South Africa said on Thursday that the UN report confirming Israeli forces committed genocide is a “stark confirmation of the very dire situation” in Palestine that prompted the country to file a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in December 2023.
“In the face of this latest report, which provides a comprehensive, forensically detailed account of an ongoing genocide, the need for international action has never been more urgent,” a Foreign Ministry statement said.
Highlighting state parties’ obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention, South Africa reaffirmed its appeal for all states to “immediately fulfill their solemn obligations” under the convention.
To ensure UN action under Article 94 of its Charter, the statement said, South Africa submitted three public dossiers to the UN Security Council.
'Threat of erasure'
“It is increasingly clear that Palestinian people are facing a threat of erasure in real time, the entire system of international law is on the line,” it said.
“At stake is not merely the fate of the Palestinian people, but the very principle of justice over impunity,” the statement added.
The Israeli army has killed almost 65,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave uninhabitable and led to starvation and the spread of diseases.
Last November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
