Eu Funding for Israeli Arms Companies Essay

European funding for Israeli actors that are complicit with violations of international law must not be allowed to continue A response to the consultation on the European Commission’s Green Paper “From Challenges to Opportunities: Towards a Common Strategic Framework for EU Research and Innovation Funding” by Stop the Wall, the Grassroots Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign. May 2011 Israel is a state that denies Palestinian rights with violent impunity and in violation of international law. Corporations or organisations such as universities often directly contribute to such crimes. In other instances, third party actors such as corporations and universities provide the means to facilitate the crime – a material element of complicity. Under international criminal law, those involved in the commission of a criminal offence can be held responsible as principal perpetrators or as complicit 1 accomplices. At least 22 Israeli actors participate in the European Security Research Programme, and many more participate in other themes within the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), the principal EU research funding mechanism. Israeli participants in FP7 directly contribute to or are complicit accomplices to acts that are illegal under international law, as is shown in the review of six Israeli participants in Annex 1. It is our informed opinion that many of the other Israeli participants in FP7 projects would be shown to be complicit with Israeli violations of international law, if a more thorough analysis were to be conducted. Furthermore, as shown in Annex 2, FP7 projects allow Israeli actors to further develop technology that has been deployed in such a way that facilitates violation of international law The Lisbon Treaty and other treaty commitments oblige the EU to uphold and promote the rule of international law. In 2004, the International Court of Justice held that international law places certain obligations not only on Israel but also on third parties. These obligations include not rendering aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by an unlawful act in occupied Palestinian territory and seeing to it that any impediment to the exercise by the Palestinian people of its right to self2 determination is brought to an end. By allowing Israeli actors that perpetrate or are complicit accomplices to unlawful acts and impediments to Palestinian self-determination to participate in research projects that it funds and administers, including projects that are developing technology that may be used in future unlawful acts, the EU lends legitimacy to Israeli violations of international law and renders assistance to the maintenance of these unlawful acts in a way that calls into question whether the European Union and member states are in violation of their own obligations under international law.

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This principle is codified in article 7(1) of the Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Article 6(1) of the Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and article 25 of the ICC Statute. 2 Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Advisory Opinion (9 July 2004), para. 159 (I.C.J.).

We are concerned that the Green Paper does not at all address these serious problems with existing European research funding mechanisms. Indeed, we are troubled that the Green Paper instead suggests steps should be taken to “encourage greater public acceptance in sensitive fields such as 3 security”. We are confident that the suggestions we make will be given serious consideration, and that European research policy will be brought in line with the stated European Union policy of support for international law and for a just and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinian people. What should be the measure of success for EU research and innovation funding? Which performances indicators could be used? At the very minimum, EU

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