IMS welcomes CSOs’ intention to sue the Danish state for exporting military equipment to Israel

On 12 March, a coalition of Danish CSOs and a Palestinian human rights organisation announced their plans to sue the Danish state with the aim of halting direct and indirect export of Danish arms components to Israel. Through the lawsuit, the coalition seeks a ruling that Denmark cannot lawfully grant permission for direct or indirect export of military equipment to Israel, and that existing export permits are invalid and must be revoked.

The planned motion rests on a well-documented claim that Israel is using Danish-produced arms or arms components in a manner that constitutes war crimes, and that Denmark therefore risks being complicit in grave violations of international law. Danish media outlets Danwatch and Dagbladet Information have thus credibly established that American-built Israeli F35 fighter planes – equipped with Danish components – have been used to bomb civilians in Gaza, and that the export of those components may therefore violate Denmark’s obligations under international law, as well as EU law and the UN Arms Trade Treaty, to which Denmark is a signatory.

More specifically, Israel’s war on Gaza is far and away the deadliest ever recorded for journalists. From IMS’ perspective as an organisation working to promote the safety of journalists everywhere, it is deeply worrying that Denmark – otherwise a champion of press freedom – may well be complicit in those killings. Therefore, I support the CSO coalition’s action.

In essence, the larger question is about accountability and the sustainability of the entire system of international law. All countries subscribing to that system’s inherent rules and principles have a sacrosanct obligation to uphold and promote them without preconditions. Those rules and principles are our best – and indeed our only – bulwark against the constant threat of a free-for-all situation of global mob rule.

For those reasons, I and IMS welcome the opportunity to have the Danish legal system’s assessment of Denmark’s potential complicity in crimes of the gravest nature.