Musings From Abroad

South Africa, Israel trade words ahead of ICJ hearing

Published

10 months ago

January 10, 2024

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague will sit on Thursday and Friday over South Africa’s claim that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in its Gaza offensive.

On the table would be South Africa’s request for emergency measures, which would require Israel to halt its military operations in Gaza, while the court considers the case’s merits. This could take several years.

South Africa petitioned in an 84-page document about Israel’s inability to supply the Gaza Strip with basic necessities like food, water, medicine, fuel, shelter, and other humanitarian aid. The World Court would hear the case brought in late December accusing Israel of failing to uphold its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention which both countries are parties to.

Parties must refrain from genocide and take action to stop and punish it under the convention. Genocide is described as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group” in the treaty.

“Our opposition to the ongoing slaughter of the people of Gaza has driven us as a country to approach the ICJ,” South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, said on Wednesday.

“As a people who once tasted the bitter fruits of dispossession, discrimination, racism and state-sponsored violence, we are clear that we will stand on the right side of history,” he said.

The Israeli government spokesperson, Eylon Levy, in a swift response, stressed that, “Tomorrow, the State of Israel will appear before the International Court of Justice to dispel South Africa’s absurd blood libel, as Pretoria gives political and legal cover to the Hamas Rapist Regime.

“On October 7, Hamas committed an act of genocide when it sent death squads to invade Israel with the mission of burning, beheading, torturing, mutilating, abducting, and raping as many Israelis as they could, as brutally as they could. It was a campaign of systematic extermination that they have vowed to continue… until our country is destroyed. We are fighting to bring the October 7 monsters to justice because ‘Never Again’ is now.”

However, Palestine maintained that over 22,000 have been killed by Israel, with 70% of casualties in Gaza being women and persons under the age of 18, even though its casualty figures do not distinguish between fighters and civilians. Israel claims to have killed 8,000 fighters and disputes Palestinian casualty figures.

Related Topics:Featured Gazza Hamas Israel South Africa

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Musings From Abroad

Nigeria, India to strengthen counterterrorism, maritime security cooperation

Published

1 day ago

November 18, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

During a state visit to Nigeria on Sunday, Indian Prime Minister, Narendra, Modi reached an agreement, on behalf of his country, to strengthen cooperation in counterterrorism, intelligence, and maritime security.

President Bola Tinubu invited Modi to visit Nigeria, the first Indian prime minister to do so in 17 years.

Tinubu is looking for investments from some of the largest economies in the world.

In addition to discussing economic development, defence, healthcare, and food security, Modi and Tinubu met at the presidential mansion on Sunday after arriving in the capital, Abuja, on Saturday night, according to a joint statement.

The two nations decided to work together to protect maritime trade routes and fight piracy in response to the mounting risks in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea.

The most populous country in Africa, Nigeria, is looking to attract more Indian investment and lower-cost credit lines in order to strengthen its economy and generate employment.

Nigeria announced last year that it had obtained about $14 billion in pledges from Indian businesses, including Jindal Steel and Power, which promised to spend $3 billion in Nigeria’s steel industry, during the G20 conference.

Over 200 Indian businesses are present in Nigeria.

Modi was scheduled to go to Brazil for this year’s G20 conference after Nigeria.

Nigeria and India have a long-standing and cordial bilateral relationship. Nigeria, home to more than 200 million people, and India, home to 1.3 billion people, are both sizable emerging nations with multilingual, multiethnic, and multireligious communities.

Musings From Abroad

Military advisors from Russia arrive Equatorial Guinea

Published

2 days ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Russian military advisors are in Equatorial Guinea training indigenous soldiers.

Anonymous sources cited by Reuters during the week claim that between 100 and 200 Russian instructors are training with elite guards in charge of guarding the President and the first family.

The males had been seen in Malabo, the country’s capital, and Bata, its second city. Reports of Russian forces stationed in the nation initially appeared in August.

Oil-rich Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has maintained close relations with Moscow.

Nguema travelled to Moscow in September to attend the Russian Energy Week International Forum.

Russia has strengthened military connections with African countries, sending advisors and combat soldiers to the Central African Republic, Mozambique, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.

Faced with an Islamist terrorist insurrection, three Sahel countries have turned to Moscow for support, expelling French and American troops.