Last week, South Africa requested the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague make an urgent order declaring Israel in breach of its obligations under the Genocide Convention. Canadians should support this non-violent bid to curtail the apartheid state’s well-documented and undeniable war crimes in Gaza.

On January 11 the ICJ will begin hearing South Africa’s urgent appeal, which Turkey, Jordan, Malaysia, the Maldives and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation have backed. The 84-page brief argues Israel’s actions “are genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part” of the Palestinian population in Gaza.

As a signatory of the 1948 Genocide Convention, Israel announced it would respond to the case. It has hired prominent British lawyer Malcolm Shaw to lead its defence in what may be the only time Israel has ever formally responded to an international legal challenge. A preliminary ICJ decision is expected before the end of the month and Haaretz reported a senior Israeli legal expert warning military commanders “there is a real danger that the court will issue an injunction calling on Israel to halt its fire.” What’s more, according to a leaked cable from the Israeli foreign ministry to its embassies, “A ruling by the court could have significant potential implications that are not only in the legal world but have practical bilateral, multilateral, economic, security ramifications.”

As the highest court in the world, ICJ rulings have the force of international law. France’s ambassador to the United Nations has said his country will support the ICJ’s ruling.

Unfortunately, Justin Trudeau’s government has refused to support South Africa’s case even though it has backed similar efforts regarding Russia, Iran and Myanmar. Global Affairs Canada failed to respond directly to a Globe and Mail inquiry about whether Canada supported the case.

In August, Ottawa asked the ICJ to reject a UN General Assembly resolution calling for an advisory opinion on the legal consequences that arise for states from Israel’s occupation. Global Affairs bureaucrats crafted a six-page statement demanding the World Court not release a legal opinion requested by the vast majority of the international community.

In a similar vein, Ottawa sent a letter to the International Criminal Court in 2020 saying the ICC did not have jurisdiction to investigate Israel’s war crimes in Palestine. “Canada’s longstanding position is that it does not recognize a Palestinian state and therefore does not recognize the accession of such a state to international treaties, including the Rome Statute. In the absence of a Palestinian state, it is Canada’s view that the Court does not have jurisdiction in this matter,” a Global Affairs official told the Jerusalem Post.

Whether or not Ottawa recognizes Palestine, most UN member states do and Palestine joined the ICC in 2015. Canada’s letter to the ICC even suggested Ottawa could withdraw funding if the court proceeded with its investigation of Israel.

In the hope of pre-empting any similar effort to ensure Israeli impunity, the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute and Just Peace Advocates launched an email campaign asking the NDP to support South Africa’s request. Five thousand individuals have emailed the NDP leader and foreign affairs critic calling on the party to “demand Canada add its voice to South Africa’s bid to curtail Israel’s horrors in Gaza.”

In response to the pressure, NDP Foreign Affairs Critic Heather McPherson posted to X, “Canada has opposed ICC and ICJ investigations of crimes committed by Hamas and the Netanyahu government. South Africa has appealed to the ICJ to determine whether Israel is responsible for genocide in Gaza. Will Canada support the International Court of Justice in its work?”

McPherson’s suggestion that Israel is committing “genocide” needs to be amplified. With the exception of stories from Globe and Mail’s Africa correspondent Geoffrey York, the media seems to have ignored the Trudeau government’s reaction to the case. Only a few Canadian outlets have run Associated Press stories about the move at the ICJ.

The Trudeau government will have a hard time ignoring an ICJ ruling against Israel. If the World Court agrees to South Africa’s request it will undercut Ottawa’s ability to continue enabling Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Yves Engler has been dubbed “one of the most important voices on the Canadian Left today” (Briarpatch), “in the mould of I.F. Stone” (Globe and Mail), and “part of that rare but growing group of social critics unafraid to confront Canada’s self-satisfied myths” (Quill & Quire). He has published nine books.