• 'Just no way' Washington would have allowed South Africa to be able to do normal diplomatic business without withdrawing genocide charges against Israel, says South Africa's former ambassador Ebrahim Rasool, who was expelled from the US
• 'We need to have voices all over the world in support of the people of Palestine, and if we go silent, then Palestine’s cause will become a forgotten one,' says Pandor

ISTANBUL

The failure to stop Israel’s genocidal attacks on the Gaza Strip has exposed the shortcomings of international legal mechanisms and renewed urgent calls to reform the UN, former South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor told Anadolu in an exclusive interview.

Pandor, 71, served as foreign minister when South Africa filed a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in December 2023, during the third month of Tel Aviv’s brutal assault on the Palestinian enclave.

The ICJ later ordered Israel to take “all measures within its power” to prevent acts of genocide in the Palestinian enclave, though it stopped short of ordering a cease-fire. It also directed Israel to ensure the provision of humanitarian aid and essential services to Gaza.

“It cannot be that we allow the world to stand by, weak, while the people are being murdered,” Pandor said during the interview in Istanbul. “We need a capacity that is military, that can go and become a protector of the innocent wherever such harm occurs in the world.”

As the world begins “more concrete discussions” about UN reform, she asked: “What form of enforcement capacity should we create in the global community?”

“It could be under the remit of the (UN) Security Council, but then the composition of the Security Council cannot be as it is today,” she said. “Because, these are the very nations that actually cause a great deal of harm or support it

The US — one of the five permanent members of the Council — has repeatedly used its veto to block any action against Israel. As Washington continues to finance and support Israel’s campaign, US-South Africa ties have also deteriorated sharply.

Washington has suspended nearly $440 million in aid to Pretoria and declared veteran South African diplomat Ebrahim Rasool persona non grata following critical remarks about the Trump administration during a seminar.

While Washington has openly criticized the ICJ case, several countries — including Belgium, Colombia, Türkiye, Libya, Egypt, Maldives, Mexico, Ireland, Chile, Palestine, and Spain — have filed formal declarations of support for South Africa’s case at the court.

Souring US ties

Pandor acknowledged that the genocide case has played a role in the worsening of relations between Pretoria and Washington.

“But it’s never mentioned, except now and again, and it’s mentioned in obtuse terms … the treatment of Israel by South Africa, rather than the actual case,” she said.

Rasool, who returned to South Africa to a warm welcome from African National Congress (ANC) supporters at Cape Town International Airport, said punitive measures were already underway even before his expulsion.

“There is just no way that they (US) would have allowed South Africa to be able to do normal diplomatic business if South Africa does not meet the condition of withdrawing the charges of genocide against Israel at the International Court of Justice,” he told Anadolu in Istanbul.

He noted that former US President Donald Trump’s executive order slashing aid to South Africa took issue with the fact that Israel and not Hamas was targeted in the case.

Pandor, who now teaches international relations after leaving office in July, highlighted both Israel and South Africa’s status as a signatory to the Convention on the Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

All states party to the 1948 Genocide Convention are obligated not just to refrain from genocide, but to prevent and punish it.

Hamas, a resistance group is not considered a state party since Palestine is not a full member of the UN where Palestinians are represented by Palestinian Authority which rules occupied West Bank.

Referring to widespread destruction in Gaza, Pandor said “someone had to stand up and act.”

"While we wish to keep a positive relationship (with the US), we cannot do so by giving up our principles," she added.

For Rasool, the critical point is that the ICJ case against Israel has become an obstacle in South Africa’s relationship with the US.

As G20 chair, South Africa had invited US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to a summit in Johannesburg, but he declined. Trump has also indicated he would not attend the G20 leaders’ summit.

In addition to the ICJ case, the Trump administration has accused Pretoria of targeting white South Africans through land reforms — claims South Africa firmly rejects.

Expulsion ‘a success of diplomacy’

Rasool, who previously served as South Africa’s ambassador to the US between 2010 and 2015, described his expulsion as “not so much a failure of diplomacy or anything I've said.”

The order, issued by Secretary of State Rubio, cited Rasool’s comments at a seminar where he accused Trump of “mobilizing a supremacism” and “project white victimhood as a dog whistle.” These remarks were amplified by the right-wing outlet Breitbart and cited as justification for removing his diplomatic immunity.

“I think,” Rasool said, “the expulsion was in fact the success of reaching out.”

He said he held conversations with offices of 22 US lawmakers and was making progress in building support. “They did not expect that we would be able to put together a deal that was strong on our bottom lines, like we won’t withdraw from the ICJ,” he said.

Pretoria has since named Mcebisi Jonas as Rasool’s successor. Jonas has vowed to counter “misinformation” about South African domestic policy in Washington.

Still, Rasool warned: “You must fear your success as much as what you must fear the failure of diplomacy, because they don't want South Africa to be successful in terms of opening up a negotiating package with the United States.”

Double standards in international law

Pandor criticized what she called the “double standard” in how international law is applied.

“They tend to be regarded as laws which benefit the rich, which benefit the North, and not countries that are developing, countries of the South,” she said.

“When it’s (international law) breached by a country in Africa, everybody rushes to international institutions,” she continued. “But when a country that is associated with Europe breaks human rights law, it’s seen as if it does not matter. So, there’s a racism, there’s a double standard.”

Pandor said the world has grown “complacent” in confronting Israel’s actions in Palestine: “Israel has enjoyed impunity in its conduct toward Palestinian people for over seven decades, and we believe that the time has come for this to stop.”

Still, Pandor remains defiant: “We need to have voices all over the world in support of the people of Palestine, and if we go silent, then Palestine’s cause will become a forgotten one, and I don’t think we can allow that.”