Spain invoked Article 63 of the Court’s Statute to request intervention in the case initiated by South Africa on December 29 regarding the violation of the Genocide Convention in Gaza.
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This Friday, the Spanish Government officially presented “a declaration of intervention” in the process initiated by South Africa before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel for violating the Genocide Convention during military operations in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, the ICJ, the UN’s highest court, explained that Spain invoked Article 63 of the Court’s Statute to request intervention in the case initiated by South Africa on December 29 for violation of the convention.
In its request, Spain, which exercises its right to intervene as a signatory State of the treaty in question and a country affected by its judicial interpretation, alleges that the agreement is “a A crucial instrument of international law for the prevention and punishment of genocide.“.
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The Convention also highlights that it is “not only a criminal law treaty” but also “contains elements clearly linked to the protection and safeguarding of the fundamental values and principles of international law, including the protection of human dignity and the principle of responsibility, and imposes substantive obligations” on the signatory countries that “go beyond guaranteeing the criminal prosecution of the crime of genocide.”
In a note released in Madrid, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs justifies the decision “because firm commitment to international law and with the work of the International Court of Justice” and with the intention of “contributing to the return of peace to Gaza and the Middle East.”
“Oh The goal is to end the war and begin moving forward with the implementation of two states.which is the only guarantee for Palestinians and Israelis to live together in peace and security and achieve stability throughout the region,” he added.
On June 6, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares announced his decision to intervene in the ICJ procedure initiated by South Africa, which was formalized this Friday with the official presentation of the declaration of intervention.
In the text, Spain highlights its interest in having the ICJ examine the obligation to prevent the practice of genocide “for the Lack of access for humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and the destruction of infrastructure,” according to the ministerial statement.
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Following the established protocol, the ICJ now invites South Africa and Israel, the two parties involved in this case, to submit written observations on the Spanish request for intervention.
Article 63 of the Statute allows other countries to participate in a process “provided it concerns the interpretation of a convention to which States other than the interested parties are parties.”
Mexico, Nicaragua, Colombia, Libya and Palestine itself have already requested authorization to intervene in this procedure against Israel, although there are other countries that have also publicly expressed their interest in this case, but have not yet formalized their request.
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At a preliminary stage of the case, the ICJ demanded in May that Israel “immediately cease its military offensive in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, to prevent “the total or partial physical destruction” of Palestinians and to take effective measures to ensure the unhindered entry of humanitarian aid.
He also demanded that access be guaranteed for expert missions to investigate allegations of genocide.
Interventions by authorized countries will come as soon as the ICJ begins to study the merits of the procedure to determine whether or not Israel violated the Genocide Convention with the war in the Gaza Strip.
The current conflict began with an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Israeli soil, which caused more than 1,100 deaths and took more than two hundred hostages.
Following the Hamas attack on October 7, Israel launched a large-scale offensive in the Gaza Strip, which has already caused more than 37,000 deaths, mostly civilians, and a humanitarian disaster, destabilizing the entire region.
Source: Observadora
