South Africa Demands Global Accountability for Palestine:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

South Africa Demands Global Accountability for Palestine: Minister Lamola and Deputy Minister Hendricks Reaffirm Stance on International Law, ICJ Mandates, and Anti-Apartheid Legislation

PRETORIA & NEW YORK — In powerful declarations delivered from international and national stages on 21 and 22 September 2026, South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), Ronald Lamola, and Deputy Minister of Social Development, the Hon. Ganief Hendricks—delivering the national address on behalf of President Cyril Ramaphosa—reaffirmed the nation’s unyielding diplomatic stance on Palestine, the protection of the UN Charter, and the enforcement of international justice. Commentators and observers described the addresses as exceptionally eloquent in their historical context and geopolitical reality.

 

Unwavering Global Solidarity and Upholding the UN Charter

Speaking on Monday, 21 September 2026, from the historic pulpit of Riverside Church in New York, DIRCO Minister Ronald Lamola declared that South Africa remains steadfast in its responsibility to defend sovereign equality, self-determination, and international law.

Rejecting imperial pressure, Lamola asserted that silence during ongoing state violence is equivalent to complicity. Drawing on South Africa’s history of liberation through international movement, he called upon the global community to assemble the same anti-apartheid resolve that dismantled South African oppression to dismantle the ongoing occupation in Palestine.

Minister Lamola condemned the severe destruction of civilian infrastructure, sanitation systems, schools, and medical facilities across Gaza. He pointed out that despite announcements of theoretical ceasefires, the reality on the ground leaves nearly all children in Gaza living under the perpetual threat of annihilation, proving that power without accountability cannot be tolerated under the UN Charter.

 

ICJ Enforcement, Legislative Reform, and Halting Annexation

Addressing dignitaries in Pretoria on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, at the official celebration of the 96th Saudi National Day, Deputy Minister Ganief Hendricks delivered South Africa’s national address standing in for President Ramaphosa.

Hendricks focused on concrete legal and diplomatic steps, referencing South Africa’s comprehensive dossier submitted to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on August 25, 2026. This filing serves to assist the panel of judges monitoring Israel’s adherence to binding Provisional Measures, with Hendricks expressing deep regret over continued non-compliance with the court’s orders.

Highlighting the dire conditions in Gaza, Deputy Minister Hendricks noted that an average of one Palestinian child per day continues to be killed despite touted ceasefires, while surviving populations are squeezed into shrinking zones without access to clean water, healthcare, or basic necessities. On behalf of South Africa, he demanded an immediate cessation of settlement expansion, civilian administrative overreach, and land annexation in both Gaza and the West Bank.

Furthermore, Hendricks praised Saudi Arabia’s leadership in co-hosting the High-Level International Conference on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine, reiterating South Africa’s commitment to a viable two-state solution founded on the UN Charter and the New York Declaration.

 

Domesticating the UN Apartheid Convention: The Apartheid Bill

Reinforcing South Africa’s legislative commitment to international accountability, the press address highlighted the Apartheid Bill championed by the Al Jama-ah political party on behalf of a Secretariat of eight political parties represented in Parliament. The Bill seeks to domesticate the United Nations International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid, which South Africa acceded to on 14 May 2024.

To fast-track this crucial legislation—developed by the Parliamentary Legislative Unit in terms of policies shared by eight political parties holding 70% of seats in Parliament—the President of Al Jama-ah met with the Minister of Justice. This Bill follows a historic precedent where the secretariat of the liberation committee, composed of leading African nations, spearheaded the path to self-determination and continental freedom, culminating in South Africa’s liberation from apartheid in 1994.

The proposed draft legislation creates a standalone offense to criminalize apartheid in South Africa distinct from existing provisions under the Implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Act, 2002 (Act No. 27 of 2002).Furthermore, it grants extraterritorial jurisdiction to South African courts to prosecute individuals, South African citizens, residents, or persons present in the country for apartheid crimes committed anywhere globally, including within South Africa.

 

Local Governance and Municipal Solidarity Initiatives

The address also emphasized Al Jama-ah’s steadfast municipal initiatives in the City of Johannesburg to declare the metro an apartheid-free zone. Following the placement of a statue of former Palestinian President Yasser Arafat outside the council chambers—an act of solidarity that led Councillor Kabelo Gwamanda to open a case of theft by way of vicarious liability at the Hillbrow Police Station after Mayor Mpho Phalatse of the Democratic Alliance removed the monument—the commitment to solidarity remains unwavering.

The new executive mayor will continue the work initiated by Al Jama-ah’s mayoral leadership to erect the statue of Yasser Arafat and connect Sandton Drive to Winnie Mandela Drive. This infrastructural link aims to create one of the world’s greatest tourist attractions honoring women, while permanently cementing the metro’s stance as an apartheid-free zone.

 

Core Diplomatic Directives

Minister Ronald Lamola (DIRCO — Riverside Church, New York, 21 September 2026)
– Defending the UN Charter against imperial pressures and upholding international law.
– Mobilizing global anti-apartheid solidarity to end the Palestinian occupation.
– Denouncing the destruction of essential Gaza infrastructure and civilian suffering.

Deputy Minister Ganief Hendricks (AL JAMA-AH / Social Development — Pretoria, 22 September 2026)

• Enforcing ICJ Provisional Measures via the August 25, 2026 submission.
• Advancing domestic legislation via the Apartheid Bill—backed by 70% of parliamentary seats—
  to establish standalone criminalization and extraterritorial jurisdiction against apartheid acts.
• Demanding an immediate end to land annexation, administrative expansion, and illegal settlements.
• Supporting municipal initiatives in Johannesburg, including erecting the Yasser Arafat statue and connecting Sandton Drive to Winnie Mandela Drive to declare the metro an apartheid-free zone.
• Reaffirming support for a just two-state solution aligned with the UN Charter and New York Declaration.