Spain ratifies the amendment to the Rome Statute that will allow investigations into the military use of hunger as a war crime

Eduardo González The Spanish Government has authorized the ratification of four amendments to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) that will allow the court to investigate as war crimes the use of starvation as a method of warfare and the use of biological weapons, non-localizable fragment weapons, and blinding laser weapons in both international and domestic war contexts. This past Tuesday, the Official State Gazette published the Organic Law authorizing the ratification of four amendments to Article 8.2 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, once they have been approved by the Cortes Generales. The text was signed that same day by the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, and entered into force this Wednesday. The Rome Statute, the founding instrument of the International Criminal Court, was adopted on July 17, 1998, and ratified by Spain on October 24, 2000, entering into force for Spain on July 1, 2002. Furthermore, Article 121 of the Rome Statute establishes the possibility for any State to propose amendments seven years after its entry into force, which will be submitted to the Assembly of States Parties. On December 14, 2017, the Assembly of States Parties adopted three amendments to include the use of certain weapons in both international and domestic warfare as war crimes (listed in Article 8.2). Specifically, the amendments include as war crimes the use of "weapons that use microbial or other biological agents, or toxins, regardless of their origin or mode of production," the use of "any weapon the primary effect of which is to injure by means of fragments in the human body that cannot be detected by X-rays," and the use of "laser weapons specifically designed, as the sole or additional combat function, to cause permanent blindness to unenhanced vision, that is, to the uncovered eye or to the eye fitted with vision-correcting devices." Separately, on December 6, 2019, the Assembly of States Parties adopted a resolution to amend Article 8 by inserting a section on the intentional use of starvation against civilians as a method of warfare in non-international conflicts, thus equating them with international conflicts, for which the Rome Statute already provides an identical rule in the same article. Specifically, the amendment includes as a war crime “intentionally starving the civilian population as a method of waging war, depriving it of objects indispensable for its survival, including intentionally obstructing relief supplies.” “Spain's ratification of these four amendments, which include conduct particularly harmful to the civilian population, such as the use of particularly harmful or inhumane weapons, or the use of starvation as a weapon of war in previously unforeseen circumstances, is consistent with the commitment our country has demonstrated to human rights and to the International Criminal Court since its creation, as a cornerstone of the universal criminal justice system that champions the fight against impunity for the most serious crimes committed against humanity,” the Government stated. The four amendments to Article 8 of the Rome Statute entail a material expansion of the powers transferred by Spain (and the other States Parties) to the International Criminal Court. Since these are powers derived from the Spanish Constitution, ratification of the aforementioned amendments must be authorized by organic law, as provided for in Article 93 of the Constitution. Gaza On May 20, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares denounced in Brussels, during the meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council (EAC), that Israel is carrying out "a deliberate action" in the Gaza Strip to "prevent the entry of humanitarian aid and, therefore, cause "an induced famine" among the Gaza population. ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan has requested that arrest warrants be issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as against Hamas leaders for alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip. On February 7, Spain joined the joint declaration signed by nearly 80 countries, which did not include Italy or Hungary, in defense of the International Criminal Court against Donald Trump's attacks. According to the signatories, the ICC represents "a vital pillar of the international justice system, ensuring accountability for the most serious international crimes and justice for victims."

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