Response of Legal and Human Rights Organizations to the Corrie Verdict

Links to full statements from legal and human rights organizations are listed below.

Please also see the more detailed list of legal and human rights organizations that have monitored the Corrie case and trial. A small spectrum of their work in support of human rights is highlighted. Links to their websites are provided. [Read More]

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President Carter: “The killing of an American peace activist is unacceptable. The court’s decision confirms a climate of impunity, which facilitates Israeli human rights violations against Palestinian civilians…”

The United Nations (UN): Human rights expert Richard Falk: “The judge’s decision represents a defeat for justice and accountability, and a victory for impunity for the Israeli military. Such a shocking rationale flies directly in the face of the Geneva Conventions…”

Amnesty International: condemns Israeli court’s verdict… “the verdict continues the pattern of impunity for Israeli military violations against civilians and human rights defenders…”

Arab Association for Human Rights: “…There is a clear culture of impunity that the Israeli army operates within and today we found out that American peace activists, like Palestinians, have no right to justice when the status quo is threatened.” See also: Rachel Corrie trial verdict a failed attempt to criminalize solidarity.

Avocats Sans Frontières: “… the judge deemed that the internal investigation of the responsibility of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) had been appropriately carried out. However, for ASF, who has been observing the trial since 2010, the inquiry was not conducted in a complete, credible or transparent manner. The decision raises questions about the State of Israel’s obligation to insure the physical protection of civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”

The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions: “When justice and law become separated as they have in Israel, the law is demeaned and becomes merely another tool of oppression. As a human rights defender, a status articulated and defended by the UN, Rachel Corrie had every right – even a responsibility – to intervene when universal human rights are being violated…”

Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR): “…Rachel Corrie was within her rights protesting this illegal activity and should not have been attacked…” ” …in addition to the fact that she was a civilian, a prohibited target under Article 54 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, the killing of Rachel Corrie violated Israel’s obligation as an Occupying Power to facilitate humanitarian work.”