The court ruled that any containers exiting the Port of Antwerp will face a penalty of €50,000 per container, up to a total of €5 million, in a move celebrated by BDS NGOs across Belgium.
The Flemish Government has appealed a court’s decision to impose penalties on the export of all military goods to Israel, whereas the BDS and the four NGOs involved in the decision have celebrated the ruling.
On Thursday, a Brussels court ruled that the Flemish Government has failed to uphold its legal obligations under the Genocide Convention. It said it will incur fines should it allow materials to be transported to Israel if it is not sure the materials will be used for civilian purposes.
The penalty is €50,000 per container, up to a total of €5 million, and applies to the Port of Antwerp.
This decision is a success for four Belgian NGOs, which previously launched a legal challenge arguing that such shipments could violate national arms trade laws and international humanitarian law. The four NGOs are Vredesactie, Intal, 11.11.11, and the Belgian League for Human Rights.
Their case focused on a container destined for Israel, which was intercepted in Antwerp last month. The container was carrying tapered roller bearings headed to Ashot Ashkelon Industries – a company that manufactures components for Merkava tanks.
While the bearings can be used for civilian purposes, the court ruled that strict scrutiny is warranted given the risk of military use, according to the Belga News Agency.
The four NGOs claimed that many similar goods are exported from Antwerp to Israel; therefore, they argued that all such exports should be stopped.
Flemish President Matthias Diependaele appealed the decision, claiming it is “far removed from reality” and adding that the court’s intervention “is not legally permitted.”
All four NGOs called it a “historic victory” in a collaborative post on Instagram.
“This is a collective success! As NGOs, we did the work the government should be doing to prevent genocide, and the judge recognized this. Together, we can achieve results and force our policymakers to act,” they wrote.
The BDS movement partnered with the NGOs during the process, and later lauded the decision on social media.
“Activists, movements, civil society organizations, workers, and lawyers are sounding the alarm, unveiling state and institutional complicity in Israel’s genocide and are taking meaningful action to end it,” said Giorgia Gusciglio, the European Campaigns co-coordinator for the BDS. “This is a testament to the key role BDS partners play in holding complicit governments accountable for their failure to honor their legal obligations under international law.”
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