Yves Engler

South Africa recently requested the International Court of Justice (ICJ) make an urgent order declaring Israel in breach of its obligations under the Genocide Convention. Canadians should support this non-violent bid to curtail the apartheid state’s horrors in Gaza.

[On January 11, 2024] the ICJ began hearing South Africa’s urgent appeal, which Turkey, Bolivia Jordan, Iran, Maldives, Malaysia and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation have backed. The 84-page brief argues Israel’s onslaught “are genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part” of the Palestinian population in Gaza.

As a signatory of the 1948 Genocide Convention, Israel announced it would respond to the case. It has hired prominent British lawyer Malcolm Shaw to lead their defence in what may be the only time Israel has ever formally responded to an international legal challenge. A preliminary ICJ decision is expected before the end of the month and Haaretz reported a senior Israeli legal expert warning military commanders “there is a real danger that the court will issue an injunction calling on Israel to halt its fire.” Also, according to a leaked cable from the Israeli foreign ministry to its embassies, “A ruling by the court could have significant potential implications that are not only in the legal world but have practical bilateral, multilateral, economic, security ramifications.”

As the highest court in the world, ICJ rulings have the force of international law. France’s ambassador to the United Nations has said his country will support the ICJ’s ruling.

Unfortunately, Justin Trudeau’s government has refused to support South Africa’s case even though they’ve backed similar efforts regarding Russia, Myanmar and elsewhere. Global Affairs failed to respond directly to a Globe and Mail inquiry about whether Canada supported the case.

At least they haven’t opposed South Africa’s bid to end Israel’s genocide. In August Ottawa asked the ICJ to reject a UN General Assembly resolution calling for an advisory opinion on the legal consequences that arise for states from Israel’s occupation. Global Affairs bureaucrats crafted a six-page statement demanding the World Court not release a legal opinion requested by the vast majority of the international community!

In a similar vein, Ottawa sent a letter to the International Criminal Court in 2020 saying the ICC didn’t have jurisdiction to investigate Israel’s war crimes in Palestine. “Canada’s longstanding position is that it does not recognize a Palestinian state and therefore does not recognize the accession of such a state to international treaties, including the Rome Statute. In the absence of a Palestinian state, it is Canada’s view that the Court does not have jurisdiction in this matter,” a Global Affairs official told the Jerusalem Post. Whether or not Ottawa recognizes Palestine, most UN member states do and Palestine joined the ICC in 2015. Canada’s letter to the ICC even suggested Ottawa could withdraw funding if the court proceeded with its investigation of Israel.

In the hope of pre-empting any similar effort to ensure Israeli impunity, the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute and Just Peace Advocates instigated an email campaign asking the NDP to support South Africa’s request. Eight thousand individuals have emailed the NDP leader and foreign affairs critic calling on the party to “demand Canada add its voice to South Africa’s bid to curtail Israel’s horrors in Gaza.”

In response to the pressure, NDP foreign critic Heather McPherson posted to X:

💬 “Canada has opposed ICC and ICJ investigations of crimes committed by Hamas and the Netanyahu government. South Africa has appealed to the ICJ to determine whether Israel is responsible for genocide in Gaza. Will Canada support the International Court of Justice in its work?”

She followed the tweet up with a strong letter to foreign minister Melanie Joly calling on Canada to support South Africa’s case. The Green Party, Liberal MP Salma Zaid have also released letters calling on the government to endorse South Africa’s case.

The Trudeau government will have a hard time ignoring an ICJ ruling against Israel. If the World Court agrees to South Africa’s request it will undercut Ottawa’s ability to continue enabling Israel’s genocide in Gaza.


Source: yvesengler.com. IMG: © N/A; trendradars.com
TPV: http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2024/01/11/canada-must-support-icj-ruling