South Africa to Sue US, UK for Complicity in Gaza Genocide

UNITED NATIONS, 16 Sep 2024

Al Mayadeen | Resist! - TRANSCEND Media Service

Protesters carry flags and banners outside the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, Fri 12 Jan 2024. AP

South African attorney Wikus Van Rensburg expressed concerns over the ongoing financial and resource support from the US to “Israel,” which effectively enabled crimes against the people of Gaza.

13 Sep 2024 – Nearly 50 South African lawyers, led by attorney Wikus Van Rensburg, are gearing up to file a lawsuit against the United States and the United Kingdom, asserting their complicity in Israeli forces’ war crimes in Palestine, Anadolu Agency reports. This initiative follows South Africa’s filing of a genocide case against “Israel” at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Rensburg, the driving force behind the legal action, aims to prosecute those complicit in the crimes through civilian courts, collaborating with legal professionals in the US and UK.

In an interview with Anadolu, Rensburg emphasized the need to hold the US accountable for its actions and highlighted the forthcoming legal proceedings against Washington and London.

“The United States must now be held accountable for the crimes it committed,” Rensburg stated. “No one says stop, enough is enough.”

He referenced the lack of accountability for the US’ crimes in Iraq and underscored the importance of giving due significance to such issues.

“What happened in Iraq is an example of this; no one held the US accountable for the crimes it committed in the Middle Eastern country as the issue was not given the necessary importance,” he noted.

Rensburg expressed what he described as concerns over the ongoing financial and resource support from the US to “Israel,” which effectively enabled crimes against the people of Gaza.

“The US is busy spending more money and more resources to (allow Israel) commit the crime,” he noted, while further pointing out that the ICJ case against “Israel” for genocide will guide their lawsuit against the US and UK.

“If the ICJ trial against Israel is concluded in favor of South Africa, the US may face sanctions even if it does not accept the verdict. The ICJ ruling will also strengthen a case against the Joe Biden administration.”

Rensburg stressed the importance of holding the US responsible for its crimes, drawing parallels with cases filed against former US President George Bush in the 2000s.

“The US must now be held responsible for the crimes it has committed. It must accept its responsibilities.”

The legal team, now comprising 47 lawyers, has written an open letter to the leaders of the US and UK governments, asserting their accountability in the matter.

“You could not avoid responsibility. The US must now be held accountable for the crimes it committed.”

Go to Original – popularresistance.org


Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Share this article:


DISCLAIMER: The statements, views and opinions expressed in pieces republished here are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of TMS. In accordance with title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. TMS has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is TMS endorsed or sponsored by the originator. “GO TO ORIGINAL” links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the “GO TO ORIGINAL” links. This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

There are no comments so far.

Join the discussion!

We welcome debate and dissent, but personal — ad hominem — attacks (on authors, other users or any individual), abuse and defamatory language will not be tolerated. Nor will we tolerate attempts to deliberately disrupt discussions. We aim to maintain an inviting space to focus on intelligent interactions and debates.

6 × = 60

Note: we try to save your comment in your browser when there are technical problems. Still, for long comments we recommend that you copy them somewhere else as a backup before you submit them.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.