The ceasefire will not change the war situation between Iran and the Zionist regime, and it is important that in the country's military and security arrangements, readiness in the defensive and offensive areas must be maintained.
According to Ashura News, citing Mehr News Agency, with the announcement of a ceasefire between Iran and the Zionist regime, it is necessary to see what legal event has occurred between the two sides, what obligations and duties have been given to the parties, and what are the duties of international institutions in this regard, and is a ceasefire the same as peace?
The difference between peace and ceasefire from the perspective of international law is a fundamental difference with important legal consequences for the parties involved and also for international institutions.
A ceasefire is a temporary and often immediate agreement to stop armed conflicts without a final resolution of the conflict and can be implemented bilaterally, unilaterally, or by international organizations. A ceasefire is political and military in nature, not necessarily legal or permanent, and can be announced in the form of an oral, written, or Security Council resolution agreement. However, a peace agreement is a final and comprehensive agreement that is made after negotiation and sometimes with mediation.
A ceasefire encompasses political, legal, territorial and security dimensions and, from the perspective of international law, provides the formal end of the war and the basis for a return to normal relations between states. In fact, it is the end of disputes and the beginning of a long-term and sustainable cooperation. Peace requires the signing of a peace treaty, and according to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, every international treaty requires the approval of the Islamic Consultative Assembly. So what we are on that side of is a ceasefire and the concept of peace cannot be attributed to it in any way.
Now we must see what the legal status of the parties is in a ceasefire situation and does a ceasefire prevent the investigation of crimes against peace and war crimes of the Zionist regime?
We must note that first of all, a ceasefire is not the absence of a formal end to the armed conflict, but only its cessation. Therefore, from a legal perspective, the two countries still remain in a state of "international armed conflict". If one of the parties violates the ceasefire, it can commit a serious violation of the rules of armed conflict. This includes criminal responsibility (such as war crimes) and international state responsibility, and if one of the parties complains of a violation, the Security Council can take measures under Chapters VI and VII of the UN Charter (sanctions, condemnation, dispatch of peace observers).
According to international law, in particular international humanitarian law and international criminal law, criminal responsibility for war crimes does not cease even with the end of the war or the establishment of a ceasefire, and a ceasefire will not be an obstacle to the prosecution of war crimes by the Zionist regime. War crimes include such things as:
Attacks on civilians
Destroying hospitals, aid and Red Crescent forces, media centers and journalists.
Targeting civilian infrastructure (e.g. power plants, schools, water centers).
In the recent war, we witnessed the blatant and gross violation of the rights of civilians by the Zionist regime, which are precise examples of war crimes that can be prosecuted even after the ceasefire. Israel’s attempt to launch an aggressive war against Iran, contrary to the Charter of the United Nations, is an example of a crime against peace, and this crime is among the “unforgivable crimes” that fall under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) according to Article 5 of the Statute.
Therefore, firstly, we must know that a ceasefire does not change the state of war between Iran and the Zionist regime, and it is important that in the military and security arrangements of the country, readiness in the defensive and offensive areas must be maintained.
Secondly, violating the ceasefire has legal consequences, and thirdly, the responsibilities of the brutal Zionist regime for the war crimes and crimes against peace it has committed are not relieved by the ceasefire, and it is the duty of the country’s legal and diplomatic apparatus to pursue this issue through official international channels to condemn this regime.
Seyyed Mehdi Javadi; Professor of International Law at the University of Tehran and member of the Research Center for the Development of New Governance Tools at the University of Tehran
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