International

ICJ: Mexico Seeks To Intervene In South Africa's Gaza Genocide Case; Invokes Article 63 | Details

According to the declaration of intervention, Mexico 'seeks to intervene, to provide its view on the potential construction of the content of the provisions of the Convention relevant to this case.' Citing Article 83, ICJ asserted that opportunities will be given to both South Africa and Israel 'to furnish written observations on Mexico's declaration of intervention.'

AP
Judges hearing the Gaza genocide case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands | Photo: AP
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Amid the devastating developments concerning the tragic deaths in war-ravaged Rafah city in southern Gaza Strip, Mexico on Tuesday invoked Article 63 of the International Court of Justice statute and filed a declaration of intervention in the case concerning the application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip, according to the ICJ's official X account on Tuesday.

According to the declaration, Mexico “seeks to intervene, to provide its view on the potential construction of the content of the provisions of the Convention relevant to this case."

Under the seventh point of its intervention declaration, Mexico's highlighted that "the duties contemplated in the text of the Convention are to be fulfilled whether genocide is found to exist in times of peace or during armed conflict, that the mens rea of genocide can be derived from the general context surrounding the claimed conduct, that impeding access to humanitarian assistance may contribute to the destruction of a protected group, and that the failure to prove the commission of genocide is without prejudice to the determination of other associated variants of responsibility such as conspiracy to commit genocide."

Citing Article 83, ICJ asserted that opportunities will be given to both South Africa and Israel "to furnish written observations on Mexico's declaration of intervention."

Mexico's list of representatives for the case includes the following:

  • Alejandro Celorio Alcántara, Legal Adviser to the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs

  • Carmen Moreno Toscano, Ambassador of Mexico to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

List of countries intervening in the ICJ genocide case

While South Africa took the massive step and decided to file proceedings against Israel on December 29 on the grounds of breaching the Genocide Convention with its military actions in the Gaza Strip, shortly Nicaragua, Libya and Colombia joined the cause as well.

In late January, Nicaragua invoked Article 62 of the Statute of the Court, filed an Application for permission to intervene “as a party” in the case. Colombia filed for the same in April and Libya in early May.