Statement of the Bureau of the General Assembly’s Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People on ICJ Provisional Measures  to Prevent Acts of Genocide

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26 January 2024 

Committee Bureau Welcomes the Provisional Measures Ordered by the International Court of Justice for Israel to Prevent Acts of Genocide in Gaza 

The Bureau welcomes the Order of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to South Africa’s application, issuing provisional measures in accordance with Israel’s obligations under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide requiring Israel to “take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II of this Convention.” Israel must ensure that “its military does not commit any” genocidal acts in Gaza.  

The Court confirmed it has jurisdiction in the case and further recognized that the “civilian population in the Gaza Strip remains extremely vulnerable” because of Israel’s recurring use of brutal force against the Palestinian people and directed Israel to “take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance”.  

Israel’s relentless and indiscriminate war on the besieged Gaza Strip has resulted in over 26,000 Palestinians killed, the majority children and women, more than 63,740 wounded, over 360,000 homes destroyed or damaged, in addition to other vital civilian infrastructure, and approximately 1.9 million persons who have been forcibly displaced and are suffering a humanitarian catastrophe, including starvation and spread of diseases.  

Israel must implement the binding provisional measures to prevent further harm to the Palestinian civilian population. The Court also ordered Israel to “prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide” against the Palestinian people and submit within one month a report on measures taken.  

The Bureau calls on the UN Security Council to ensure the implementation of the Court’s Order, as well as General Assembly resolutions ES-10/21 and ES-10/22 and Security Council Resolutions (2712) and (2720) of 2023. An immediate ceasefire is needed to implement the provisional measures indicated by the Court.  

The Committee Bureau reiterates its longstanding call for a just and peaceful resolution to the question of Palestine, in accordance with international law and the relevant United Nations resolutions, that ends the Israeli occupation, realizes the rights of the Palestinian people, including to self-determination and to return, and achieves the two-State solution on the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine.  

END