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Source: https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-icjs-pernicious-plan-to-redefine-genocide-6a207ccc
The ICJ's Pernicious Plan to Redefine Genocide
(Wall Street Journal) Orde F. Kittrie and Andres B. Munoz-Mosquera - The Trump administration is working to dismantle the International Criminal Court. But a different tribunal, the International Court of Justice, could become a greater threat to the security of the U.S. and its allies. The ICJ is deciding a case, Gambia vs. Myanmar, that could drastically lower the legal threshold for genocide. This would pave the way for a genocide finding in South Africa's pending case against Israel. The lower threshold would also unleash genocide claims against the U.S. The Genocide Convention requires proof of "intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group as such." The ICJ is being urged to replace that clear, high standard with a vague, politically malleable one: a range of "facts and circumstances" assessed "comprehensively and holistically." Adopting a standard inconsistent with the Genocide Convention would transform the ICJ into a legislative body rewriting the treaty. Lowering the threshold is unnecessary to find Myanmar committed genocide. Myanmar's forces reportedly perpetrated repeated mass executions of Rohingya civilians, including dozens of children, lining them up and shooting or hacking them to death. In this case, genocidal intent is the only reasonable inference. This differs factually and legally from civilian deaths incidentally caused by Israeli strikes targeting Hamas fighters, particularly given Israel's precautions and Hamas's documented use of human shields. Mr. Kittrie, a law professor at Arizona State University, is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Mr. Munoz-Mosquera served as chief legal adviser to the NATO supreme allied commander, 2014-25.