Mexico 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.
In the declaration, Mexico stated that it “seeks to intervene, to provide its view on the potential construction of the content of the provisions of the Convention relevant to this case.”
It is not yet clear if the application will be accepted.
The ICJ assured that both South Africa and Israel would be given an opportunity “to furnish written observations on Mexico’s declaration of intervention,” per Article 83.
PRESS RELEASE: Mexico, invoking Article 63 of the #ICJ Statute, filed a declaration of intervention in the case concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (#SouthAfrica v. #Israel) https://t.co/kruJovhrXx pic.twitter.com/tSHs81sCfB
— CIJ_ICJ (@CIJ_ICJ) May 28, 2024
Mexico’s declaration of intervention, under point 7, insisted 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 themens 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.”
Israel has dramatically increased humanitarian aid being sent into the Gaza Strip, however, was recently impeded by Egypt’s refusal to allow aid to enter through the Rafah crossing.
Mexico listed its representatives in the case to be Alejandro Celorio Alcántara, Legal Adviser to the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Carmen Moreno Toscano, Ambassador of Mexico to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Countries intervening in the ICJ case against Israel
South Africa filed proceedings against Israel on December 29, claiming Israel was breaching the Genocide Convention with its military actions in the Gaza Strip.
In late January, Nicaragua, referring to Article 62 of the Statute of the Court, filed an Application for permission to intervene “as a party” in the case. Colombia filed for this same position in April, as did Libya in early May.
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