On the International Situation and Proletarian Internationalism: SACP

The South African Communist Party on US imperialism, Cuba, African solidarity, Venezuela, Swaziland, Bishop Trevor Mwamba, Russia, the Ukraine War, Palestine, Yemen, Lebanon and other issues.

An excerpt on the international situation from the South African Communist Party's Central Committee statement following its 13th Plenary of the 15th Congress held 28 to 30 August 2026.

For the full statement on the party's activities and South African domestic politics see: South African CP, Central Committee statement following its 13th Plenary of the 15th Congress held 28 to 30 August 2026

The international situation is undergoing major changes, with the old unipolar order weakening and new centres of economic and political power emerging across the Global South. At the same time, imperialist powers continue to use militarisation, illegal unilateral sanctions, economic coercion, proxy wars and political destabilisation to defend their hegemony.

The SACP reaffirmed its commitment to an independent South African international relations and co-operation policy based on peaceful dialogue, multilateralism, solidarity with oppressed peoples, national sovereignty and a just international order.

The Central Committee reaffirmed solidarity with the peoples of Palestine, Western Sahara, the Kurdish people and Iran in their struggles against imperialism, unilateral sanctions, militarism and other forms of oppression. The Central Committee reiterated the SACP’s call for the unconditional release of Abdullah Öcalan.

Cuba has played a historic and decisive role in the liberation of Southern Africa from colonialism and apartheid, driven by the internationalist solidarity of the Cuban people and government. The SACP calls on the South African government and other governments in Southern Africa to reciprocate this solidarity by pursuing a leading role in opposing the illegal, unjust and inhuman United States imperialist blockade of Cuba, and by providing Cuba with the humanitarian and other material solidarity support it needs. In the same vein, the SACP will itself strengthen people-based solidarity with Cuba and the Cuban government, working with other supportive organisations in South Africa and across the world.

The SACP reiterates its solidarity with the people of Venezuela against the imperialist military capture of their sovereignty and natural resources, including, but not limited to, oil. The Central Committee reaffirmed our strong condemnation of the imperialist regime of the United States for such actions, including the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. We call for their unconditional release and deepening of mobilisation both in Venezuela and across the world against the imperialist regime of the United States and its violations of human and national rights of the Venezuelan people and others.

What its attack on Venezuela and other countries exposes is that the United States abuses the name of democracy to impose its imperialist regime change agenda, whose real goal is not democracy but the installation of governments that will obey its foreign dictatorship and hand over natural and other resources to its capitalist class.

The Central Committee expressed solidarity with the democratic struggle in Swaziland and support for the March for Democracy scheduled for 4 September 2026. The struggle by the people of Swaziland for democracy is part of the broader struggle of the peoples of Southern Africa against oppression, authoritarianism, exploitation and neo-colonial domination.

The SACP reaffirms its commitment to African solidarity and the strengthening of the Africa Left Network Forum.

The Central Committee called for the release of Bishop Trevor Mwamba, leader of Zambia’s United National Independence Party, UNIP. After family members could not reach him since Friday, 14 August 2026, following the disputed election held the day before, it was discovered that he was being held by the police.

The Central Committee reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with the people of Sudan, who are enduring the gravest humanitarian catastrophe of our time. The imperialist-driven war, fuelled by external powers and their proxies, has devastated Sudanese society. More than 150,000 lives have been lost, millions have been displaced, and famine stalks Darfur and Kordofan. The collapse of health systems, the spread of cholera, and the deliberate targeting of civilians and humanitarian workers expose the brutality of imperialist aggression and its disregard for human life.

We condemn the imperialist regimes that have perpetuated and profited from Sudan’s destruction, and we salute the resilience of the Sudanese people in their struggle for survival and self-determination. Their suffering is not an isolated tragedy but part of the broader assault on the Global South, where imperialist powers deploy war, sanctions and destabilisation to deny nations their sovereignty.

The Central Committee reaffirmed the SACP’s solidarity with the people of the Sahel region in their struggle to achieve liberation from neo-colonialism and imperialist domination.

We reject unilateral sanctions, militarism and other forms of imperialist aggression by the United States and the apartheid Israeli settler regime against Iran. The SACP calls on progressive governments to ignore the unilateral sanctions regime imposed by the United States against Iran. The imperialist regime of the United States and the apartheid Israeli settler regime have been destabilising the Middle East region consistently by causing, sponsoring and engaging in wars of aggression and expansionism.

We commend the people of Iran for building the national self-defence capacity that they have demonstrated in retaliatory responses to the attacks by the United States and Israel. This capacity should serve as an example to the countries of the Global South in the struggle to defend the fundamental right to national self-determination.

Russia has also demonstrated strategic national defence capability through its Special Military Operation against the war that NATO provoked against it via Ukraine. The imperialist regimes of the United States and Europe misrepresent the war as “Russia’s war on Ukraine” while it is in fact their own war against Russia via Ukraine. These regimes have not only provoked the war but are both sponsoring and actively participating in it on the side of Ukraine through their military expenditure, weapons supply, military training, intelligence support and illegal unilateral sanctions against Russia.

The Central Committee expressed solidarity with the people of Nepal and China. The disaster that has struck the Nepal–China border has resulted in a death toll of over 670 so far and nearly 3,000 people missing, with massive destruction of human settlements.

We express our unwavering solidarity with the people of Yemen and Lebanon against imperialist aggression. Yemen has endured one of the most devastating humanitarian crises of our time, caused by relentless imperialist-backed war, indiscriminate bombing campaigns, and the strangling blockade that has denied millions of people access to food, medicine and basic survival needs. The apartheid Israeli settler regime and its allies have extended their aggression into Lebanon, attacking sovereign communities and violating international law. We condemn these crimes and stand firmly with the peoples of Yemen and Lebanon in their just struggle for liberation, dignity and peace.