By Johnathan Paoli
The DA has condemned the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), accusing it of diplomatic hypocrisy and the selective application of international law following South Africa’s appeal to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) over the United States’ capture and indictment of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the DA spokesperson on International Relations and Cooperation, Ryan Smith, said DIRCO’s move to urgently call on the UNSC to address the prosecution of Maduro by the United States was inconsistent with South Africa’s past conduct on major international conflicts, most notably Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Smith said that DIRCO’s stance exposed the ANC’s “politically selective” approach to foreign policy, undermining the country’s credibility on the global stage.
“This approach has rendered South Africa an inconsistent, unreliable, and unserious player on the international stage. There is no room for ambiguity or the interpretation of a violation of state sovereignty,” he said.
According to the DA, South Africa never made a comparable appeal to the UNSC when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, despite subsequent findings by international bodies, including the International Criminal Court, implicating Russia in grave human rights violations.
Smith said this failure rendered DIRCO’s current invocation of international law in the Venezuelan context hollow and contradictory.
“DIRCO cannot cite international law or make reference to refraining from ‘the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State’, or the fact that ‘military invasions against sovereign States yield only instability and deepen crisis’ when it has shown diplomatic cowardice by turning a blind eye to the violation of Ukrainian sovereignty by the Russian Federation,” Smith said.
He accused the ANC of adopting a “two-faced approach” to foreign policy, particularly while continuing to portray South Africa as a mediator in the Ukraine conflict.
DIRCO’s position was formally outlined on Monday by Jonathan Passmoor, acting Deputy Permanent Representative, during a UNSC meeting on the situation in Venezuela.
Passmoor said South Africa condemned the “unilateral” US military strikes against Venezuela and the “abduction” of Maduro and his spouse, Cilia Flores, from Venezuelan territory for transfer to the United States.
Passmoor told the council that such actions “wantonly violate the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Venezuela” and undermine the UN Charter’s core principles.
He said that no nation is legally or morally superior to another and warned that unilateral use of force erodes the credibility of the international system.
Passmoor said that allegations of internal governance failures, human rights abuses or criminal conduct by a head of state cannot justify breaches of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which prohibits the use of force against another state.
He said disputes should instead be resolved through peaceful, multilateral mechanisms, including the International Court of Justice or the council.
Maduro was charged with federal drug trafficking on Monday, and narco terrorism, among other charges. The United States alleges he has used his position as president to allow the trafficking of drugs to America, and benefitted as a result. Flores, the couple’s son, and three others, have been charged alongside Maduro.
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