South Africa Boksburg ANC legotla ICJ 26 January 2024. As the ANC gathers for a legotla and NEC meeting at Birchwood hotel in Boksburg they take a break to turn to the International Court of Justice to listen to the outcome of South Africas case for Palestine. At the end of the day they their reaction is that of a fair case and the members chanted songs and hugged each other in celebration with some representatives from the Palestinian ambassy. Picture: Timothy Bernard / Independent Newspapers.
Despite all the negativity that prevails in our country, such as load shedding, corruption in most of our state-owned entities, dysfunctional hospitals and municipalities, there was a glimmer of hope for our country, with the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last Friday.
I was extremely proud to be a South African when the highest court in the world ruled in favour of the provisional measures requested by our country against Israel for its alleged genocidal approach to the Palestinians in Gaza.
South Africa, out of all 195 countries in the world, was the only one that took a bold step to stop the massacre of more than 26 000 innocent Palestinians, 70% of the deaths being of children and women.
The news by the ICJ was refreshing. I recall two times where we, as citizens, were in such a high spirit. First, with the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize for 1993 to Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the father of our rainbow nation, and former apartheid president Frederik Willem de Klerk. And the second time, when we were indisputably united when our rugby team won the Rugby World Cup in 1995.
What makes the feat remarkable is that South Africa, with its population of 61 million, comprises less than 1% (actually 0.75%) of the total population of the world of 8.1 billion.
Yet, it was the only country that had the courage to bring an end to the alleged genocide witnessed in Gaza. The treatment of South Africans of colour by the apartheid government pales in comparison to the atrocities meted out by the Israeli government to the Palestinians.
Despite the sense of euphoria, I was shocked to discover that the first black female judge appointed to the ICJ, who hails from Uganda, was the only judge, other than the ad hoc Israeli judge, who voted against each provisional measure.
Shockingly, even when the Israeli judge voted in favour of two provisional measures, Judge Julia Sebutinde voted against those.
Does her judgment place a big question on the validity of her PhD in human rights?
You be the judge.
* Adiel Ismail, Mountview.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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