South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice

– , Berlin time (CET, UTC+1)
Venue: ECFR Berlin Office, Unter den Linden 17, 10117 Berlin

Guests

  • Andries Oosthuizen, Deputy Head of Mission, South African Embassy in Berlin
  • Andre Stemmet, Office of the Chief State Law Adviser, South Africa

Chaired by

Theodore Murphy, Africa Programme Director, ECFR

On 29 December 2023, South Africa filed its first-ever application before the International Court of Justice in response to the situation in the Gaza Strip, taking the international community by surprise. In January 2024, the ICJ rendered a verdict on 6 provisional measures for the State of Israel. These measures sought to ensure that Israel complies with the Genocide Convention, that it refrains from the direct and public incitement of genocide in Gaza, that it supports the provision of humanitarian aid and preserves documentation pertaining to allegations of genocide. Following the ruling, Algeria signalled interest in actioning the ICJ’s finding at the UN Security Council.

This event aims at better understanding South Africa’s perspective and the reasoning behind lodging the application. The discussion will focus on the factors which informed South Africa’s decision to avail itself of the ICJ, the consultations between South Africa and other partners, and the next steps for South Africa following the provisional measures proposed by the ICJ.