Gilles Devers, a renowned French international lawyer, who represented Palestinian people before the International Court of Justice, passed away on 26 November.
Known for his unwavering support of the Palestinian cause, Devers represented Palestine before international courts throughout his career.
Devers founded the International Lawyers’ Committee, a global network of 800 lawyers and legal experts committed to holding accountable those responsible for war crimes. This committee played a pivotal role in bringing legal action before the International Criminal Court, leading to the recent issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli leaders Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant.
“It is clear for me that in the the situation of Palestine, we have all the criteria of the case about genocide,” Gilles Devers earlier said to Al Jazeera about a complaint he – and 400 lawyers – have filed at the ICC on behalf of the people of Palestine.
“Governments must choose which camp they are on, if they support human rights or genocide. They cannot give speeches about international law and human rights and then accept Israel’s attack without doing nothing,” he added.
“If the ICC does nothing, then it’s the end of the ICC,” he said. “We have sufficient proof for a mandate of arrest against Mr Netanyahu,” Devers had said.
