[Source: Deccan Herald]

The coalition government has this afternoon issued a statement regarding its intended presentation at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

It says Fiji is specifically responding to the December 2022 United Nations General Assembly Resolution 77/247 entitled “Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.”

The Fiji government says the resolution was adopted well before the Hamas assault on Israel on October 7th last year.

It says that of the 57 countries that opted to make oral presentations, 11 countries including Fiji, are concerned with the abuse of the ICJ on matters.

It adds that that the ICJ should follow already established legally binding agreements and processes that were agreed to by the parties and endorsed at the international level.

The Fiji government says there are already legally binding agreements and agreed processes for the Israel-Palestinian issue.

It says Fiji underscores the importance of maintaining and upholding existing and binding legal framework including those established specifically to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

It adds an Advisory Opinion on the legal consequences of the alleged infringements of international law touches the core of the ongoing conflict and requires the Court to settle law in relation to the whole conflict.

It says Fiji is therefore concerned that the current case sets a precedence, for other ongoing conflicts that maybe referred to the Court, thereby undermining the Courts integrity.

The Fiji government concludes that the Court must not be used as a political playground to assert long-held presumptions and biases, and in the course of doing so, misusing international law, against its intended purpose.

In upholding its principled positions on matters that impact our core values, Fiji says she will continue to stand for what is right for the dignity of humankind.