Statement by the Tánaiste on the South Africa vs Israel case at the International Court of Justice

The Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, Micheál Martin TD has announced that Ireland will intervene in the case initiated by South Africa against Israel under the Genocide Convention at the International Court of Justice.

Following analysis of the legal and policy issues arising in the case, and consultation with partners, including South Africa, the Tánaiste has directed officials to commence work on a Declaration of Intervention under Article 63 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice.

The intention is that the Declaration of Intervention, which will require Government approval, will be filed once South Africa has filed its Memorial.

This is likely to take a number of months. Ireland will liaise closely with a number of partners who have also confirmed their intention to intervene, as we prepare our intervention.

Speaking today, the Tánaiste said: “Following the Provisional Measures ordered by the Court on 26 January, the Government confirmed its intention to urgently consider filing a declaration of intervention in this case with the International Court of Justice, based on a legal analysis of the Genocide Convention, the Court’s provisional measures order and consultation with other Contracting Parties.

“That analysis and consultation has now concluded. Ireland will be intervening.

“As I said in the Dáil last month, intervention as a third party in a case before the International Court of Justice is a complex matter and is relatively rare. Since 1948, only four other interstate cases have been initiated under the Genocide Convention before the International Court of Justice. Ireland intervened in one of these - the Ukraine v Russia case – and, after a rigorous and comprehensive process of analysis and consultation over the last six weeks, we have determined that we will do so again in the South Africa v Israel case.

“It is for the Court to determine whether genocide is being committed. But I want to be clear in reiterating what I have said many times in the last few months; what we saw on 7 October in Israel, and what we are seeing in Gaza now, represents the blatant violation of international humanitarian law on a mass scale.

“The taking of hostages. The purposeful withholding of humanitarian assistance to civilians. The targeting of civilians and of civilian infrastructure. The indiscriminate use of explosive weapons in populated areas. The use of civilian objects for military purposes. The collective punishment of an entire population.

“The list goes on. It has to stop. The view of the international community is clear. Enough is enough. The UN Security Council has demanded an immediate ceasefire, the unconditional release of hostages and the lifting of all barriers to the provision of humanitarian assistance at scale. The European Council has echoed this call.

“The situation could not be more stark; half the population of Gaza face imminent famine and 100% of the population face acute food insecurity. As the UN Secretary General said as he inspected long lines of blocked relief trucks waiting to enter Gaza during his visit to Rafah at the weekend; ‘it is time to truly flood Gaza with life-saving aid. The choice is clear: surge or starvation’. I echo his words today.”

ENDS

Press Office

27 March 2024

Notes for Editors

Interventions by States Parties under Article 63 of the Genocide do not take a specific side in the dispute; this intervention is an opportunity for Ireland to put forward its interpretation of one or more of the provisions of the Convention at issue in the case. This is the same approach as was taken by Ireland in the Ukraine v Russia case, when we intervened along with more than 30 other States Parties, following the filing by Ukraine of its Memorial in June 2022.