By CHIMPREPORTS
The Government of Uganda has distanced itself from Friday’s decision by ICJ Judge, Julia Sebutinde.
On Friday, seventeen Judges, led by an American and a Russian, and including ones each from Israel and South Africa, sat on the panel, which dismissed Israel’s request to throw out a case accusing it of genocide in Gaza.
Sebutinde voted against the decision.
In an 11-page dissent, Sebutinde argued the dispute was “essentially and historically a political one” between Israel and the Palestinians rather than a legal matter for the court.
Provocative statements by senior Israeli officials, relied on by South Africa as evidence of genocidal intent, were “taken out of context” and referred to Hamas rather than the Palestinian people, Sebutinde wrote.
In addition, she argued the order to Israel to do everything possible to prevent genocide merely restates its existing duties under international law and “is therefore redundant”.
Now, the Government of Uganda says that Sebutinde acted on her own.
“The Government categorically clarifies that, the position taken by Judge Sebutinde is her own individual and independent opinion, as is the case with all other Judges, in accordance with Article 2 of the ICJ Statute. Therefore, her opinion does not in any way, reflect the position of the Government of the Republic of Uganda,” said Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary, Bagiire Vincent Waiswa.
According to Bagiire, the Government of Uganda affirms its association with the decisions and positions of the recently concluded 19th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement (NĂM), held in Kampala on 19-20 January, 2024, as contained in the Kampala Final Outcome Document, and the Political Declaration on Palestine. Among other things, the Heads of State and Government of the NAM: Condemned the continuing Israeli military campaign against the defenseless Palestinian people, and deplored the killing of over 21,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in the period between October and December 2023, over 70% of whom were children and women, and the wounding and maiming of over 55,000 Palestinian children, women and men in bombardments by air, land and sea by the Israeli occupying forces, as well as ongoing attacks by occupying forces and settlers in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, that killed over 300 Palestinians, including 79 children, and wounded more than 3,800 people in the same period, in addition to the killing of 200 other Palestinians in 2023.
“Called for an immediate end to the Israeli military aggression and siege on the Gaza Strip and for immediate, unimpeded and sufficient humanitarian assistance at scale, to meet the enormous needs of the Palestinian civilian population and to enable urgently needed reconstruction and recovery, especially of homes and vital infrastructure, including in particular of hospitals, schools and water, sanitation and electricity networks, in accordance with the recent Security Council and General Assembly resolutions on this matter. Rejected any individual or mass forcible transfer and deportation of Palestinians from the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including to any other country, which amounts to a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions,” added Bagiire.
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