Summary
In the International Court of Justice Order of 28 March 2024 in South Africa v. Israel (Genocide Convention), the change from a risk of famine in Gaza, as noted on 26 January 2024, to famine setting in is the change in the situation that justifies modifying the Provisional measures under Rules Article 76 (Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel), Request for the Modification of the Order Indicating Provisional Measures of 26 January 2024, Order of 28 March 2024, PDF p.11).
Details
- The Court quotes the IPC Global Initiative report of 18 March 2024, which states that the IPC acute food insecurity analysis conducted in December 2023 warned of a risk that famine may occur by the end of May 2024 if an immediate cessation of hostilities and sustained access for the provision of essential supplies and services did not take place, and that since then the conditions necessary to prevent famine have not been met and “[f]amine is imminent in the northern governorates and projected to occur anytime between mid-March and May 2024” (para. 19, PDF p.11).
- The Court observes that Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine but that famine is setting in, with at least 31 people, including 27 children, already dead of malnutrition and dehydration according to OCHA’s Day 169 report of 25 March 2024 (para. 21, PDF p.11).
- South Africa stated its modification request was prompted by deaths from starvation of Palestinian children, including babies, which it attributed to Israel’s deliberate acts and omissions; Israel rejected that attribution in the strongest terms and stated the Court had already taken food insecurity into account in January (paras. 16-17, PDF p.9-10). Both accounts are recorded on the source page.
- The new measures indicated are framed “in view of the worsening conditions of life faced by Palestinians in Gaza, in particular the spread of famine and starvation” (para. 51, PDF p.18).
- Before that Order, Israel’s observations on the 6 March request argued the claimed change in the situation was in essence a present severe shortage of food, that food insecurity had already been taken into account and quoted in the January Order (paras. 47-48), and that South Africa’s UNCTAD citation did not state that deaths from malnutrition had occurred or support its exponential-increase prediction; its proposed fourth measure was framed to address “famine and starvation” in Gaza (Observations of the State of Israel on the Request Filed by the Republic of South Africa on 6 March 2024 for the Indication of Additional Provisional Measures and/or the Modification of Measures Previously Indicated, PDF p.14, p.19). The Court’s finding that famine is setting in, recorded above, was made against that argument.
Related pages
South Africa v. Israel (Genocide Convention), International Court of Justice, Provisional measures, Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, Gaza, Observations of the State of Israel on the Request Filed by the Republic of South Africa on 6 March 2024 for the Indication of Additional Provisional Measures and/or the Modification of Measures Previously Indicated