Australian Prime Minister Referred to International Criminal Court

Facts

• Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has become the first Western leader to be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) under article 15 of the Rome Statute, for aiding and abetting Israel's alleged genocide in Gaza.¹
• The 92-page filing, submitted Monday by an Australian law firm reportedly with the endorsement of more than a hundred lawyers, also brings allegations against other senior members of the Australian government — including Foreign Minister Penny Wong and the opposition leader.²
• The document asks the ICC prosecutor 'to consider and investigate' several actions they have taken, including to suspend funding to Gaza's main aid agency — UNRWA — and to provide military aid to Israel.³
• It further claims that the Australian government has 'ambiguously' deployed a military contingent to the region, while allowing its citizens to travel to join the Israeli Defense Forces and providing 'unequivocal' political support for Israel's actions in Gaza.²
• Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the ASEAN-Australia summit in Melbourne, Albanese dismissed the letter and stressed that both major Australian parties have called for a cease-fire in the region.⁴
• Given that the ICC is an international court of last resort and Australia has a legal framework to investigate potential war crimes through the Office of the Special Investigator, it's unlikely that these referrals will go any further.⁵

Sources: ¹PressTV, ²Birchgrove Legal, ³Palestine Chronicle, ⁴Guardian and ⁵The Conversation.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by SBS News. Since the attacks of Oct. 7, Australia has condemned the violence perpetrated by both sides and has routinely called for international humanitarian law to be observed throughout. These allegations are founded on the basis of misinformation and have no credibility going forward.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Common Dreams. While Albanese is only one of a handful of Western leaders to aid Israel in it actions in Gaza, this is significant as no other leader has yet been referred to the International Criminal Court. While the allegations are yet to be proven, it ought to give the Australian government and other Western states reasons to pause before continuing to provide material support to Israel.