And for what the South African case against Israel before the ICJ, on December 29, 2023, may symbolize, in timing, it is noteworthy that it was on December 17, 1951 that William L Paterson, Paul Robeson , and others, of the Civil Rights Congress, in the United States, submitted a Petition to the United Nations entitled "We Charge Genocide: The Crime of Government Against the Negro People."
The Petition was a well-crafted catalogue of evidence of the crime of genocide against Black people in the United States. It was intended to test the seriousness of the UN Genocide Convention of 9 December 1948. But in its broader meaning, Black people in the United States tried to do in December 1951 for the world and the international law of genocide what South Africans did in December 2023 for the world and the same law.
In 1951, the architect of the concept of genocide, the Polish Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin, wrote an op-ed in the New York Times dismissing the Petition, arguing that his idea of genocide did not apply to the crimes against the Black people of the United States alleged in the Petition. Lemkin and the critics of the Petition dismissed that dossier and its authors in language that belittled the intelligence of the petitioners and questioned their grasp of the law of genocide. The critics further dismissed the petitioners as "communists".
If you go back and read the dismissive language used by the critics of "We Charge Genocide", in December 1951, you can see similarities in the language used against the South Africans, in December 2023, by those who dismissed them and their case. The difference is that the Black petitioners of December 2023 were not called "communists", but "antisemites".
History is interesting!
Edward Kissi
Sent from my iPhone
On May 12, 2024, at 4:04 AM, 'Emeagwali, Gloria (History)' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> wrote:
Why Gaza MattersFor Africa
1. If you studied South African history, you would fully grasp some of the strategies deployed by the IDF. You may even reinterpret what you thought you understood about South Africa, through the lens of Gaza. That is why South African leaders, whether of the African National Congress (ANC), or the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), are deeply touched by this crisis. They have seen this script enacted on the South African stage, during the apartheid era, in evictions, passes, wanton killings,and callous disregard for the survival of the Black population. By officially launching the charge of genocide against Israel,on December 29, 2023, South Africa has fulfilled the request of many Africans, at home or abroad. Many recall the anti-colonial liberation struggles of the 20th century.
2. No other conflict, to date, exposes more clearly, the hypocrisy of the Biden administration, and the West, with respect to R2P (the Right -to -Protect ideology), human rights, and the definitions of genocide. How would this hypocrisy manifest itself in Africa in 2024, and beyond?
3. The massacre of thousands of children, has taken place in Gaza. What effective mechanisms can we use to halt such systematic atrocities? What changes should be made to the UN Charter and UNICEF, to save children?
4. No other crisis so vividly illustrates how combustible, theology and politics could be, and their capabilities in inciting unspeakable violence when weaponized by bad actors.
5. No other conflict, in recent memory, involves such systematic killing of journalists, deliberate destruction of hospitals, schools, and places of refuge, and deliberate withholding of food - simultaneously. It is a wake-up call for the implementation of effective conflict management strategies, globally.
6. This conflict is about power, resistance, and the excessive use of force, by both the victim and the victimizer, with important lessons for political observers, and activists, in Africa and elsewhere.
7. This conflict is a wake-up call for Africa to put its house in order. The words of even the Secretary - General of the United Nations fell on deaf ears. Africa must build its economic and military power base, and engage in cautious coalition building. It must consolidate strategic alliances, and strong regional empowerment mechanisms.
Gloria Emeagwali
Dr. Gloria Emeagwali--
Professor of History/African Studies, CCSU
Chief Editor- "Africa Update"
https://sites.ccsu.edu/afstudy/archive.html
Gloria Emeagwali's Documentaries
www.vimeo.com/gloriaemeagwali
www.africahistory.net
Founding Coordinator, African Studies, CCSU
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