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Australian Government Tells ICC: Palestine Is "Not a State"
(Guardian-UK) Ben Doherty - The Australian government has told the International Criminal Court it should not investigate alleged war crimes in Palestine because Palestine is "not a state." Australia's submission at The Hague, filed by Australia's ambassador to the Netherlands, Matthew Neuhaus, states: "Australia's position is clear: Australia does not recognize the 'State of Palestine.' As such, Australia does not recognize the right of the Palestinians to accede to the Rome Statute (the treaty which established the ICC)." Australia argues Palestine's accession to the Rome Statute in 2015 did not make it a state, and that the UN secretary-general's acceptance of that accession is an "administrative act that does not confer a particular status, including statehood." Australia's position is that the question of Palestinian statehood cannot be resolved before a negotiated peace settlement.