GENEVA – UN human rights’ experts today urged full compliance with the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrants issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and against Hamas commander Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri (Deif) for war crimes and crimes against humanity. “The ICC"s decision marks a historic step towards justice and accountability, offering hope for ending decades of impunity for long-standing serious violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT),” the experts said. “The protracted lack of accountability, especially of the State of Israel, has been an enabling factor to the increasing and untenable violence in the region, affecting the lives and futures of both Palestinians and Israelis.” Since 7 October 2023, and the military assault on Gaza and the rest of the OPT, the independent experts have received and documented evidence of grave violations of international law committed against civilian populations. “These violations, often amounting to international crimes, must stop immediately and cannot go unpunished,” they said. In welcoming the ICC’s decision, the experts reminded States of their legal and moral obligation to uphold international law and punish war criminals, stating that the power to enforce these arrest warrants rests with governments. “Compliance with the arrest warrants is critical to overcome long-standing impunity, benefiting perpetrators, and to end grave crimes in the OPT and Israel,” they said. As millions of people in the region, especially those in Gaza, continue to endure abhorrent atrocities, it is incumbent on all States to demonstrate their commitment to justice and upholding international law universally, without bias or double standards, the experts said. “Delivering justice is often the outcome of a collective endeavour, we therefore encourage domestic courts to contribute to and complement the critical work done by the ICC. “We are particularly attentive to the fundamental right of victims and their families to comprehensive and meaningful reparations and urge all relevant parties to ensure their rights are upheld,” the experts said. “In order to guarantee the rights of victims and their families, it is imperative that the ICC be able to carry out their work without interference or other undue pressure.” *The experts: Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967; Margaret Satterthwaite, Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers; Farida Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the right to education; Ashwini K.P., Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; Jovana Jezdimirovic Ranito (Chair-Rapporteur), Ravindran Daniel, Michelle Small, Joana de Deus Pereira, Andrés Macías Tolosa Working Group on the use of mercenaries; Barbara G. Reynolds (Chair), Bina D’Costa, Catherine Namakula, Isabelle Mamadou, Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent; Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent; Graeme Reid, Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity; Tomoya Obokata, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences; Olivier De Schutter, Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights; Nicolas Levrat, Special Rapporteur on Minority issues; Siobhán Mullally, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children; Astrid Puentes Riaño, Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment; Balakrishnan Rajagopal, Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing; Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association; Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; Michael Fakhri, Special Rapporteur on the right to food; Ben Saul, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism; Heba Hagrass, Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities; Paula Gaviria Betancur, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons; George Katrougalos, Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order; Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences; Laura Nyirinkindi (Chair), Claudia Flores (Vice-Chair), Dorothy Estrada Tanck, Ivana Krstić, and Haina Lu, Working group on discrimination against women and girls; Bernard Duhaime, Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence; Gabriella Citroni (Chair-Rapporteur), Grażyna Baranowska (Vice-Chair), Aua Baldé, Ana Lorena Delgadillo Pérez and Mohammed Al-Obaidi, Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; Surya Deva, Special Rapporteur on the right to development; Richard Bennett, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan; Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, Special Rapporteur on the rights to water and sanitation. The Special Rapporteurs, Independent Experts and Working Groups are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity. UN Human Rights, country page – Israel For inquiries and media requests, please contact: hrc-sr-eje@un.org For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts please contact Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org) or John Newland (john.newland@un.org) Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on Twitter: @UN_SPExperts.