South Africa s case brought in December 2023 alleges that Israel s Gaza offensive, launched in retaliation for an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel, breached the 1948 UN Genocide Convention. AFP
South Africa's case brought in December 2023 stresses that Israel's brutal war against Gaza breached the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.
In an interview with AFP, Nambitha Dambuza, a judge of appeal in the Supreme Court of South Africa, lamented that Israel faces few constraints in prosecuting its war.
"The cause of the state concerned, Israel, is so deep and they're convinced they're in the right and they know there's hardly anything that's going to happen if they continue with their conduct," Dambuza said.
"Accountability can be a choice among states and I'm not saying all states are the same. Some are more sensitive to pressure, and they might adjust their conduct accordingly, but others will not," added Dambuza who was in New York for the UN's High Level Political Forum.
South Africa's case, which Spain said last month it would join along with several Latin American nations, has resulted in several rulings against Israel.
Last month the ICJ ordered Israel to ensure "unimpeded access" to UN-mandated investigators to look into allegations of genocide.
In a ruling on January 26, the ICJ also ordered Israel to do everything it could to prevent acts of genocide during its military attack on Gaza.
South Africa has gone to the ICJ several times insisting that the dire humanitarian situation means the court should issue further fresh emergency measures.
The ICJ will deliver its Advisory Opinion in respect of the Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem on 19 July, the court said in a statement on Friday.
Bring pressure
On May 24, the court ordered Israel to immediately halt its military attack on the city of Rafah and keep open the key border crossing there for unhindered humanitarian aid.
It also called for the unconditional release of captives taken by Palestinian resistance groups on October 7.
While ICJ rulings are legally binding, the court has no concrete means to enforce them. Dambuza said that even bringing the case publicized the situation and drew attention to the alleged violations.
"It did bring pressure," she said. "Although the process didn't result in any tangible relief... putting these issues out in the public, society gets to see justice -- or attempts at justice."
Israel has killed at least 38,345 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, since the war began.
Despite the dire situation, Dambuza said a return to negotiations over a deal mapping the future of Israel and the Palestinians should not be ruled out.
"There was a point where there were rapid negotiations -- (in) Bill Clinton's time, there was motion. And look at where we are today. It is personality-driven," she said.
Turning to ecological problems, Dambuza, chair of the Africa Judicial Network on Environmental Law, said there was scope for an international environmental court to be set up.
She also said traditional courts, which are run by community leaders and are common in rural South Africa, had an important role to play in adjudicating environmental disputes globally.
"That would provide more ready access than trying to access conventional court systems," she said. "But they need to be supported.
Short link: