Two legal processes are occurring related to the genocide in Gaza.
- On December 29 South Africa, a state party to the Genocide Convention, filed an 84-page application in the International Court of Justice (ICJ, or World Court) alleging that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
I wrote about that here: South Africa Accuses Israel of Genocide - A U.S. lawsuit accuses President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for failing to “prevent an unfolding genocide” in Gaza.
You can sign the petition below-urging support of South Africa’s accusation of genocide by Israel here: https://www.codepink.org/icj
1. International Court of Justice
Public hearings on South Africa’s request for provisional measures will take place on January 11 and 12 at the ICJ which is located in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. The hearings will be livestreamed from 4:00-6:00 a.m. Eastern/1:00-3:00 a.m. Pacific on the Court’s website and on UN Web TV. The court could order provisional measures within a week after the hearings.
Israel Is Terrified the World Court Will Decide It’s Committing Genocide. South Africa, a party to the Genocide Convention, charged Israel with genocide in the International Court of Justice. By Marjorie Cohn, TRUTHOUT, January 6, 2024
Bolivia
Bolivia, committed to peace and justice, signatory to the Genocide Convention, recognizes that South Africa took a historic step in the defense of the Palestinian people, a leadership and effort that should be accompanied by the international community that calls for respect for life (considering that the report prepared by the United Nations reports that more than 21,000 people have died since October 7, 2023, mostly children and women, giving an account of the inhumane actions of the State of Israel).
It should be recalled that on November 17, Bolivia, together with South Africa, Bangladesh, Comoros and Djibouti, submitted a request to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the situation in the State of Palestine
Statement in support of South Africa’s application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) January 7, 2024
Turkey
“Israel’s murder of more than 22 thousand Palestinian civilians, the majority of whom were women and children…should not go unpunished in any way, and those responsible for this must be held accountable before international law,” the statement said.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Oncu Keceli
‘Grassroots Diplomats’
A Coalition Of ‘Grassroots Diplomats’ are taking the lead on international solidarity with South Africa in the absence of diplomacy and accountability from U.S. officials.
Peace activists across the United States have embarked on a campaign to mobilize global support for South Africa’s charge of genocide against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ)
The campaign started two weeks ago with an open call for people to join in a petition and letter-writing campaign urging countries to invoke the genocide convention and charge Israel with genocide in the International Court of Justice.
Since then, over 30,000 people signed the petition, accompanied by an impressive 118,290 letters sent to various countries urging support of the cause.
In the first week of January, delegations of grassroots diplomats embarked on a petition and letter delivery campaign across the U.S., urging missions, consulates, and embassies to support South Africa’s legal action against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) under the U.N. Convention on Genocide.
US CITIZENS PUSH EMBASSIES TO BACK SOUTH AFRICA’S GENOCIDE CHARGE by Melissa Garrigo, Consortium News, January 7, 2024
You can sign the following petition here: https://www.codepink.org/icj
Dear United Nations Signatory to the UN Genocide Convention:
We urge your country to immediately invoke the Genocide Convention at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to stop Israel’s annihilation and genocide in Gaza. South Africa already launched this case on December 29, giving your country an opportunity to follow its lead.
Over 22,000 dead, 51,000 wounded, 1.9 million uprooted.
Our heart aches for Gaza.
Your UN mission, government leaders and populace have rightfully expressed outrage at Israel’s bombing of hospitals, clinics, apartments, UN refugee centers and escape routes, disproportionately killing civilians, many of them children in Gaza’s densely packed coastal strip.
We ask your country to take the next step–to file a request with the International Court of Justice (World Court) to investigate and charge Israel with the crime of genocide.
Under the UN Convention on the Prohibition and Punishment of Genocide, the crime of genocide is defined as acts perpetrated to bring about the physical destruction, in whole or in part, of a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.
Israel’s imposition of collective punishment on Gaza, relentlessly bombing civilians, denying an imprisoned population water, food, medicine and fuel – making life unlivable–meets the criteria for the crime of genocide.
If after an investigation, the ICJ (World Court) concludes that Israel should be prosecuted for the crime of genocide, the UN General Assembly–even if the US and Israel kick and scream– can pressure the International Criminal Court to prosecute Israel for the crime of genocide in Gaza.
If a majority of the world’s nations call for a ceasefire, yet fail to press for prosecution of Israel – what is to stop Israel from ethnically cleansing all Palestinians? For that matter, what is to stop other nations from repeating the same horror?
We, the undersigned, urge you to join South Africa and invoke the Genocide Convention to demand Israel be charged and prosecuted.
Take Israel to court for turning Gaza into a graveyard for children.
STOP the genocide!
Code Pink
Declaration of Intervention
On January 8, over 900 popular movements, political parties, unions, and other organizations called upon states across the world to file a “Declaration of Intervention” in support of South Africa’s application at the ICJ.
Declaration of Intervention
We, the undersigned organizations, commend South Africa on its Application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) invoking the Genocide Convention against Israel.
We now urge other countries to reinforce this strongly worded and well-argued complaint by immediately filing a Declaration of Intervention with the ICJ, also called the World Court.
Many countries have rightly expressed their horror at the State of Israel’s genocidal actions, war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed against Palestinians. Israeli Occupying Forces have bombed hospitals, residences, United Nations refugee centers, schools, places of worship and escape routes, killing and injuring tens of thousands of Palestinians since October 7, 2023. More than half of the dead are women and children. Israeli leaders have made brazenly genocidal statements openly declaring their intention to permanently and completely displace Palestinians from their own land.
South Africa is correct in charging that under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Israel’s actions “are genocidal in character, as they are committed with the requisite specific intent … to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group.”
Parties to the Genocide Convention are obliged to act to prevent genocide; therefore, action must be immediate. A Declaration of Intervention filed with the ICJ in support of the South African case against Israel is one way to ensure that all acts of genocide are stopped and those responsible are held accountable.
Israel’s killing, injuring, traumatizing, and displacing large numbers of Palestinians and denying water, food, medicine, and fuel to an occupied population meet the criteria for the crime of genocide. If a majority of the world’s nations call for a ceasefire, yet fail to press for prosecution of Israel – what is to stop Israel from ethnically cleansing all Palestinians?
For that matter, what is to stop other nations from repeating a horror of this magnitude?
We urge national governments to immediately file a Declaration of Intervention in support of the South African case against Israel at the International Court of Justice to stop the killing in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
2. LAWSUIT AGAINST BIDEN IN U.S. COURT
DOZENS OF LEGAL and civil society organizations from around the world have thrown their weight behind a U.S. lawsuit accusing President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for failing to “prevent an unfolding genocide” in Gaza.
In late December, 77 groups — representing tens of thousands of lawyers, civil society leaders, and activists from six continents — filed an amicus brief in a lawsuit that Palestinian human rights organizations, residents of Gaza, and U.S. citizens with family members impacted by Israel’s ongoing assault brought against the Biden administration.
In the amicus brief, which is an avenue for groups not directly involved in a lawsuit to give the court information to consider in its ruling, the organizations argue that the plaintiffs establish that a genocide, or serious risk of genocide, of Palestinians in Gaza is occurring. They also argue that the U.S. is violating its duties under international law to prevent and not be complicit in genocide, and that those U.S. failures contribute to the erosion of “long and widely-held norms of international law,” including the Genocide Convention and Universal Declaration of Human Rights, both established in 1948 in the wake of World War II.
77 GROUPS WORLDWIDE BACK GENOCIDE LAWSUIT AGAINST BIDEN IN U.S. COURT. The Biden administration is due in federal court later this month, while Israel faces charges of genocide at The Hague this week by Prem Thakker, The Intercept, January 10, 2024
Polycrisis Center 