Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa during the Open Debate of the United Nations Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question on 24th October 2023.
Mr. President,
Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr Antonio Guterres,
Excellencies and Representatives,
We thank the Federative Republic of Brazil for convening this timely, open debate of the Security Council.
We also thank the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Mr Tor Wennesland for his briefing on the latest harrowing developments in the unprecedented conflict that has engulfed Gaza and Israel.
South Africa wishes to join others who have spoken in the debate today affirming that the ultimate solution to the conflict is the establishment of two states, Palestine, and Israel, living side by side. The Palestinian State should be created along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
As the international community we must be united in calling for an immediate comprehensive ceasefire.
Humanitarian corridors should be open so that aid and other basic services can reach all those in need.
We call on all parties to exercise restraint and for all states to desist from fuelling this increasingly unjust war.
Mr. President
We express condolences to the people of Palestine and Israel for the loss of lives during the past two weeks.
The targeting of civilians in armed conflicts is in violation of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Conventions and their Protocols. Hamas and the State of Israel have committed these violations.
Mr President,
We do recognise that international law grants oppressed people who are defending themselves the right to use arms as a means of struggle and defence. This right must be exercised within the bounds of the Geneva Conventions.
The killing of civilians and destroying of civilian infrastructure in Gaza by Israeli forces goes against the tenets of international law, which prohibits the targeting of non-combatants, especially women, the aged and children. There is an added obligation on an occupying power over the people and territory it occupies in terms of the Geneva Conventions including a prohibition against collective punishment.
The denial of basic services to the people of Gaza surely constitutes genocide and should be condemned by all of us, and those who perpetrate it should be held to account.
We cannot ignore the fact that one more day of continued occupation breeds hatred, suffering and pain. We must not proclaim the importance of international law and the importance of the UN Charter in some situations and not in others. For international law to be credible, it should be uniformly applied and not selective.
Mr President
The conflict has again shown the inadequacy of our institutions, in particular the UN Security Council, which has a mandate derived from the UN Charter for the maintenance of international peace and security. A body of such stature is found desperately wanting as it cannot even call, at the very least, for a humanitarian pause to allow for much needed humanitarian supplies to go to those that need it most. This should be another wake up call to all of us to work harder for the reform of this body. We should remember that in 1994 a genocide occurred on the African continent with the whole world watching. History cannot keep repeating itself with so much cruelty, we should work for a system of global governance that is fair, equitable, and responds to the needs of all States a system that is not just a tool for the most powerful countries of the world.
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