What Africa owes Palestine

What the report says

The Observer’s column argues that Africa’s responsibility toward Palestine is not financial aid or symbolic rhetoric, but consistency with the anti-colonial principles many African states have long invoked for themselves. It places the Palestinian issue within the continent’s history of colonial rule, racial domination and struggles for self-determination, and says the African Union has inherited that political tradition. The piece also notes that Africa’s official stance has generally supported Palestinian rights, including self-determination and opposition to occupation, annexation and settlement expansion.

The article highlights Nelson Mandela’s 1997 statement linking South African freedom to Palestinian freedom as a central expression of that solidarity. It also points to Article 20 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights as part of the legal and moral framework behind Africa’s position. In the author’s view, condemning attacks on civilians does not cancel the broader right of Palestinians to pursue self-determination.

South Africa is presented as an example of solidarity through institutions rather than slogans. The column says Pretoria brought a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in December 2023 and later submitted information in August 2026 on alleged non-compliance with provisional measures. The writer contrasts this with Uganda, which in August 2026 approved participation in a proposed Gaza International Stabilisation Force. The article says this raises questions about mandate, authority and whether such a deployment would support peace or help preserve an unjust status quo.