For the New Year, Global Solidarity to Save Palestine: Backing South Africa

The former apartheid state has charged the Israeli apartheid state with genocide. Here's how to urge other countries to support her Application at the International Court of Justice.

It’s an old joke that people in the US learn geography by making war. Now, there’s a chance to learn some by working for peace — and thus reorient the world.

With South Africa submitting an 84-page application to the International Court of Justice (also called the World Court) invoking the Genocide Convention against Israel, the task before many activists it to get other countries to back it up.

If this isn’t done, South Africa — even though it suffered under apartheid — may be isolated and vulnerable to all manner of attack. So there are many calls, like this one:

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, based in Saudi Arabia, put out a statement praising South Africa and calling on the Court to take urgent measures to stop the “mass genocide.” So you’d think its members would act.

World Beyond War and RootsAction have updated their action alert on the Genocide Convention. You can use their system to send a strong letter to other countries which have been critical of Israel to get them to support South Africa’s action:

It only takes a moment. CodePink also has a petition they will deliver in person.

And you can approach countries directly, using this great resource that a volunteer put together.

Updated: The volunteer has added contact information for the ICJ judges as well. And here’s an additional email portal you can use for countries. Also: another activist has pulled together a list of handles of some of the officials from various counties which have been critical of Israel and can be asked to take concrete action.

Here’s a slight modification of the letter that World Beyond War sends which you can send:

I urge your country, as party to the Genocide Convention, to immediately file a Declaration of Intervention with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in support of the South African case against Israel for the crime of genocide.

Your United Nations mission, government leaders, and populace have rightfully expressed outrage at Israel’s bombing of hospitals, clinics, apartments, UN refugee centers, and escape routes, killing civilians, many of them children, in Gaza’s densely packed coastal strip.

I ask your country to take the next step, to file a Declaration of Intervention with the ICJ in support of the South African case against Israel on the crime of genocide.

Under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the crime of genocide is defined as acts perpetrated to bring about the destruction, in whole or in part, of a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group, as such.

Israel’s killing, injuring, traumatizing, and making homeless large number of Palestinians and denying an imprisoned population water, food, medicine, and fuel meets the criteria for the crime of genocide.

If a majority of the world’s nations call for a ceasefire, yet fail to press for prosecution of Israel – what is to stop Israel from ethnically cleansing all Palestinians? For that matter, what is to stop other nations from repeating a horror of this magnitude?

I urge you 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 Palestine. [in Spanish below]

(Examples of past Declarations of Intervention.)

Here’s the breakdown of the Dec. 12 UNGA vote:

A few countries which have criticized Israel are not included on the above document because they are not signatories to the Genocide Convention (Chad and Djibouti) and more are listed at bottom of the document because they have a reservation on Article 9 of the Genocide Convention that makes it possible the Court would reject any Declarations they might submit, including Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, India, Malaysia, Morocco, Venezuela and Yemen. Or such Declarations would have to be filed extremely carefully. UN page on parties to the Genocide Convention.

If you have suggestions on the document, you can contact the volunteer who generously put it together: lalleshwariyoga@gmail.com.

See related pieces.

Excelentísimo/a Señor Embajador / Señora Embajadora y colegas,

Por medio de la presente, insto a [COUNTRY], como Estado parte de la Convención sobre el Genocidio, a presentar con urgencia una Declaración de Intervención ante la Corte Internacional de Justicia (CIJ) en apoyo al caso sudafricano contra Israel por el crimen de genocidio, de acuerdo con el Artículo 63 de los Estatutos de la Corte.

La misión de su país ante las Naciones Unidas, los líderes gubernamentales, y la población ciudadana han expresado con claridad su indignación por los bombardeos que Israel está llevando a cabo en la franja de Gaza contra hospitales, clínicas, viviendas y centros de refugiados de la ONU, así como en las rutas de evacuación, y que han tenido como resultado la matanza de miles de víctimas civiles, una gran parte de las cuales eran niños y niñas.

En ese contexto, tengo a bien solicitar que su país dé el siguiente paso y presente una Declaración de Intervención ante la CIJ en apoyo al caso de Sudáfrica contra Israel por el crimen de genocidio.

Bajo la Convención para la Prevención y la Sanción del Delito de Genocidio, el crimen de genocidio está constituido por aquellos actos perpetrados con la intención de destruir, total o parcialmente, a un grupo nacional, étnico, racial o religioso, como tal.

La matanza indiscriminada, las lesiones y la destrucción de las viviendas de la mayoría de la población palestina de Gaza por parte de Israel, así como las políticas de denegación de acceso a agua, alimentos, medicinas y combustible a una población acorralada cumplen con los criterios que determinan la existencia del crimen de genocidio.

Si la mayoría de las naciones del mundo exigen un alto el fuego, pero fracasan en presionar para lograr el enjuiciamiento de Israel, ¿qué es lo que podrá impedir que cumpla con la limpieza étnica de toda la población de Gaza? En el mismo sentido, ¿qué podrá impedir que otras naciones repitan en el próximo futuro un horror de esta magnitud?

Por todo ello, concluyo reiterando mi solicitud ante su país de que presente con urgencia una Declaración de Intervención en apoyo al caso sudafricano contra Israel, como medida necesaria para lograr el fin de la matanza en curso en Palestina.

Se despide atentamente,

[Name]

[City, State, Country]