SA accused of ‘unlawful’ R279m arms exports to the US despite international law violations

The South African government has been accused of breaking its own laws and violating its obligations under the National Conventional Arms Control Act, by selling arms to the US in the face of “overwhelming evidence of its aggression and systematic international law violations”.

In an application to the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria, on Wednesday, 3 June 2026, the Southern Africa Litigation Centre is seeking the suspension of permits that were granted by the National Conventional Arms Control Committee authorising the export of arms to the US.

The committee approved more than R279-million worth of arms sales to the US in 2025, the litigation centre said, a time when the Trump administration had been accused of complicity in Israel’s commission of genocide and other international crimes in Gaza, and of the commission of war crimes and the crime of aggression in its attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June 2025.

The litigation centre argues that SA continued to export arms to the US despite having knowledge of these internationally wrongful acts.

Such arms transfers, it argues, violated provisions of the National Conventional Arms Control Act 41 of 2002 and international law.

“By authorising the transfer of arms to the US, which is likely to have acted in violation of international humanitarian law and the Genocide Convention, and also to have committed international war crimes, SA may well have aided or assisted in the commission of an internationally wrongful act. This is because the National Conventional Arms Control Committee authorised transfers of arms to the US ‘with knowledge of the circumstances of the internationally wrongful act’.

“What this means is that the National Conventional Arms Control Committee’s authorisation of the impugned permits places SA in a position where it may be held responsible for the commission of an internationally wrongful act, by facilitating violations of international humanitarian law by the US,” the Southern Africa Litigation Centre said in its founding affidavit.

In a statement on Wednesday morning, the centre said the litigation was the first of its kind in SA, seeking a suspension of arms to a country because it constituted a threat to international peace and security.

The respondents are Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, in her capacity as chairperson of the National Conventional Arms Control Committee; Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Angie Motshekga; and President Cyril Ramaphosa.

‘Threat to international peace and security’

In its application, the litigation centre argues that by continuing to authorise arms exports to the US in light of evidence of its aggression and international law violations, the committee acted unlawfully and in breach of its obligation under the act to suspend or cancel such permits.

“Since the beginning of the second Trump presidency in January 2025, the US approach to foreign affairs has been characterised by multiple deliberate attempts to undermine multilateral organisations, the commission of multiple acts of aggression against other states, in violation of international law, and the resultant destabilisation of international and regional peace and security,” it said.

The litigation centre points to four specific examples that it argues illustrate the Trump administration’s escalation of violence and alleged breaches of international law. These are the US’s provision of arms to Israel, making it complicit in the international crimes Israel is accused of committing in Gaza; the joint US-Israeli attack on Iran in June 2025; the US military operation in Venezuela and its abduction of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in January 2026; and the ongoing US war on Iran.

These actions, it argues, have threatened international and regional peace and security, a threshold that triggers the committee’s obligation to suspend arms export permits under the National Conventional Arms Control Act.

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Under section 14(3) of the act, the committee is required to cancel, amend or suspend a permit “if it is in the interest of maintaining and promoting international peace or avoiding repression and terrorism”.

The sale of South African arms to the US, and many other countries, is detailed in the committee’s annual reports to Parliament. According to the litigation centre, the reports show that SA has exported “controlled items” to the US each year since 2014, and while “the annual value of exports has varied, a clear upward trend is visible”.

The latest annual report for 2025 reveals that the committee approved the export of light weapons, countermeasure or observation equipment, and electronic warfare equipment worth more than R279-million to the US.

‘Committee remained tight-lipped’

Both the Biden and second Trump administration have historically provided massive arms sales to Israel. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Centre for International Policy’s Security Assistance Monitor, the US transferred at least $4.17-billion in arms to Israel between October 2023 and May 2025.

Human Rights Watch and other rights organisations including Amnesty International have said the US government’s provision of arms to Israel, which have repeatedly been used to carry out apparent war crimes, has made the US complicit in their unlawful use.

Israel’s military assault on Gaza following the October 2023 attacks by Hamas, has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians and injured at least 172,800 others, according to a report by Al Jazeera. Of these, 922 Palestinians have been killed since the US-brokered ceasefire came into effect in October 2025, the publication reported.

Israel’s military campaign in Gaza is the subject of a genocide case before the International Court of Justice, brought by SA in 2023, in which it accuses Israel of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention. The case is still in the written proceedings stage, with SA having until 22 November 2027 to respond to Israel’s counter-memorial. Israel will then have until 22 May 2029 to reply in the form of a rejoinder.

According to the litigation centre, it was “inconceivable” that the committee was unaware of the nature and extent of US military support for Israel in the wake of the Hamas attacks. Additionally, it was “equally inconceivable” that the committee was not aware of SA’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

“In this context, it is incomprehensible that the same government that is leading the charge against Israel before the International Court of Justice apparently sees no problem with exporting arms to the very country that is not only supplying Israel with arms, and paying for those arms, but also providing diplomatic support to Israel in aligning itself with Israel’s defence before the court,” it said.

The litigation centre said numerous requests to the committee to suspend or cancel permits pertaining to the transfer of arms to the US, or enquiries regarding whether the government intends to take a decision in this regard, had gone unanswered.

“Despite having been afforded the opportunity on numerous occasions to explain what it has done, the committee has remained tight-lipped, both in relation to whether the issue was even considered, and if so, what decision was taken,” it added.

“Accordingly, the Southern Africa Litigation Centre has no option but to bring this application to compel the National Conventional Arms Control Committee to discharge its statutory obligation in respect of the transfer of arms to the US.

“In the alternative, should it be established that the committee has taken a decision, choosing not to cancel or suspend any permits for the transfer of such arms, the centre seeks an order reviewing and setting that decision aside,” it said.

Calls for arms embargo

The transfer of arms to countries engaged in an armed conflict is also in contradiction to SA’s policy position. In September 2024, SA voted in favour of a United Nations General Assembly resolution that called for an arms embargo on Israel and demanded it end its “unlawful presence” in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

“The South African government has clarified on multiple occasions that it opposes arms transfers to countries engaged in an armed conflict,” the litigation centre said in its affidavit.

It noted a speech given at the Cairo Summit for Peace in October 2023 by Ramaphosa in which he stated: “We believe that peace is the only option to bring about peace between Israel and Palestine. To achieve this, steps must be taken now. We therefore call on all parties to exercise restraint and on all state actors to desist from providing weapons to either of the sides to the conflict.”

Director-General of the Department of International Relations and Cooperations, Zane Dangor, in an interview with Newzroom Afrika in November 2023, further acknowledged that in terms of SA’s “own legislation, we cannot sell arms to any country in conflict”.

“Since the inception of the second Trump administration, the US has – either directly or indirectly – enmeshed itself in multiple conflicts, including in Israel and Palestine, in Venezuela, and in Iran.

“We are now at the point where the destabilisation of international peace and security is no longer just a threat, but rather a reality. And yet, arms continue to be exported from South Africa to the US. This is of grave concern to the applicants, and in violation of both domestic and international law,” said the litigation centre.

It noted that SA was also bound by international humanitarian law to refrain from transferring arms to states which may use such arms to commit violations of international law.

“According to Article III of the Genocide Convention, a state that furnishes aid or assistance to those committing prohibited acts of genocide will be complicit in, and thus liable itself for, the crime of genocide. In transferring arms and aid to Israel, the US may itself be guilty of complicity in the crime of genocide. And in supplying arms to the US, knowing that it is supplying arms to Israel, SA may also be complicit in the crime,” said the centre.

The centre previously brought a case against the committee over its approval of R215-million worth of arms sales to Myanmar between 2017 and 2021. In a July 2024 ruling, the high court set aside the committee’s permits and ruled that it was obliged under the law to suspend permits that allowed arms transfers to states committing grave human rights violations or international crime.

Daily Maverick contacted Ntshavheni, Motshekga and Ramaphosa’s spokespersons for comment and was referred to committee acting secretariat Sipho Mashaba.

Mashaba declined to comment, saying he was “prohibited from commenting on this matter as it is sub judice”. DM