Today's ICJ ruling will test UK commitment to rules-based international order
Today’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) 15-2 ruling that Israel must do all in its power to prevent genocide against Palestinians in Gaza is welcome. Israel was ordered to ensure civilians in Gaza receive humanitarian assistance, preserve evidence of genocide and report back within a month showing it has complied. Although the ICJ decision is mandatory, the court has no enforcement powers.
However, if Israel fails to comply, South Africa will take the matter to the UN Security Council where it will be obliged to act, putting the US and UK in an uncomfortable position. Both have said they are committed to a rules-based international order so this will test that commitment.
If the US and UK reject the court’s decision and continue to block calls for a ceasefire, the case will be sent back to the General Assembly which can refer Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICC). This will put the ICC under intense pressure to act, particularly in light of its ruling against Vladimir Putin.
More generally, the ICJ ruling is a huge problem for the west, particularly Germany, which joined the case as a third party to support Israel. Germany has claimed it upholds international law.
What’s striking is the diplomatic skill displayed by the BRICS nations – South Africa, China, Brazil, India, Russia, Iran, UAE, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia – and the diplomatic ineptitude of the US and UK. The BRICS nations, working together within international institutions the US devised and controls, have outplayed the US on its own turf.
If they were rational, the US and UK would tell Israel to comply with the ICJ ruling and work to end the conflict. However, as demonstrated by their attacks on the Yemeni Houthis, they seem keen to stoke a regional war that will be disastrous for the west.
It will hasten the end of the unipolar western ‘rules-based’ order, but hopefully usher in a more stable multipolar order based on cooperation, not conflict.
The US/UK commitment to a rules-based international order is, of course, contingent on them being permitted to make the rules. And to amend those rules unilaterally.
Thanks, Leah,
This is certainly a very interesting international situation now after this ICJ rulling.
The US, UK and Germany have been cought in a trap of their own making and now have the choice of backing off and allowing Israel to take the concequences, or supporting Israel and getting into an even more difficult international position.
Their difficulty is a good thing for a move towards a more democratic and cooperative international world order, which is very much to the benifit of small countries like Scotland.
I watch with interest to see how Sunak responds, he has made a mess of it so far. so the signs are he will carry on headfirst into the trap which has been laid for them.