The UN opposes genocide and supports the right of people to protest against this phenomenon. This was stated by the official representative of the UN Secretary General Stephane Dujarric, commenting on mass protests in the United States against the policies of Israel, which was sued for a possible violation of the Convention on the Prevention of the Crime of Genocide.
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“We oppose genocide and consider it acceptable that people protest against genocide,” he said in response to a related question.
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In December 2023, South Africa filed a lawsuit against Israel with the International Court of Justice for possible violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
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On January 26, the court ruled that the Jewish state must take all necessary measures to prevent genocide in the Palestinian enclave. The preliminary stage of the trial is now underway; consideration of the case on its merits will begin later and may last for several years. On May 1, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that the country was exploring options for participating in South Africa’s lawsuit.
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US police have arrested about 900 people over the past ten days at pro-Palestinian demonstrations taking place on the grounds of American universities. The wave of arrests on US campuses began on April 18, when the rector of Columbia University, Minouche Shafik, asked the New York police to help drive protesters away from the university. The decision led to the arrest of more than 100 people on the Manhattan campus and sparked new waves of protests across the country.
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The situation in the Middle East sharply worsened after the infiltration of militants of the radical Palestinian movement Hamas from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory on October 7, 2023, accompanied by the killing of residents of border settlements and the taking of more than 240 hostages. In response, Israel launched a military operation in the Palestinian enclave with the aim of destroying the military and political structures of Hamas and releasing all those abducted.
