The Afrikaans word “apartheid”, which translates to “separateness”, entered the realm of international law in response to racist regimes in South Africa. Apartheid refers to an institutionalized system of segregation based on race. The 1973 United Nations International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid, known as the Apartheid Convention of 1973, paved the way for the International Criminal Court’s 1998 Rome Statute. Both treaties define apartheid as a crime against humanity.
How might Israel’s treatment of Palestinian families appear to those who witnessed South African apartheid firsthand? John Dugard is a South African professor of international law who specialized in the crime of apartheid, particularly in South Africa and Israel. Dugard said in an interview with Democracy Now! in 2015: “I am a South African who lived through apartheid, and I have no hesitation in saying Israel’s crimes are infinitely worse than those committed by the apartheid regime of South Africa.”
“Infinitely Worse” Than Apartheid in South Africa
In preparation for the Russell Tribunal on Palestine, which intended to decide whether Israel’s actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) constitute apartheid, expert John Dugard shared his perspective in an Al Jazeera op-ed in 2011. He compares South Africa’s regime of apartheid with Israel’s regime of occupation to conclude that “in practice, there is little difference. Both regimes were/are characterised by discrimination, repression and territorial fragmentation (that is, land seizures).”
Dugard notes how both regimes restrict the freedom of movement of the oppressed, destroy their homes, commit acts of torture, and confiscate land. Yet, Israel has gone farther than apartheid in South Africa by “constructing separate (and unequal) roads for Palestinians and settlers,” imprisoning more Palestinian political prisoners, and constructing a segregation wall within Palestinian territory.
He concludes that “[t]here is sufficient evidence for the Russell Tribunal to conduct a legitimate enquiry into the question whether Israel violates the prohibition of apartheid found in the 1973 Apartheid Convention and the Rome Statute.” In a 2015 interview with Democracy Now!, Dugard commented: “I’m a South African who lived through apartheid. I have no hesitation in saying that Israel’s crimes are infinitely worse than those committed by the apartheid regime of South Africa.”
Why Some Deny Israeli Apartheid
In a 2019 op-ed for Al Jazeera, Dugard questions why, despite the fact that the repression of the Palestinian people by the Israeli occupation army and Jewish settlers is clear to anyone who watches the news, “Europeans consistently deny the existence of apartheid in occupied Palestine.” He offers three possible explanations:
- The success of pro-Israel lobbies
- Europe’s guilt about the Holocaust
- The fear of being labeled anti-Semitic
The South African Anti-Apartheid Movement was a popular cause in Europe: students regularly protested apartheid at their universities and European governments imposed sanctions and an arms embargo on the apartheid state. Meanwhile, Europeans today who support the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement and criticize Israel’s apartheid policies face serious consequences.
Dugard concludes: “Until Europeans have the courage to distinguish criticism of Israel for applying apartheid from real anti-Semitism–that is, hatred of Jews–apartheid will continue to flourish in occupied Palestine, with the direct complicity of Europe.”
John Dugard: An Expert of International Law
John Dugard was born in Fort Beaufort, Cape Province, South Africa in 1936. After completing his law degrees at Cambridge University, he became a Professor of Law at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, eventually becoming dean at the School of Law and director of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies. Dugard held several other positions at international law centers in addition to serving as a member of the United Nations International Law Commission and holding other positions at the U.N. and the International Court of Justice.
In late 2000, the U.N. Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) appointed Dugard as chairman of a commission of inquiry regarding human rights in the Palestinian territories. The following year, he was appointed U.N. Special Rapporteur to UNCHR concerning international human rights and humanitarian law in the Palestinian territories.
Dugard has been awarded honorary doctorates of law from the University of Cape Town, the University of Natal, the University of Port Elizabeth, the University of Pretoria, the University of Stellenbosch, and the University of Witwatersrand. In 2012, he received South Africa’s highest civilian honor, the Order of the Baobab: Gold, for his “contributions to the establishment of the rule of law, his work in the field of human rights and his role in the creation of a free and democratic South Africa.” Today, Dugard serves as member of South Africa’s legal team arguing at the International Court of Justice that Israel violated the Genocide Convention in 2023 and 2024.
Get Involved
Learn more about the conflict in Israel-Palestine from a Jewish perspective at the Promised Land Museum. Consider hosting a free exhibit to promote peace in the Holy Land.
