South Africa called on the international community to act to put an end to the ongoing injustice faced by the Palestinian people and to hold "Israel" accountable for the inhumane conditions that the Palestinian people have been subjected to for 73 years.

On Thursday, the United Nations Committee on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People organized a meeting via video to discuss the Amnesty International report issued last February, entitled Israeli Apartheid against the Palestinians: The brutal regime of domination and crime against humanity.

“The NGOs have done their part in preparing reports and bringing attention to the situation. The responsibility now rests with us as the UN Member States to take the necessary action, as was eventually done by the UN with apartheid South Africa,” said Naledi Pandor, South African Foreign Minister, in her speech at the conference.

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The Foreign minister continued by explaining that “events and images the world has witnessed in the past months emerging from the occupied Palestinian territories, evoke unpleasant memories of life under apartheid rule in South Africa.”

.@DIRCO_ZA South African Foreign Minister Dr. Naledi Pandor “The events & images the world has witnessed in the past months emerging from the Occupied Palestinian Territory evoke unpleasant memories of life under apartheid rule in South Africa.” pic.twitter.com/9s1i9w5JtX

— UN Palestinian Rights Committee (@UNISPAL) June 16, 2022

Pandor further drew parallels between Occupied Palestine and apartheid South Africa. She said that given her and her people’s experience under apartheid South Africa, “the images of Seikh El Jarrah and Silwan, as well as the violent clashes between armed security forces and defenseless protesters, are reminiscent of events that took place in Sophiatown and district 6 between 1955 and 1965 in Apartheid South Africa. It reminds us of the Sharpeville massacre in 1961 and the Soweto protest of 1976 referred to earlier. As South Africans, we find semblance with our past with the Palestinian cause.”

The representative also focused on the events that took place during the funeral of martyred journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and the scenes of coffin abuses conducted by the IOF. She said the events are “reminiscent of the burials we had to conduct under the oppression of apartheid soldiers, under apartheid.”

Moreover, she made a clear statement that these reports that are being discussed contain factual proof that “Israel” is “committing crimes of apartheid and prosecution against Palestinians” adding that “We must emphasize Israel’s accountability for the suffering & inhumane conditions Palestinians have been subjected to for the past 73 years.”

Lastly, Pandor called for firm action by UN Member States similar to the ones that played a significant role in the liberation of South Africa.

Further comments during the conference

The conference was attended by the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Raad Al Hussein, the Secretary-General of Amnesty International, Agnes Callamard, the Permanent Representative of Senegal to the United Nations, Ambassador Sheikh Niang, and the Observer of Palestine to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, in addition to a number of former representatives of the Member States of the United Nations General Assembly, and representatives of civil society.

During her participation in the conference, Agnès Callamard stressed that "the security concerns cannot in any way justify the apartheid regime practiced by Israel against the Palestinians," adding that "All repressive regimes have always invoked security to justify their policies. The Amnesty International report shows that successive Israeli governments have viewed the Palestinians as a demographic threat, and imposed measures to control and reduce their presence."

Moreover, the Senegalese ambassador to the United Nations, Sheikh Niang, who also chairs the UN Committee on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, explained that "the activities of the committee aim to mobilize efforts to end the Israeli occupation and achieve the two-state solution." He continued, "forced displacement of Palestinians, demolition of their homes, and settlement expansion are all factors that entrench the occupation, and contribute to the recurrence of cycles of violence that affect Palestinians and Israelis."

Meanwhile, the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zayd Al-Hussein, revealed that the report "was criticized for allegedly targeting Israel," and that some voices considered it "an unbalanced report, and it does not deal largely with the security angle and Israel's fears."

Al-Hussein has been previously accused of being anti-Semitic when he, at the time in his capacity as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (2014-2018), expressed his concerns regarding the “appalling situation” in the Gaza Strip.

The interventions of all participants in the conference emphasized that "the accusation of anti-Semitism against human rights organizations will not silence the voice of these organizations so that the Palestinian people can obtain their rights guaranteed by international law and United Nations charters."

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