<\/p>\n
The Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF) permanent representative on the Joint Standing Committee on Defence (JSCD), Carl Niehaus, has responded to the committee, providing evidence into the EFF\u2019s claims that South African-made weapons are used by nations embroiled in conflict.<\/span><\/p>\n During the recent JSCD meeting on April 4, 2025, Member of Parliament Niehaus called for an end to arms sales to allies of apartheid Israel and urged stricter monitoring of arms exports to nations embroiled in conflict. <\/span><\/p>\n His statements have raised significant concerns regarding South Africa’s arms control practices.<\/span><\/p>\n Minister Khumbudzo Ntshaveni, chair of the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC), requested further substantiation of Niehaus’s allegations.<\/span><\/p>\n Niehaus responded to this request in a letter dated April 14, emphasising the importance of transparency. <\/span><\/p>\n He stated: \u201cThis letter responds to your invitation during the NCACC\u2019s engagement with the JSCD, for me to provide further information regarding concerns I have raised about South Africa\u2019s arms control practices. <\/span><\/p>\n \u2018Given the public nature of your request, I reserve all my rights as a public representative to make the contents of this letter public.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Niehaus underscored the importance of South Africa’s integrity and international standing, especially regarding its leadership in human rights advocacy. <\/span><\/p>\n He highlighted the ongoing case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for genocide in Gaza as a critical issue that warrants urgent action to address potential violations of both domestic laws and international treaties related to arms control.<\/span><\/p>\n He elaborated on South Africa’s obligations under various international agreements, including the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms (UNRCA), and the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). <\/span><\/p>\n According to Niehaus, these treaties prohibit the sale and export of arms to countries involved in armed conflicts or committing human rights abuses, explicitly naming apartheid Israel and Ukraine.<\/span><\/p>\n Niehaus asserted that South Africa’s moral authority on the global stage is at risk if the government continues to allow arms transfers to these nations. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe allegations outlined in this letter undermine these principles and threaten South Africa\u2019s moral authority on the global stage.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He cited evidence indicating South Africa’s involvement in arms production for Ukraine, referencing a January 10 report from the US Department of Defense that listed South Africa as a participant in the Ukraine Defence Contact Support Group (UDCG). <\/span><\/p>\n He argued that this involvement contravenes South African law, which prohibits the supply of arms to conflict zones.<\/span><\/p>\n He referenced Rheinmetall’s plans to expand ammunition production at its South African RDM plants to meet Ukraine\u2019s needs and replenish NATO\/EU stockpiles. <\/span><\/p>\n A December 2023 press release detailed a significant artillery ammunition order for Ukraine, with RDM\u2019s output contributing to a target of 700,000 rounds annually by 2024. <\/span><\/p>\n Niehaus said that since July 2024, RDM has increased its capacity from 100,000 to 150,000 shells annually, operating 24-hour shifts across its South African facilities.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cRheinmetall operates warehouses in Germany and Hungary, from which it re-exports South African-manufactured shells to Israel and Ukraine. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis circumvents both South African and German export controls, exploiting loopholes in end-user oversight.\u201d Such actions, he argued, directly undermine South Africa\u2019s ICJ case by potentially supplying Israel with munitions used in Gaza.<\/span><\/p>\n Niehaus said multiple reports substantiate these allegations, explaining that the investigation in Europe revealed Rheinmetall\u2019s use of South African plants to bypass German export controls, supplying munitions to states with poor human rights records, including Israel. <\/span><\/p>\n He said the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre noted Rheinmetall\u2019s failure to respond to UN experts\u2019 calls to cease arms transfers to Israel, risking complicity in genocide.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe NCACC\u2019s failure to monitor end-user compliance means these arms are likely re-exported to Israel, fueling its genocide in Gaza and directly contradicting our ICJ case.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n According to Niehaus, In 2023, South African arms companies, with NCACC approval, exported R3.3 billion in arms to countries supplying Israel, including the US, Germany, Hungary, Italy, and France. Germany, Israel\u2019s second-largest arms supplier, imported R1.7 billion in South African bombs, shells, and military technology.<\/span><\/p>\n He expressed concern: \u201cAllowing RDM to supply munitions to Israel and Ukraine contradicts our vision of promoting a rules-based international order.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He said that Rheinmetall\u2019s complicity in apartheid-era crimes, as documented by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), raises serious ethical concerns about its 51% ownership of RDM. <\/span><\/p>\n He argued that this controlling stake grants Rheinmetall undue influence over South Africa\u2019s arms trade, undermining national sovereignty.<\/span><\/p>\n Niehaus criticised the NCACC\u2019s inability to enforce End User Certificates (EUCs), stemming from chronic under-resourcing and a lack of follow-up mechanisms. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe committee\u2019s reports are vague and not up-to-date, violating the transparency requirements of the ATT and UNRCA.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He added that during a visit on April 4, 2025, to RDM\u2019s Somerset West headquarters, Deputy Minister Bantu Holomisa who is also an NCACC member, failed to question RDM CEO Dr Frank Dirksen about the destination of the increased production of 155mm artillery shells.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHolomisa raised no concerns about EUC compliance or the ethical implications of RDM\u2019s operations, which risk undermining our ICJ case.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Niehaus reaffirmed South Africa\u2019s foreign policy, which is anchored in the principles of ubuntu, human dignity, and solidarity with oppressed peoples. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOur case against Israel for genocide in Gaza demonstrates our commitment to holding states accountable for international crimes.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n He feels that these efforts are undermined when South African arms are implicated in conflicts or human rights abuses, particularly in Gaza, where South Africa’s ICJ case demands that the nation uphold the highest standards of international law.<\/span><\/p>\n Ntshavheni did not respond to questions from .<\/span><\/p>\n thabo.makwakwa@inl.co.za<\/span><\/p>\n Politics<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF) permanent representative on the Joint Standing Committee on Defence (JSCD), Carl Niehaus, has responded to the committee, providing evidence into the EFF\u2019s claims that South African-made weapons are used by nations embroiled in conflict. During the recent JSCD meeting on April 4, 2025, Member of Parliament Niehaus called for an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[52,1166,7053,4324,5218,7054,236,51,11150],"class_list":["post-237477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-politics","tag-african","tag-arms","tag-carl","tag-evidence","tag-israel","tag-niehaus","tag-reveals","tag-south","tag-ukraine"],"yoast_head":"\nRheinmetall\u2019s operations and allegations<\/h2>\n
International reports and criticism<\/h2>\n
Ethical concerns and systemic failures<\/h2>\n
Commitment to human rights and peace<\/h2>\n