On 29 December 2023, South Africa filed a claim in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) alleging that Israel is committing genocide in its military campaign in Gaza, seeking provisional measures from the court. Following hearings on the case in The Hague in January, the Court published an order on provisional measures on 26 January 2024.
Professor David Kaye, Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Public International Law, attended the hearings and reported about the case for The Atlantic and Foreign Affairs.
In the seminar, David gave a brief overview of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the ICJ and what South Africa argued in their case. He also discussed the provisional measures sought by South Africa and the order published by the ICJ as a response. According to this order, Israel should: take measures to prevent acts of genocide (under Article 2) and ensure that its military does not commit such acts; take measures to prevent and punish incitement to genocide; take measures to enable provision of humanitarian assistance in Gaza; take measures to prevent the destruction of evidence; and, within a month, report on these measures.
The Rapid Response Seminar was jointly hosted by the Human Rights Law research environment at the Faculty of Law and the Centre for Advanced Middle Easter Studies, Lund University.