Page 13 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 27 Final
P. 13
Leadership
bringing the charge of … would reduce the harm…. must respect, the weak should
Israeli genocide against We knew that we may not stop implement and the powerful can
Palestinians living in the conflict in its entirety, but do what they want.
Gaza, to the International if we could reduce harm to
Court of Justice, and not the civilian population and Min. Pandor: How do the
against Russia for the war get humanitarian aid in, we powerful contribute to the
in Ukraine. would be happy. greater good? What role is being
played to ensure all of us hold
Baer: What did South Min. Pandor: Provisional up the highest standard? We’re
Africa intend to measures have been ignored the country that remains talking
accomplish by bringing by Israel, we’re seeing mass every week to both [Russia
its case to the ICJ on starvation now, and famine and Ukraine]. That’s saying
Gaza? And how does before our very eyes…. I we’ve got to get you in the same
South Africa square think as humanity we need to room. We participated in all the
that with abstaining on look at ourselves in horror…. working groups, on the peace
UN resolutions with Speaking of Israel’s defiance plan of President Zelenskyy.
respect to Russia’s to adhere to any law… there’s And we’ve now said, we think
aggression to Ukraine? license, I can do what I want, there has to be a meeting with
You compellingly spoke and not be stopped…. The Russia….
of the need for the UN minute you allow something
to respond to the killing like this, then what you’re Talking of South Africa’s
of innocent civilians, doing is setting in play a aspirations for the continent,
and certainly that’s form of practice that will be Min. Pandor said: So, we do
happening in Ukraine. very difficult to challenge try to be good. But we don’t
How does South Africa in the future. We went to the get it right all the time. … I
see connecting those two ICJ, because we have always believe we’re making an effort.
positions? been told by those who know And for us, the first prize would
democracy better than us, that be in Africa to silence the
Min. Pandor: On Gaza, we must respect human rights, guns, focus on development,
and what we hope to that we should respect UN industrialization, productive
accomplish, the first institutions, that we should capacity, and achieving a
thing is to stop the killing practice democracy, that we livelihood for the majority of
of innocent Palestinians, should end conflict in Africa. Africans, that places us in a
and what we’ve seen, And so, we were merely different space of development.
what each of us watches practicing what is preached to That is first prize, and first
every day, surely makes us us every day…. concern for us.
horrified about ourselves,
and our inability to stop Min. Pandor: It behooves us I completely concur with
that. So, we hoped that to say, how do we find a better Minister Pandor: development,
through the ICJ, through way…. It’s made more difficult industrialization, and improving
respect for it…as one by the most powerful countries the livelihood of Africans is the
of the international law in the world, because the first prize!
institutions that through impression that’s created
the provisional measures is that it’s the weak who
ISSUE 27 | MAY 2024 13
