The UK Is not supporting S Africa's submission the the ICoJ. Yet just six weeks ago it submitted to this court a very similar submission in regard to the genocide of the Rohingya in Burma. (I use the name Burma because perhaps the majority of Burmese still prefer this name - and it was this regime that renamed the country) The Guardian article describes how the UK's wider interpretation of the laws in regard to genocide in Burma are rightly fuelling the charge of hypocrisy.
This is part of the wording of the UK's recent submission
The Myanmar submission states: “There is a lower threshold for ‘serious bodily or mental harm’ when the victim is a child ... acts which ... may not be regarded as contributing to the physical or biological destruction of the group when done to adults, might be regarded as meeting those thresholds when done to children.
“It is important to adopt a construction which recognises that what it means for a child to suffer ‘grave and long-term disadvantage to [their] ability to lead a normal and constructive life’ may be different than for an adult.” The UK Burma submission also claims that systematically depriving people of their homes and food.
Experts say that the UK's refusal to back the S African submission makes its stance "wholly disingenuous .The S African lawyers will be using the UK's masterly arguments in regard to its submission to the ICoJ re Burma / Myanmar to bolster their own. Brilliant!!
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