ICJ Orders Israel to Prevent Acts of Genocide in Gaza

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s genocide case, Kenya’s high court rejecting a police deployment to Haiti, and Tuvalu holding national elections.

“Real and Imminent Risk”

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on Friday that Israel must do everything in its power to prevent acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip. However, the United Nations’ highest court stopped short of demanding that Israel enact a cease-fire. The ICJ’s ruling also called for the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza.

“The court is acutely aware of the extent of the human tragedy that is unfolding in the region and is deeply concerned about the continuing loss of life and human suffering,” ICJ President Joan Donoghue said.

South Africa accused Israel in December 2023 of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. This week, the court was not required to determine whether Israel is guilty of genocide, an allegation that Israel denies, and thus the ICJ did not rule on that question. A final ruling will likely take years.

Rather, on Friday, the ICJ ruled that it has jurisdiction over the case; that the acts that South Africa has accused Israel of are “capable” of falling within the scope of the 1948 Genocide Convention; that it is “at least plausible” that Israel could be violating Palestinians’ right to be protected from genocide; and that there is a “real and imminent risk” that such violations could plausibly occur as the case continues to be adjudicated. Thus, the court ordered Israel to take provisional measures to prevent that from happening.

The 17-judge panel approved six of eight measures proposed by South Africa to address the ongoing crisis. The measures ordered include Israel doing all it can to prevent acts of genocide, including by refraining from killing or harming Palestinians and preventing Palestinian births; providing basic aid to people in Gaza; preventing and punishing any public incitements to genocide; and ensuring the preservation of evidence indicating possible acts of genocide, among others.

The ICJ also asked Israel to submit a report of its efforts to uphold the court’s decision within one month of the ruling. The court’s initial decisions are legally binding but lack an enforcement mechanism, meaning that Israel can ignore the ICJ’s recommendations. However, failure to comply with the provisions could impact the court’s final ruling on whether Israel had genocidal intent.

The ICJ did not order the strongest measure South Africa requested: that Israel immediately cease all military operations in and against Gaza. Yet although the ICJ “may not have called for a cease-fire, I think it’s something that’s very strongly implied by the measures that the court has ordered and what it would take for Israel to be able to comply with them,” said Akila Radhakrishnan, a strategic legal advisor for gender justice at the Atlantic Council. She said the ruling is a “call to action” for other nations to analyze their own engagement with Israel and its military offensive.

More than 26,000 Palestinians have been killed and around 64,400 others wounded since war broke out on Oct. 7, 2023. Nearly 85 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced, and around 93 percent of the population face acute hunger, with 1 in 4 households experiencing “extreme lack of food and starvation,” according to a December 2023 report by the World Health Organization.

Meanwhile, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) announced on Friday that it was firing 12 employees allegedly involved in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which killed roughly 1,200 civilians. UNRWA authorities immediately launched an investigation into the staff members’ conduct, and the U.S. State Department temporarily suspended agency funding.

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What We’re Following

Aid thwarted. Kenya’s high court blocked the deployment of 1,000 police officers to Haiti on Friday. The U.N.-backed deployment was intended to be part of a multinational security mission to help quell surging gang violence in the Latin American country. Around 300 armed groups currently control roughly 80 percent of Haiti’s capital, killing nearly 8,500 people last year.

Kenyan opponents of the proposed deployment accused Kenyan President William Ruto of violating the nation’s constitution by securing international approval for the deployment before he obtained backing from parliament. Although the court determined on Friday that only military deployments and not police missions require parliamentary consent, it said the deployment was unconstitutional under other grounds. Kenya’s judiciary ruled that the force was “illegal” because Nairobi had no “reciprocal arrangement” in place with Port-au-Prince. Ruto’s administration is expected to appeal the decision.

Pacific drama. Residents of Tuvalu went to the polls on Friday to vote in national elections. International climate change reform was at the forefront of candidates’ platforms. The Pacific island’s capital, Funafuti, is at risk of being flooded with rising sea levels by 2050, with most of Tuvalu expected to be underwater by 2100, according to the United Nations Development Programme.

Where candidates differed, though, was on Taiwan policy. Tuvalu is one of three Pacific island countries to still recognize Taiwan as a sovereign nation. Taipei accused China on Thursday of trying to influence the election and ��seize our diplomatic allies.” Beijing has repeatedly urged Funafuti to “follow the trend of the times” and adhere to the “One China” policy. Last week, Nauru became the latest Pacific island government to sever ties with Taiwan in favor of China.

Stopping traffic. French farmers established roadblocks along one of the main highways leading into Paris on Friday to protest government efforts to lower food prices amid high inflation. They accused the French government of not doing enough to support farmers’ revenue. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal traveled on Friday to calm demonstrators in the Haute-Garonne region, where he promised to prioritize their needs by simplifying administrative red tape and dropping plans to reduce tax breaks on diesel fuel, among other measures.

Also on Friday, the French government said it would proceed with implementing a controversial immigration law despite France’s Constitutional Court striking down more than one-third of the policy’s measures either partly or in full. Even without the rejected measures, the new law will tighten the country’s immigration rules. For instance, foreigners with criminal convictions can now be deported despite living in France legally. Left-wing parties have accused President Emmanuel Macron of assuaging far-right demands ahead of European Parliament elections in June.

What in the World?

On Monday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi consecrated a Hindu temple on the site of a former mosque. The new temple is dedicated to which Hindu god?

A. Brahma
B. Shiva
C. Vishnu
D. Rama

Odds and Ends

For the first time in 72 years, Saudi Arabia is opening a liquor store in the coming weeks, authorities announced on Wednesday. Only non-Muslims in Riyadh’s diplomatic quarter will be allowed to purchase alcohol, with authorization required via the app Diplo. Drinking alcohol is forbidden in Islam, but many majority-Muslim countries still allow the sale and consumption of alcohol for foreigners and non-Muslims, albeit with restrictions. Ultraconservative Saudi Arabia, though, has strictly prohibited it since 1952. However, under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country has gradually begun loosening some of its more conservative social and cultural restrictions. Slàinte!

And the Answer Is…

D. Rama

The consecration is the latest move by Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party to consolidate their Hindu nationalist base ahead of national elections later this year—and to shape future generations’ perceptions of India as a Hindu state, Salil Tripathi writes.

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