Ursula von der Leyen must be prosecuted Europe complicit in a live genocide

While thousands of Palestinian children die under the rubble or starve to death, the European Union, embodied by Ursula von der Leyen, arms, finances and protects their executioner. This is no longer diplomacy, it is blatant complicity in an unfolding genocide. Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur, breaks the silence. Europe has blood on its hands.

1. The accusation is launched
Francesca Albanese, international lawyer and UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, has publicly called for the prosecution of top European Union officials for complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity. Ursula von der Leyen is no passive observer. She is the conductor of European support for the massacre. Official statements, military contracts, calculated silences—her involvement goes beyond diplomacy. It constitutes material and ideological support for an extermination campaign.

In May 2024, a formal complaint was filed with the International Criminal Court against Ursula von der Leyen by the Geneva International Peace Research Institute. She is accused of actively aiding the crimes committed in Gaza, notably for legitimising Israeli attacks despite overwhelming evidence of atrocities against civilians. The complaint is based on Article 25 of the Rome Statute, which recognises the criminal responsibility of leaders who facilitate or encourage international crimes.

2. Intimidation, threats, harassment
Since the release of her damning report in March 2024, Francesca Albanese has been targeted by a coordinated campaign of harassment. Anonymous late-night calls, explicit threats to her children, institutional pressure. In an interview with Al Jazeera, she stated: “I cannot say that I am safe. But the threats from anti-Jewish Zionists will not silence me.”

This strategy has one aim—to silence anyone who dares denounce Israel’s crimes. Telling the truth about Gaza now comes with political, media and physical danger. Meanwhile, the European institutions remain silent. And this silence, too, is a political act. It is a crime.

3. Famine as a weapon of war
The humanitarian situation in Gaza is a premeditated catastrophe. According to UNICEF:

• 92% of children aged 6 to 23 months, and pregnant or breastfeeding women, lack minimum dietary diversity
• 290,000 children under the age of five and 150,000 women require nutritional supplements
• Over 60,000 children will need treatment for acute malnutrition this year

Israel blocks aid convoys, bombs food supplies, targets humanitarian centres. Famine is not collateral—it is a method. This policy is a war crime, a clear violation of humanitarian law, and matches point (c) of Article 6 of the Genocide Convention: “Deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of the group.”

4. Europe’s wilful blindness
Ursula von der Leyen has publicly endorsed Israel’s strategy. She visited Tel Aviv, pledged unconditional support, justified the bombings, and ignored the massacres of civilians. She demanded neither ceasefire, nor humanitarian access, nor independent investigations. She offered political and moral cover for an ongoing crime.

Professor William Schabas, a renowned expert in international law, is unequivocal: “Von der Leyen embodies the EU’s political line of denying the atrocities in Gaza to justify an ideological alignment with Israel’s crimes.” Europe’s stance is not only immoral—it is legally indictable.

5. Double standards The West on trial
The ICC has issued arrest warrants for African, Serbian, and Arab leaders. Yet when it comes to Western elites, inertia is the norm. The pending complaint against von der Leyen is a defining test. If she walks free, it will mark the total collapse of the international justice system’s credibility in the eyes of the Global South.

The European Union can no longer claim to uphold international law while funding a genocide. Ursula von der Leyen must be indicted for complicity. Her position must be suspended. The European Parliament must launch an internal investigation.

History is watching
Francesca Albanese today embodies what little integrity remains in international institutions. She accuses, with evidence, courage and precision. Facing her, an arrogant, blind and complicit Europe. This article is addressed to you, European citizens. Your name may not be on the bombs, but your money pays for them.

This is no longer about diplomacy. It is about law, truth and memory. Ursula von der Leyen’s name belongs among the accused. We call for her indictment before the International Criminal Court, her immediate suspension, and a decisive break with the impunity of those who kill in the name of the West…

G.S.