The South African Chapter of the Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) reaffirms its  unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people and its principled opposition to  apartheid, occupation, and genocide wherever they occur. Our commitment is rooted in  South Africa’s own history of struggle and our lived experience of what systemic  oppression looks like and how it must be confronted.  

South Africa’s case of genocide against Israel that stands before the International Court  of Justice (ICJ), is not just the position of government alone. It reflects the moral will of  the South African people, shaped by our experience of apartheid and sustained by our commitment to international law as a shield for the oppressed, not a tool of the  powerful. Our solidarity is directed against systems of domination and colonial violence,  never against any people based on their religion, ethnicity, and identity. 

At this critical juncture, the proposed appointment of Mr Leo Brent Bozell III as United  States Ambassador to South Africa raises profound and legitimate concerns. Based on  his public record and ideological posture, his appointment must be understood as part  

of an intensifying campaign of political pressure aimed at compelling South Africa to  withdraw its genocide case against Israel at the ICJ. Such pressure, reportedly  encouraged by the highest levels of the United States administration, constitutes an  unacceptable escalation of coercive diplomacy. It challenges and undermines South  Africa’s sovereignty and its right to pursue an independent foreign policy grounded in  international law.  

The Anti-Apartheid Movement unequivocally rejects all attempts to intimidate, coerce,  or retaliate against South Africa for fulfilling its obligations under the Genocide Convention, the United Nations Charter, and the Statute of the ICJ. These actions  represent a direct assault on South Africa’s sovereignty and a dangerous erosion of the  international legal order, particularly the right of Global South nations to pursue justice  without fear of punishment. 

These concerns are neither speculative nor abstract. Mr Bozell’s public statements and  history reflects a sustained hostility towards multilateralism, international human rights  frameworks, and non-aligned foreign policy. His past attacks on Nelson Mandela and the  African National Congress, whom he labelled “terrorists” during the 1980s, reveal an  ideological position fundamentally at odds with South Africa’s liberation history,  constitutional values, and commitment to international law. This record raises serious  questions about the role such an individual seeks to play in a country that has  consciously chosen to pursue justice through lawful global institutions. 

His proposed appointment must therefore be understood within a broader pattern of  coercion against states that challenge impunity. This pattern includes sanctions against  international courts, punitive measures against judges and officials, disinformation  campaigns, and the selective application of international law. These practices  undermine the integrity of the global justice system and threaten all nations that seek  accountability through lawful means. Within South Africa, these external pressures are  increasingly mirrored by internal destabilisation efforts, including disinformation framed  as “religious freedom,” the manipulation of faith leaders, and divisive false narratives  like “white genocide in South Africa” – designed to fracture social cohesion. We reject  these tactics unequivocally. 

Across political, religious, and social differences, South Africans remain united. Trade  unions representing millions of workers, Christian, Muslim and Jewish faith communities  representing many more millions of people of faith in the country, student and youth  formations, civil society organisations, and political movements continue to stand  together in solidarity with Palestine and in defence of international law. Our unity is  rooted in memory: we know what apartheid looks like, and we recognise it when we see  it. 

In terms of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, South Africa retains the  sovereign right to refuse the credentials of an ambassador-designate without providing  justification. This is a lawful and legitimate prerogative of any receiving state, and South  Africa is fully entitled to exercise it in defence of its sovereignty, constitutional values,  and international obligations.

Israel’s ongoing genocidal campaign carried out openly and in defiance of the  international community, the escalating terrorism by illegal Israeli settlers in the West  Bank, and open disregard and defiance of rulings of international judicial bodies have  witnessed new levels of impunity that are intolerable by any rational and moral  standards. Failure to act to stop this slide to primitive days of “might is right” renders  states complicit to violation of international law. 

The Palestinian struggle for self-determination is inseparable from the struggles of  peoples resisting imperial domination across the Global South. This is demonstrated  more clearly by the recent invasion of Venezuela and capture of its President and the  more than 65 years of the blockade of Cuba by the USA among others, whilst the UN  Security Council is rendered impotent by the imperial forces. 

CALLS TO ACTION 

In light of these developments, the South African Chapter of the Anti-Apartheid  Movement calls for the following: 

• Mobilise the people of South Africa – region by region, sector by sector, and  community by community – to stand together in resisting pressures on our  democratic government to withdraw from its legal responsibility, as a state party  to the UN Genocide Convention, to “prevent and punish” genocide by the  apartheid Israeli state in Gaza. 
• Call on the international community to join South Africa in pursuing the case at  the ICJ to prevent and punish apartheid Israel for its genocidal acts in Gaza, and  to prevent and punish countries that aid and abet apartheid Israel in committing  genocide against Palestinians, which constitutes an international crime against  humanity. 
• Act in solidarity with all victims of imperial forces that act outside international  law and binding international treaties. 
• Fast-track the formation of the Global Alliance in solidarity with the people of  Palestine. 
• Urge that the President of the Republic of South Africa consider all lawful  options available to the State, including the refusal to accept the credentials of the United States ambassador-designate, to stop the destabilisation of our  country and the unravelling of our social cohesion built since our democratic  elections in 1994.  
• Demand that FIFA withdraw the hosting of the 2026 FIFA World Cup from the United States, and that global civil society mobilise for a boycott should such hosting proceed. 
• Call on the AAM Executive Committee to engage the South African Football Association (SAFA) and international partners to support and advance this call. 

We reaffirm our full support for South Africa’s actions in pursuit of justice for the  Palestinian people. We reject intimidation, coercion, and political blackmail, just as we  reject the denial of sovereignty and self-determination to Palestine.  

South Africa will not withdraw.  

We will not be silenced. 

We will not be isolated. 

International law applies to all.