AMMAN - A number of human rights and legal activists submitted on Tuesday a petition to the government to take action at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN), to intervene at the ICJ, to positively impact the court application filed by the Republic of South Africa. 

The petition, signed by a wide range of Jordanian CSOs/NGOs and prominent figures from within Jordanian society, including human rights groups, think tanks, journalist associations, charitable societies, social development centers, senators, MPs, and former government ministers 

On December 29, 2023, South Africa filed an application instituting proceedings against Israel before the ICJ due to Israel’s violations of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (i.e. the “Genocide Convention”). South Africa has effectively invoked Article 9 of the Convention, related to disputes between the contracting parties and the responsibility of a state for genocide.

Meanwhile, Jordan’s intervention at the court, would be based on Article 63 of the ICJ Statute, which gives States a right to intervene whenever the construction of a multilateral convention is in question.

“The Campaign Against the Gaza Genocide”, the organizers behind the initiative, stated that, “ The intervention by other governments at the court would greatly bolster the case filed by South Africa.”

Moreover, they said that, “An intervention taken by our government will help it fulfill its moral duty to stop this genocide being perpetrated against the Palestinian people”. 

The move by South Africa is hoped to enforce a ceasefire in Gaza. 

The Campaign stated that activists in other countries have also begun mobilizing to pressure their governments to take action at the court. It is worth noting that 153 states globally are parties to the Convention. 

This initiative directly engaging the government follows a number of “digital storms” launched by the campaign, in which thousands campaigned online for major international organizations such as Oxfam, Human Rights Watch and others, to take action against the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza and pressure governments worldwide to invoke the Genocide Convention.