Mutsa Mugangavari, Programme Director,
Cayle Lupton, Professor Vice-Dean of the University of Johannesburg,
Jean-Nicolas Paquet-Rouleau, Head of Regional Delegation, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),
Shange-Buthane, lead delegate of South Africa’s Foreign Service,
South African Broadcasting Corporation [SABC], member of the 4th estate,
Distinguished academics,
Members of the diplomatic corps,
Students, and guests,

It is a great honour to address this important gathering on a subject that remains central to humanity in times of conflict: International Humanitarian Law. I thank the University of Johannesburg and the ICRC for convening this Colloquium and for sustaining the All-Africa Course on International Humanitarian Law (IHL) over many years as a space for learning, dialogue, and practical engagement.

South Africa values forums such as this one because they speak directly to the principles that guide our foreign policy: peace, multilateral cooperation, human rights, respect for international law, and the peaceful resolution of disputes. Our foreign policy is rooted in the Constitution and in our long-standing commitment to dialogue, solidarity, and the pursuit of a just and equitable world. South Africa has also consistently affirmed that our diplomacy must be principled, strategic, and forward- looking, with Africa at the centre of our international engagement.

IHL is not an abstract body of rules. It is a practical and moral framework that protects human dignity in times of war. The Geneva Conventions place obligations on States not only to respect IHL, but also to disseminate it and contribute to its development and clarification. That responsibility is especially important today, when armed conflict, political instability, displacement, and technological change are combining to create new humanitarian risks.

This year’s theme, The Next Generation’s Role in Promoting and Developing IHL is both timely and necessary. Young people are not only the inheritors of the international legal order; they are already helping to shape it through scholarship, advocacy, innovation, and public service.  If IHL is to remain effective, it must be understood by those who will lead the legal, diplomatic, military, and technological institutions of tomorrow.

Tools that communicate complex legal principles in accessible and engaging ways are essential if we are to deepen awareness among youth and widen the reach of humanitarian education. Dissemination is not merely a support activity in IHL; it is part of the legal and ethical architecture that helps make compliance possible in practice. The discussion on artificial intelligence (AI) and Autonomous Weapons Systems (AWS) is equally significant. The rapid growth of digital tools, machine learning, and automated decision-making is changing the character of warfare and raising serious legal, ethical, and humanitarian questions.

South Africa has consistently called for international law to remain central in addressing emerging global challenges, and for diplomacy to remain grounded in restraint, accountability, and human dignity.  In that regard, the voice of youth must be heard not only in awareness-raising, but also in policy and norm development. Young people are active participants in the digital environment where these technologies are being developed, tested, and debated. Their insight is indispensable if future systems are to be shaped within clear legal limits and in a manner consistent with the protection of civilians.

South Africa’s foreign policy places great value on multilateralism and on the rules- based international order premised on international law. This is not a matter of formality; it is a strategic necessity for a world in which power alone cannot provide legitimacy, justice, or peace. Our country continues to support international cooperation through institutions and platforms that advance collective security, human rights, and development.

This Colloquium also reflects a broader African imperative. Africa must remain a central voice in shaping the future of international law, including the legal response to armed conflict and technological transformation. South Africa supports a continent that is peaceful, stable, integrated, and not marginalised in global affairs, including strengthening Africa’s intellectual and policy leadership on humanitarian law.

Allow me to emphasise that South Africa’s commitment to IHL is also reflected in our public positions on current conflicts. Our government has repeatedly called for the protection of civilians, respect for humanitarian principles, unhindered humanitarian access, and accountability for serious violations of international humanitarian law. These are not only legal principles; they are moral obligations that must guide conduct in all armed conflicts.

The relevance of this Colloquium therefore goes beyond academia. It speaks to governance, diplomacy, peacebuilding, and the protection of human life. It also affirms that the relationship between law and policy must remain active, practical, and responsive to changing realities on the ground and in the digital domain. As South Africa, we must continue to invest in education, dialogue, and multilateral engagement that strengthens compliance with IHL and advances a more peaceful international order.

Vice – Chancellor, my concluding intervention is towards the young people: –

We must also continue to support spaces where young people can think critically about law, power, ethics, and responsibility. Frantz Fanon (1961), in his seminal works entitled, The Wretched of the Earth said that “each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfil it, or betray it.” The works of Frantz Fanon can be read as architectural renderings of rights, futures, and generations toward a “very different Afro-futurism.” It illuminates the relationship between rights and duties, and between freedom and obligations. The law of the dialectic of the positive and the negative states that every force, condition, or historical movement contains its own internal contradiction, where opposing elements clash to produce a new synthesis. In political philosophy and sociology, this means that a newly gained “positive” state (like freedom or independence) cannot exist in a vacuum; it inherently generates a “negative” counterpart (like responsibility, crisis, or obligation) that must be resolved through action. In the works of Frantz Fanon, particularly The Wretched of the Earth, this dialectic finds sharp expression in his view of the youth. For Fanon, the youth of a newly liberated nation possess absolute political and existential freedom, but this freedom is dialectically bound to historical and ethical obligations.

Remember,

Your grandmothers had the courage of their conviction in 1956, when 20 000 women March to the seat of the apartheid government, to protest against unjust laws 70 years ago. The central lesson is that our mothers, and your grand-mothers did not simply protest injustice—they stood together, organised, accepted personal risk, and insisted that human dignity and equality were non-negotiable. Friedrich Hegel (1807) believed history unfolds through a dialectical process where opposing forces clash and ultimately lead to a higher synthesis…you must be the torchbearers of that prosperous future, where International Humanitarian Law are respected, even in instances of conflict.

To the University of Johannesburg and the ICRC, thank you for your leadership and partnership. To the participants, I encourage you to use this forum not only to deepen your knowledge but also to generate ideas that will strengthen the implementation of IHL in Africa and beyond.

I thank you.

ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION

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