Rights lawyer Sands awarded peace prize
The 2026 Frankfurt Book Fair concluded on Sunday with the awarding of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade to the Franco-British lawyer and creator Philippe Sands.
Sands was honored within the presence of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier as a dedicated humanist “who, regardless of rising resistance, fights tirelessly for human rights, justice and mutual understanding.”
The jury mentioned that his work was primarily based on a “dedication to the common rights of each human being, evidenced in his advocacy for victims of warfare crimes, racism, torture and colonial injustice.”
Sands criticizes Germany’s ‘silence’ on Israel
Sands, a professor of legislation at University College London and human rights lawyer on the International Court of Justice in The Hague, used his acceptance speech to criticize Germany for what he referred to as its “inappropriate silence” relating to Israel and its actions within the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Sands mentioned human rights abuses ought to be clearly named, particularly amongst allies, stating: “It’s not antisemitic. It’s not anti-Israel. It’s the reality.”
Sands, himself a descendent of Jews pushed out of what’s now Lviv in western Ukraine through the German occupation within the Second World War, turned recognized to a broader viewers by means of his 2016 ebook East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity.
The work, which particulars the lives of two Jewish attorneys, Hersch Lauterpacht and Raphael Lemkin, and the origins of transnational legal legislation, was translated into dozens of languages, together with German as Rückkehr nach Lemberg (Return to Lviv) in 2018.
“Germany is aware of all about ethnic cleaning,” Sands mentioned in Frankfurt, referring to criticism leveled at Israel by many states over its remedy of Palestinians.
“So why the silence? Silence will not be the best way. Not for a household. Not for a neighborhood. Not for a rustic.”
Sands additionally condemned the Hamas assaults of October 7, 2023, as “appalling” and “a monstrous crime towards the norms of transnational legislation” and acknowledged that Israel, like all state, has a proper to defend itself.
“[But] this proper will not be limitless and should be practiced inside the boundaries of transnational legislation.”
Edited by: Rana Taha
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