Yesterday, South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) issued a public advisory urging South Africans currently in Iran to register with the South African Embassy in Tehran and to remain in close contact with consular officials.
No such advisory or outreach has been extended to South Africans in Israel, despite escalating instability across the broader Middle East and the fact that many of our citizens – Christians, Muslims, Jewish and others – are currently in the region.
It is telling that DIRCO has chosen to offer consular support solely to those in Iran while showing no similar concern for South Africans who may be at risk elsewhere in the region. This selective approach to citizen protection is deeply troubling and represents a dereliction of the government’s constitutional obligation to safeguard all South Africans, irrespective of their location.
The closure of our embassy in Tel Aviv, without the necessary contingency plans to support South African citizens who remain in or travel to Israel, is a serious oversight as the regional situation deteriorates further.
We have previously raised these concerns with government, including during a meeting with President Ramaphosa on 13 December 2023, where assurances were given that South Africans in Israel would not be abandoned. DIRCO’s recent conduct confirms the very concerns we raised that, in times of crisis, South Africans in certain parts of the world are treated as an afterthought.
By failing to ensure equal consular support, the government has undermined its most fundamental duty to protect its citizens, wherever they may be.
We call on President Ramaphosa and Minister Ronald Lamola to act swiftly to correct this injustice and to ensure that all South Africans abroad receive the protection and assistance to which they are entitled, without exception.
ActionSA Condemns DIRCO’s Consular Bias and Shameful Abandonment of South Africans
Yesterday, South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) issued a public advisory urging South Africans currently in Iran to register with the South African Embassy in Tehran and to remain in close contact with consular officials.
No such advisory or outreach has been extended to South Africans in Israel, despite escalating instability across the broader Middle East and the fact that many of our citizens – Christians, Muslims, Jewish and others – are currently in the region.
It is telling that DIRCO has chosen to offer consular support solely to those in Iran while showing no similar concern for South Africans who may be at risk elsewhere in the region. This selective approach to citizen protection is deeply troubling and represents a dereliction of the government’s constitutional obligation to safeguard all South Africans, irrespective of their location.
The closure of our embassy in Tel Aviv, without the necessary contingency plans to support South African citizens who remain in or travel to Israel, is a serious oversight as the regional situation deteriorates further.
We have previously raised these concerns with government, including during a meeting with President Ramaphosa on 13 December 2023, where assurances were given that South Africans in Israel would not be abandoned. DIRCO’s recent conduct confirms the very concerns we raised that, in times of crisis, South Africans in certain parts of the world are treated as an afterthought.
By failing to ensure equal consular support, the government has undermined its most fundamental duty to protect its citizens, wherever they may be.
We call on President Ramaphosa and Minister Ronald Lamola to act swiftly to correct this injustice and to ensure that all South Africans abroad receive the protection and assistance to which they are entitled, without exception.