UN motion to seek ICJ opinion on the legal implications of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory
# UN motion to seek ICJ opinion on the legal implications of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory

UN motion to seek ICJ opinion on the legal implications of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory is a draft prepared by the State of Palestine and approved by the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) on 11 November 2022. It was passed by a vote of 98 to 17, with 52 abstentions, and was sent to the General Assembly. Nicaragua presented the draft resolution because Palestine is not a full member of the UN.

On 30 December 2022, the UN General Assembly adopted the resolution with 87 votes in favor, Israel, the United States and 24 other members against, and 53 abstentions.

In a statement to the United Nations Security Council on 18 January, 2023, the chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People announced that in February 2023, the Committee would finalize its independent legal study on "The legality of the Israeli occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem", commissioned in 2021.

On 20 January 2023, the ICJ confirmed "The request was transferred to the ICJ through a letter sent by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, on January 17, and the request was registered yesterday, Thursday."

The court has set 25 July 2023 for presentation of written statements and 25 October 2023 for subsequent written comments on the statements.

## The resolution

Paragraph 18 of the resolution requests an opinion as follows:

"(a) What are the legal consequences arising from Israel’s ongoing violation of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, its prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, and from its adoption of related discriminatory legislation and measures?"

"(b) How do Israel’s policies and practices referred to in paragraph (a) affect the legal status of the occupation and what are the legal consequences that arise for all States and the United Nations from this status?"

## UN’s Special Political and Decolonization Committee vote

| Vote | Quantity | States |
| - | - | - |
| Approve | 98 | Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Chad, Chile, People's Republic of China, Comoros, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Türkiye, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zimbabwe |
| Against | 17 | Australia, Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Liberia, Lithuania, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, United States |
| Abstain | 52 | Albania, Andorra, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Ecuador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Haiti, Honduras, Iceland, India, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Montenegro, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Rwanda, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Togo, United Kingdom, Uruguay |
| Absent | 26 | Bhutan, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Fiji, Grenada, Jamaica, Kiribati, Madagascar, Malawi, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Tonga, Tuvalu, United Republic of Tanzania, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zambia |
| Total | 193 |

## General Assembly vote

| Vote | Quantity | States |
| - | - | - |
| Approve | 87 | Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Chile, People's Republic of China, Colombia, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Djibouti, Egypt, El Salvador, Gabon, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
| Against | 26 | Albania, Australia, Austria, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Estonia, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Liberia, Lithuania, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Romania, Togo, United Kingdom, United States |
| Abstain | 53 | Andorra, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Haiti, Honduras, Iceland, India, Japan, Kiribati, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Malawi, Monaco, Montenegro, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Rwanda, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tanzania, Uruguay, Vanuatu |
| Absent | 27 | Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Gambia, Madagascar, Nepal, Niger, North Macedonia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Suriname, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Venezuela |
| Total | 193 |

## Reactions

The resolution was hailed as "a diplomatic and legal success and achievement" according to Riyad Al-Maliki, the State of Palestine's Minister of Foreign Affairs. Al-Maliki expressed gratitude to the nations that supported the resolution by sponsoring it and voting in favor of it. He urged countries that did not support the resolution to "adhere to international law and avoid standing on the wrong side of history." Days prior to the final vote, in an attempt to impede the referral of the conflict to The Hague, Prime Minister Yair Lapid wrote to 50 countries urging them not to support it in the General Assembly.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) welcomed the resolution's approval by the General Assembly, "praising the positions of the countries that supported it, which confirms their commitment to international law and is consistent with their historical support for the Palestinian cause".

