In an official statement released Jan. 7, Bolivia’s Foreign Ministry supported South Africa’s filing at the International Court of Justice against Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people. Bolivia is the first Ibero-American nation to take such action.
The statement reads as follows:
“The government of the Plurinational state of Bolivia values the historic action taken by the Republic of South Africa which presented a demand on Dec. 29, 2023 against the state of Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) related to Israel’s violations of its obligations under the Genocide Convention regarding the Palestine people in the Gaza Strip.
“Committed to peace and justice and a signatory to the Genocide Convention, Bolivia recognizes that South Africa has taken an historic step in defense of the Palestinian people, [showing] leadership and an effort that should be supported by the international community which demands respect for life (considering that the report prepared by the United Nations reports that more than 21,000 have died since Oct. 7, 2023, the majority of them women and children, exposing the inhuman actions of the State of Israel.)
“It should be recalled that last Nov. 17, together with South Africa, Bangladesh, Comoros and Djibouti, Bolivia presented to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) a request to investigate the situation in the State of Palestine.”
On Oct. 31 of last year, Bolivia took the bold step of breaking diplomatic relations with Israel in repudiation of its “aggressive and disproportionate offensive in the Gaza Strip,” and issued scathing remarks denouncing Israel’s genocide. At the time, Deputy Foreign Minister Freddy Mamani read a statement indicating Bolivia’s rejection of “the cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment” of Palestinians and demanded “the cessation of attacks that have provoked thousands of civilian deaths.” It also demanded that Israel cease blocking the entry into Gaza of urgently needed humanitarian aid of UN support staff and other necessary personnel.
