South Africa welcomes additional provisional measures ordered by the ICJ
28 March 2024
The International Court of Justice (‘the Court’) has granted South Africa’s Urgent Request of 6 March 2024, for further provisional measures to prevent Israel from causing irreparable harm to the rights invoked by South Africa under the 1948 Genocide Convention in respect of the ongoing siege of Gaza.
In doing so, the Court agreed with South Africa’s assertion that the situation in Gaza had deteriorated significantly since the Court’s Order of 26 January 2024 as a result of Israel’s failure to comply with that Order. Therefore, it was necessary for the Court to indicate further provisional measures.
As the Court put it, “Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine, as noted in the Order of 26 January 2024, but that famine is setting in, with at least 31 people, including 27 children, having already died of malnutrition and dehydration”.
The Court unanimously ordered Israel to: