Two Palestinian water delivery truck drivers were killed by Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip on April 17, prompting aid groups to halt activities in the area. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that the attack threatens vital humanitarian operations supplying clean water to hundreds of thousands of people.

Early that morning, two men were killed by Israeli fire at the Mansoura water filling port in northern Gaza. The attack, which occurred during routine water trucking operations, also left two others injured. The Mansoura site is the only operational truck filling port for the Mekorot water supply line serving Gaza City.

UNICEF released a statement saying that the attack occurred during routine water trucking operations, with no changes in movement or procedures. The water plant is used by UNICEF and other humanitarian organizations multiple times a day to sustain critical water trucking operations for hundreds of thousands of people. Because of the attack, UNICEF contractors have been told to suspend on-site activities until the security situation in the area is restored.

The agency called on Israeli authorities to “immediately investigate this incident, and ensure full accountability.”

Moreover, the organization stressed that “humanitarian workers, essential service providers, and civilian infrastructure, including critical water facilities, must never be targeted. The protection of civilians and those delivering life-saving assistance is an obligation under international humanitarian law.”

Wafa News Agency, on the same day as the attack, reported that an Israeli drone targeted a water desalination plant in the Shuja’iyya neighborhood east of Gaza City. The attack killed one civilian and injured two others.

UN experts last year said that Israel uses “thirst as a weapon to kill Palestinians.” The experts noted that since October 2023, Israel’s military operations have repeatedly targeted water facilities, wells, pipelines, desalination units, and sewage systems. As of July 2025, 89% of Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure had been damaged or destroyed by Israeli forces, leaving 90% of households water insecure.

From JURIST, April 20. Used with permission.

See our last report on genocide accusations against Israel.

Photo: Mohammed Nateel/UNICEF via UN News

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HRW reported that following some evacuation orders, the government launched indiscriminate aerial bombings of the cleared areas, harming numerous civilians left behind.

The government has additionally imposed “no-flight” zones that effectively limit humanitarian-worker access to opposition-held areas. Opposition forces have taken similar action, stating that humanitarian agencies accessing certain government-controlled areas would be considered government-aligned.

Article 52 of Section IV of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions holds that all civilian objects—any property or infrastructure that is not a military objective, such as homes, schools, hospitals, or places of worship—shall not be the target of any direct attack, or of reprisals.

UN experts, in an April 2 press release, called for all parties to the South Sudan conflict to immediately stop the violence and engage in meaningful dialogue to ensure that all citizens receive protection, and to avoid any further escalation of the conflict.

Condensed from JURIST, April 14. Used with permission.

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The CED announced that since it began monitoring the situation in 2012 it had received “well-founded indications that enforced disappearances in Mexico have been and continue to be committed as crimes against humanity.” The findings included the ongoing discovery of clandestine graves, with an estimated 4,500 graves found, containing over 6,200 bodies and 4,600 sets of human remains. This contributes to a total of approximately 72,000 unidentified human remains found by authorities or self-organized citizen search committees.

The CED stressed that it did not find evidence of a government policy to commit enforced disappearances. Even if many disappearances are committed by criminal groups, however, the committee found substantiated information suggesting direct participation or acquiescence by public officials in many cases. In response to Mexico’s assertion that such incidents should not be classified as enforced disappearances in the absence of state policy, CED chair Juan Albán-Alencastro stated: “International law does not require crimes against humanity to occur nationwide or be orchestrated at the highest levels of government. What matters is the scale, the pattern of the attacks, and the targeting of civilians.”

The current figures on the Mexican government registry indicate that at least 132,828 people are currently missing, although this figure may be incomplete. Regardless, the CED found that “the magnitude of the registered cases underscores the gravity of the situation.” The committee added that the situation has not substantially improved since the committee visited Mexico in 2021.

The CED request invoked Article 34 of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. This provision enables the committee to bring the matter to the attention of the UN General Assembly when they have well-founded indications of systemic enforced disappearance. Albán-Alencastro expressed hope that this will result in substantive change, stating:

The Committee reaffirms its commitment to continue cooperating with Mexico through its different procedures. The procedure of article 34 is intended to facilitate timely cooperation and support so that the State Party can strengthen its response, protect victims and families, and prevent the situation from deteriorating further.

The Mexican government rejected the CED’s report as “biased and dismissive” of institutional advances in recent years.

The International Federation for Human Rights, which submitted evidence to the CED, welcomed the report, however. The organization expressed hope that the Mexican government’s rejection “will evolve into a dialogue with victims’ groups and civil society.”

Enforced disappearance occurs when an individual is taken by state officials or others acting on behalf of the state, who then deny knowledge of the individual’s whereabouts. This practice often targets human rights defenders, witnesses and lawyers, to repress political opposition. Rights groups have consistently issued warnings related to the enforced disappearance crisis in Mexico, including Amnesty International’s recent report on violence against women searching for their disappeared loved ones.

Media voices have also criticized Mexico’s “war on drugs” as contributing to the current situation, saying that militarized enforcement has enhanced collaboration between criminal groups and the government, and “ignited an explosion of human rights abuses linked to state forces and criminals—particularly disappearances.”

From JURIST, April 4. Used with permission. Internal links added.

See our last report on Mexico’s human rights crisis.

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The report stated: “The displacement in the occupied West Bank…at the hands of the Israeli military appears to indicate a concerted Israeli policy of mass forcible transfer throughout the occupied territory, aimed at permanent displacement, raising concerns of ethnic cleansing.”

The report charged that the military has enabled the drastic escalation in settler violence on the West Bank: “Settler violence continued in a coordinated, strategic and largely unchallenged manner, with Israeli authorities playing the central role in directing, participating in or enabling this conduct.”

The pervasive and persistent impunity prevents the implementation of an effective solution to reduce settler violence, the report stated. “Israeli measures to formally and informally support the militarization of the settler movement both amplified the severity of settler violence against Palestinians and rendered it extremely difficult to distinguish between instances of settler violence and instances of State violence.”

In addition, Israeli authorities are implementing policies to render their annexation of West Bank territory irreversible.

The report found that the Israeli military’s transfer of power to civilian settler authorities and measures taken to confiscate Palestinian lands for settlement expansion “amounted to an institutionalised regime of systematic discrimination, oppression and violence by Israel against Palestinians,” violating the international prohibition on racial segregation and apartheid.

According to the report, UN member states’ efforts to end and prevent Israeli settler violence through sanctions remained largely ineffective:

Sanctions previously imposed by the United States of America were rescinded on 20 January 2025, while sanctions by other States have primarily targeted individual settlers rather than affiliated entities or organizations, lessening the capacity of such measures to combat widespread, concerted settler violence. Sanctioned individuals have frequently circumvented restrictions by transferring assets or receiving financial support from pro-settlement networks.

In October 2025, a total of 42 settler attacks resulted in 131 injured Palestinians, the highest number recorded in a single month since 2006. The report also found that gender-based violence was a contributing factor triggering displacement. “Other attacks led to family separation, in which women and children were forced to leave, while male family members remained to attempt to retain possession of lands and properties.”

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called on Israel “to immediately and completely cease and reverse the establishment and expansion of settlements, for the evacuation of all settlers, and an end to the occupation of Palestinian territory.”

From JURIST, March 19. Used with permission.

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The interventions illuminate the legal issues the court will be facing at trial. One key issue is what constitutes the mens rea, or the mental threshold, of the crime of genocide. According to Namibia, the court may infer the required genocidal intent based on the scale, systematic nature, intensity, duration, and repetition of acts listed in Article II of the Genocide Convention. It is also Namibia’s contention that other acts, such as forced displacement, starvation of civilians, and repeated killing of children, are relevant, if not compelling evidence, in determination of the required genocidal intent.

On the other hand, Hungary, Fiji and the US asked the court to maintain a high threshold in inferring genocidal intent from a “pattern of conduct.” They contended that the court may only rely on such criteria when the pattern of conduct is so unambiguous that genocidal intent is the “only reasonable inference.” Hungary argued that the Genocide Convention drafters intended a narrow scope for the crime of genocide, such that its exceptional gravity is distinguished from other internationally wrongful acts and breaches of international humanitarian law. Hungary warned that any attempt to broaden the scope of criteria for genocide risks blurring that boundary and opening the floodgates to politicized litigation.

Apart from the mental element, Namibia argued that the crime of genocide can be committed by either action or omission, including failing to provide life-sustaining necessities or withholding humanitarian assistance.

Fiji stressed the context of urban warfare. The nation called on the court to consider the deliberate use of civilian infrastructure by combatants  to maximize civilian casualties when the other party takes military actions. Fiji warned that if the court decides to include such military actions in the crime of genocide, this could expose states to genocide charges when they participate in peacekeeping missions, criminalizing actions that would be legitimate but for a terrorist organization’s strategy of using civilians as shields.

Fiji also urged the court not to allocate special probative status to UN reports, arguing that these reports rely on secondary sources that are not necessarily accurate and are not disinterested witnesses. In September 2025, an independent UN commission concluded that the Israeli forces have committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Earlier this week, the Netherlands and Iceland also filed declarations of intervention. The Netherlands called upon the court to lower the threshold for “serious bodily or mental harm” when the victim is a child. Iceland warned that the “only reasonable inference” standard should not render inferring genocidal intent effectively impossible.

The court has invited South Africa and Israel to file written observations following these submissions.

From JURIST, March 14. Used with permission. Internal links added.

See our last reports on the ICJ case and genocide accusations against Israel.

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The experts also noted Israel’s restriction of Palestinians’ ability to participate in religious life, especially during the current holy month of Ramadan. In 2025, there were 73,871 settler incursions into al-Aqsa mosque compound. Additionally, al-Aqsa mosque has been closed to practitioners following the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The group of experts, including Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, stated:

Under the cover of an existential war against the Palestinians, Israel is accelerating measures that alter Jerusalem’s demographic composition, religious character and legal status, destroying the remnants of the pluralistic fabric that Jerusalem has represented for centuries, for Muslims, Christians and Jews… What is being done to this world symbol of spiritual coexistence and shared heritage is irreversible.

The statement warned of a “de-Palestinisation” of Jerusalem.

Urging immediate international action, the statement called on all states to refrain from “recognizing or aiding” the ongoing occupation of Palestinian territories. In July 2024, the International Court of Justice ruled in an advisory opinion that the continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories is unlawful. In the opinion, the court stated that Israel must “cease immediately all new settlement activities, and…evacuate all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”

Earlier this month, Amnesty International warned that Israeli authorities have intentionally implemented policies aimed at dispossessing Palestinians in the West Bank, rendering the occupied territory’s annexation “irreversible.” The United Nations Human Rights Council in a new report also found that Israeli policy and settler violence in the West Bank are aimed at uprooting Palestinian communities.

The experts who drafted the warning are Francesca Albanese, Ben Saul, Ashwini K.P., Gina Romero, George Katrougalos, Tlaleng Mofokeng, Michael Fakhri and Surya Deva. The eight are members of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. The Special Procedures constitute the largest body of independent experts in the UN human rights system. The experts are independent and work on a voluntary basis, not receiving a salary for their work.

From JURIST, March 7. Used with permission. Internal links added.

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Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the international community imposed sanctions, and used international legal tools to counter the Russian aggression and support Ukraine. A year after the invasion, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has yet to be taken into court custody.

Recently, rights groups have noted diminishing pressure on Russia from the international community, raising concerns about human rights protections and prospects for peace in Ukraine. Notably, US President Donald Trump briefly halted military aid to Ukraine in 2025, followed by a sharp reduction in funds provided for Ukraine in the 2026 budget compared to previous years. This comes amid an escalation of the conflict despite US-brokered peace talks, as 2025 was the deadliest year for civilians in Ukraine since 2022.

Amnesty International’s senior director for research and advocacy Erika Guevara-Rosas commented: “Despite the ongoing aggression, international resolve to oppose Russia’s crimes under international law and support its victims has come under increasing strain in recent months, particularly since the beginning of Donald Trump’s presidency. Commitments to justice and human rights are weakening as powerful actors grow emboldened to disregard international law and further erode the rules-based order.”

World leaders have warned that an erosion of the rules-based order continues to shift the international order into unchartered territory.

Despite drastic shifts in international attitude, many countries continue to support Ukraine. Canada recently unveiled a new set of sanctions against Russia, aimed at increasing economic costs to Russia and degrading its military capabilities. Additionally, EU members states have agreed to extend protection for Ukrainian refugees into 2027.

From JURIST, Feb. 24. Used with permission.

See our last reports on Russian war crimes, and the (still limited) sanctions.

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After a trial held in absentia, the Moscow City Court on Dec. 12 sentenced Prosecutor Karim Khan and eight ICC judges under the Russian Criminal Code for “unlawfully prosecuting Russian citizens in The Hague,” and subsequently placed them on an international wanted list. Prosecutor Khan received a 15‑year prison term, with the others receiving sentences of between three and 15 years.

The experts stated that the ICC’s prosecution of Russian citizens, including President Vladimir Putin, concerns charges of war crimes “committed in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine.” They emphasized that Article 48 of the Rome Statute grants functional immunity to prosecutors and judges “acting in exercise of their official functions,” and asserted that Russia’s move is an attempt to intimidate ICC officials:

The latest attack on ICC officials is part of a deliberate and calculated strategy which exposes the profound insecurity of a Government that fears accountability… Threats against the ICC promote a culture of impunity and send a dangerous signal, implying that States can use domestic jurisdictions to intimidate those tasked with investigating and prosecuting the most serious crimes under international law.

Noting that the trial was held in absentia, the experts called this a violation of due process and the right to a fair trial. They charged that the decision to try the officials in absentia was exemplary of Russia’s broader pattern of using in absentia criminal proceedings against dissenters.

The UN experts called on the Russian government to withdraw the warrants, annul the convictions, comply with international law and human rights obligations, and “end the abuse of criminal law against international judicial officials.”

From JURIST, Feb. 5. Used with permission.

See our last reports on Russian war crimes, the ICC case against Russia, and Great Power moves against the ICC.

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