Human Rights Watch urges EU to condemn Israel’s ‘atrocity crimes’ at Brussels meeting
A rescuer looks on amid debris in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, in Gaza City, October 11, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on European Union representatives to use Monday’s EU-Israel Association Council meeting in Brussels as a platform to denounce Israel’s atrocities.
The rights group insists that the EU cannot engage in “business as usual” with an Israeli government facing accusations of crimes against humanity, including apartheid and genocide.
“There can be no business as usual with a government responsible for crimes against humanity, including apartheid, and acts of genocide, and whose sitting prime minister is wanted for atrocity crimes by the International Criminal Court,” said Claudio Francavilla, associate EU director at HRW.
HRW has urged EU officials to take concrete action, emphasizing that the Association Council meeting’s sole purpose should be to confront these violations.
“The only purpose of this Association Council meeting should be to call out those crimes and to announce long-overdue measures in response,” Francavilla asserted.
The EU-Israel Association Council serves as a high-level diplomatic forum for discussions on political and economic cooperation between Israel and the European bloc.
However, with growing international scrutiny over Israel’s military actions and policies, HRW’s demands amplify calls for accountability and a potential shift in EU-Israel relations.
