ActionAid welcomes the Court's ruling affirming prima facie jurisdiction and indicating provisional measures, including the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to and the protection of the Palestinian civilian population.
These measures – which include taking all measures to prevent acts of genocide, such as the killing of and causing of serious bodily or mental harm of Palestinians – are potent steps toward rectifying the unparallelled catastrophic situation in Gaza where more than 26,000 people have been killed, at least two thirds being women and children, and UN human rights experts report that all children under five – 335,000 – are at high risk of severe malnutrition as the risk of famine conditions increase by the day.
We celebrate South Africa’s petition, and the 88 countries from the Global South who supported it and see it as a bold display of moral courage borne out of its lived experience of colonisation and the horrors of apartheid.
We call on nations to seize this moment, adhere to the ruling, and take urgent action to ensure the unequivocal implementation of these crucial measures and demand justice. Israel must be held accountable for its violations in Gaza.
However, it is clear that an immediate and permanent ceasefire is the only way to end this suffering and the world must unite to address the broader, urgent issues at hand and end this intolerable loss of civilian life.
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Halima Begum, CEO of ActionAid UK, is available as a spokesperson on request.
Contact the ActionAid press office on uk.media@actionaid.org or on 07753 973 486.