JakartaGlobe-Feb 12
Indonesia is getting ready to address a public hearing on the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) next week. The UN General Assembly previously requested the ICJ to give an advisory opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s prolonged occupation in Palestine. The ICJ’s advisory opinion is said to carry great legal weight despite not being legally binding. The ICJ will hold a week-long public hearing on this advisory opinion starting on Feb. 19. As many as 52 states — as well as three international organizations — will take turns to speak before the ICJ. Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi will deliver an oral statement at the Hague-based court on Feb. 23 afternoon local time, according to ICJ’s official website. Aside from Indonesia, countries such as Qatar and the UK are scheduled to deliver their statements later that day. China and Malaysia will have their turns the day before. Just a week prior to the public hearing, several civil society organizations held a closed-door forum with the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Jakarta. The organizations include the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS) and Amnesty International Indonesia, among others. The meeting sought to make sure that Indonesia could deliver a powerful argument at the UN’s top court. The public hearing that Retno will soon attend is a different track than what South Africa is pursuing. South Africa not long ago brought a genocide case against Israel at the ICJ. Indonesia cannot join this lawsuit as it is not a signatory to the Genocide Convention, the basis of South Africa’s lawsuit. Read more at: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/indonesia-to-address-international-court-hearing-on-israel-next-week
