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South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola said Türkiye’s support for South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice is “very clear.”
Lamola spoke to Anadolu at the Southern African Development Community Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Kruger National Park, where he assessed the progress of the case against Israel.
He said South Africa chairs the structure known as the “Hague Group,” which aims to prevent the erosion of international law.
“Many countries, including Türkiye, have joined South Africa in the case,” Lamola said.
Lamola said South Africa continues to coordinate with Türkiye on the case.
“We continue to work closely with Türkiye. Türkiye has made its support for the case very clear,” he said.
South Africa is still reviewing Israel’s reply, which was submitted to the court in March.
“We expect the case to gain its own momentum within the court processes, and we will continue to follow the process,” Lamola added.
South Africa filed the case against Israel at the International Court of Justice on Dec. 29, 2023, accusing Israel of violating the 1948 U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
Pretoria requested provisional measures from the ICJ because of the urgency of the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
The court issued three separate provisional measures orders on Jan. 26, March 28 and May 24, 2024.
In those decisions, the ICJ asked Israel to take all necessary measures to prevent acts defined under Article 2 of the Genocide Convention.
The court also ordered Israel to ensure that its military urgently implements measures to prevent genocidal acts, end military operations that could create a risk of genocide in Rafah and regularly report to the court on the measures it has taken.
Israel submitted its reply to the court on March 12 after requesting two extensions.
Türkiye, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Bolivia, Cuba, Belize, Brazil, the Comoros and Namibia are among the countries that have intervened in the case.
The written phase of the case is continuing, while a final ruling is expected to take several years.
The ICJ’s decisions are binding, but the court has no direct enforcement mechanism.
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