NEW DELHI : The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has issued a set of provisional measures, urging Israel to take all necessary steps to prevent death, destruction, and acts of genocide in its ongoing military offensive in Gaza. Notably, the court fell short of ordering a ceasefire, a decision that has stirred reactions globally.
South Africa had brought the case before the ICJ, accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and seeking an order for an immediate halt to the military operation. In a closely-watched decision, the ICJ ordered six provisional measures to protect Palestinians in Gaza, with an overwhelming majority of judges supporting them. However, an Israeli judge voted in favour of only two measures.
Uganda’s Judge Julia Sebutinde, the sole dissenting voice, voted against all six measures. Sebutinde, born in February 1954, is the first African woman to serve on the ICJ. Her unique background includes growing up in a modest family during Uganda’s fight for independence.
Sebutinde attended Lake Victoria Primary School, Gayaza High School, and later earning a bachelor of laws degree from Makerere University in 1977. Her pursuit of education led her to Scotland, where she obtained a master of laws degree with distinction from the University of Edinburgh in 1990. In 2009, the same university honoured her with a doctorate of laws for her significant contributions to legal and judicial service.
In the recent ICJ case involving Israel and Palestine, Sebutinde expressed a dissenting opinion, stating that the conflict is fundamentally a political dispute rather than a legal matter suitable for judicial resolution. She argued that South Africa failed to demonstrate that Israel’s alleged acts had the necessary genocidal intent.
However, some experts criticised Sebutinde’s stance, asserting that genocide is a legal matter and not merely a political dispute. Mark Kersten, an assistant professor at the University of the Fraser Valley specialising in human rights law, emphasised the legal obligations of both South Africa and Israel under the Genocide Convention.
“The dissenting opinion gets wrong is that genocide is not a political dispute; it’s a legal matter,” Kersten said. “You cannot simply say this is something for history, this is something for politics.”
The ambassador of Uganda to the United Nations clarified that Justice Sebutinde’s ruling does not reflect the official position of the Ugandan government on the situation in Palestine. This divergence in opinion adds another layer of complexity to the international response to the ongoing conflict in the region.
