Further Administrative Oversights at the Department of Foreign Affairs

I was shocked to learn that South Africa not only did not co-sponsor the recent United Nation’s General Assembly resolution condemning Holocaust denial but was also not present when the resolution was passed. No matter how far South African foreign policy has lurched towards totalitarian states in recent months, it is hard to believe that an ANC government brought to power by fighting racism would refuse to publicly condemn one of its most despicable mutations—Holocaust denial. So I contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs for an explanation.

No matter how much I disagree with some of our government’s foreign policy positions, I have to praise them for the open and efficient manner in which they dealt with my query. Numerous people in the department went out of their way to find out the reasons for South Africa’s anomalous behaviour, even going as far as to contact the South African mission at the United Nations in New York. This shows a real commitment to participative democracy that should be applauded.

The Department of Foreign Affairs claims that the Reuters article from which we sourced our information has distorted the South African government’s position. They explained that

As the resolution condemning Holocaust denial was past unanimously in the General Assembly, South Africa together with all UN member states (except Iran who publicly distanced themselves from the resolution) did in theory support the resolution. The fact that South African representatives were not at their seat when the resolution was brought before the gavel was an ‘administrative oversight’. South Africa has a small mission at the UN and at the time the resolution was passed its staff were all unfortunately occupied with other issues in other rooms of the building. South Africa’s representatives did not intentionally vacate their seats and absent themselves from this resolution.

This lame explanation does not excuse the fact that South Africa did not co-sponsor the resolution. 103 countries, including many who had been victims of racism and genocide, like Rwanda, were happy to put their names forward. We know that the ADL sent a letter to the South African ambassador to the UN requesting their support. The Foreign Ministry could not provide an answer as to why South African support had not been forthcoming.

Iran and its anti-Semitic proxies are engaged in a struggle to delegitimise the right of the Jewish state to exist just as the Nazis tried 70 years ago to delegitimise the right of the Jewish people to exist. Denying the Holocaust is an important plank in this strategy. We so often parrot the words never again but now we have an opportunity to practice what we preach by stopping Iran’s apocalyptic leaders from achieving their genocidal aims.

South Africa given our history of racial discrimination should be at the forefront of the struggle against racism and incitement to genocide. If the government of South Africa feels that their position has been distorted by Reuters, we must challenge them to set the record straight with a public condemnation of Holocaust denial.

Comments

[Anti-UN]

Excellent work boys