NEW YORK – The United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres yesterday announced that he would transmit the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling on the Israeli aggression on Rafah to the UN Security Council (UNSC).
Secretary-general spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters that Guterres would properly transmit the notice of provisional measures ordered by the court to the UNSC for action, Palestine News and Info Agency reported.
Dujarric said Guterres stressed that “decisions of the court are binding and (Guterres) trusts that the parties will duly comply with the order from the court.”
“The secretary-general recalls that…decisions of the ICJ are binding, and he trusts that the parties will duly comply with the order from the court,” he added.
Following South Africa’s plea, the ICJ has ruled in a 13-2 vote that Israel must immediately halt its military offensive and any other action in Rafah and open the Rafah border crossing to allow the entry of humanitarian aid to the blockaded Strip.
It also ordered Israel to “ensure the unimpeded access of commissions of inquiry or investigative bodies mandated by the UN to investigate allegations of genocide” and report to the court within a month on its progress in implementing the measures.
The world court, whose orders are legally binding but lack direct enforcement mechanisms, stopped short of calling for a full ceasefire yesterday. – May 25, 2024