SA’s double standards in calls for international arrests

Foreign Minister Dr Naledi Pandor stirred up a hornet’s nest with her speech to parliament calling out the International Criminal Court (ICC) for not having issued an arrest warrant for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

She was correct in challenging the world body for its double standards: the ICC was quick to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes after his troops invaded Ukraine last year, yet it has so far said nothing about the ongoing slaughter of Palestinians – many of them children – in Gaza.

WATCH: Naledi Pandor calls out ICC for ‘double standards’ on Israel’s attack of Gaza

Mind you, when it comes to matters of international diplomacy and justice, people in glass houses should perhaps not venture to throw stones, minister. SA’s leaning towards Russia, despite the obvious violation of international law and credible reports of abuses of human rights and war crimes, produced an flurry of ducking and diving when the ANC believed it might have to execute the ICC’s arrest warrant if Putin attended the Brics summit earlier this year.

Then there was the case of former Sudan president Omar al-Bashir, who was not arrested in 2015 when he visited South Africa, despite having an ICC warrant against him. So, it might appear that South Africa is selective in applying its mind to its international obligations.

On the other hand, some of the countries which bleat loudest about South Africa’s stance on foreign affairs – we’re looking at you, United States of America – refuse to join the ICC themselves. If we are hypocrites, we’re not the only ones…

What is happening in Gaza must be condemned by any right-minded person – as must the brutal terrorism by Hamas in its attack on Israel on 7 October. Sadly – for justice, democracy and basic humanity – those voices of condemnation have been absent on both sides of this tragedy.

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