South Africa’s foreign minister has traveled to The Hague to represent the country as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivers its order on Friday in a genocide case against Israel.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that Naledi Pandor is leading a South African delegation to hear the ICJ provisional measures application outcome.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) said on Wednesday that it will deliver its landmark ruling on South Africa’s case against Israel on Friday, January 26.
[BREAKING NEWS]
Let My People Go‼️‼️‼️
The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Dr Naledi Pandor will travel to the Hague and represent #SouthAfrica🇿🇦 as the International Court of Justice will be delivering its judgment on Friday.
South Africa is requesting… pic.twitter.com/HCXA374jDk
— 🇿🇦Apostle Deza🇨🇺 (@ApstDeza) January 25, 2024
The statement read in part that:
“On Friday 26 January 2024, the International Court of Justice will deliver its Order on the Request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by South Africa in the case concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel)”.
“A public sitting will take place at 1 p.m. at the Peace Palace in The Hague, during which Judge Joan E. Donoghue, the President of the Court, will read the Court’s Order,” it added.
On December 29, the South African government brought the case against Israel before the ICJ, accusing it of “genocidal acts” in its military campaign in Gaza.
Public hearings on South Africa’s request were held on January 11 and 12.
@SAgovnews ARTICLE | The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) Minister, Dr Naledi Pandor, will lead South Africa’s delegation at The Hague on Friday to hear the judgment on the genocide case against Israel. https://t.co/5iUJcIcM1S pic.twitter.com/nVaRp67l9w
— South African Government (@GovernmentZA) January 25, 2024
In an exclusive interview with The Palestine Chronicle on Monday, Chrispin Phiri, the spokesperson for South Africa’s Minister of Justice, Ronald Lamola, said that the government doubts that “the Court wouldn’t find” that the killing of tens of thousands of people “isn’t an urgent condition that requires to be addressed”.
“We are hoping that the court will uphold what we required (listed) in our provisional measures” in particular, the conditions for a ceasefire and humanitarian aid be allowed in, Phiri added.
Addressing the media after South Africa’s oral argument on January 11, Minister Lamola said that the case against Israel presents the ICJ with “an opportunity to act, in real time, to prevent genocide from continuing in Gaza.”
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 25,700 Palestinians have been killed, and 63,730 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Palestinian and international estimates say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
