South Africa faces lawsuit over weapons sales to the US, said to be fueling global conflicts

In an attempt to halt South Africa's arms shipments to the United States, the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) has filed a lawsuit in the North Gauteng High Court.

• The Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) filed a lawsuit in the North Gauteng High Court to stop South African arms exports to the United States.
• SALC argues that exporting weapons to the U.S. violates South Africa's National Conventional Arms Control Act, citing the U.S.'s recent military actions that threaten global peace.
• The lawsuit targets the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC), the Minister of Defence, and the President, holding them accountable for human rights obligations.
• SALC highlights U.S. actions in Gaza, Iran, and Venezuela as evidence of ongoing international law violations tied to South African-supplied arms.

The group claims that by permitting the sale of weapons to a government that it believes has engaged in activities that jeopardize global peace and security, South African authorities are violating the National Conventional Arms Control Act.

The complaint focuses on the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC), which SALC claims has not done enough to guarantee that South African-made guns are not utilized in situations of war, instability, or violations of international law.

According to SALC, the lawsuit represents a substantial attempt to hold government officials accountable for human rights and legal commitments rather than political motives.

The organization added that the application, filed on June 3, 2026, lists the NCACC chairperson, the Minister of Defence, and the President as respondents.

“By pursuing this litigation, the SALC aims to hold the executive branch accountable to human rights standards rather than to strategic political alliances.

This case represents the first time a domestic court has been asked to label a permanent member of the UN Security Council as a threat to global order,” the SALC said in a statement.

SALC's position is based on several international circumstances that it believes raise concerns about ongoing arms shipments to the United States.

These include Washington's decision in January 2025 to recommence certain weapons deliveries to Israel during the Gaza conflict, military strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June 2025, and more assaults on Iran in February 2026.

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The filing also refers to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were detained in January 2026 during what SALC describes as a unilateral US military intervention that violated UN Charter provisions.

What the SACL said

“All the situations above resulted in accusations of international law violations, such as complicity in genocide, violation of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, committing the crime of aggression, and war crimes.

Taken together, these violations create a pattern of escalation and constitute an ongoing threat to international peace and security, a threshold that triggers the NCACC’s obligation to suspend arms export permits under the NCAC Act,” the SALC disclosed.

“The latest reports from the NCACC indicate that South Africa exported arms to the United States throughout 2025, totalling just over R279 million.

Numerous requests by SALC and its legal representatives to suspend/cancel such permits, or to enquire whether the government intends to make a decision in that regard, have gone unanswered,” it said.

According to the 2025 NCACC annual report, as seen on DefenceWeb, the Southern African country 12 “light weapons” to the US worth R124 million, and 25 “countermeasure/observation equipment” worth R3.8 million.

Under dual-use items, the NCACC listed 354 “communication equipment/EW” items worth R150 million and four “information security” systems worth R12.6 million.

According to the SALC, this lawsuit is the first of its type to request that a nation's weaponry be suspended because they pose a threat to global peace and security.

For the first time, a permanent member of the UN Security Council requests that a South African court suspend or invalidate permits that facilitate the sale of weapons.