Global South rallies behind South Africa's genocide case against Israel
With hearings underway at The Hague over Israel's violation of the Genocide Convention in Gaza, more nations have publicly expressed their support for the Palestinian people
Nations across the Global South have thrown their support behind South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), as the hearings are set to begin on 11 January.
On Wednesday, Brazil and Colombia joined other Latin American nations like Bolivia, Venezuela, and Nicaragua publicly endorsing the South African case.
“In light of the flagrant violations of international humanitarian law, the president expressed his support for the initiative of South Africa to ask the International Court of Justice to determine that Israel immediately cease all acts and measures that could constitute genocide or related crimes," the statement from Brasilia reads.
“South Africa’s lawsuit is a brave step in the right direction,” a statement from the Colombian government stressed.
The 22-member Arab League bloc also confirmed its backing for the South African case on Wednesday in a social media post made by Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit.
“It is natural and logical for the Arab League to fully support the lawsuit filed by South Africa against Israel … We look forward to a just and bold ruling that will stop this aggressive war and put an end to the shedding of Palestinian blood,” Aboul-Gheit said.
Iran issued a similar statement on the same day, backing South Africa and saying the Islamic Republic “strongly denounces the apartheid Zionist regime’s war crimes and genocide against the Palestinian nation, and expresses its support for resistance as a liberation move and legitimate right recognized by international law for the Palestinian nation in the struggle against occupation.”
The Maldives, Namibia, and Pakistan also announced their support for the South Africa case this week.
Pakistan’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, Usman Jadadoon, on Tuesday called Israel’s war in Gaza “a brutal, veritable genocide” and said his country “looks forward to the Advisory Opinion of the ICJ on the legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.”
Turkiye, Jordan, and Malaysia had previously supported the case. Similarly, the 54-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) – including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Morocco – was among the first to back South Africa's case.
Furthermore, over 1,000 popular movements, political parties, unions, and other organizations worldwide issued a joint statement this week calling on all signatories to the 1948 Genocide Convention to stand by South Africa.
“We urge national governments to immediately file a Declaration of Intervention in support of the South African case against Israel at the International Court of Justice to stop the killing in the Occupied Palestinian Territories,” the statement reads.
Other nations like France and Costa Rica stopped short of supporting the case against Israel but nonetheless reiterated their trust in the ICJ, with Paris saying it would support “whatever decision the court reaches.” Mexico also called on states to refrain from using their veto power should they oppose the court’s findings.
In spite of growing global support for Palestine, the US and the UK have refused to support the case, with Washington explicitly saying they have seen “no evidence” of genocide in Gaza.
In the same vein, on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video statement claiming that “Israel has no intention of permanently occupying Gaza or displacing its civilian population,” in a complete U-turn from the dozens of documented statements he and other senior officials have made over the past three months.
South Africa filed the lawsuit against Israel at the end of December, accusing Tel Aviv of genocide and seeking a halt to the brutal military assault that has killed about 25,000 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children.
The 84-page filing accuses Israel of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention, drawn up in the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust.