US Intelligence Capacities Must Be Redoubled to Ensure Safe Return of American Health Care Workers in Rafah
“Dr. Abukuawaik and Dr. Hamawy’s detention warrants immediate and decisive attention and action from the United States,” says Quianna Canada
I am deeply disappointed to learn that Dr. Adam Hamawy and Dr. Ghada Abukuawaik from the Palestinian American Medical Association have been denied permission to leave Rafah.
According to reports, Dr. Hamawy and Dr. Abukuawaik entered Rafah from Egypt to provide medical aid to patients. Their medical mission was originally planned to last just two weeks. However, they now report being unable to leave.
Heba Macksoud also told reporters that Dr. Abukuawaik and Dr. Hamawy had limited supplies and not much food and water.
Food and Water
Earlier this year, I acknowledged that the Geneva Convention IV Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Times of War (1949) stands as a vital safeguard, protecting civilians’ access to food and water even amidst armed conflicts.[1] I further acknowledged that it unequivocally prohibits the deliberate starvation of civilians as a method of warfare.[2] Thus, violations of this protection constitute war crimes under international criminal law.[3]
Reunification of Americans Detained Abroad
In my Statement on the 2024 International Day of Families, I recognised the importance of humanitarian aid delivery and called for a cessation of hostilities. I also recounted the plight of victims like Salomon Monfiston, Jamshid Sharmahd and Ryan Corbett, who have been unjustly detained abroad and subjected to enforced disappearance, which further serve as a stark reminder of the fragility of familial bonds in the face of international human rights violations. On the International Day of Living Together in Peace, I reaffirmed my call on governments to implement substantial reforms in their policy as they relate to the separation and reunification of families, further calling for an immediate ceasefire in all wars abroad.
Due Diligence
For American families, the Federal Bureau Investigation has an obligation to conduct an investigation. Such investigations must be fulfilled in good faith and with due diligence.[4] Due diligence means that the investigation must be undertaken using all available legal means (e.g., intelligence capacities) which take into account all the facts.[5] Therefore, it is incumbent upon the United States Government to harness its formidable intelligence resources to facilitate the swift and safe repatriation of Dr. Abukuawaik and Dr. Hamawy, as the detention of United States nationals constitutes egregious violations that profoundly undermine the bedrock of American national security and foreign relations.
Thus, I am calling on the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the FBI, and the United States’ global partners to optimise their collection of vital intelligence and leverage their investigative prowess to devise effective strategies for securing the release of the two New Jersey aid workers unjustly detained abroad. They must also redouble their intelligence capacities to ensure the safe return of Dr. Abukuawaik and Dr. Hamawy.
US Intelligence Capacities Must Be Redoubled to Ensure Safe Return of American Health Care Workers in Rafah is part of series called “Americans Detained & Missing Abroad.” You can read other articles in the series below:
References
[1] See, e.g., Geneva Convention III relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War (1949), arts. 20 and 26, Geneva Convention IV relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Times of War (1949), arts. 23, 36, 49, 55 and 89.
[2] See, for example, Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), art. 54, and Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II), art. 14.
[3] Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, art. 8 (2) (b) (xxv).
[4] ICJ. (2015). Enforced Disappearance and Extrajudicial Execution: Investigation and Sanction. Practitioners Guide №9. International Commission of Jurists, at p. 129.
[5] Id., at p. 130.
