THE HAGUE: Namibia, the United States of America, Hungary and Fiji have filed declarations of intervention in the proceedings of the case concerning the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel), the International Court of Justice (ICJ) announced on Friday.
According to the Court, the four states submitted their declarations on 12 March 2026 under Article 63 of the Statute of the Court. The provision allows states that are parties to an international convention under interpretation in a case to intervene in the proceedings.
The interventions relate to the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, commonly known as the Genocide Convention.
As parties to the convention, Namibia, the United States, Hungary and Fiji invoked their right to participate in the case with respect to the interpretation of the treaty.
Under Article 63, when a state exercises its right to intervene, the interpretation of the convention adopted by the Court in its final judgment becomes binding upon that state as well.
The ICJ stated that both South Africa and Israel have been invited to submit written observations regarding the declarations of intervention, in accordance with Article 83 of the Rules of Court.
The case was originally instituted on 29 December 2023 when South Africa filed an application before the Court alleging that Israel had violated its obligations under the Genocide Convention in relation to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The proceedings are currently ongoing before the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations based in The Hague, Netherlands.
