The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Wednesday demanded that International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola report Iran to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for “blatant human rights abuses”, owing to the deadly suppression of civilian protests.

The death toll from the violent crackdown by the Iranian government, led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is reportedly nearing 3 000 as anti-government protests and demonstrations sweep the country.

In a letter written to Lamola, the DA said the use of blatantly deadly oppression against civilians by a sitting government is one of the “most egregious forms of human rights abuse witnessed anywhere in the world” with the party questioning South Africa’s relationship with the country.

DA spokesperson on International Relations and Cooperation Ryan Smith said the principles of freedom, democracy and human rights enshrined in the South African Constitution compels Lamola to execute his sworn duty, as the custodian of the country’s foreign policy, to protect global citizens against autocratic regimes.

Smith said the UNHRC was the “ideal” international forum where South African foreign policy, rooted in the Constitution, could find expression on the international stage.

He said as a member of the Government of National Unity (GNU), the DA would not tolerate South Africa “turning a blind eye to brutal authoritarian regimes at the African National Congress’s (ANC’s) behest”.

“… and we certainly will not tolerate South Africa’s silence in the wake of their violent assault on innocent civilians,” Smith added.

He said South Africa’s role was especially crucial, given Iran’s recent accession to BRICS Plus, and the ANC’s own public and unapologetic proximity to Iran, which he said had found “worrying expression” in South African foreign policy.

“In many ways, the Iranian uprisings echo South Africa’s own struggle for freedom, including the Sharpeville massacre of 21 March 1960 and the Soweto uprising of 16 June 1976, when peaceful civilian protest was met with brutal State violence,” Smith noted.

He explained that at those moments, the international community stood with the people of South Africa, not with the apartheid regime.

“Today, Dirco and the ANC face the same moral test: whether they stand with the people of Iran, or with those who repress them,” he said.