In a world where hundreds of millions have taken to the streets, crying out “never again”, the Israeli apartheid regime, armed, enabled, and shielded by the colonial West, continues its live-streamed genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in the occupied and besieged Gaza Strip. The deliberate targeting of civilians and the destruction of entire communities demand more than outrage, they demand decisive action.

For over 76 years, Israel has enforced a brutal system of settler-colonial apartheid, designed to dispossess and dehumanize Palestinians. This project of oppression has thrived through the active complicity of states, institutions, and corporations, allowing it to persist with impunity. As UN Secretary-General António Guterres recently noted, this “total impunity” granted to Israel enables its continued violations of international law and emboldens its apartheid regime. Today, the Palestinian cause compels us to decide: Will we champion a world rooted in justice and equality, or will we permit the genocidal logic of "might makes right" to prevail? It is the litmus test for the system of human rights.

Israel’s devastating role extends far beyond Palestine. For decades, Israel has played a material role in fostering militarization, mass surveillance, election rigging, resource exploitation, and systemic anti-African and anti-Black racism. It has also been complicit in the mistreatment of refugees, asylum seekers, and workers, as well as gross human rights violations, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, both in Africa and beyond. Israel tests its weapons and military-security doctrines on Palestinians and subsequently exports them for use against other oppressed peoples. The machinery of oppression that sustains Israel’s apartheid regime represents a global threat, one that African nations cannot afford to ignore.

Africa has long stood as a beacon of resistance against colonialism and apartheid, rooted in the principles of the African Union Charter and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, which call on member states to “eliminate colonialism, neo-colonialism, apartheid, and Zionism.” This commitment was reaffirmed in the AU’s 2022 resolution condemning Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise, underscoring the continent’s unwavering dedication to justice and freedom. And in November 2024, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights adopted a resolution urging member states to end complicity and demand accountability.

Throughout history, African leaders like Nelson Mandela and Julius Nyerere have powerfully articulated the link between the Palestinian struggle and Africa’s own fight for liberation. Mandela’s words, “our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians,” resonate deeply, drawing parallels between Israel’s settler-colonialism and the colonial domination endured by African nations. Today, the same colonial powers, that have exploited Africa for centuries, actively sustain Israel’s apartheid regime. This historic bond of solidarity between Africa and Palestine remains alive in the collective consciousness of African peoples.

African states have taken bold steps to challenge Israel’s crimes. South Africa has brought Israel under the charge of genocide in front of the International Court of Justice. Namibia and Angola have closed their ports and territorial waters to the illegal transfer of military supplies to Israel, Chad has severed diplomatic ties with Israel. Yet, African natural resources, especially our coal and our gas, fuel Israel’s war machine and apartheid regime. African ports and labour are exploited to support yet another colonial enterprise. We must not allow this to continue and take decisive actions to cut all ties of complicity with Israel’s genocidal apartheid regime and ensure the Palestinian refugees achieve their UN sanctioned right to return home and receive reparations..

Sanctions are not merely an option. They are a binding legal obligation of third states under international law. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) and UN experts have consistently affirmed that states must neither aid nor assist Israel’s violations of international law, and take concrete measures to end complicity in Israel’s genocide, illegal occupation, apartheid regime and war crimes. In September 2024, the UN General Assembly passed a historic resolution, with 124 states committing to implement sanctions. These measures, such as a comprehensive military embargo and the suspension of trade agreements, are essential to curbing Israel’s impunity and ensuring accountability for its crimes.

The global call for sanctions has grown louder. Some states have ended or downgraded diplomatic ties with Israel. Many have been compelled to at least proclaim that they stopped military exports and transfers to Israel, even though their policy statements are often still not followed up in reality. Courts have ruled against sending weapons to Israel. The Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and individual states are taking decisive steps to demand accountability. Corporations have ended expansion plans and ties with Israel. Ships carrying weapons bound for Israel are being denied docking permission by a growing number of states. Trade unions, students, civil society organizations, cultural and academic collectives along with tens of millions of people of conscience around the world have been relentlessly organizing and calling for sanctions, military embargoes, boycotts and divestments against Israel and complicit corporations.

The international momentum mirrors the strategies that once led to the isolation of apartheid South Africa, a pivotal factor in its eventual dismantling. As global momentum builds, African states must align with the Global South and the global movement for justice and fulfill their obligations to uphold international law and human rights.

Across Africa, people have mobilized in unwavering solidarity with Palestine, through protests, grassroots campaigns, and advocacy. Their message is clear: apartheid and colonialism must end. Now, African governments must act decisively to match this resolve with concrete measures of justice and accountability.

The Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), representing the largest coalition of Palestinian civil society, has called on the world to impose comprehensive and targeted sanctions against apartheid Israel. These sanctions, including military embargoes and the suspension of diplomatic and economic ties, are essential steps to end complicity and ensure accountability.

In this spirit, we urge African nations to adopt the following measures:

At the National Level, we call on our governments to:

1. Enforce targeted sanctions against Israel, including a comprehensive military embargo and the suspension of diplomatic, trade, academic, cultural, and financial relations, in particular by:

(i) halting all exports, imports, and transfers of weapons, military equipment, and dual-use items, and end all forms of military cooperation, including training, joint research, and investments, and prevent its citizens from serving in the Israeli army.

(ii) Ensuring no transfer of military and dual-use supplies with end destination Israel will be conducted on vessels flying their flags nor will it pass through African ports and territorial waters;

(iii) Ensuring no energy supplies, including coal, gas and oil, or other natural resources will be exported and transferred to Israel as long as there is a risk they will be used in, enabling or facilitating the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide;

(iv) Prohibiting all trade with the settlements and companies involved in Israel's illegal settlement enterprise.

2. Apply meaningful pressure on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to swiftly and comprehensively investigate Israel’s war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the crime of genocide and apartheid, and to issue arrest warrants against Israeli political and military-security leaders accused of these war crimes and crimes against humanity.

3. Refrain from or stop existing worker replacement agreements whereby African States facilitate the transfer of their workforce to Israel.

At an International Level:

1. Support the re-activation of the UN Special Committee against Apartheid to dismantle Israel’s apartheid regime and hold its perpetrators accountable and explore, promote and support further UN mechanisms to end and punish Israel’s violations of international law, including the plausible commission of genocide and the commission of the crime of apartheid.

2. Promote the suspension of apartheid Israel from the UN and strip it of its privileges and membership rights, as was done with apartheid South Africa.

3. Promote and support resolutions similar to those passed against apartheid South Africa, demanding a comprehensive military embargo and other lawful and targeted sanctions.

4. Promote the implementation of ethical procurement guidelines throughout the UN system to prevent recognition of or aid to Israel’s illegal and criminal actions and policies.