Deputy Speaker, the DA has previously held that the Minister of Home Affairs misled the House and the Republic with respect to this Bill. The Minister has acknowledged her error and the wording of this Bill has now been changed.
The amended Bill now contains the provision that states:
Any person who obtained South African citizenship by naturalization in terms of this Act shall cease to be a South African citizen if he or she engages, under the flag of another country, in a war that the Republic does not support.
The Minister's misunderstanding of the original wording has been addressed and the section now applies only to naturalised citizens. However, Deputy Speaker, there is no right of appeal against the loss of citizenship. Allowing no right of appeal against being rendered stateless is untenable. It is contrary to section 20 of the Constitution, which provides that no citizen shall be deprived of citizenship. It is also contrary to section 33 of the Constitution requiring just administrative action.
Contradictory to the implication that the government supports some wars and not the others, as this Bill implies; section 198(b) of the Constitution, in fact, precludes any South African citizen from participating in armed conflict nationally or internationally.
This is listed as one of the governing principles with respect to national security. The Constitution does not make provision for the government to declare a war as one that it supports. If it did, the government would be in direct conflict with its constitutional principle.
The UN carries the burden of sanctioning wars. Will South Africa now have its own list of sanctioned wars? This section is highly complex; it is fraught with conflicting national and international legal implications. Our legal opinion tells us that, as a result, this Bill cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny. The DA cannot support the Bill. Thank you. [Applause.]