Is International Law Broken? Can a New York Politician Arrest a Foreign Leader?

Every September, world leaders gather in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, a chance to speak on peace, justice, and to try to bring international order to our world. Yet, a new question increasingly arises: in a setting meant to discuss international law, has that system of rules already been broken?

For supporters of Israel, this question is all one can think about. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced unprecedented criticism since the beginning of Israel’s war on terror and Hamas, along with many inaccurate claims of human rights violations. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for him on November 21, 2024. Simultaneously, Israel has maintained a strong stance, citing the October 7 massacre, the illegal kidnapping of Israeli citizens, and the United Nations connection to Hamas through UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) as moments when international bodies have completely failed to uphold the morals and laws they claim to protect.

This reality has resulted in a complete double standard toward Israel. It is a moral truth that this war started because 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals were murdered and 251 were taken hostage. On one of Israel’s holiest and most peaceful days, Simchat Torah, the 50-year anniversary of the Six Day War, terrorists infiltrated the country and committed some of the grossest human rights violations. Yet, the international community stayed silent. The ICC has failed to issue an arrest warrant for Khalil al-Hayya, who, many forget, is the current head of Hamas and successor of October 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar. Instead, after Israel drops leaflets, performs life-saving operations for Gazan children, and does everything else they can to not hurt the innocent, the international community calls for the arrest of Prime Minister Netanyahu.  

These questions of international law’s legitimacy seem more relevant than ever as New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that if Prime Minister Netanyahu attended the UN General Assembly in New York, he would have him arrested and tried. Despite how much Mayor Mamdani might want to arrest the Prime Minister, he cannot. His claim holds no weight because the Mayor of New York City does not hold the power to order the arrest of any foreign leader who visits this city. That would be a clear breach of international law. This authority lies with the federal government under the United States Constitution. Even if the government decided to do this, it would violate the dignitary’s diplomatic immunity. 

If that was not enough, the United States is not a party to the Rome Statute that created the ICC. So, the US does not have an obligation to carry out its arrest warrants within its own borders. 

So, has diplomacy begun to fade away? 

Diplomacy can only work through dialogue, even with leaders some may not support. The United Nations founders understood this and had a vision of what the world could be if people would hear each other out. The UN was established so that leaders could engage with one another despite their differences. Now, if world leaders believe that attending the General Assembly would leave them vulnerable to imprisonment, they would stop coming, and diplomacy would end. 

The new question becomes whether people have lost faith in the international systems meant to protect them. Does the essential international order have enough public trust to function properly? If not, the larger issue becomes restoring confidence in the rule of law and ensuring that it is applied fairly, impartially, rather than reflecting the views of any one individual, as its founders intended. These questions are worth asking. As a staunch supporter of the United Nations’ core mission, a believer in international law and humanity, and an advocate for truth and justice, I still choose to have hope.