AMSTERDAM: The International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, said on Monday that Judge Yuji Iwasawa had been elected as its new president to complete former president Nawaf Salam’s term that ends on February 5, 2027.
Salam resigned in January to become Lebanon’s prime minister.
Iwasawa, who is Japanese, has been a member of the World Court since 2018 and before that was a professor of international law at the University of Tokyo and chairperson of the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
The ICJ, the UN’s highest court and based in The Hague, was established in 1945 to resolve disputes between states.
It recently gained global attention in the ongoing case surrounding genocide accusations against Israel — which it has denied — in the Gaza war.
In July, the ICJ ruled that Israel’s occupation since the 1967 Middle East war of Palestinian territories and its settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem were illegal and that it must withdraw as soon as possible.
For Palestinians and most of the international community, the settlements are considered illegal. Israel disputes this, citing the Jewish people’s historical, biblical and political links to the area as well as security considerations.
World Court elects Judge Yugi Iwasawa as new president
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World Court elects Judge Yugi Iwasawa as new president
- Nawaf Salam resigned in January to become Lebanon’s prime minister
- ICJ recently gained global attention in the ongoing case surrounding genocide accusations against Israel in the Gaza war
20 nations back Somalia sovereignty, condemn Israeli FM visit to Somaliland as illegal: joint statement
RIYADH: More than twenty nations have reaffirmed Somalia’s sovereignty and denounced the recent visit of Israel’s foreign minister to Somaliland, a separatist region of Somalia, according to a joint statement issued early on Friday.
The nations dismissed Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as an independent state, reaffirmed Somalia’s territorial integrity, and urged Israel to revoke its recognition of Somaliland immediately.
The 21 nations are Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Bangladesh, Comoros, Djabouti, Egypt, The Gambia, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, and Turkiye. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, an international body representing most Muslim-majority nations, also endorsed the statement.
The nations condemned Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar visit to Somaliland on Tuesday, days after Israel became the only country to formally recognize the break-away region of Somalia.
The statement said that encouraging “secessionist agendas are unacceptable and risk exacerbating tensions in an already fragile region” and praised Somalia’s commitment to peaceful international engagement and adherence to international law.
On Tuesday Saar wrote on X: “We are determined to vigorously advance relations between Israel and Somaliland,” alongside images of him meeting the Somaliland leader at the presidential palace.
Saar said Somaliland’s president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, had accepted an invitation from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make an official visit to Israel.
Somaliland has denied recognition allows for Israel to establish military bases there or for the resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza. Israel has advocated for what Israeli officials describe as voluntary Palestinian migration from Gaza.
* With Reuters
