JAKARTA —
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi will deliver an oral statement in support of an “advisory opinion” at the International Court of Justice, in The Hague, Netherlands, on February 19 regarding Israel’s policy towards Palestine.
To prepare this important statement, Retno Marsudi sought input from dozens of international law experts. The screening was carried out through a discussion entitled “Advisory Opinion at the International Court: Efforts to Support Palestinian Independence through Enforcement of International Law,” which was held in Jakarta this Tuesday (16/1).
Around 50 legal and international law experts attended the discussion, including Prof. Dr. Eddy Pratomo, Prof. Hikmahanto Juwana PhD, Prof.Dr. Sigit Riyanto and Dr. Eni Narwati.
In her remarks, Retno said she needed the views and input of experts to develop a comprehensive statement, which could show the world Israel’s violations of international law.
“Indonesia’s diplomacy for Palestine is not finished. Indonesian diplomacy must continue, both from a political, economic, humanitarian and international law perspective, until the Palestinian people can enjoy full independence. “It is in this context that the views and input of international law experts are needed, because international law is an important element of Indonesia’s foreign policy and diplomacy,” said Retno.
The UN General Assembly asks the ICJ for its views on Israeli policy in Palestine, long before the Israel-Hamas war
Previously, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on January 17 2023 had requested a legal opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding the legal consequences of Israel’s policies and actions in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem. The ICJ invited a number of UN member states to convey their legal views, including Indonesia.
Retno said that from the start she had expressed her readiness to provide a legal opinion to the ICJ. Written input was submitted to the ICJ in July 2023, while oral input will be submitted on February 19 2024.
“The Palestinian people’s right to self-determination must be respected. The occupation of Palestine by Israel which has been going on for more than 70 years will not eliminate the Palestinian people’s right to independence. Various Israeli policies, such as the annexation of Palestinian territories, settlements in the West Bank, and changing the status of the City of Jerusalem , is invalid according to international law,” said Retno.
He added that all Israeli actions that are contrary to international law must be stopped and held accountable. The international community, including the UN, must not recognize the legality of Israel’s actions, stressed Retno.
Expert: Minister of Foreign Affairs Must Speak Loudly and Concisely
Professor of International Law and Chancellor of Jenderal Achmad Yani University, Hikmahanto Juwana, assessed that when speaking orally on February 19, the Minister of Foreign Affairs would not need to repeat the input of legal views that had been conveyed in writing because he was only given 30 minutes to speak. He also asked Retno to speak in a loud voice with the content of a speech that would be remembered by the world, like Sukarno’s plea entitled “Indonesia Sues” previously.
University of Indonesia International Law Expert Hikmahanto Juwana. (Photo: Personal documents)
According to Hikmahanto, this is important because in fact any ICJ decision will not change Israel’s policy towards Palestine.
“Indonesia Sues” was Soekarno’s defense speech at a court hearing in Landraad, Bandung, in 1930, when he and three of his friends, Gatot Mangkupraja, Maskun and Supriadinata who were members of the Indonesian National Union PNI, were accused of wanting to overthrow the Dutch East Indies government. Soekarno loudly conveyed his complaint about world political conditions and the damage to Indonesian society under colonialism. This speech became an important political document and was well remembered by the public because it firmly opposed colonialism and imperialism.
“This is what the Foreign Minister must do. Because from there it will inspire many countries, including Western countries which have experienced humanitarian and democratic values from there. Now the Foreign Minister can say that the International Court of Justice must answer the questions raised by UN General Assembly,” he said.
Hikmahanto assessed that the UN General Assembly reflects the democracy of the international community, which is much more democratic than the Security Council forum which still gives privilege to the five major countries, America, Britain, France, China and Russia to determine decisions.
However, international law has so far been very European-centric and does not reflect the values of many countries, so that when there is a problem such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the decisions taken seem to justify the moral values of Western countries, he continued. International law is not binding so if the ICJ issues a decision that does not side with Israel, then that country can ignore it.
What is certain is that Indonesia’s appearance at the ICJ International Court hearing is part of Indonesia’s diplomatic steps in supporting the Palestinian struggle.
ICJ Hears South Africa’s Claim and Israel’s Defense
Separately, the ICJ on January 11 and 12 also heard South Africa’s lawsuit against Israel, which it accused of carrying out genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The hearing and decision-making process on this demand is expected to take a long time, but the ICJ said it would first issue a decision on South Africa’s request that Israel immediately stop attacks on Gaza that victimize civilians.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, a territory run by Hamas, said that as of Tuesday (16/1) more than 24,300 Palestinians in Gaza had died as a result of a series of Israeli ground and air attacks since October 7. Israel carried out the attack in retaliation for a Hamas attack on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people. (fw/em)