Pandor reiterates call for comprehensive ceasefire in occupied Gaza, release of all hostages
Speaking at the 55th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Pandor said South Africa remained committed to the freedom and determination all, including Palestinians.
International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor. Picture: @DIRCO_ZA/X
CAPE TOWN - Minister of International Relations Naledi Pandor has reiterated her call for a comprehensive ceasefire in the occupied territory of Gaza and the release of all hostages.
Pandor was speaking at the 55th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday.
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Israel launched a large-scale air and ground campaign in Gaza after Hamas killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel on 7 October.
The attackers also took 253 people hostage, with some having since been released. Israel has killed at least 29,782 Palestinians for at least four months.
Pandor told the gathering that in its 30th year of democracy, South Africa remained committed to freedom and self-determination for all, including the people of Palestine.
“It is unclear whether the occupation of some is acceptable to us, while the occupation of others is an infringement of the Charter. Surely all occupation, on whoever it is practiced, is an infringement of the United Nations Charter.”
Pandor said the forum is the appropriate one to register South Africa’s despair over a lack of respect for life not only in Gaza but also in the West Bank and Ukraine.
“It is absolutely correct, and we must always call out Hamas for its crimes against the innocent, but we must also deplore our inaction in seven decades of occupation.”