The genocide in Palestine and the ineffectiveness of international human rights law

Abstract

The thesis advanced in this essay is that, in a context of a global hegemonic crisis, in which the United States, as a declining power, is unable to sustain international order and stability, the longstanding conflict between the State of Israel and the Palestinian people exposes the limitations and ineffectiveness of existing frameworks for the international protection of human rights. Since the onset of the Israeli offensive in 2023, the nature and legal characterization of the conflict have been subject to increasing scrutiny. Following months of sustained hostilities, both public and private human rights bodies have indicated that the conduct attributed to Israel may amount to acts consistent with the legal definition of genocide.

The ineffectiveness of international law norms cannot be attributed to a single cause; rather, it must be understood as the product of a plurality of factors. These include, on the one hand, structural and conceptual limitations inherent in the formation of international legal regimes and, on the other, prevailing political and economic conditions within the contemporary international system, which continues to be shaped by dynamics commonly associated with imperialism.