The Genocide Convention: a multipurpose instrument or the key to protect human rights?

Abstract

Last 26 January the International Court of Justice delivered its order on precautionary measures requested by South Africa in the proceedings instituted against Israel for the alleged violation of the Genocide Convention in relation to Palestines in the Gaza Strip. This is the first of two articles in which we refer first, to the arguments of both parties to the conflict and the provisional decision of the Court, and a future one in which we will analyse the use of the Genocide Convention as the only means that States have to bring before the jurisdiction of the Court, States accused of committing any of the three major international crimes (war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide). While forms of commission basically overlap, each of the crimes has a clearly defined normative status with its own principles. The work of the Court in recent years in which the Genocide Convention was invoked, involves protecting both the lives of affected civilians and the essence of the historic instrument. At this point, the proof of the special intent to destroy a conventional protected group becomes paramount.