Saturday May 04, 2024
Saturday May 04, 2024
Tuesday, 23 January 2024 00:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The presentation at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by 8 legal experts on behalf of South Africa was dazzling, perfectly structured, scripted and choreographed, and flawlessly executed throughout. The moral outrage in the tone of presentation was effectively rendered, and resonated with most of the world. It thereby stands tall today as the new moral force shining a light on barbarism, wresting the self-acclaimed title from countries in the West that chose to back the accused in this case
Original BRICS member and last year’s chair of BRICS, South Africa gained the admiration and appreciation of most of the world for its moral courage and example in acting to intervene in the horrific tragedy in Gaza by taking legal action at the Hague against Israel’s “genocidal acts” in its conduct of the war, calling inter alia, for an urgent ruling in favour of the immediate suspension of hostilities. It also won enormous respect for delivering its case with impressive competence and style.
The presentation at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by 8 legal experts on behalf of South Africa was dazzling, perfectly structured, scripted and choreographed, and flawlessly executed throughout. The moral outrage in the tone of presentation was effectively rendered, and resonated with most of the world. It thereby stands tall today as the new moral force shining a light on barbarism, wresting the self-acclaimed title from countries in the West that chose to back the accused in this case.
Probably unprepared for such a polished performance by South Africa, the Israeli delegation couldn’t match the elegance of presentation, even floundering with the paperwork, seeming somewhat heavy-footed and clumsy in contrast. The merits of each side’s legal arguments will be decided by the ‘World Court’ over the next few weeks, but in terms of public opinion, South Africa has proved a winner.
The fact that moral leadership in this matter was given by Nelson Mandela’s South Africa should come as no surprise. It reinforces the call of the Global South for a new world order with strengthened multilateralism. The South African team explicitly spoke of the “failure of the international system to prevent genocidal acts” in their presentation to the ICJ. One member of the South African team revealed that South Africa first reported the genocide accusation at a meeting of the BRICS on 21 November 2023.
The Guardian (UK) in an opinion piece titled “It’s not only Israel on trial. South Africa is testing the west’s claim to moral superiority” by Nesrine Malik, published on 15 January 2024 says:
“The ICJ case shows how western logic is wearing thin and its persuasive power waning in a multipolar world. The significance of the fact that the country bringing the case is South Africa – an icon of the ravages of colonialism, settlement and apartheid – cannot be lost on anyone. ... In the figure of Nelson Mandela, there lies an evocative example of moral clarity undimmed by persecution…”
(https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/15/israel-trial-south-africa-icj-palestine)
As the war rages on in Palestine, related clashes at the periphery of the conflict are increasingly drawing in other countries in attacks and counter attacks. Yemen has already been bombed by US-UK in response to Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea, while Iran, Syria, Iraq and Pakistan have now got involved in various ways. Analysts have been warning for months that a regional conflict may be inevitable if a ceasefire is not agreed on urgently. An early ceasefire as the UNSC resolution urged may have prevented the current trajectory of a dangerous regional crisis, but the US veto put paid to that.
South Africa’s case at the ICJ may be the only chance to prevent such an outcome. It may also prove to be the beginning of a sustainable solution to the issue of the status of Palestine and an end to the plight of the Palestinian people, issues unveiled at length and evocatively at the ICJ.
BRICS 2024
On 1 January 2024, Russia assumed the chairmanship of BRICS, with five new full members, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with many more expressing interest in joining it. It is expected that a new category of ‘partnership states’ will also be finalised this year.
BRICS members like to describe the coalition that doesn’t as yet have a permanent secretariat, as an “informal association”, describing its areas of cooperation being politics and security, economy and finance, cultural and humanitarian contacts.
Russia plans to hold more than 200 events in different cities during the year of its chairmanship, with the motto, “Strengthening Multilateralism for Equitable Global Development and Security.” The last event will be the summit to be held in October 2024 in the city of Kazan in the Republic Tatarstan.
Africa News reports that the expanded BRICS is home to 3.5 billion people containing 28% of the global economy.
President Putin, in his address on 1 January 2024, taking over the chairmanship, set out some of the underlying principles of BRICS. He described them as
President’s Putin’s address set out Russia’s priorities in its year of chairmanship that included promoting cooperation in science and high-technology, healthcare, environmental protection, culture, sports and youth and civil society exchanges. Russia will also focus, inter alia on enhancing the role of BRICS in the international monetary system, expanding interbank cooperation and expanding the use of national currencies in mutual trade.
President Putin has said that Russia’s presidency of BRICS will work towards a “fair world order”. Commenting on the West’s promotion of a ‘rules-based order’, President Putin is quoted as saying:
“As for the ‘rules-based world order,’ there are no such rules; in reality, they change every day depending on the current political agenda and the transitory interests of those [who are constantly] talking about it” (https://www.deccanherald.com)
There is no denying the fact that the rules change to suit the powerful, as demonstrated in Gaza. BRICS clearly hopes to intervene to change this by offering an alternative. Whether they will be able to initiate a transformation that would actually lead to a ‘fair world order’ is yet to be seen, but an effort towards fairer global governance is to be commended.
Tass News Agency reports that Russia “will continue the discussions on reaching a settlement in the Middle East that began at the extraordinary summit in November, as well as on other world issues that are traditionally discussed among the BRICS countries.”
With Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE joining as full members, the efforts in the Middle-East could prove meaningful.
