South Africa's FM Calls for Solidarity with Palestine in Global South

By Al Mayadeen English

27 Jan 2024 14:39

In an exclusive statement to Al Mayadeen, the South African Minister of Foreign Affairs calls on the countries of Africa, the Middle East, and the Global South to stand in solidarity with Palestine.

In an exclusive interview with Al Mayadeen, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Africa, Naledi Pandor, affirmed that the details of the ICJ decision and temporary measures which "Israel" has been mandated to comply with are indicative of the seriousness with which the International Court of Justice is dealing with the lawsuit filed by her country.

She added that with this decision, the court has initiated the first part, which is an indication of the transition to the practical part as the court examines the evidence brought forth by South Africa.

Pandor pointed out that this is the first time a lawsuit of this kind has been filed against "Israel," and the decision was issued quickly regarding the temporary measures, describing the decision as "historic."

Through Al Mayadeen, the minister appealed to African and Middle Eastern countries and all the countries of the Global South to stand in solidarity with Palestine to follow up with the court case.

"We want civil society and governments across Africa, the Middle East, and the rest of the Southern countries, in particular, to ensure that we all stand together with the people of Palestine and ensure the collective pursuit of this case."

Earlier today, the Ugandan government denounced Judge Julia Sebutinde following her vote against all provisionary measures ruled by the International Court of Justice against "Israel" regarding the genocide in Gaza. 

Uganda’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Adonia Ayebare, took to X to blast Sebutinde, saying, “Justice Sebutinde's ruling at the ICJ does not represent the Government of Uganda’s position on the situation in Palestine. Uganda’s support for the plight of the Palestinian people has been expressed through our voting pattern at the United Nations.”

ICJ orders 'Israel' to halt genocidal acts; fails to order ceasefire 

On Friday, the ICJ charged "Israel" with six interim measures to stop impeding deliveries of aid and contain the humanitarian crisis. Sebutinde, in turn, voted against all measures and unleashed international backlash from the pro-Palestinian community on social media. 

The United Nations' highest court asserted its jurisdiction to act on the emergency measures sought by South Africa in its lawsuit against "Israel's" actions in the Gaza war.

Despite the Israeli request for dismissal, the World Court stated that it would not dismiss the case.

As the reading proceeded, the court recognized the right of Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from acts of genocide, adding that the Palestinians are a protected group under the genocide convention.  However, the ruling does not deal with the core accusation of the case - whether genocide occurred - but focuses on the urgent intervention sought by South Africa.

Among the measures South Africa requested was an immediate halt to the Israeli military operation, which has laid waste to much of the enclave and killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.