PRESS STATEMENT
No diplomatic passport for Miss SA
16 November 2021
The human rights organisation #Africa4Palestine welcomes the clarification by the Acting Director General of South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), Ambassador Nonceba Losi, that Miss SA will not travel on a diplomatic passport.
Africa4Palestine was notified that a previous Miss South Africa had, indeed, been afforded a diplomatic passport. In light of the scandalous persistence of the Miss SA organisation, and public announcements by the CEO Stephanie Weil, to go to Israel, we contacted the Acting Director General of the South Africa’s foreign affairs, DIRCO, to express our objection to any possible issuance of diplomatic passports to Miss SA Lalela Mswane, Miss SA CEO Stephanie Weil and the entire Miss SA company. In her response the acting DIRCO Director-General, Ambassador Losi, clarified that:
“By direction of the Acting Director-General, I wish to advise that, in terms of the South African Diplomatic Passport Policy, none of the individuals mentioned in your email who are linked to the Miss South Africa Pageant qualify for a South African Diplomatic Passport.”
Ambassador Losi further explained that DIRCO does not have “authority to prevent a South African national travelling on a Private Passport.”
This comes as calls for Miss South Africa to withdraw participation in this year’s Miss Universe in Apartheid Israel continue to escalate, and as the South African government has withdrawn support for Miss SA over their planned trip to Apartheid Israel.
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