Open Letter from Humanitarian Lawyers Trained and/or Practicing in Geneva

Addressed to the Swiss Federal Council and the Foreign Affairs Committees of the Swiss Federal Assembly

With copies to the Service du Conseil Municipal de la Ville de Genève, and the Grand Conseil de la République et canton de Genève.

 

We, the undersigned, international humanitarian lawyers who have either taught, been trained or practiced our discipline in Geneva, are gravely concerned by the ongoing violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) in Gaza over the past 19 months. In response to the heinous attacks and hostage takings of October 7, 2023, Israel has pursued a course of action marked by indiscriminate bombardment, attacks against humanitarian workers, journalists, schools, hospitals and United Nations compounds, collective punishment, and the use of starvation as a method of warfare, all prohibited by international law. 

 

Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed, and far too many more injured and often permanently maimed. Numerous legal scholars, humanitarian and human rights organizations, and other international authorities have warned that Israel acts in violation of the Genocide Convention. Yet far too little has been done to halt the destruction and devastation. The two million civilians in Gaza - half of whom are children - are paying the price. We call upon the Swiss Federal Council, and the Swiss Federal Assembly, to uphold their long-standing humanitarian traditions, and take immediate, concrete actions to help bring this suffering to an end.


For over 11 weeks, Israel has denied entry of essential humanitarian assistance. Gaza’s residents - including infants, the elderly and the wounded and sick - are being deprived of food, water, medicine, electricity and fuel, in addition to repeated bombardment and forced displacement. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has warned that if the blockade continues, "up to 71 000 children under five years of age could suffer acute malnutrition in the next year". While some aid has begun to trickle into Gaza in recent days, we are concerned by reports from the UN that it has not been able to get aid to where it’s needed. Moreover, the quantities of aid allowed into Gaza constitute, in the words of one UN official, "a drop in the ocean" compared to the urgent needs of the population. 


We are also deeply alarmed by plans that threaten to politicize and militarize humanitarian assistance in Gaza under the banner of the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

 

Spearheaded by the governments of the United States and Israel, and headquartered in Geneva, this project proposes to establish a limited number of fortified compounds inside central and southern Gaza, from which private military and security contractors would oversee the distribution of a fixed 20kg box of aid per family every two weeks independent of the needs of the population. The information about this foundation is sparse but from what we understand, this is a deeply flawed and dangerous model, categorically rejected by the United Nations and by reputable humanitarian organizations, who have refused to participate in or endorse it. The head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has stated that the distribution modality "makes starvation a bargaining chip” and constitutes “a fig leaf for further violence and displacement”. Civilians may be forced to travel long distances in dangerous conditions to collect and return with rations while their movement can be monitored and controlled for military purposes.

  

We are deeply concerned that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is formally registered in Geneva — a city whose name is inseparable from the history of international humanitarian law. It is the city in which we have been trained in, taught and practiced IHL, and whose spirit animates our academic and professional paths. The same spirit of humanist values led Henri Dunant, moved by the horrors of war, to pen “A Memory of Solferino”, sparking the creation of the Red Cross and the Geneva Conventions. And it is that same spirit that has moved generations of humanitarians to deliver impartial, neutral and independent humanitarian aid to places torn apart by war. It is precisely this humanitarian ethos that the GHF model of aid distribution risks undermining. 

 

We welcome the recent actions and declarations by the cities of Geneva and Lausanne, and urge these be heeded. We remind the Swiss authorities that neutrality does not mean restraint in condemning clear violations of international law. Certainly not in the face of violations of the Geneva Conventions, for which Switzerland is the depository State. But we also emphasize: this is not a time for words and symbolic gestures, but decisive action.

 

In light of these grave concerns, we urge the Swiss Federal Council and the Swiss Federal Assembly  to act in line with their legal obligations and humanitarian heritage. We therefore call on these authorities to: 

 

  1. Reiterate their demand that Israel lift its unlawful siege of Gaza;

  2. Reiterate their demand that Israel facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance in accordance with international humanitarian law; 

  3. Urge Israel to allow all impartial, neutral and independent humanitarian agencies to carry out their life-saving work;

  4. Request information from Israel on the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in particular to ensure that it operates in accordance with its mission statement and statutes “to alleviate the suffering of Gaza’s civilian population by delivering life-saving aid safely, securely, and in strict adherence to humanitarian principles – ensuring assistance reaches those most in need, without diversion or delay”, and to take appropriate measures if the GHF fails to do so, including through the Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations and the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs;

  5. Work towards an immediate ceasefire and the safe release of all hostages;

  6. Uphold Switzerland’s legal and moral obligations as a party to and the depositary of the Geneva Conventions by taking all appropriate measures to ensure respect for international humanitarian law – including, but not limited to, sanctions and an assessment of potential technology transfers with the Israeli arms industry;

  7. Abide by all decisions and opinions of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) related to the conflict;

  8. Cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and commit to comply with any requests for surrender in accordance with Switzerland’s obligations under the Rome Statute.

 

 Friday 23 May, 2025

 

The signatories below endorse this letter in a personal capacity and not on behalf of any institution with which they are or have been affiliated.

 

Signatures: See French version.