My name is Dr. Shahed Hammouri and I am a lecturer in international law at the

The context of the Israeli occupation of Palestine constitutes a marinade of a series of grave illegalities, which include a violation of the prohibition against aggression, a violation of the prohibition against apartheid, and a violation of the Palestinian people's right of self-determination alongside systematic violations of international humanitarian law as well as human rights law. [...] And if I may remind you of a very similar case where the status quo of the international order had created a state of exceptionalism that accepted illegalities, distorted the truth and sought to accept or negotiate the subhuman condition of some people was the case of apartheid South Africa. [...] And if I may remind the room that at that time the UN Security Council in resolution 418 of 1977 stressed the deterring effect of an arms embargo, stating, and I quote, the acquisition by South Africa of arms and related materials constitutes a threat to the maintenance of international peace and security. [...] The supply of weapons to the state of Israel is in violation of the state's duties of non-recognition cooperation and could constitute complicity in genocide as well as the failure of the duty to prevent. [...] And the status quo needs to change not just because of a change in politics, but because of the overwhelming need for justice, reparations and the recognition of the humanity of the people in Palestine.