Cape Town — The Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Ronald Lamola, welcomed the ICJ’s ruling in favour of South Africa, saying it was a victory for the women and children of Gaza.
The ICJ ruled on Friday that South Africa had presented sufficient evidence to the ICJ, with Minister of Foreign Affairs, Naledi Pandor, hailing it a “decisive victory”.
According to Lamola, the ruling firmly asserted the ICJ as the pinnacle of international law, and has brought an end to Israel’s exceptionalism, IOL reported.
“it has brought an end to Israel’s exceptionalism that they cannot be held accountable within the rules of the multilateral institutions of the United Nations (UN),” he said.
#ICJ #ANCNEC members Around Minister of Justice and Correctional services Ronald Lamola as they celebrate the judgement.#sabcnews pic.twitter.com/LjUeLyfqSX
— #LordOfTheMedia (@samkelemaseko) January 26, 2024
He added that former president, Nelson Mandela, would be “smiling in his grave” and be proud of the way South Africa stood against Israel.
“I am humbled; I believe that Mandela will be smiling in his grave that we stood on his shoulders and did him very proud by standing on the issues he would have advocated himself.” Lamola added.
According to TimesLIVE, Lamola also hoped that Israel will comply with the ICJ’s ruling that it take steps to prevent acts of genocide as it wages war against Hamas militants in Gaza. The ICJ ruled that emergency measures must be imposed against Israel, but fell short in calling a ceasefire.
Lamola was hopeful that the ICJ will rule in favour of a ceasefire in due time, but added that it was a victory nonetheless, SABC News said.
“Obviously the court has a wider discretion in terms of the decisions it can make. So, with those measures the reports that they have to provide and all that, I do believe that we’ll see a cessation of fire. And obviously with the international pressure, with the work that we still have to do with the court, I do believe that we’ll be able to reach a situation where the children of Gaza can see peace and the women and elders in the area.”
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
