The Government of South Africa condemns the spreading of disinformation concerning its
case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). These charges brought forth on this ongoing case (South Africa vs. Israel) are on the application of the convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide in the Gaza Strip. Efforts to misinform and mislead the public draw attention away from an ongoing genocide which is unfolding in Gaza and televised on a daily basis is highly damaging. The National Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) released a statement that stated the following:
Post-apartheid South Africa has been consistent in advocating for the inalienable rights of the
Palestinian people, including for Israel to end its unlawful occupation which continues to deny
the Palestinian people their right to self-determination. Our principled approach is firmly rooted in our own experience of colonialism and apartheid, international law, and the United Nations Charter, whose core purpose is to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.
We have repeatedly taken our support for the State of Palestine to multilateral platforms,
amplifying the Palestinian struggle on the international stage. This includes initiating and
supporting countless United Nations resolutions in favour of Palestine, underpinned by
consistent voting patterns since 1994. We have further been at the forefront of supporting the
State of Palestine’s admission as a full member of the United Nations.
On 28 October 2024, we submitted our memorial to the ICJ containing evidence which shows
how the Government of Israel continues to violate the Genocide Convention by promoting the
destruction of Palestinians living in Gaza, physically killing them, depriving them access to
humanitarian assistance, causing conditions of life which are aimed at their physical
destruction, and ignoring and defying several provisional measures ordered by the ICJ.
We have also presented evidence of Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon of war and its aim
to depopulate Gaza through mass killing and forced displacement of Palestinians. The
evidence demonstrates unequivocally that undergirding Israel’s genocidal acts is the special intent to commit genocide, its failure to prevent genocide and incitement to genocide, and its
failure to punish those inciting and committing acts of genocide.
The prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide is a duty owed by all States, the
prohibition of which is a peremptory norm of international law. It is for this reason that the
Genocide Convention enables a Contracting Party under Article IX to invoke the ICJ’s
jurisdiction in respect of the interpretation, application, or fulfilment of the Convention,
including those relating to the responsibility of a State for genocide or for any of the other acts
enumerated in Article III of the Convention.
The lamentable aspersions being cast on our case form part of a larger campaign to shield
Israel from accountability, to dehumanise Palestinians, and to undermine a just case firmly
rooted in international law. These latest efforts are merely an iteration of ongoing attempts to
discredit and attack member states, UN bodies, personnel, rapporteurs, international courts,
and conscionable individuals who long to see an end to Israel’s genocidal campaign.
We firmly reject these aspersions and confirm that our national fiscus is carrying the cost of
this contentious case. We remain unfettered in our solidarity with the Palestinian cause and in
our resolve to invoke the relevant organs of the United Nations to end the Israeli genocidal destruction of the Palestinian people and to bring about a just and lasting peace in the State
of Palestine.
