South Africa has written to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) with an urgent application for the provisional measures the court ordered on 26 January 2024 to be strengthened to prevent a catastrophic famine in the Gaza Strip.
It comes after the Court ruled On 26 January 2024, that South Africa’s call for an order to prevent Israel from committing genocide against the Palestinian, met the standard of plausibility.
The urgent application has been necessitated by widespread starvation in Gaza, which has claimed the lives of at least 15 children in the past week alone, with the actual numbers believed to be much higher, the Union Buildings has said.
The urgent application has been necessitated by widespread starvation in Gaza, which has claimed the lives of at least 15 children in the past week alone, with the actual numbers believed to be much higher. United Nations experts warn that the number of deaths will increase exponentially unless military activities are halted and the blockade is lifted,
“The situation is urgent. South Africa has no choice but to approach the Court for the strengthening of the Provisional Measures in place to try prevent full-scale famine, starvation and disease in the Gaza Strip, which experts predict may result in more than 85 000 deaths in the next six months, if nothing is done,” ” the statement read.
“On 29 December 2023, South Africa approached the International Court of Justice (ICJ), as a State Party to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (‘Genocide Convention’), seeking an order to prevent Israel from committing genocide against the Palestinian people who, along with all other distinct national, racial and ethnical groups, are protected by that Convention.
“On 26 January 2024, the Court ruled that South Africa’s claim met the standard of plausibility and, on the request of South Africa, ordered Israel inter alia, to take action to prevent and punish genocide, incitement to genocide, and to enable the immediate and effective provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance to besieged Gaza.
“These ‘Provisional Measures’ were issued by the Court to prevent irreparable and irreversible harm to the rights of Palestinians pending the Court’s final decision on the case.”
The statement says the United Nations experts warn that the number of deaths will increase exponentially unless military activities are halted and the blockade is lifted.
“Under the Genocide Convention, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of Palestinians – including through mass starvation and destruction of food systems – amounts to genocide.”. it added.
