UN Secretary-General warns attacks on UN personnel may constitute war crimes News
UNIFIL, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
UN Secretary-General warns attacks on UN personnel may constitute war crimes

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Sunday that attacks on peacekeepers violate international law and may constitute war crimes after a UN peacekeeper in Lebanon was wounded by gunfire amid Israel’s military operations in the country.

In a statement on X and through his spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, Guterres emphasized that the safety of UN personnel and property must be upheld and that the inviolability of UN premises must be respected at all times, without exception.

Guterres addressed an incident Saturday in which IDF armored vehicles deliberately breached the entrance door of a UN facility, whereas on Friday two UNIFIL peacekeepers were injured when an Israeli tank fired on a UN observation tower.

Guterres emphasized the importance of a ceasefire and the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 to ensure lasting peace in the region. The resolution, aimed at resolving the 2006 Lebanon War, calls for an end to hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon, and the deployment of Lebanese and UNIFIL forces to southern Lebanon. It also demands the disarmament of armed groups and the release of abducted Israeli soldiers.

Israel has claimed that Hezbollah deliberately operates near UNIFIL posts. The country also says it routinely communicates with UNIFIL about its military operations.

Attacks on UN personnel may violate Article 37 of Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions, which prohibits acts of violence against individuals who are not actively participating in hostilities, including peacekeepers. Israel is not a party to Protocol I while Lebanon is.

Additionally, the attacks may also breach the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), particularly Article 8(2)(b)(iii), which criminalizes the intentional direction of attacks against personnel, materials, installations, units or vehicles involved in humanitarian or peacekeeping assistance. This provision makes clear that any deliberate attack on peacekeepers engaged in their mission can be prosecuted as a war crime under international law, provided the personnel are acting within their mandate under the UN Charter. Israel is not a party to the Rome Statute, but ICC  prosecutor Karim Khan has still sought arrest warrants against Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

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