GOOD Statement by Brett Herron,
GOOD Secretary-General & Member of Parliament

16 November 2023

GOOD has been calling for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate and prosecute breaches of international law under the Rome Statute. We therefore welcome the move by South Africa, announced by President Ramaphosa, to file a referral to the ICC to investigate war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza.

What happens in Israel and Palestine ripples outward and affects the whole world, including multi-cultural South Africa. Having recently emerged from apartheid, ourselves, with memory of our own loss of land, forced removal and brutalisation still fresh in our minds, we are deeply conscious of the injustice.

The only path to peace, now, for the people of Israel and Palestine, is for their leaders to be prevailed on to declare an unconditional ceasefire.

GOOD will continue to advocate for a just solution, guided by the 1967 border agreement and associated UN resolutions, whereby Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace as a human community.

The wars presently raging in Ukraine and Palestine reveal the extent of the failures of global institutions and systems to resolve conflicts and injustice.

The reason global institutions are unable to make a real difference is due to the inherent unfairness that still exists in these bodies, and in the international system in general, that distils and maintains power over the global village in the hands of a few privileged nations.

The ICC must not fail the people of Palestine.

Media Enquiries:

Brett Herron, GOOD Secretary-General & Member of Parliament
Cell: 082 518 3264
Email: bretth@forgood.org.za

Janke Tolmay, GOOD Media Manager
Cell: 073 367 1223
Email: janke@forgood.org.za