Image Source: National Endowment for Democracy
South Africa – Roshan Dadoo, from the BDS Coalition, urged South Africans to stay vigilant, raise awareness, and advocate for a boycott of the upcoming National Endowment for Democracy (NED) event.
She called on civil society to make public statements opposing participation and to hold organisations accountable for aligning with foreign interests that could undermine South Africa’s democratic values and its pro-Palestinian stance.
“We are calling for a boycott. We are saying to civil society: make statements, don’t participate, pull out, don’t be part of this.”
The 12th Global Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy is set to take place in Johannesburg this November, where over 500 civil society leaders, political leaders, and thinkers from nearly 100 countries will participate.
Although the event aims to celebrate democratic resilience and tackle global challenges, Dadoo warned that NED has a history of advancing American interests through media influence and funding.
She cautioned that, despite being presented as a platform for promoting democracy, the assembly could jeopardise South Africa’s support for Palestinian rights, especially since this event comes at a time of increased international pressure following the UN General Assembly’s call for sanctions on Israel after the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion.
While the South African government has taken steps to support these sanctions, Dadoo stressed the need for continued pressure from civil society to ensure the government remains committed and avoids complicity in Israel’s actions.
“We need to keep up the pressure on them, as we’ve been saying over the last few weeks, from the targeted consumer boycotts to the campaigns to stop selling coal, to stop selling diamonds, and to call for an arms embargo.”
“All of these things together need to press our government to make sure we are not complicit, to make sure we are at the forefront of standing for sanctions and for ending Israel’s impunity.”
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Tarnishing the Legacy of South African Heroes
Concerns have also been raised regarding the involvement of respected South African organisations, such as the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation and the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, as local hosts. Dadoo argued that their participation could tarnish their reputations and contradict the legacy of the figures who championed Palestinian liberation.
“We have been trying to explain to them, and I think a lot of people have been writing to the Kathrada Foundation and Defend Our Democracy, giving them all the information and pointing out what this NED is all about and how hosting this conference here is going to reflect so negatively on them and on the figures of the foundations such as Archbishop Tutu and Uncle Kathy.”
