ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – The Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, January 2 2024, welcomed South Africa’s application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
Previously, South Africa on Friday, December 29 2023 submitted an application to the ICJ to issue an urgent order stating that Israel had violated its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention in its crackdown on Hamas.
“As a State Party to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, South Africa has a treaty obligation to prevent genocide,” said South Africa’s International Relations and Cooperation statement in X.
Malaysia, as a fellow party to the 1948 Genocide Convention, was one of the first countries to issue a statement supporting South Africa’s decision. Israel and Palestine have responded separately to the request, as has the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
“The legal action against Israel before the ICJ is a timely and real step towards legal accountability for Israeli atrocities in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) in general,” said a Malaysian statement.
Malaysia also called on Israel to fulfill its obligations under international law and “immediately end its atrocities against Palestinians”.
In its appeal, South Africa stated that Israel, to be precise since 7 October 2023, had failed to prevent genocide and failed to act directly and publicly on incitement to commit genocide.
The application also includes a request to the ICJ to demonstrate temporary or short-term measures protecting the rights of the Palestinian people from further violations under the Genocide Convention, and ensuring Israel’s compliance with its obligations under the Convention.
“Malaysia reiterates its call for a long-term solution by giving the Palestinians their own independent and sovereign state, based on pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” the Malaysian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Source : Malaysia@MFA
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