By Nurah Tape – The Palestine Chronicle  

“We South Africans know what apartheid looks like…We will not remain silent and watch as apartheid is perpetrated against others.”

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has told the UN General Assembly that even though apartheid was declared a crime against humanity, Palestinians continue to be subjected to “more than half a century of apartheid.”

“Genocide was declared to be a stain on the conscience of the world, and the world community took a stand against it,” Ramaphosa said in his speech at the 79th UNGA session in New York on Wednesday.

We South Africans know what apartheid looks like.
 
We lived through it. We suffered and died under it.
 
We will not remain silent and watch as apartheid is perpetrated against others.
 
https://t.co/1h5TeMVUwq

— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) September 24, 2024

“Apartheid was declared a crime against humanity and a stain on the conscience of the world. The United Nations took a stand against it,” he continued. “These were crimes against humanity then, and they are crimes against humanity now.”

He pointed out that since the Hamas resistance operation of October 7 which his government “condemned”, Israel “embarked on collective punishment in its assault on Gaza.”

‘Unabated Torment’

With more than 40,000 Palestinians having been killed, the “torment of the people of Gaza continues unabated,” he said.

🇵🇸 🇿🇦 President Cyril Ramaphosa: “The violence the Palestinian people are being subjected to is a grim continuation of a more than half a century of apartheid by Israel…we South Africans know what apartheid looks like, we suffered and died under apartheid. We will not remain… pic.twitter.com/Et7vT6jcBW

— State of Palestine (@Palestine_UN) September 24, 2024

As homes, hospitals and schools lie destroyed, and famine and disease “stalk the streets,” the situation “cannot but shock our collective humanity.”

“The violence the Palestinian people are being subjected to is a grim continuation of more than half a century of apartheid,” the president emphasized.

South Africans “know what apartheid looks like,” he stressed, adding “We lived through it. We suffered and died under it.”

“We will not remain silent and watch as apartheid is perpetrated against others,” he continued and stressed that through the UN and “the instruments it wields, we must end this suffering.”

“International law cannot be applied selectively. No one state is more equal than any other,” Rampahosa stated.

ICJ Case

He pointed out that in terms of South Africa’s obligations as a State Party to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the country approached the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last December seeking an order to prevent Israel from committing genocide against the people of Gaza.

‘Facts and Evidence’ – South Africa Says ICJ Genocide Case against Israel Will Continue

Since then, several countries including Turkiye and Spain have joined the case, a move welcomed by Ramaphosa.

In its findings, the ICJ said there was “a plausible case of genocide” against the people of Gaza.

Ramaphosa emphasized the responsibility of State Parties to the Genocide Convention, saying the World Court’s orders “further make it clear that States must also act to prevent genocide by Israel – and ensure that they are not themselves in violation of the Genocide Convention by aiding or assisting in the commission of genocide.”

Transformation of UNSC Required

He also highlighted that 78 years since its formation, the structure of the UN Security Council “remains largely unchanged.”

“Africa and its 1,4 billion people remain excluded from its key decision-making structures,” he said.

“The Security Council has not fulfilled its mandate to maintain international peace and security,” Ramaphosa stated, adding the Council “must be reformed as a matter of urgency. It must become more inclusive so that the voices of all nations are heard and considered.”

‘Action Now’ – UN Says One Million Palestinians in Gaza Need Urgent Shelter before Winter

Israel continues to defy a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire and has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.

Currently on trial before the ICJ for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.

Over 41,000 Killed

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 41,534 Palestinians have, to date, been killed, and 96,092 wounded. Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Gaza Death Toll Rises – Scores Killed, Injured by Israeli Strikes

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

Famine and Displacement

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.

(The Palestine Chronicle)