By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@BRICS2024.
President Cyril Ramaphosa says lasting peace and security will not be achieved until Palestinians have realized their aspirations for statehood, justice and freedom.
Ramaphosa was delivering remarks at a plenary session of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia.
The now expanded BRICS bloc of countries includes Brazil, Russia, China, India, South Africa, as well as newly minted Member States Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
This makes it one of the most powerful blocs on the global stage, with 3% of the world’s population, 32% of the world’s land area, around 35% of global GDP and 20% of world exports.
“Peace and security across the world requires the collective will of the community of nations. It requires a UN Security Council that is representative and inclusive,” he said.
Ramaphosa said they see many conflicts raging across the world, and the UN Security Council has not fulfilled its mandate to maintain international peace and security.
“It does not represent the interests of the global community, and therefore does not have the means to give effect to the global desire for peace.”
He said just as BRICS has a vital role in shaping a new multipolar world order, so too must it use its voice to advance change.
“We found consensus on the reform of the UN Security Council when we met in Johannesburg last year,” Ramaphosa said, referring to the BRICS summit held in South Africa last year.
On the plight of the Palestinian people, Ramaphosa emphasised that the South African government remains “gravely concerned at the further escalation of a conflict that has already caused so much death and destruction”.
“The International Court of Justice has made it clear that the international community has a duty to prevent genocide by Israel. The countries of the world have a responsibility not to fund or facilitate Israel’s genocidal actions.
South Africa filed a case with the ICJ tribunal based in The Hague in late 2023, accusing Israel, which has bombed Gaza since last October, of failing to uphold its commitments under the 1948 Genocide Convention.
Several countries, including, Turkiye, Nicaragua, Palestine, Spain, Mexico, Libya and Colombia, have all joined the case which began public hearings in January.
In May, the ICJ ordered Israel to halt its offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. It was the third time the 15-judge panel issued preliminary orders seeking to rein in the death toll and alleviate humanitarian suffering in the blockaded enclave, where the casualty count has crossed 44,000.