According to international law, preventing genocide is the duty of every state. Finland must comply with its duty.
South Africa filed a case against Israel on 29 December 2023 at the International Court of Justice, which is the UN's highest judicial body. South Africa is demanding that the court find the state of Israel guilty of genocide against the Palestinians and order Israel to stop its attacks in Gaza while the lawsuit is being heard.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, at least 22,600 Palestinians have been killed and more than 57,000 injured in Gaza (as of January 5). More than 1.9 million people, or more than 80 percent of Gaza's population, have been driven from their homes. Israel's political and military decision-makers have repeatedly said that the target of the attack is Gaza and its population as a whole.
Israel has destroyed most of the infrastructure necessary for life in Gaza and caused the food supply and health care to collapse. According to the human rights organization Human Rights Watch, Israel uses starvation as a weapon. According to Unicef, Gaza is the most dangerous place in the world for children. Unless a ceasefire and unrestricted access of humanitarian aid to Gaza is achieved, more people will soon die from starvation and infectious diseases than from bombings.
The roots of the violence lie in more than a hundred years of settler colonialism, 75 years of ethnic cleansing and the apartheid system, 56 years of occupation, and the 16-year blockade of Gaza – an ever-deepening oppression.
Finland must support the handling of the genocide lawsuit filed by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice on 11-12 January. We appeal to the ambassador of the UN mission Elina KalkkuunPrime Minister Petteri Orpoo (kok) and the Minister of Foreign Affairs To Elina Valtosen (kok) so that Finland immediately issues a declaration of intervention in the South African lawsuit, as it did in the lawsuit initiated by Ukraine against Russia in the same court.
Finland has a historic opportunity to intervene in Israel's war crimes and punish those who committed them. According to international law, preventing genocide is the duty of every state.
Young Dadu
Autumn Räsänen
Helga West
Sumud – Finnish Palestine Network Association
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