Taking COSATU Today Forward, 28 May 2026
Norman Mampane
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Taking COSATU Today Forward
‘Whoever sides with the revolutionary people in deed as well as in word is a revolutionary in the full sense’-Maoo
Our side of the story
28 May 2026
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- Temporary Closure of Botshabelo Labour Centre Due to Planned Shutdown
- South Africa
-
COSATU CEC Statement – May 2026
South African Communist Party Response to ANC statement on the Conference of the Left - International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- State of Palestine
- Nurses on front lines of Ebola outbreak fearful for their safety and lacking PPE
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
Temporary Closure of Botshabelo Labour Centre Due to Planned Shutdown
25 May 2026
The Department of Employment and Labour in the Free State hereby notifies all clients and stakeholders that the Botshabelo Labour Centre has been temporarily closed due to a planned community shutdown currently taking place in the area.
The Department is closely monitoring the situation and will assess whether it will be safe for the Labour Centre to resume operations tomorrow, 26 May 2026.
Clients are encouraged to make use of the Department's online services available at: www.labour.gov.za
The Department apologises for any inconvenience caused and appreciates the public's understanding and cooperation.
For media inquiries, please contact: Teboho Thejane
Departmental Spokesperson
082 697 0694/ teboho....@labour.gov.za
South Africa #ClassSolidarity
COSATU
CEC Statement – May 2026
Solly
Phetoe, COSATU General Secretary, 27 May 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) held its second Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting of the year from 25 to 26 May, on the heels of a successful May Day celebration during which the Federation held rallies across all nine provinces
in 13 venues. Workers attended the celebrations in their numbers despite the onset of winter and heavy rains in most parts of the country.
The timing of the CEC was opportune given the worsening rate of unemployment, the escalating cost of living, collapsing public and municipal services, rampant crime and corruption, and endemic poverty and inequality.
The CEC was also held in part to prepare for the Federation’s 15th National Congress in September, while the announcement of the date of the Local Government Election undoubtedly heralded a campaigning and electioneering period to culminate in the local government
elections on 4 November.
The first day of the CEC fell on Africa Day. In her opening address, COSATU President, Zingiswa Losi, acknowledged that the day signified the historical struggles of African people against colonialism, apartheid, exploitation and underdevelopment; and that
the freedom, dignity and development of African people is interconnected.
Losi was unequivocal - COSATU condemns xenophobia and violence against African workers. She clarified, however, that condemnation of xenophobia did not mean condoning lawlessness and that the migration and labour laws of the country had to be enforced without
fear or favour.
Employers who exploit and undermine the labour rights of undocumented workers must be prosecuted, Losi maintained. Simultaneously, neighbouring governments had to stop outsourcing their economic failures to South Africa, consequently placing the country’s public
services under severe pressure.
The Federation committed to revisit migration policy from a progressive working-class perspective while opposing xenophobia, vigilantism and division of workers.
The CEC deliberated on the current political, organisational, socio-economic and international climate and made the accompanying resolutions.
Political
The CEC noted that South Africa’s economic crisis stretches beyond temporary stagnation, and is in fact structural characterised by deindustrialisation, fiscal austerity and a capitalist restructuring of the workplace. At the core of the crisis is the stubbornly
high unemployment rate with the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey pegging unemployment in the first quarter of this year at 43.7% as a result of the economy having lost 345 000 jobs since Quarter 4 of 2025, mostly due to its inability to generate jobs for
young people entering the labour market, and cuts to public employment programmes and delays in rolling out the infrastructure investments.
For youth aged between 15 and 24, unemployment is devastatingly high at 71,9%.
Adding to the country’s economic woes is the global stagflation prompted by the unnecessary US/Israeli war on Iran escalating oil and fuel prices internationally. The ripple effects are being felt across mining, retail and network sectors of the economy with
the ever-present threat of retrenchments.
Other imperialist actions by the US include sanctions, tariffs, and aggression in Venezuela, Iran, and Palestine, pointing to the increasingly unstable geopolitical climate.
South Africa faces an economic crisis marked by high unemployment, inequality, a deepening cost of living crisis with food, energy, transportation costs increasing, forcing working-class families further into debt to cover the basics. Failing public services
lead to declining confidence in institutions, rising crime and violence, with high levels of gender-based violence and femicide. Failure of the rule of law leads to eroding trust in government and lower rates of electoral participation.
The CEC further noted the state of the National Democratic Revolution was stagnating with setbacks since the 2024 election outcome with concerted efforts to roll back policies such as National Health Insurance (NHI), Basic Education Laws Amendment Act, Broad-Based
Black Economic Empowerment and Public Procurement Act through litigation and political pressure.
Conference of the Left
The Federation resolved to accept an invitation to attend the Conference of the Left convened by its Alliance partner, the South African Communist Party (SACP), via a delegation comprised of its National Office Bearers and a technical team.
Set to take place from 29 to 31 May, the Conference of the Left aims to begin to build a forum of forces that stand on the side of the working class to address South Africa’s structural crises through organised struggle and strategic coordination.
Even though it will participate in the Conference of the Left, the COSATU took a stance not to adopt any formal positions as these would be determined by the 15th National Congress.
The CEC resolved to prioritise the unity of COSATU while continuing to engage its Alliance partners - African National Congress, SACP and South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) – in defence of the interests of the working class. The meeting also
agreed that Alliance disagreements should not be ventilated in the public domain as this weakens working-class confidence and organisational cohesion.
The
meeting also agreed to convene an Alliance Summit under the leadership of COSATU by the end of July and mandated all its Affiliates to support the process. A task team to develop a framework outlining the objective and programme for the Alliance Summit will
be established.
COSATU emphasised its 8th Central Committee resolution, that the Conference of the Left must be accompanied by a Political Alliance Council, consequently it resolved to convene additional bilateral engagements between the Federation CEC and the SACP Central
Executive to clarify political, organisational and co-convening arrangements relating to the Conference of the Left.
Organisational
Cost of Living Campaign
Given the high cost of living facing the working class, COSATU has drafted a position paper and is ready to roll out a Cost of Living campaign as per the resolution of Nedlac Labour School earlier this year. According to the findings, consumers are taking
home 47% less than they did a decade ago in real terms, meanwhile prices for essential goods and services such as electricity, food, transport, and water have risen steeply.
Household have been forced into a debt spiral as a result. Devastatingly, they are not borrowing to buy luxuries but to close the gap between what they earn and the cost of basic goods. The CEC also resolved to call a National Day of Action on the cost of living
towards the end of June.
Included in the Cost of Living demands are the following:
• Enforcement of the National Minimum Wage and advance towards a living wage
• Increase of social grants and introduction of Universal Basic Income Grant
• Reduction of electricity and water prices
• Lower fuel prices and food prices
• End of austerity and extension of the social wage
Working with Unions
Communication Workers Union (CWU)
CWU led a successful march to the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies and National Treasury in defence of the future of the South African Post Office (SAPO) on 29 April. CWU was joined on the march by fellow unions organising the sector. Central
to members’ demands was the funding to sustain SAPO beyond the business rescue process. Workers at SAPO have also not received a salary increase in eight painful years. CWU celebrated its 30th anniversary this month and is set to hold its National Congress
in July.
South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (SACCAWU)
COSATU assured SACCAWU of its unequivocal support as it readies for a battle of a lifetime to defend its members’ jobs at Pick n Pay, as the retailer attempts to implement a clandestine plan to retrench 22 000 workers as part of its turnaround strategy. Pick
n Pay has been an integral part of the fabric of South Africa, it is inconceivable that it would turn around and relegate tens of thousands of its workers and their families to poverty.
Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers' Union (CEPPWAWU)
CEPPWAWU’s former administrator has acted like a parasite determined to suck its host dry. After the Labour Court and the Labour Appeals Court repeatedly affirmed the ruling to have him removed as administrator of the union, he has now turned to the Constitutional
Court, all the while using union monies to fund his doomed to fail mission.
South African Medical Association Trade Union (SAMATU)
COSATU congratulates SAMATU on its successful second National Elective Congress, held from 15 to 17 May. The Congress elected National Office Bearers to take the union’s work forward. SAMATU has come far from the dark days when SAMA attempted to liquidate it.
National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (NEHAWU)
The Federation wishes NEHAWU well as it approaches its 13th National Congress starting 26 to 29 June.
National Gender Conference
COSATU convened its National Elective Gender Conference from 26 to 27 March and elected new National Office Bearers. The conference was preceded by a three-day Feminist School, which forms part of the ongoing effort to deepen feminist consciousness and strengthen
organising for the emancipation of working-class women within the labour movement.
Resolutions made at the Gender Conference will feed into the proposed resolutions for the 15th National Congress of the Federation.
These
include resolutions on Gender, Climate Change and Just Transition, Care Economy, Women Representation in the Federation’s Leadership, etc.
The 114th International Labour Conference (ILC) is set to take place from 1 to12 June. For the first time in ILC history, COSATU’s President has been appointed Spokesperson for the Global Workers’ Group, marking a milestone as the first worker representative
from the Africa Region, specifically SADC. This international recognition underscores the Federation’s commitment to advancing a transformative gender agenda and deserves to be applauded.
COSATU is pleased that its campaign for the International Court of Justice to declare the right to strike inalienable has borne fruit. This is an historic victory in workers’ struggles across the world.
Compensation Fund (COIDA)
COSATU occupies two seats on the newly appointed board of the Compensation Fund. The Federation partook in the induction on 3 to 4 March and gleaned several factors related to mismanagement, fraud and inefficiencies that likely account for the Fund’s failure
to appropriately deliver on its mandate.
These
included:
•
Historical audit issues that continue to compromise current Audit outcomes.
• Fraudulent activities within the fund that point to employees as perpetrators.
• The Fund’s Board is advisory and has no real power to make changes. It can only make recommendations to the Commissioner and/or Minister of Employment and Labour.
• Issues of capacity with senior managers in key positions acting for three years or more.
• Significant delays in processing and payment of workers' compensation due to misalignment in beneficiary and banking details. This is likely related to fraudulent activities within the Fund.
• Old and outdated IT system that is vulnerable to fraud. The system is often offline at Labour Centres, impacting workers’ queuing times.
COSATU is of the view that the Compensation Fund should be unbundled from the Department of Employment of Labour as it will be more efficient as a stand-alone entity like SARS. The Federation also recommends that the Board be given more powers to improve the
entity’s performance. The CEC adopted the recommendations related to the Compensation Fund without alteration.
Public Sector Collective Bargaining
COSATU waged a sustained campaign against the Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS)’ unaffordable 9.8% increase in members contribution starting early this year. The first phase of the campaign saw GEMS decrease the contribution increase by a paltry 0.3%
to 9.5%, prompting COSATU to picket at the scheme’s head office in Pretoria at the end of February.
The second phase of the campaign implemented jointly with FEDUSA entailed a sustained media campaign, a meeting with the Minister of Public Service and Administration, a Nedlac Section 77 application with input by the Minister of Health, etc.
The
campaign ultimately yielded results with GEMS reducing the increase by 2% to 7.5% from July.
Socio-Economic
National Health Insurance
COSATU supported government by planning a picket outside the Constitution Court as the Board of Healthcare Funders and the Western Cape government challenged the validity of the public consultation processes the Act underwent prior to being signed into law
in 2024. Regrettably, the picket was rained out. Judgement has been reserved. The CEC vowed to intensify its campaign to support the NHI to its eventual full implementation and to raise awareness of the scheme in the public domain.
National Dialogue
COSATU is intimately involved in the pilot phase of the National Dialogue as its Head of Policy is the co-chair of the steering committee and labour delegates have been participating actively in the various structures. Pilot dialogues are set to take place
between June and August. COSATU’s CEC in February endorsed the convening of sectoral dialogues for workers by labour.
The National Dialogue will hold around 195 ward-based and sector dialogues, initiated by the sectors on the National Dialogue Steering Committee, with citizen-led dialogues encouraged throughout society.
The CEC agreed to the proposal for the Federation to host two virtual pilot sector dialogues – the first on the cost of living and its impact on workers and the second on key challenges facing workers.
Unclaimed Benefits
The CEC undertook to launch a campaign to raise awareness amongst beneficiaries of unclaimed benefits to the tune of R90 billion held by various financial institutions across the economy. These funds belong to workers and their families who are as yet to
be traced and are likely highly in need of these funds.
International
The CEC noted attempts to isolate South Africa from the African continent and weaken its moral leadership and role as a global southern power, as well as to discredit its political credentials in advancing anti-racism, anti-Zionism and universal human rights
perspectives.
This is not an isolated, or accidental case, but a deliberate campaign led and coordinated by global forces of Zionism, imperialism and extreme right wing and racist formations, working with local proxies likes of AfriForum amongst others.
These forces have coalesced to the point of trying to use the ILO and other UN agencies to make cases claiming South Africa is involved in a “workplace racism” in advancing BEE, Employment Equity and transformation targets.
The meeting also noted the report back from the SADC Employment and Labour Sector (ELS) – Joint Tripartite Technical Committee held in Roodepoort at the end of February to prepare for the ILC. It emphasised the centrality of social dialogue in the region and
the formation of Nedlac-type social dialogue institutions in each country across the region.
The issues on the agenda of the 2026 ILC include:
Advancing the transformative agenda for Gender Equality in the world of work; Navigating change through social dialogue and tripartism; Decent work in the Platform economy and the Committee on the Application of Standards (CAS) and cases for 2026 (both the
long and short-list).
On international solidarity, the CEC condemned imperialist attacks against socialist countries and resolved to intensify solidarity with Cuba and other progressive countries.
Issued by COSATU
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South African Communist Party Response to ANC statement on the Conference of the Left
Mbulelo Mandlana, SACP Head of Media, Communications and Information, 27 May 2026
"The ANC’s appetite to castigate citizens, mostly working-class people, for convening a conference to discuss critical national issues, in the context of a reality that is increasingly unbearable for the most vulnerable, is distasteful."
The South African Communist Party (SACP) has noted the media statement released by the African National Congress (ANC) following its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, specifically the aspects of the statement dealing with the upcoming Conference of the Left to be held from 29 May to 31 May 2026.
We recognise and respect the ANC leadership’s decision and the exercise of its democratic right to choose not to participate in the Conference of the Left. In its decision, however, the ANC leadership wrongly labels the Conference as a “coalition of negation – united by what it stands against, namely the ANC in government”, presumably with the intention to impugn ill intentions and inherent subjectivity on the people and organisations responsible for organising the Conference. This logic assumes that all these forces cannot independently decide on a conference without being driven by some enmity towards the ANC. It also assumes that any and all conferences involving these forces can only be convened to plot against the ANC. Outside of this context, it assumes that these diverse forces lack the will, political acumen and even basic competence to determine how and when to convene a conference and for what purposes. We strongly reject this posture as arrogant and indicative of an inward-looking and self-glorifying tendency of those in high positions in the ANC at this time. The ANC, in this manner, summarises the purpose and substance of the Conference as founded on nothing more than opposing the ANC and its government for its own sake.
The ANC does not appear in this instance to imagine a political discourse that could take shape in the South African political ecosystem except where it either affirms it or contradicts it and its GNU government. For a national liberation movement established with the sole purpose of forging unity among the oppressed masses, the ANC’s appetite to castigate citizens, mostly working-class people, for convening a conference to discuss critical national issues in the context of a reality that is increasingly unbearable for the most vulnerable, which is the overwhelming majority, is not only distasteful but is also devoid of the necessary national vanguard consciousness and is instead isolationist and separatist.
In addition to this, the ANC has pre-empted the Conference processes and conclusions by prematurely characterising those as incapable of articulating “the positive programme by which the working class and the people would advance under its banner”. The ANC, having been not only invited but also engaged on numerous occasions on the subject of the Conference of the Left and its overall intent and objectives, is choosing now not only to remove itself from participating in the Conference and downplay its knowledge of it but has also chosen to allocate to itself the role of its public opponent, thereby attempting to cleanse itself of any association with the Conference. This is selective memory and opportunism, which is greatly regrettable.
The ANC’s decision to withdraw from the Conference processes is a matter of its own subjective reasons clearly rooted in its determination to lean more towards what appears to be self-isolation as opposed to common partnership with various forces working for the success of the Conference and not a reflection of a noble principle on which it purportedly stands. This is not only unfortunate and regrettable but also reveals a paternalistic orientation within the ANC leadership, emblematic of combative politics rather than politics leaning towards promoting unity of the people across partisan lines while seeking solutions for the country.
On the subject of the Conference participants and whether that attendance contradicts the left charter of the Conference, the SACP rejects the ANC’s formulation in this regard. The formulation of the ANC argues that the diversity of the composition of the Conference is a weakness and an indicator of ideological weakness. This minimalist argument emanates from a purist approach that seeks to draw rigid boundaries between political and social constituencies, thereby creating impenetrable barriers between organisations and sectors they organise. This perspective also reveals a reasoning rooted in a conceptualisation of the past that is unable to adapt to a political context that is clearly evolving, necessitating new approaches to understanding and organising popular forces. In the South African context, the left cannot be narrowly defined as only those formations located within the Alliance. That would be historically incorrect and politically limiting. The left has always included trade unions, civic movements, socialist organisations, black consciousness formations, co-operatives, community struggles, progressive intellectuals, anti-imperialist formations and other forces committed to radical transformation.
As the SACP, we believe this moment demands principled engagement and organised contestation, not a retreat into parallel platforms or mutual isolation, as the ANC seems to assert through its NEC statement. The deepening crisis of mass unemployment, deindustrialisation, austerity, failure of public services, state decay, rising social fragmentation, and the real danger of both neoliberal consolidation and right-wing reaction cannot be confronted through fragmentation. The Conference of the Left was initiated precisely to create a space for honest debate, strategic reflection, and possible convergence on the urgent tasks facing workers and the poor.
The SACP categorically rejects the accusation made by the ANC that the Conference seeks to collapse class distinctions or that it has invited business formations into a supposed Conference of the Left. We have never claimed that every small enterprise or informal operator is part of the capitalist class. Millions of people engaged in survivalist micro-enterprises, spaza shops, street vending and informal services are proletarianised and semi-proletarian layers – workers forced to supplement meagre wages, social grants or unemployment with precarious self-activity.
These strata form a significant part of the expanded working class in our country. Equally, genuine worker and community cooperatives represent collective and democratic ownership that stands in opposition to individual capitalist enterprise. Organisations representing micro-enterprises and informal traders are not bourgeois business lobbies. They are structures through which large sections of the working class and poor organise their daily survival. Engaging these formations strengthens rather than weakens the class character of the Conference. Where the SACP engages such structures or cooperatives, it does so from a clear working-class standpoint. Our objective is to organise these layers, defend their survival struggles, and prevent them from being absorbed into bourgeois ideology. Engagement is tactical and always subordinate to the strategic goal of building working-class power and advancing the struggle for socialism.
Much more specifically, the SACP rejects the attempt to present the participation of formations such as NAFCOC as evidence that the Conference lacks a working-class orientation. NAFCOC and similar formations do not represent monopoly capital. They represent mainly black micro and small enterprises, township traders, spaza shop owners, co-operatives and emerging entrepreneurs who are themselves squeezed by monopoly capital, lack of finance, high input costs, unstable infrastructure and exclusion from major value chains.
The Conference of the Left is an open platform for honest contestation among forces that claim to stand with workers and the poor. Participation does not mean endorsement. Differences will be debated openly. What matters is whether these formations are prepared to engage seriously on the crisis facing the working class.
The Conference of the Left is a platform to strengthen, not dilute, class politics. The struggle for socialism, working-class power and a people-centred economy will not be won through isolation.
The ANC NEC’s conceptualisation is not helpful in creating conditions for an effective struggle to solve the crisis facing the people and the working class in particular. The real contradiction is not between workers and struggling black micro-enterprises in townships and villages. The principal contradiction is between the people and monopoly capital, imperialism, austerity and neoliberal policies. A serious left strategy must unite the working class with broader progressive social forces under working-class leadership.
The SACP remains committed to the Alliance as a site of principled engagement. However, Alliance discipline cannot mean silence in the face of unemployment, poverty, inequality, austerity, corruption, weak public services and the rightward drift expressed in current political developments, including the GNU.
ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNIST PARTY,
FOUNDED IN 1921 AS THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF SOUTH AFRICA.
Media, Communications & Information Department | MCID
International-Solidarity
Nurses on front lines of Ebola outbreak fearful for their safety and lacking PPE
27 May 2026
ICN calls for urgent action In response to the gravely concerning and escalating Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) warns that nurses and other frontline health workers are being put at serious risk and left fearful for their safety. Nurses are facing shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) and screening supplies including masks, face shields, protective suits, testing kits, and equipment needed to safely handle highly contagious remains, while working amidst ongoing workforce and staffing shortages. With infections and tragic deaths reported among health workers, including the death of a nurse, ICN is raising the alarm that the world is at risk of once again failing to protect those who protect us and repeating the deadly mistakes of the COVID-19 pandemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that the epidemic is now "outpacing" the response. ICN President José Luis Cobos Serrano emphasized that the outbreak is a stark reminder of the need to protect health workers at the heart of global health security and emergency preparedness, and described how health and aid funding cuts have weakened health systems and surveillance and response capacities in affected areas. He said: ICN President José Luis Cobos Serrano said: “A nurse, who tragically lost her life, was the first recorded victim of this Ebola outbreak. ICN is in direct contact with our National Nurses Associations in DRC, Uganda, and neighbouring countries, and nurses are telling us they are scared for their safety because they do not have the equipment to protect themselves.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, at least 115,000 nurses and other health personnel lost their lives: nurses paid a devastating price because the world was not prepared and essential protective equipment was unavailable, particularly in lower-income countries. We cannot allow those lessons to be forgotten. Nurses and frontline health workers in DRC and Uganda must have immediate access to PPE, screening equipment and the resources they need to protect themselves, their patients and their communities. We are also hearing alarming reports of how cuts to aid and health funding for already-fragile health systems in these countries have contributed to the delayed detection and rapid escalation of this outbreak. ICN previously warned, with firsthand evidence, that these cuts threatened emergency preparedness and long-term health security, and we are now tragically seeing our warnings come true.” Last week, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), the first time a Director-General has declared a PHEIC before convening an Emergency Committee, reflecting the extraordinary scale and speed of the epidemic. The World Health Assembly closed on Saturday 23 May, with Member States yet to finalize the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) annex that will operationalize the Pandemic Agreement: ICN urges operationalization of this Agreement, which is more needed than ever as the world faces simultaneous outbreaks of Ebola and hantavirus that demand international solidarity and equitable access to resources. ICN Chief Executive Officer Howard Catton said that the current Ebola public health emergency requires urgent and immediate action to protect frontline health workers and ensure an effective response, commenting: "We are in constant contact with our National Nurses Associations on the ground. Nurses are doing extraordinary, lifesaving work at personal risk and in extremely difficult conditions, but in many cases, they are reporting a lack of PPE, screening equipment and emergency training required to keep them safe and do their jobs effectively. We are hearing that nurses are fearful of becoming infected and of the consequences: many do not have adequate health coverage or insurance or risk allowances to enable them to afford health care or survive loss of income if they do contract the disease, a tragic situation we also saw during COVID-19 lobbied for the protection of nurses and health workers throughout last week’s World Health Assembly, and now calls on leaders to immediately provide adequate protective equipment, health insurance coverage, risk allowances, and training to all health workers responding to the outbreak. We also call for urgent investment in nursing workforces and health systems following aid and health cuts and for the Pandemic Agreement to be finalized and made operational. ‘If we fail to protect the nurses and health workers who are risking their lives to contain this outbreak, we fail everyone. There is no response and no global health security without them.”
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State of Palestine
26 MAY 2026
The State of Palestine supports the statement issued by the foreign ministers of a number of Arab and Islamic countries condemning the horrific and degrading actions carried out by the extremist Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir against the participants of the flotilla heading to Gaza.
The foreign ministers of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, the Republic of Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Republic of Türkiye, the State of Qatar, and the Arab Republic of Egypt strongly condemn the horrific, degrading, and unacceptable actions committed by the extremist Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir against the participants of the flotilla bound for Gaza during Israeli detention.
The ministers affirm that the deliberate public humiliation practiced by Ben-Gvir against the detainees constitutes a disgraceful assault on human dignity and a clear violation of Israel’s obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
The ministers also strongly denounce and condemn the unlawful and extremist acts of incitement and violence committed by Ben-Gvir and other Israeli officials against Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory.
The ministers warn that Ben-Gvir’s provocative actions fuel hatred and extremism and obstruct efforts aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace based on the two-state solution.
The ministers call for Ben-Gvir to be held accountable for his actions and urge the adoption of concrete measures to put an end to his repeated provocations, incitement, and violations, to prevent him from continuing his threats, and to ensure that such acts are neither tolerated nor repeated.
The ministers also stress the necessity of protecting human rights, preserving the dignity of all detainees, ensuring their humane treatment, and guaranteeing full respect for international law in the occupied Palestinian territory.
______________________________
Norman Mampane (Shopsteward Editor)
Congress of South African Trade Unions
110 Jorissen Cnr Simmonds Street, Braamfontein, 2017
P.O.Box 1019, Johannesburg, 2000, South Africa
Tel: +27 11 339-4911 Direct line: 010 219-1348