ‘지켜보고 있다.’
Statement of ICC Prosecutor Karim A. A. Khan KC from Cairo on the situation in the State of Palestine and Israel
I come to Egypt at what everybody knows is a very precarious time in world affairs. It's a moment when conflict once again has brought human suffering to the fore. We see nightmares in the daytime on our television screen. We hear voices that are not actors but are humans, that are children that could be our own, and we are rewinding the horrors of the past.
The stories and the accounts that I have heard in different parts of the world, whether it's in Bucha, in Ukraine, or in Darfur; or in the voices of the Rohingya in Myanmar, or the suffering that we see in Kabul, we see that these human markers of suffering are tragically more the norm than the exception. We see them time and time again in so many places.
And it's in times like this, as I have consistently stated, since I became Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, that we need the law more than ever. Not the law in abstract terms, not the law as a theory for academicians, lawyers and judges. But we need to see justice in action. People need to see that the law has an impact on their lives. And this law, this justice, must be focused on the most vulnerable. It should be almost tangible. It is something they should be able to cling on to. It is something that they should be able to embrace when they are faced with so much loss, pain and suffering.
When I became Prosecutor in June 2021, I established for the first time a dedicated team to investigate the Palestine situation. And for the last two years, as I have been calling, requesting, pleading for additional resources, I have also been steadily increasing the resources and personnel for the Palestine investigation. I did this to make sure that I could discharge my responsibilities and the Office could discharge its responsibilities as best we can. And in December of last year, in front of all the Assembly of States Parties, I highlighted that one of the key priorities for this year was my prayer, was my hope that I would be able to go to Israel and Palestine. And I did that because the Palestine investigation has always been, and remains, a very important investigation in the ICC. It's one that cannot be forgotten and it is one that is being conducted as effectively as we can. And I can say unequivocally that over the last one year, I have, together with the men and women of my Office, engaged in a very sustained manner with the Palestine investigation, and we've really made every single effort we could to enter Israel and Palestine.
But we have watched with horror the pictures emerging from Israel on the 7th of October. I think any of us that are parents or have children, any of us that have families, any of us that are alive, any of us that have love of God or love of humanity in our heart could not have helped feel their hearts chill on hearing the various accounts that came from so many innocent civilians in Israel whose lives were torn apart on that fateful day. And we simply cannot live in a world, we cannot leave a world for our children where burnings and executions and rapes and killings can take place as if they are normal, as if they are to be tolerated, as if they can happen without consequence. Children and men and women and the elderly can't be ripped from their homes and taken as hostages, whatever the reasons. And when these types of acts take place, they cannot go uninvestigated and they cannot go unpunished. Because these types of crimes that we've all been watching, that we saw on the 7th of October, are serious violations, if proven, of international humanitarian law.
And one can't watch videos of innocent Israelis being hunted down on a Saturday morning at a party and not pause to think for a moment at the hatred and the cruelty that underpinned those attacks. These acts that we saw on the 7th of October are not acts that accord with our humanity. They are acts that are repugnant to any person that believes in God. They're the most un-Islamic acts and cannot be committed in the name of a religion whose very name is peace.
As I stated five days after the attacks that took place on the 7th of October, we have jurisdiction over crimes committed by the nationals of state parties. And therefore that jurisdiction continues over any Rome Statute crimes committed by Palestinian nationals or the nationals of any state parties on Israeli territory, if that is proven. And whilst Israel is not a member of the ICC, I stand ready to work with state parties and non-state parties alike in pursuit of accountability. My primary and indeed my only objective must be to achieve justice for the victims and to uphold my own solemn declaration under the Rome Statute as an independent prosecutor, impartially looking at the evidence and vindicating the rights of victims whether they are in Israel or Palestine.
Since the 7th of October, I really intensified my efforts to get in and access the locations where crimes were committed in Israel, to meet the families of those that are grieving, those that are living with fear, as if time has stood still at an acutely painful moment, waiting for their loved ones, worried, where are those hostages that were taken and praying for their return? And I've similarly made every effort to enter Gaza, but it has not been possible. In Gaza, I wanted to meet those who are suffering such tremendous pain, to hear their experiences firsthand, and very importantly, to promise to them, to give a commitment to them, that their birthright is justice. They own justice and they deserve justice as much as any other of God's creation deserves justice.
This is what we talk about. This is what is meant when we say that Lady Justice is blind. Certain conduct is prohibited and certain rights must be protected. And whilst I wasn't able to enter Gaza on this trip, I stood almost on the door of Gaza when I went to the Rafah Crossing this morning. And there's no denying that any right-minded person would agree that beyond that crossing, - and I had those pictures we see on the television around the world in my mind - beyond that crossing are innocent Palestinians, innocent children, boys and girls who should be at school, who should be playing in parks or playing football or playing with their friends, learning and studying and hoping to build a better future, hoping to cure the mistakes of this generation of leaders and our own shortcomings. And instead, they're enduring unimaginable suffering. And the pictures we see can only be described as horrific and heartbreaking. Palestinians who want no part of this conflict are caught up in hostilities. And too many are dying and too many are being injured. And it's alarming to see the bodies of young children that could be our own children being dragged, baked in dust, still and silent, -as lifeless bodies - or injured and bleeding - being rushed to medical facilities that may not have the means to fix them and give them a chance to breathe the air and see the sun of tomorrow.
The fact that innocent civilians are trapped under the weight of a war they cannot escape and which is not their fault is not tenable. We need to step back and agree it's not acceptable that they're caught up in a war not of their making and they're deprived of an opportunity to live and have the experiences that we have had and the experiences of building a better world. And as a society, we simply cannot accept, I believe, that the brutal nature of war is some fait accompli. We can't willfully turn our faces away from that suffering because it's hard to watch, because it makes uncomfortable viewing. We can't turn our faces away from the suffering of innocents in particular. And we cannot and must not lose sight of the fact that there are laws that govern the conduct of hostilities.
There's no blank cheque. It's not a case that one can do whatever one wants to pursue a particular objective. The laws that we have, the Rome Statute that I operate under, requires that innocent lives are particularly protected. And what is most important is that the application of the law is not theoretical. People have heard promises for a long time. There have been enough words to fill libraries. In my view, the protections afforded by the law apply equally regardless of one's race and one's religion, one's nationality, one's gender.
There are no children of a lesser God. There are no children of a lesser God. When the Holy Quran states that to kill one innocent is as if one is killing all of humanity, it doesn't mention Muslim or non-Muslim. Rather, it says to kill one innocent is to kill all humanity, to save one innocent - not an innocent of this religion or that religion, an innocent of this nationality or that nationality — but to save one innocent, is to save all humanity. And you all know the Holy Quran and you know that verse specifically recalls that this was the message given to Prophet Moses, peace be upon him. So it's a common ground in the teachings of the Jewish faith and the Muslim faith. But, unfortunately, we too often pay lip service to these fundamental precepts that actually echo in the law that has been created these millennia later.
In this regard, I have to say that Israel has clear obligations in relation to its war with Hamas: not just moral obligations, but legal obligations that it has to comply with the laws of armed conflict. It's there in the Rome Statute. It's there in black and white. It's there in the Geneva Conventions. It's there in black and white.
Israel has a professional and well-trained military. They have, I know, military advocate generals and a system that is intended to ensure their compliance with international humanitarian law. They have lawyers advising on targeting decisions, and they will be under no misapprehension as to their obligations, or that they must be able to account for their actions. They will need to demonstrate that any attack, any attack that impacts innocent civilians or protected objects, must be conducted in accordance with the laws and customs of war, in accordance with the laws of armed conflict.
They need to demonstrate the proper application of the principles of distinction, precaution and of proportionality. And I want to be quite clear so there's no misunderstanding: In relation to every dwelling house, in relation to any school, any hospital, any church, any mosque – those places are protected, unless the protective status has been lost. And I want to be equally clear that the burden of proving that the protective status is lost rests with those who fire the gun, the missile, or the rocket in question.
My Office certainly will scrutinise all information we receive in this regard to ensure that the law is not some kind of optional extra that one can take and leave. It is there to bind us together and to keep us away from the gates of hell and further misery. And this principle equally applies to Hamas in relation to firing rockets into Israel, either targeting civilians or knowing they don't have the sophistication to avoid civilian casualties. As I stated just a few days after the events of the 7th of October, my Office has an ongoing investigation with jurisdiction over Palestine that goes back to 2014 and any crimes committed on the territory of Palestine by any party. And this includes jurisdiction over current events in Gaza and also current events in the West Bank. I'm also extremely concerned with the spike, the increase, in the number of reported incidents of attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank. We will investigate these attacks and all further attacks must cease immediately.
My message at this time is a consistent one that I have given in numerous parts of the world. It flows from the common yardstick of legality that we have to enforce, and it flows from the principle that justice is every child's birthright, every civilian's entitlement. The message is that any person with their finger on the trigger of a gun or controls a missile, has certain responsibilities. My Office will look closely to see whether those responsibilities are being adhered to or not.
And in relation to states, I call upon state parties to the ICC and non-state parties to help collectively vindicate the Geneva Conventions, to help collectively vindicate principles of customary international law and also principles of the Rome Statute, to share evidence regarding any allegations or any crimes so that we can properly investigate them and prosecute them as appropriate.
I've previously circulated on our platforms, on the ICC website, on Twitter, on other medium, in Arabic, in Hebrew and in English, a secure portal that individuals, your viewers, citizens around the world can send information to, that may be relevant or probative to the investigation in Palestine or Israel. Crimes allegedly committed in both places have to be looked into.
I additionally call upon civil society organisations around the world to work with us, professionally and objectively. I make a particular plea to NGOs to send us any and all evidence that underpins their reports or their communiques or their notices that they issue. NGO reports by themselves are, of course, not evidence and I cannot and will not act pursuant to my oath of office without reliable evidence that we can validate that can stand up in a court of law.
I also want to be clear that my Office is in the business of conducting credible, relevant, professional, and independent criminal investigations. And so I don't, I haven't, and I won't be giving a running commentary on social media, or anywhere else for that matter, regarding the state of investigations in this or any other situation. But the absence of commentary does not mean the absence of investigations.
Hostage taking represents a grave breach to the Geneva Conventions. It represents a specific offence under the Rome Statute. And I call for the immediate release of all hostages taken from Israel and for their safe return to their families.
We've heard a lot from the Secretary General of the United Nations, from the head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, and from the World Health Organization regarding the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. Impeding relief supplies as provided by the Geneva Conventions may constitute a crime within the Court's jurisdiction. I want to underline clearly to Israel that there must be discernible efforts, without further delay, to make sure civilians receive basic food, medicine, anaesthetics, morphine. We hear reports of operations taking place without these basic medicines, as if we're in the Middle Ages. Civilians must receive basic food and water and the desperately needed medical supplies.
This morning, I saw trucks full of goods, full of humanitarian assistance stuck where nobody needs them, stuck in Egypt, stuck on Rafah and away from the hungry mouths or the bleeding wounds. These supplies must get to the civilians of Gaza without delay. And in the same way, I underline to Hamas and anybody who has control in Gaza, that when Inshallah, such aid reaches Gaza, it's imperative that the assistance gets to the civilian population, and is not misused or diverted away from them.
I think our shared humanity, our faith, our traditions, require us to remember and express condolences for the loss of so many. In Israel, those that have been buried, for those that are waiting for their loved ones to be returned and that same heart, those same filial relationships and those same bonds of blood, of family, of friendship apply in Gaza to those Palestinians suffering so profoundly - for the many that are being buried and for the so many futures that have already been cut short in this ugly conflict.
It is really tragic, as we express our condolences, to have to ask what on earth is happening to this Holy Land of Israel and Palestine, whose very ground sheds tears at the blood of so many innocents that is being spilt?
I'll end my remarks where I started, really, which must be to recall the gravity of this moment, the gravity of this situation. We should never think things cannot get worse. What we are seeing around the world today are these epicentres of violence, whether it's in Ukraine or in the Sahel, whether it's in what's happening in Darfur, the plight of the Rohingya, what's happening in Afghanistan. I think it really is a moment where we must cling to the law. It's our duty to do so. It's an imperative if we love our own children. We have to act because it is such a perilous moment.
I fear that if we fail collectively to hear the call of our humanity, if we fail to listen to the reproaching soul of our hearts, to be better than we are, to be more just than we've been, to fight for things not based upon people's religion or tribe or nationality, their wealth or their poverty, but simply because we want to live in a world where there is equality so that we do not fall completely into the abyss. We want to live in a world where there is justice. We have to do better than we are doing right now. There are so many that are crying, and there are so many that are in pain. Collectively, the law and the quest for justice is essential to move out of the misery that we see all around us.
Thank you so much for your time and for coming. Thank you so much.
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