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Tag: International Court of Justice

  • ICJ to rule in UAE/Sudan genocide case on May 5

    ICJ to rule in UAE/Sudan genocide case on May 5

    The International Court of Justice said Tuesday it would issue its ruling in Sudan’s case against the United Arab Emirates on May 5.

    Khartoum has dragged the UAE before the ICJ, accusing it of complicity in genocide by backing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) battling the Sudanese army since 2023.

    The UAE denies supporting the rebels and has dismissed Sudan’s case as “political theatre” distracting from efforts to end the war that has killed tens of thousands.

    Sudan wants ICJ judges to force the UAE to stop its alleged support for the RSF and make “full reparations”, including compensation to victims of the war.

    Legal experts say Sudan’s case may founder on jurisdictional issues.

    When the UAE signed up to the Genocide Convention, it entered a “reservation” to a key clause enabling countries to drag each other before the ICJ over disputes.

    As robed lawyers wrestle over legal interpretations of jurisdiction in the panelled hall of the Peace Palace, the human cost of the conflict has continued to mount.

    Nearly 500 civilians have been confirmed killed in Sudan’s North Darfur in recent weeks, the United Nations said last week, condemning “horrifying” numbers of deaths and widespread sexual violence.

    The UN human rights office said it had listed at least 481 civilians killed in North Darfur since April 10 and that the “actual number is likely much higher”.

    The state has become a key battleground in the war that erupted on April 15, 2023 between the regular army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, headed by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

    The war has left tens of thousands dead and triggered what aid agencies describe as the world’s largest displacement and hunger crises.

    Famine has officially hit five areas across Sudan, according to a UN-backed assessment.

  • South Africa files ICJ case accusing Israel of ‘genocidal acts’

    South Africa files ICJ case accusing Israel of ‘genocidal acts’

    South Africa has filed a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) alleging that Israel is engaging in “genocidal acts” in Gaza.

    The UN court confirmed the proceedings concerning alleged violations of Israel’s obligations under the Genocide Convention.

    Israel has strongly rejected the allegation, calling it “baseless”.

    “Israel rejects with disgust the blood libel spread by South Africa”, the foreign ministry said.

    The ICJ, which is based in the Hague in the Netherlands, is the UN’s principal legal body. It settles disputes between states and gives advisory opinions on international legal issues.

    Following its application to the ICJ, South Africa’s presidency said in a statement that the country was obliged “to prevent genocide from occurring”.

    “South Africa is gravely concerned with the plight of civilians caught in the present Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip due to the indiscriminate use of force and forcible removal of inhabitants,” it said.

    “Furthermore, there are ongoing reports of international crimes, such as crimes against humanity and war crimes, being committed as well as reports that acts meeting the threshold of genocide or related crimes… have been and may still be committed in the context of the ongoing massacres in Gaza.”

    The 84-page document states that the “acts and omissions by Israel” are “genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group”.

    The application asks the ICJ for a hearing to take place next week and requests that a number “provisional measures” be indicated by the court, including that Israel cease all military activities in Gaza.

    Lior Haiat, a spokesman for Israel’s foreign affairs ministry, said South Africa’s claim “constitutes despicable and contemptuous exploitation of the Court.”

    He said South Africa was “cooperating with a terrorist organisation that is calling for the destruction of the State of Israel” and said Hamas was “responsible for the suffering of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by using them as human shields and stealing humanitarian aid from them”.

    “Israel is committed to international law and acts in accordance with it, and directs its military efforts only against the Hamas terrorist organization and the other terrorist organizations cooperating with Hamas,” Mr Haiat said.

    “Israel has made it clear that the residents of the Gaza Strip are not the enemy, and is making every effort to limit harm to the non-involved and to allow humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip.”

    South Africa has been highly critical of Israel’s military operation in Gaza.

    In early November, it recalled all of its diplomats from Israel. Israel, in turn, recalled its ambassador from Pretoria.

    In addition, the South African national assembly voted to suspend all diplomatic relations with Israel, but the government has not yet formally responded to the vote.

    South Africa previously filed a referral to a different court, the International Criminal Court (ICC), relating to alleged war crimes by Israel in Gaza. The ICC ​investigates and tries individuals charged with genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Israel does not recognise the ICC.

    The current war between Israel and Hamas was triggered by the 7 October Hamas attack on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people – most of them civilians – and saw about 240 others taken hostage.

    More than 21,500 people have been killed in Gaza – mostly children and women – during Israeli retaliatory attacks on Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.