The following audio files contain the oral arguments presented on 11 January 2024 by the legal team of the Republic of South Africa, to the International Court of Justice, in the Republic’s historic attempt to hold Israel accountable for violations of the Genocide Convention of 1949, to which both countries are signatories.
In South Africa’s Written Application, Charging Israel with Genocide (Click to view PDF), the Republic of South Africa describes it’s fundamental claims as follows:
“This Application concerns acts threatened, adopted, condoned, taken and being taken by the Government and military of the State of Israel against the Palestinian people, a distinct national, racial and ethnical group, in the wake of the attacks in Israel on 7 October 2023. South Africa unequivocally condemns all violations of international law by all parties, including the direct targeting of Israeli civilians and other nationals and hostage-taking by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups. No armed attack on a State’s territory no matter how serious — even an attack involving atrocity crimes — can, however, provide any possible justification for, or defence to, breaches of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (‘Genocide Convention’ or ‘Convention’), whether as a matter of law or morality. The acts and omissions by Israel complained of by South Africa are genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group, that being the part of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip (‘Palestinians in Gaza’). The acts in question include killing Palestinians in Gaza, causing them serious bodily and mental harm, and inflicting on them conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction. The acts are all attributable to Israel, which has failed to prevent genocide and is committing genocide in manifest violation of the Genocide Convention, and which has also violated and is continuing to violate its other fundamental obligations under the Genocide Convention, including by failing to prevent or punish the direct and public incitement to genocide by senior Israeli officials and others.”
AUDIO FILES, ORAL ARGUMENTS, SOUTH AFRICA:
- Ambassador Vusimuzi Madonsala (MP3), Opening arguments, I
- Minister of Justice, Ronald Lamola (MP3), Opening arguments, II
- Adila Hassim (MP3), Risk of genocidal acts
- Tembeka Ngcukaitobi (MP3), Genocidal intent
- John Dugard (MP3), Prima facie jurisdiction
- Max du Plessis (MP3), Rights under threat
- Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh (MP3), Potential of irreparable harm
- Vaughan Lowe (MP3), Argument for provisional measures
- Ambassador Vusimuzi Madonsala (MP3), Closing arguments
VERBATIM TRANSCRIPTS of ORAL ARGUMENTS:
The Public Autonomy Project 