South Africa’s case against Israel: We hope for judgment in favour of justice that will be effective

30 December 2023

South Africa’s application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel, under the Genocide Convention, is a welcome attempt to deliver justice to Palestinian civilians who are being unjustly collectively punished for Hamas’ attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.

The South African government’s application is an important opportunity to find truth, and hopefully a binding order of peace, by an independent court of international law, in a world polarised by the conflict and conflicting narratives of righteousness.

It is, though, too soon to pop champagne corks, as the application will greatly test the UN court’s fortitude and ability to enforce global conventions such as the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Until now, the UN (at Security Council level) has been rendered toothless by its quaint colonial architecture that has enabled a series of US vetoes of resolutions calling for ceasefire.

In a sense, therefore, the court now has the task of either justifying the UN’s existence or proving its unsuitability for the task of ethical global leadership.

South Africa’s application to the ICJ to enforce the Genocide Convention seeks an order that the State of Israel must stop killing or harming Palestinians, allow Palestinians to return to what were once their homes, reconstruct Gaza and pay reparations.

While an ICJ judgement is binding on all UN member states, the Court’s ability to enforce the judgement is non-existent – as we have seen with their order of March 2022 that “The Russian Federation shall immediately suspend the military operations that it commenced on Feb 24, 2022 on the territory of Ukraine".

Palestine is entitled to justice and peace.

If the United Nations cannot, through nation-state cooperation, give effect to judgements of the ICJ, or negotiate justice and peace, then what purpose does it serve?

Issued by Brett Herron, GOOD Secretary-General, 30 December 2023