Australian Friends of Palestine Association

View Original

ICJ Genocide Ruling - Australia's response?

The Secretary

Write to the Australian Government & your federal MP

From homepage of the ICJ: “The International Court of Justice, which has its seat in The Hague,
is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations”

On 26 January 2024, the International Court of Justice in The Hague gave its ruling on the case brought by South Africa against Israel, under the 1948 Genocide Convention in relation to Israel’s onslaught in Gaza since 7 October 2023.

A Mondoweiss article by David Kattenburg, "ICJ orders Israel to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza and punish calls for incitement”, describes the delivery of the Ruling by ICJ President, Joan Donoghue thus:

Speaking on behalf of the World Court’s 17 justices, two of them ad hoc (from South Africa and Israel), President Joan Donoghue delivered the court’s response to South Africa’s application against Israel under the 1948 Genocide Convention and its request for an urgent injunction – ‘provisional measures,’ in legal jargon, against Israel.

Donoghue delivered a withering summary of the situation Gaza’s 2.3 million people face after sixteen weeks of unrelenting Israeli violence, featuring acts plausibly defined as genocidal under Article II of the 1948 Genocide Convention.

Israel, Judge Donoghue announced, must:

  1. take all measures to ensure that acts deemed genocidal under the Genocide Convention do not take place in Gaza; 

  2. ensure that its military does not commit genocidal acts; 

  3. prevent and punish genocide incitement and rhetoric; 

  4. enable and facilitate the provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza; 

  5. prevent destruction and preserve evidence of genocide in its military operations, and 

  6. report to the court within one month, informing the court of its compliance with today’s preliminary measures order, and in response to South Africa’s genocide complaint.

AFOPA agrees with the Australian Centre for International Justice (ACIJ) that Australia, as a signatory to the Genocide Convention, has a duty to prevent genocide in Gaza and act to implement the ICJ ruling. We agree the Australian Government must issue a public statement welcoming this decision and reminding Israel it has a duty and obligation to comply with the ruling. The Australian Government should repudiate any statements from Israeli leaders which dismiss the Court and its ruling, as statements that are an affront to the Court, and the international rules-based system.

AFOPA notes the responses of Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, as reported in The Guardian on 27 January, to the effect that Australia has very little to say on the matter. This is in contrast to the Australian Greens Leader, Adam Bandt, who has said the ruling obligates the Australian and international governments to act. He is quoted in the above Guardian article as saying, “The implications of the ICJ’s landmark ruling are clear: the invasion of Gaza must stop, the occupation of Palestine must end and the serious risk of genocide must be prevented. Labor must stop backing the invasion and pressure the Israeli government to end the invasion and end the occupation.”

The Australian Government’s response must go beyond words. Australian opinion polls have shown that this government is completely out of step with public sentiment, not just towards a ceasefire in Gaza, but regarding support for the Palestinian people and their right to self determination and a state.

As stated by the ACIJ in their media release of 27 January, AFOPA requests the following from the Australian Government:

  • immediately review its economic ties to Israel and impose targeted sanctions

  • all defense industry partnerships must be suspended and a two way arms embargo imposed. This means the government must halt any export of arms and arms components to Israel, including exports being diverted through other countries

  • The Australian government should ensure that any of its citizens serving with the Israeli military are investigated in Australia for any commission of international crimes.

  • The Australian government must also support the investigation at the International Criminal Court and call on the Office of the Prosecutor to advance its investigation and swiftly and without delay issue arrest warrants for the case files before the ICC since 2014.

Please write to our Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, Defence Minister and your local federal MP and put these demands to them. A letter/email in your own words is better than a template. See if you can get a meeting with your federal MP to discuss this matter; AFOPA may be able to organise someone to go with you. Ask us by emailing secretary@afopa.com.au

If you would rather use a template letter, you can use this one drafted by AFOPA.

Write to:

Free Palestine!