Pope Leo XIV Condemns Global Disregard for Humanitarian Law 1

Pope Leo XIV Condemns Global Disregard for Humanitarian Law

Pope Leo XIV has decried the growing dominance of raw power over international legal norms, as armed conflicts continue to escalate worldwide and global institutions struggle to prevent atrocities and war crimes.

“It is disheartening to see today that the strength of international law and humanitarian law no longer seems binding, replaced by the presumed right to overpower others,” the pontiff stated in a social media post on Thursday. “This is unworthy and shameful for humanity and for the leaders of nations.”

While Pope Leo did not provide specific context for his comments, the statement comes as international pressure mounts for an end to Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza — an assault that prominent human rights organisations and United Nations experts have increasingly referred to as a genocide.

Israel stands accused of repeatedly violating international humanitarian law — the body of legal principles designed to protect civilians during conflict — in its operations against Palestinians. With full backing from the United States, Israeli forces have destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced nearly the entire population, and killed at least 56,156 people, according to health authorities in the territory.

Earlier this month, Matthew Miller, the former spokesperson for the US Department of State who had led efforts to defend Israel’s actions during President Joe Biden’s tenure, acknowledged that the Israeli military has “without a doubt” committed war crimes in Gaza.

Israel has also defied several key international rulings, including those from the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, citing possible war crimes such as the use of starvation as a method of warfare. In a landmark ruling last year, the ICJ found Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza to be unlawful, calling for an end to the occupation “as rapidly as possible.”

Despite these findings, many ICC member states — particularly in Europe — have continued to maintain strong economic and military relationships with Israel, prompting criticism of double standards and selective application of international justice.

Pope Leo XIV, who succeeded the late Pope Francis in May and became the first American to assume the papacy, has been a vocal advocate for peace in Gaza since the beginning of his tenure. In May, he issued a direct plea for an immediate cessation of hostilities.

“Ceasefire now,” he urged, representing the moral and spiritual voice for the world’s approximately 1.4 billion Catholics.

“From the Gaza Strip, we hear rising ever more insistently to the heavens, the cries of mothers and fathers who clutch the lifeless bodies of their children, and who are continually forced to move about in search of a little food and water and safer shelter from bombardments,” he said at the time.

The violence in Gaza continues as other deadly conflicts, including the war in Ukraine and ongoing atrocities in Sudan, rage on, further undermining confidence in the international system’s ability to uphold humanitarian norms and protect civilian lives.