By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has reassured the public that South Africa’s diplomatic relationship with Nigeria remains strong.
Dirco Minister Ronald Lamola held his first press conference on Monday, 12 August 2024, flanked by his senior officials.
Lamola says South Africa’s relations with Nigeria remain strong amid the controversy over Miss South Africa contestant Chidimma Adetshina.
This announcement comes a day after the Department of Home Affairs reported prima facie evidence of fraud and identity theft involving her mother.
The 23-year-old law student was the topic of intense debate on social media due to her nationality.
Lamola said the diplomatic ties between the two countries have not been affected.
“Our diplomatic relations with Nigeria remain very strong, including at the cultural level, the continuous cultural exchanges.
“And obviously from time to time, there will, such challenges will be addressed when there are merits and demerits as and when they arise.”
Meanwhile, Pretoria has disclosed that it is thinking of taking up its charge of genocide against Israel in the UN Security Council and is also considering other legal options after the four provisional orders issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel in Gaza appeared to have made little impact.
Zane Dangor, director-general of Dirco, said the issue before Pretoria was whether it should try to get the ICJ to issue more provisional orders against Israel. The four orders so far have demanded that Israel restrain its attacks on Gaza. They have had no visible impact.
Dangor said SA’s legal team would be looking at the possibility of more orders but “we are looking perhaps at this stage of going the Security Council route”.
“Our team in New York is already engaging with various delegations in New York.”
He noted that Algeria, a current non-permanent member of the US Security Council, might be calling a meeting of the council to table a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Such a resolution had been previously adopted, but not implemented or enforced.
Dangor said that in October, South Africa would also be submitting the merits of its arguments on the substantive case the ICJ is considering on whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Dirco spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said South Africa joined other members of the international community in “strongly condemning the attack on a school-turned-shelter for displaced Palestinians in Gaza that has killed more than 100 people, including women and children.
“The Israeli military claimed its air force on Saturday struck a ‘command and control centre’ that ‘served as a hideout for Hamas terrorists and commanders’ at Al-Tabaeen school but has not provided evidence to qualify the harming of defenceless civilians in its dangerous escalation,” Phiri said.
He said the Israeli ministry has not provided evidence to back its claim that the Al-Tabaeen school it struck on Saturday, killing more than a hundred people, served as “a hideout for Hamas terrorists” and commanders of the movement.
“South Africa continues to maintain that there is no legal, ethical, or moral justification for the bombardment of non-combatants and destruction of civilian sites,” Phiri said.
“Israel, as the occupying power, has a duty to protect civilians in Gaza. It is inhumane to endanger the lives of Palestinians who have sought refuge from intense bombardment and gun battles.”
Dirco has also dismissed calls by the Democratic Alliance (DA) for this week’s Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit to be moved from Zimbabwe because the Harare government abused its political opponents.
South Africa had no authority to overrule SADC’s decision to host the summit in Harare, therefore President Cyril Ramaphosa, accompanied by Lamola, would be attending the summit on 17 August, said Clayson Monyela.
Monyela responded to a call last week by DA international relations spokesperson Emma Powell for Pretoria to ensure the summit was moved.
She cited the arrests and even alleged torture of several opposition politicians and activists over the past two weeks. Some opposition leaders have said that Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa is clamping down on his opponents to ensure they don’t embarrass him by holding demonstrations against him during the summit.
Monyela said Zimbabwe was the incoming chair of SADC and that had determined the SADC decision that it would host the annual summit, according to tradition.