APA-Pretoria (South Africa) A Ugandan judge who sits on the International Criminal Court of Justice (ICJ) has been condemned by her compatriot for voting against South Africa’s genocide case against Israel concerning its offensive in the Gaza Strip.
The ICJ on Friday ordered Israel to limit deaths of civilians and damage in its military offensive against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip but stopped short of ordering a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave.
The panel of ICJ judges ordered Israel to take immediate steps to ensure compliance with the Genocide Convention, which was ironically established in 1948 after atrocities committed during World War II, including the Holocaust against Jews.
Out of 17 ICJ judges, only Ugandan justice Julia Sebutinde voted against South Africa on the six measures sought by Pretoria.
“Justice Julia Sebutinde (of Uganda) voting at the ICJ does not represent the government of Uganda’s position on the situation in Palestine,” Uganda’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Adonia Ayebare, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Ayebare added: “Uganda’s support for the plight of the Palestinian people has been expressed through our voting pattern at the United Nations.”
South Africa took Israel to the Hague-based ICJ on 29 December 2023 on charges of committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where over 25,000 civilians have been killed by the Israeli army since early October.
The ICJ found South Africa’s claims that Israel was committing genocide plausible and issued an interim order urging Israel to stop obstructing aid deliveries into Gaza and improve the humanitarian situation in the enclave.
But during a vote on the verdict, Sebutinde claimed South Africa’s genocide case was more political and had nothing to do with the legal arguments.
Therefore, Pretoria’s claims could only be settled on a political forum and not in court, she said as she proceeded to vote against all the six measures of the ICJ.
NM/jn/APA