Credit: Thomas Wolf, CC BY-SA 3.0

Ugandan judge Julia Sebutinde, who has served on the court since 2012 and as vice-president since 2024, is alleged to have spoken at a church about her dissenting opinion in South Africa v Israel.

According to Ugandan newspaper The Daily Monitor, she said: “There are now about 30 countries against Israel… the Lord is counting on me to stand on the side of Israel. The whole world was against Israel, including my country.”

She allegedly said the “current crisis in Gaza was a sign of the ‘end times’ foretold in the Bible” and that she had “a very strong conviction that we are in the ‘end times’.”

The judge allegedly continued: “The signs are being shown in the Middle East. I want to be on the right side of history. I am convinced that time is running out. I would encourage you to follow developments in Israel. I am humbled that God has allowed me to be part of the last days.”

The International Commission of Jurists, a human rights organisation founded in 1952, has written to the ICJ’s president, Yuji Iwasawa, to request an investigation into the alleged statements.

Santiago Canton, the NGO’s secretary general, said confirmation of the accuracy of the quotes would mean the judge’s continued role in proceedings relating to Israel would be “profoundly damaging to the court’s impartiality, propriety and integrity, or to perceptions thereof, as well as to public confidence in the court”.

He continued: “I therefore respectfully urge you and the court to conduct an investigation into these allegations, and if substantiated, undertake remedial actions consistent with Principles 17-20 of the UN Basic Principles.

“In the interim, I would request that you act to immediately remove Vice-President Sebutinde from participating further in proceedings in the South Africa v. Israel case.”