Member states of the UN Human Rights Council should avoid selectivity in condemning human rights violations around the world, said South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor, addressing the council.
"We need to restrain ourselves from being party to the instrumentalization of the Council and address the current polarization, selectivity, and double standards in relation to human rights matters," Pandor pointed out.
As an example, the minister cited the language used by some member countries of the UN Human Rights Council. She argued that when some countries talk about the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, they label it "Russian aggression," but when they describe Israel's ongoing conflict with Palestine since October 7 of last year, they call it "Israel's war against Hamas."
"By implication of our language, all innocent Palestinians are members of Hamas and thus deserving of being killed, while Russia practices aggression. This is a rather strange interpretation," Pandor remarked.
In this sense, the Minister emphasized the duty to ensure that the Council is "always fit for purpose" and the need to overcome the logic of "if you are not with us, you are against us."
The top diplomat went on to say that South Africa will continue to emphasize the elimination of all forms of discrimination, in particular racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
Pandor also called for an Israeli ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the implementation of the interim measures announced by the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) after South Africa referred the situation to the court.
In late December, the South African government filed a case against Israel with the ICJ, requesting emergency measures to stop the "genocide" in Gaza.
On January 26, the court ordered Israel to take "all measures within its power" to prevent genocide in the region and to immediately provide essential services and humanitarian aid.