The Hague Group is a major advance for Palestine and the Global South

Imraan Buccus 

For decades, the US and its allies, including its proxies here in South Africa, such as the Brenthurst Foundation, have argued that the global domination of the West has guaranteed a ‘rules-based order.’

But we all know that this much-vaunted ‘rules-based order’ has never applied to the West itself or to its proxy states such as Israel and Rwanda.

The West enjoys absolute impunity for its crimes, such as the destruction of Iraq at the price of a million Iraqi lives. It is also able to extend this impunity to its proxy states such as Israel and Rwanda.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, the West, and much of the Western media, including its local proxies here, went into an absolute frenzy of moral outrage.

Russia was immediately sanctioned and isolated in all kinds of ways. We did not see the same frenzied outrage when Israel began committing acts of genocide in Palestine.

We do not see it now as Rwanda invades the Democratic Republic of Congo, seizing land and mines, and forcing people into labour at gunpoint.

Some of this is simple racism.

There is a strong degree to which Ukrainian lives are deemed to matter because they are white lives, while Palestinian and Congolese lives are deemed expendable because they are not white lives. We saw a similar racial double standard when the lives of people devastated by the wars in Yemen, Ethiopia, and Sudan were also deemed expendable by the West and its media, and the pro-Western media here at home.

But it is also a matter of politics. Highly authoritarian, Western-aligned states such as Saudi Arabia and Rwanda are never called to account, while democratically elected left governments are constantly pressured and even overthrown, as we have seen with countries like Haiti and Bolivia. When an elected left government faces protests, the West and its media rush to gleefully predict the downfall of what is suddenly described as an ‘authoritarian regime.’

But when a Western-aligned government, such as that in Kenya, faces mass protests, suddenly the issues are ‘complex.’

When South Africa initiated legal proceedings against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 29 December 2023, an electric shock was sent through that system of double standards and impunity for the West and its proxies.

When the hearings took place in The Hague on 11 and 12 January the following year, there was global euphoria as people saw that, finally, Israel was being held accountable for its oppression of Palestine, oppression that had mutated into outright genocide.

At home, it was striking that the left-wing mass-based organisations, such as the independent trade unions and Abahlali baseMjondolo, which are usually strongly critical of the ANC, came out in full support of the decision by the South African government to take Israel to the ICJ.

Of course, South Africa faced intense pushback, both from the viciously pro-Western part of the white-dominated media at home and from the US and other Western countries.

It became clear that there needed to be global solidarity with Palestine, particularly across the Global South, and that South Africa needed to ensure that it was not isolated.

South Africa had led the way, but it was urgently necessary for others to follow.

There has now been a major breakthrough in terms of building that solidarity. On 31 January 2025, nine nations from Africa, Asia, and Latin America gathered in The Hague to form a new coalition aimed at opposing Israel’s Western-backed impunity for genocide. Convened by the Progressive International, this is more than a diplomatic gesture: it is a significant moment of geopolitical assertion by the Global South.

The coalition, comprising Namibia, South Africa, Malaysia, Bolivia, Colombia, Honduras, Belize, Senegal, and Chile, has made three core commitments. These include supporting and enforcing International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants issued against Israeli officials for war crimes, imposing restrictions on arms transfers that could facilitate violations of humanitarian law, and denying docking rights to vessels carrying military fuel and supplies to Israel.

Some of these countries have already taken important action against Israel. Colombia, Chile, Honduras, and Bolivia have all recalled their ambassadors from Israel, and in August 2024, Namibia denied a ship transporting explosive materials destined for Israel to dock at Walvis Bay. But by forming a united bloc, these countries can act far more effectively and reduce the risk of isolation. This is very, very good news for Palestine, for South Africa, and for the wider Global South.

Watching the announcement via a livestream was a moment of real pride for South Africans. Alvin Botes, the Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, spoke with quiet moral authority and underscored the importance of the consistent application of international law.

Botes insisted that "We should not pick and choose which binding orders to abide by and which to set aside or simply ignore."

The Namibian Minister of Justice, Yvonne Dausab, was hugely impressive. She emphasised the imperative of concrete action, saying that "When future generations inquire about our contribution to Palestine’s right to self-determination, our response must be: we took concrete measures. Or we will be remembered as leaders who watched and did nothing."

One of The Hague Group’s most critical interventions is the restriction on arms transfers.

In practical terms, this is not simply about denying weapons but about beginning to dismantle the logistical networks that sustain Israeli violence.

Advanced weaponry is the product of vast global supply chains involving manufacturers, technology providers, and financial institutions.

By targeting key choke points, The Hague Group can potentially disrupt Israel’s capacity to maintain its occupation and military operations.

There is now a real opportunity for trade unions around the world, especially those organising dock workers and other workers in the logistical supply systems that deliver weapons and fuel to Israel, to develop their own collective solidarity.

Ideally, this should be formalised in a worker-driven version of the wonderful breakthrough that has happened via the state-driven Hague Group.

There is also an opportunity to work to build an international alliance to isolate other Western-backed states committing war crimes. Rwanda should be the first target for this, given the disaster currently unfolding in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

As we have recently seen with Donald Trump’s public intimidation of the Colombian President, Gustavo Petro, and his threats to South Africa in relation to the land question, the US has a dangerously belligerent and unstable President in office.

We should assume that there will be pushback against the countries standing up to the West and Israel.

This does not mean that we should back down from the principled position that we have taken in solidarity with Palestine.

What it means is that we must work to build an ever-wider coalition of states willing to act in concert on matters of principle and to protect each other from Trump. In this moment, effective and creative diplomacy will be absolutely essential.

We are not in a situation in which business as usual will be good enough. These times require real diplomatic imagination and ambition.

The Hague Group’s immediate success will depend on whether it can enforce its commitments effectively, but its long-term legacy will likely be measured by its ability to inspire further South-South collaboration.

With its commitments set and its message delivered, The Hague Group has already shifted the conversation.

**Dr Buccus is senior research associate at ASRI 

*** The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of IOL or Independent Media

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