PRESS RELEASE: Ramaphosa Invokes Self-Determination at the ICJ - But Not in South Africa
The Cape Independence Advocacy Group (CIAG) notes the South African government’s renewed invocation of the right to self-determination and international law in its statement on the 15 March 2026 responding to Israel’s filing before the International Court of Justice in the Gaza genocide case. The CIAG agrees that the right of peoples to self-determination must be defended. However, if this principle is to retain any credibility, it must be applied consistently - both abroad and at home.
Self-determination is a peremptory norm of international law, which South Africa has committed itself to this principle repeatedly in international treaties, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Furthermore, South Africa’s own Constitution recognises this principle with Section 235 explicitly affirms the right to self-determination, while sections 231 and 232 incorporate international agreements and customary international law into South African domestic law.
Yet despite these commitments, the South African government routinely applies the principle of self-determination selectively. While it actively advocates for Palestinian self-determination in international forums, it has refused to support the self-determination of Taiwan, declined to recognise the independence of Somaliland, and and continues to maintain close relations with regimes in the region that suppress self-determination movements - including the ZANU-PF government in Zimbabwe, which has resisted calls for autonomy and self-determination from the Matabele people of Mthwakazi.
Closer to home, the government has also taken increasingly hostile positions toward communities within South Africa seeking meaningful autonomy or decentralisation. This includes opposition to the Western Cape’s requests for greater devolved powers and resistance to the recognition of Afrikaner cultural and educational autonomy.
The CIAG believes that the right to self-determination is universal. It cannot be invoked selectively for political convenience in foreign policy while being dismissed when raised by communities within South Africa. If the South African government genuinely believes in the principles it now invokes before the International Court of Justice, it should begin by respecting those same principles at home.
The CIAG, together with other organisations, will continue to pursue lawful and democratic pathways to ensure that the right of communities in South Africa to determine their own political futures is respected.
