AOHR calls on all states to back South Africa's case against Israel at ICJ

The Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR UK) has urged state parties to the 1948 Genocide Convention to join the case filed by South Africa against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

In a statement released today, AOHR said: “Preventing and imposing punishment for the crime of genocide is a collective responsibility on all countries of the world, especially since Israel continues, for the ninety-fifth day, to kill, displace, and starve civilians, destroy their homes, destroy hospitals, and leave thousands of sick and wounded to suffer a slow death, without ever being deterred.”

Describing the situation in Gaza as an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe”, it added that the “systematic targeting” of infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, including hospitals, in addition to prohibiting the entry of humanitarian aid, “clearly demonstrates a deliberate strategy to exterminate the whole population of the Gaza Strip.”

The ICJ is due to hear South Africa’s case against Israel on Thursday and Friday, providing “a great opportunity for the international community to prove its commitment to the Genocide Convention.”

It added that “people have lost their belief in human rights conventions or the UN agencies’ abilities to implement them.”

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