IN the shattered streets of Khan Younis, a haunting image of an injured child clutching a scrap of food amid ruins captures the grotesque reality of our time. This was on August 15 – yet another indelible mark of suffering in the long, bloody saga of Gaza.

The international outcry is deafening, yet where is the action? The world watches, mouths agape, as the gears of justice grind to a sickening halt.

This tragic tableau reveals a bitter truth about the international community’s supposed guardians of peace and justice. We must ask ourselves: Have we all lost our goddamned moral compass?

It seems so, as global leaders convene in plush offices, sipping on fine wines while delivering platitudes about human rights and justice. Their actions – or lack thereof – scream of hypocrisy and cowardice.

During a critical conference at Bogazici University in Istanbul, titled “Rethinking International Law After Gaza,” legal scholars and human rights advocates from around the globe tackled this issue head-on. They pointed out the systemic failures of an international legal system that seems more concerned with maintaining the status quo than with rectifying grave injustices.

While the International Criminal Court has indeed issued arrest warrants for leaders of both Israel and Hamas, the broader perception remains that international law is selectively enforced.

Actions taken are too often seen as token gestures – too little, too late – given the scale of ongoing humanitarian crises. This perception is not unfounded; it is rooted in a history of selective justice where the powerful are shielded while the powerless are subjected to the full brunt of the law.

Western powers, champions of a so-called “rules-based international order,” are the maestros of this double standard. They wield sanctions like blunt instruments against foes like Russia for its infractions in Ukraine, yet when their allies engage in similar or worse conduct, the response is tepid, marked by a glaring absence of meaningful action.

This hypocrisy is stark, as demonstrated by the United States’ continued military aid to Israel, despite public admonishments of its policies in Gaza.

Moreover, these double standards extend to economic sanctions and blockades. Western nations preach the gospel of human rights and democracy, using these noble ideals as pretexts to impose economic sanctions that often harm the very populations they purport to protect.

Yet, they turn a blind eye to the suffocating blockade on Gaza, which has devastated its economy and denied its people basic human necessities – clearly a gross violation of human rights.

The credibility of international law continues to erode as it becomes evident that it serves the interests of a few at the expense of many. This is not justice; this is a farce.

The veto power of the permanent members of the UN Security Council exemplifies this injustice, allowing major powers to stymie any action that contradicts their interests, effectively paralysing efforts to address global crises, including the dire situation in Gaza.

The ongoing conflict in Gaza and the lacklustre global response to it underscore the urgent need for a comprehensive overhaul of the UN that genuinely represents and enforces global interests and justice.

Advocating for the recognition of Palestine, ensuring the right of return for its displaced people, and genuinely championing Palestinian self-determination must move beyond rhetoric to actionable commitments.

Each state, bound by international law, and each global citizen, empowered by a voice, must demand accountability. We must insist that actions align with the laws and principles professed universally.

If we remain silent, if we fail to act, we are complicit in these injustices. Our collective moral compass needs urgent recalibration. The time to act is now – lest we all be judged harshly by the annals of history, remembered not as protectors of peace and justice, but as facilitators of tyranny and oppression.

Where is the outrage? Where is the fury? It’s time to channel our collective anger and turn it into action. Enough is enough. We must rise, challenge the status quo, and demand a world where justice is not a privilege of the powerful but a fundamental right of all.

Stand up, speak out, and let’s restore some damn integrity to our global institutions. Have we lost our moral compass? Maybe. But it’s high time we found it, and fast. Let this be the moment we choose action over apathy, justice over complacency, and truth over silence. – September 1, 2024.