Document Type
Article
Abstract
Ireland’s new and far-reaching proposal regarding the suggested construction of the crime of Genocide contained in its Declaration of Intervention (Intervention) in the case brought by South Africa against the State of Israel (and echoed in its identical intervention at the same time in The Gambia v. Myanmar) in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention) runs counter to almost 80 years of established law and principle regarding genocide.
In announcing its intention to intervene in the case against Israel, Ireland’s government in a statement on December 11, 2024, said that “by legally intervening in South Africa’s case, Ireland will be asking the ICJ to broaden its interpretation of what constitutes the commission of genocide by a State. We are concerned that a very narrow interpretation of what constitutes genocide leads to a culture of impunity in which the protection of civilians is minimized.”
The goal of protecting civilians in all conflicts is certainly laudable, but the way to do achieve such protection is not by effectively watering down the definition of genocide. Such a result would be enormously damaging to the fundamental goals and principles that underpin the Genocide Convention.
Date of Authorship for this Version
7-28-2025
Keywords
Genocide, Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, International Court of Justice
Recommended Citation
Rosensaft, Menachem Z., "Memorandum Regarding Ireland’s Proposal to Revise the Meaning of Genocide Under International Law" (2025). Cornell Law Faculty Working Papers. 187.
https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/clsops_papers/187