To the Esteemed Members of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court: An Urgent Call for Immediate Action to Halt Genocide, Starvation, and Forced Displacement in Gaza
Crimes of genocide, starvation, and forced displacement demand your immediate intervention – this is the very mission for which international courts were established.
At Shield International, we address you on behalf of every victim, every child deprived of their most basic rights, every mother who has tasted the bitterness of losing loved ones, and every elderly person witnessing their lifetime being forcibly taken away. These are the voices of thousands in Gaza, knocking on your doors, demanding justice and protection for humanity from atrocities that continue day after day.
What is happening in Gaza—genocide, starvation, and forced displacement—is witnessed by the entire world, with hearts full of grief and sorrow. These crimes affecting the innocent in Gaza cannot remain without accountability. International laws and human rights charters were not written to remain ink on paper; they were created to be shields for humanity and voices for justice against such horrors. This is the time when international courts must prove that justice is more than just words – it is action and a weapon against oppression.
Shameful International Betrayal and Complicity
The pain in Gaza is compounded by the silence of the international community, a witness indifferent—if not complicit—in prolonging the suffering of the innocent. International courts and major humanitarian organizations were not established to allow these violations to go unpunished; they were created to be barriers against tyranny and oppression. This unjustified failure casts doubt on the credibility of the entire international system and presents us with a historic responsibility that demands immediate action.
What Will We Tell Future Generations?
When our children ask why the world was silent, how will we justify the world’s complicity and inaction? Will we suffice to say that justice failed and that international systems were incapable of protecting the innocent? Future generations will understand that international inaction on Gaza was not merely a failure to apply justice but a betrayal of the very human values we pride ourselves on. We must act now—not only to protect the rights of the current generation but to preserve the principles of justice for those to come.
The Voices of the Victims Demand Justice
The children of Gaza, who have known only ruins; its women, who bear the agony of loss; and its elders, who endure death from hunger and despair—all stand before you today. They come to you not with power, but with their rights: the right to live, the right to safety, and the right to justice. What is happening there is a blatant violation of all international norms and laws that uphold civilian protection and human rights during times of hardship.
International Courts Facing a Test of Human Justice
Today, we at Shield International call on you—not only as an international court but as a global symbol of justice—to issue immediate arrest warrants against the perpetrators of these crimes. The silence of the international community will leave a deep wound on the human conscience and will be a mark of shame on justice if no action is taken now.
Every day that passes without accountability is another day where humanity is murdered. If you do not act today, then when? If justice is not served now, how can we hope to protect human dignity in the future? This is the moment when international courts must fulfill their mission and deliver the justice for which they were created.
Gaza is a test of humanity’s values of justice – let us prove to the world that justice can prevail.
With utmost respect and appreciation,
Dr. Saleh Muhamed Daher
President, Shield International
