Vol 13 Issue 4 October 2026-December 2026
Christina Cushen
Apartheid is a serious crime which does not just affect the citizens of a particular state but the entire wider international community. The dominate historical and present examples of apartheid policies are South Africa and Palestine. This paper will examine the history of apartheid through the lens of South Africa and Palestine.
This paper highlights the difficulties that international law has in enforcing the crime of Apartheid. International law is created by state consent and states are only bound by these laws if they have accepted the treaty or law which is therefore known as Customary International Law. At the time of the creation of the United Nations Charter, South Africa refused to accept its obligations under the charter. It soon became clear that South Africa also refused to acknowledge other fundamental treaties. In contrast, Israel has accepted the United Nations Charter and has ratified various other fundamental treaties. (Dugard, 2018)
History has shown that the crime of apartheid is a crime that has been forgotten and overlooked while elements of colonial occupation were being used by states over other states. Apartheid is a policy that is used to deprive a racial group of there fundamental human rights with the intention of hindering there purpose of existence. The United Nations and International law exists to ensure all human beings have a purpose for their existence and to ensure free and equal rights. This is what the crime of apartheid aims to oppress.
This paper examines the challenges that the International community faced in fighting the crime of Apartheid in South Africa compared to the challenges that are being currently face in frighting the crime of apartheid in Palestine. It will also dive deeper to examine how international law has developed over the years while also investigating how the crime of apartheid has changed.
Title: Historical Apartheid in South Africa comparing to today’s apartheid in Palestine
Author: Christina Cushen
International Journal of Recent Research in Social Sciences and Humanities (IJRRSSH)
ISSN 2349-7831
Vol. 13, Issue 4, October 2026 - December 2026
Page No: 1-8
Paper Publications
Website: www.paperpublications.org
Published Date: 03-November-2026
