As of October 7, 2023, we have once again witnessed that in the three months following this date, all states, both Eastern and Western, either could not or chose not to stand with the oppressed. The states have failed; now it's time for the international legal institutions' exam. Let's see how real or fake international law is starting from tomorrow. The critical trial to stop the massacre in Gaza, which Israel has been conducting with the support of the U.S., the UK, EU countries, and global companies, while the rest of the world watches, and where people have been shouting "child killers" on the streets for months, begins tomorrow.
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As you know, the South African government had applied to the International Court of Justice, stating that Israel committed the crime of genocide. On January 11-12, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague will consider the genocide charges against Israel. The decisions arising from the case filed by the South African government will be legally binding. The Netanyahu government, along with its supporter global companies, the U.S., and the UK, will try to prevent the international court from making a decision to immediately stop the attacks on Gaza during the hearings.
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The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1948 and entered into force in January 1951. Countries party to the convention are obliged to prevent and punish the crime of genocide. So far, 140 countries have ratified the convention. The primary purpose of the convention is to prevent acts such as genocide carried out by Nazi Germany during World War II. The initial draft of the convention also included political assassinations, but the Soviet Union and a few countries argued that actions against political views and social stances of similar groups would not fall under the crime of genocide. This condition was removed from the draft after the reached compromise. Bahrain, Bangladesh, the United States, the Philippines, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Yemen, and Yugoslavia have imposed an additional condition on the convention preventing genocide investigations from being subject to their countries without their permission.
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Eighteen years ago, the court that recognized the Srebrenica massacre as genocide did not directly hold Serbia responsible for genocide but ruled that the country did not prevent genocide and did not punish the perpetrators. Another genocide case on the court's agenda is related to the crimes committed by the Myanmar army against Rohingya Muslims in 2020. In the case created by the African country Gambia, a decision was made in January 2020 that Myanmar should take steps to prevent similar crimes.
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The International Court of Justice (ICJ), established in 1945 to resolve interstate disputes, is the highest judicial body of the United Nations. The ICJ's panel of 15 judges hears cases involving border disputes and accusations by states that each other violate UN agreements. In the case of Israel's genocide, in addition to the 15 judges, one judge from each party will also be involved. Both South Africa and Israel are signatories to the 1948 Genocide Convention, which gives the ICJ the authority to prosecute. The agreement defines genocide as acts committed with the intent to "completely or partially destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group." It also obliges all signatory states to prevent and punish genocide.
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In the first stage of the trial, which may take several years to complete, some emergency measures will be discussed. The ICJ generally resorts to these measures during the trial process to prevent the situation from worsening. However, the measures determined by the court may be different from those requested. The decisions of the ICJ are considered final judgments and cannot be appealed. However, there are no sanctions that can be applied in case the court's decisions are not implemented. If a decision against Israel is reached, the most significant consequences will be that it sets a legal precedent and may turn countries supporting genocide.
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It is important to remember that there is a comprehensive global boycott for the first time, and it is ongoing. Some companies supporting Israel have reported losses of up to 20 percent. The loss percentages of other companies will be known soon. Even if there is no international law, we now know that compassionate people exist. This reassures us. Despite being emotionally at rock bottom in every aspect and amidst all this decay, I still maintain my hope.
