[…] Do states need Israel’s consent? Would they lose the right to assist if consent were withdrawn? The answer is no in the circumstances of Gaza. States and the United Nations have a robust right to provide assistance regardless of consent. As a practical matter, the more willing the cooperation of parties to a conflict, the more effective humanitarian aid will be in saving lives. Nevertheless, knowing the extent of assistance rights can be a factor in negotiating cooperation. Such negotiation can also help pave the way to ending the conflict–the indispensable factor to the end of suffering.
The right of assistance arises from duties owed by parties to an armed conflict to populations deprived of basic needs due to hostilities. The most prominent duties are the prohibition on using starvation as a method of warfare (ICRC, Customary Law Study, Rule 53) and the duty to ensure the population’s survival (1949 Geneva Conventions Additional Protocol I, Art. 69; 1949 Geneva Conventions Common Article 3). Other duties with respect to Gaza include those imposed on Israel specifically by the International Court of Justice to prevent genocide, also detailed by Dannenbaum and de Waal in their July 30 post. Läs artikel