JOHANNESBURG

South Africa’s president said Monday that “anything short of self-determination and the recognition of the fundamental human rights of the Palestinian people will not be acceptable and will not bring a just and lasting peace in that region.”

Addressing the 5th National General Council of the African National Congress (ANC), Cyril Ramaphosa said his country is concerned that Israel continues to violate a ceasefire deal with the Palestinian group Hamas which came into effect on Oct. 10.

“South Africa welcomed the agreement on a ceasefire that resulted in the return of hostages and the release of many Palestinian political prisoners. However, there is a matter of greater concern that Israel is breaking the ceasefire almost on a daily basis,” Ramaphosa told party delegates in Ekurhuleni near Johannesburg.

He said the atrocities committed by Israel against the people of Gaza prompted his government to argue before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that the state of Israel was in violation of the obligations under the Genocide Convention.

South Africa took Israel to the ICJ in December 2023, following its bombings of Gaza and killing of civilians. Since then, the court has issued a series of provisional measures ordering Israel to take steps to prevent acts of genocide.

“Since the onslaught began on Oct. 7, 2023, more than 70,000 people are known to have been killed in Gaza, most of whom are women and children,” he said.

Ramaphosa said his country continues to call for an immediate ceasefire and for meaningful negotiations to commence towards the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state existing in peace alongside the state of Israel.

“We must (also) be concerned about the horrific suffering caused by the civil war in Sudan, in which more than 150,000 people are reported to have died,” he said.

Ramaphosa added that his country also continues to participate in different peace processes seeking to bring about a just peace in Ukraine, citing the African leader’s peace initiative.

Two years ago, Ramaphosa led a group of African leaders to Russia and Ukraine in an effort to persuade the two nations to engage in talks aimed at ending the war.

Thousands of people have been killed in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with millions displaced.

The African leaders’ peace mission, made up of six African leaders and representatives of heads of state, traveled to the capital Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and to Saint Petersburg, Russia to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.