Media Centre, 120 Plein Street, Cape Town
26 October 2006
Democratic Republic of Congo
* On Saturday, 21 October 2006, the 103-member South African Observer
Mission (SAOM) departed for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for the
second round of presidential elections which will be held on Sunday, 29 October
2006.
* The SAOM comprised of Members of Parliament, government officials and members
of civil society.
Preparations for elections
* Generally, technical and logistical preparations for the elections are
proceeding well. Telecommunications equipment has been procured from South
Africa. The DRCâs Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has been conducting
voter education through various television stations where they have received
access. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have also conducted voter
education. Training of staff is ongoing and materials are mostly in place. The
voterâs roll will be published by Friday, 27 October.
Problems with names missing from the voterâs roll during the first round of
elections have been addressed. A further problem of the non-payment of
electoral staff remains, although the IEC has indicated that the United Nations
(UN) has paid staff according to lists that it had received. Transport is a key
weak link in the chain of operations, particularly in the interior.
Political situation
* The political atmosphere in Congo is characterised by high expectations.
The electoral campaign, with combines with provincial elections, is being
conducted in line with the electoral code of conduct for political parties.
Security situation
* The Security situation is calm and joint patrolling in the main cities
such as Kinshasa has reduced the possibilities of politically motivated
disturbances. South African soldiers serving with MONUC (the United Nations
Organisation Mission in the DRC) have been deployed to Kinshasa.
* The eastern part also remains calm but volatile. In North Kivu the
presence of former brigades of Congolese army supporting renegade General
Nkunda and their resistance to the deployment of integrated brigades remains a
serious concern.
* Another area of concern is the insecurities caused by the intervention of
foreign armed forces in North Kivu. In Ituri, militia groups continue to harass
the local population. The army is still faced with a number of challenges which
include:
* lack of transport, communication and related infrastructure
* irregular salaries of the integrated soldiers
* lack of social amenities and services at the integration centres
The pledge of the Presidential candidates has also helped to stabilise the
situation. They have expressed their commitment to a peaceful campaign. In this
regard the two presidential candidates agreed to:
* demilitarise Kinshasa
* refrain from seditious language
* accept the election results
* establish a commission of inquiry to investigate the source of the violence
in August and propose a strategy for disarmament.
* MONUC forces continue to maintain peace and security across the country.
These efforts are complemented by the EUROFORCE largely stationed in Kinshasa.
We call on the Presidential candidates to unconditionally accept the
results.
Southern African Development Community (SADC) decisions
1. Establish a Defence and Security Liaison office in Kinshasa to be able to
co-ordinate SADC efforts.
2. SADC Secretariat to develop a Plan for the post-electoral peace building
in the DRC. This plan may include inter alia demining, collection and control
of firearms, conversion of former military facilities into other socio-economic
use, organisation and capacity building of defence and security policy
institutions and confidence building activities involving youth and women. The
SADC peace-building programme will also address the issue of foreign armed
groups.
Côte dâIvoire
Summit of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, at its 64th
meeting held on Tuesday, 17 October 2006:
* Reiterated its concern over the persistence of the crisis in Côte dâIvoire
and the dangers it poses to the unity of that country and the cohesion of its
social fabric, as well as to peace and security in the region
* Reaffirms the commitment of the African Union to the respect of the
sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and the unity of Côte
dâIvoire, as well as the imperative need for the speedy reunification of Côte
dâIvoire. The council also reaffirms the commitment of the African Union to the
peaceful settlement of disputes and its total rejection of the use of force, as
well as of any unconstitutional change of government.
* Endorses the observation of the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS) Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government, held in Abuja
on Friday, 6 October 2006, on the expiration of the transitional period of 12
months and on the impossibility of organising presidential elections on the
scheduled date
* Decides that a new transition period not exceeding 12 months shall be
established commencing from 1st November 2006 to complete the following
tasks:
- identification and registration of voters
- Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) and restructuring of the
Defence and Security Forces
- dismantling of the militias
- restoration of State authority throughout the territory of Côte
dâIvoire
- the technical preparation for elections.
* During this transition period:
* President Gbagbo shall remain Head of State until the end of the
transition period
* The Prime Minister of the transition, Charles Konan Banny shall have all the
necessary powers and means to implement the following activities:
- the disarmament programme
- the identification process
- the dismantling of the militias
- the restoration of State Authority throughout the country
- electoral issues
- the redeployment of the administration and public services throughout the
territory of Côte dâIvoire
* The Prime Minister shall also have the necessary authority over all the
integrated Ivorian defence and security forces to enable him to carry out the
tasks assigned to him
* The Minister shall be accountable to the Prime Minister, who shall have
full authority over his cabinet
* The Council of Ministers may, in all matters, take decisions by ordinances
or decrees. In particular the Council of Ministers may adopt, by ordinance,
appropriate practical measures within the spirit of the law to speed up the
process of issuing duplicates of birth certificates and certificates of
nationality.
* Pays tribute to President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa for the untiring
efforts he has deployed in the service of peace and reconciliation in Côte
dâIvoire, as well as the numerous initiatives he has taken to move forward the
peace process, in his capacity as AU mediator, driven by his deep commitment to
finding African solution to African problems;
* Decides to accept the request of President Thabo Mbeki for South Africa to
hand over the rol of Mediation, following its election the United Nations
Security Council. The Council reaffirms that the African Union will
continue to call upon the leadership of President Mbeki in the resolution of
the Ivorian crisis.
* Decides to entrust the pursuit of the mediation to be continued by
President Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of Congo in his capacity as
Chair of the AU, in liaison with the Chairperson of the Commission of the
African Union and the Executive Secretariat of ECOWAS and, as the need may
arise in liaison with any other African leader willing to make a contribution
to the search for peace in Côte dâIvoire
* Reaffirms the centrality of DDR to the peace process and calls for its
immediate completion as well as for the completion of the disarmament and
dismantling of the militias, which should run concurrently with identification
of citizens.
* The High Representative for Elections to play a greater role in the
resolution of disputes linked to the electoral process or issues arising out of
the procedure and processes to be adopted to ensure free, transparent, open and
fair elections.
* Calls on the United Nations Security Council to take appropriate measures
including sanctions, against individuals or groups whose conduct either by
commission or omission, impedes or disrupts the implementation of the peace
process and relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.
* Urges the United Nations to take appropriate measures with a view to the
effective implementation of the arms embargo on Côte dâIvoire and to ensure
that those who violate the embargo are severely punished.
* Decides to submit this decision to the United Nations Security Council
Burundi
* Negotiations are currently stalled following demands by the
Paliphehutu-FNL that amnesty be decreed into law and endorsed by
Parliament.
* The Facilitator and his team are currently looking into this.
* The Government of Burundi has proclaimed on this issue but the
Paliphehutu-FNL wants this to be made into law.
* Negotiations are ongoing in this regard.
* However, the Facilitator and his team have now set up offices in Burundi
to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.
* The Joint Verification and Monitoring Mechanism (JVMM) has been
launched.
* It is expected that the ceasefire will be fully implemented following the
resolution of the issue around the amnesty.
* The Paliphehutu-FNL has also made a demand around the release of political
prisoners â however this matter will be fully dealt with by the JVMM
SADC Extraordinary Summit to consider Regional, Economic and Political
Integration
* Regional integration is absolutely vital to successfully tackle the
challenges of poverty and underdevelopment.
* The Extraordinary Summit held on 23 October 2006 to review the status of
regional economic integration and to propose measures to accelerate the
implementation of the SADC economic integration agenda.
* Summit concluded that the SADC Free Trade Area programme will be launched
as planned by 2008. However Summit noted that SADCâs trade patterns consist
mainly of commodities and that there is need to diversify the SADC economies
and increase intra-regional trade and growth. Also the issue of the FTA must be
dealt with in the context of a developmental agenda and we must avoid any hasty
measures and ensure that the ground is properly prepared.
* Summit also reaffirmed its commitment to the establishment of a SADC
Customs Union by 2010 and directed the Ministerial Task Force to undertake and
finalise a study, which will evaluate an appropriate model for a SADC Customs
Union.
* Summit agreed to mobilise the regionâs own resources and agreed that a
Development Fund be established for infrastructure and food security.
* Summit directed that the Secretariat resources be in creased and aligned
with the SADC priority programmes.
African Union Government
* Summit noted that the effective establishment of the African Union
Government can only occur when the African continent attains higher levels of
both economic and political integration.
* The report on the African Union government will now be submitted to the
SADC Council of Ministers to consider prior to the Extra Ordinary Session of
the Executive Council of the AU on 17-18 November 2006 in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia.
* Summit expressed concern at the lack of progress in the Doha Development
Agenda.
Security Council
* On 16 October 2006 the General Assembly of the United Nations elected
South Africa to serve as non-permanent member of the United Nations Security
Council for a two-year term starting on 1 January 2007.
* South Africa will join the Republic of Congo and Ghana as the third
African non-permanent member of the Security Council.
* South Africa received the support of 186 countries, with no country voting
against or abstaining.
* South Africa is greatly privileged and honoured by its election.
Minister Zuma in a statement said
"We declare our readiness and preparedness to serve the peoples of Africa,
the South and the world in this capacity. South Africa, commits itself thus,
fully cognisant of the challenges that will certainly arise from the
responsibilities that will attend to the membership of the UN Security Council
as an instrument of our collective peace and security.
South Africa will strive in conjunction with the African Union, to create
synergies between the work of the African Union Peace and Security Council and
the UN Security Council with a view to the prevention of outbreaks of violence
and conflict in the continent of Africa.
South Africa shall also continue to work with all members of the United
Nations General Assembly in pursuit of the comprehensive reform of the United
Nations, including the reform and expansion of the United Nations Security
Council."
We will have to build up the necessary capacity both in Pretoria and New
York.
* The UNSC occupies an important and unique place in this multilateral
system with its tasks defined in the UN Charter.
The Charter says: "In order to ensure prompt and effective action by the
United Nations, its Members confer on the Security Council primary
responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security and
agree that in carrying out its duties under this responsibility,
the Security Council acts on their behalf. In discharging these duties the
Security Council shall act in accordance with the Purposes and Principles of
the United Nations."
* Currently for instance, the African issues of which the UNSC remains
seized include Western Sahara, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Côte dâIvoire, the
Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Sudan, Somalia, and Ethiopia and Eritrea
with regard to their border dispute.
Other important issues:
* Palestine and Israel
* Lebanon and Israel
* Iraq
* Iran
* The Democratic People's Republic of Korea
* Haiti
* Cyprus
As we take our seat on the Security Council we are acutely conscious.
* Of fundamental importance to the tasks that face the UNSC is the need to
respect the Principles reflected in the Preamble of the UN Charter. This
Preamble says:
"We the peoples of the United Nations determined:
* to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war which twice in our
lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind
* to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of
the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and
small, and
* to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations
arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained;
and
* to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger
freedom."
These are fundamental elements that drive our foreign policy perspectives
and will guide our actions in the Security Council.
President Mbeki said:
"The responsibility facing our government as a member of the UNSC is a
national task to which we must respond in unity, inspired in the spirit of
ubuntu, that with regard to all humanity, we are truly one anotherâs brothers
and sisterâs keepers.
A shared and new patriotism must surely tell all of us, regardless of any
political or other affiliation and identity, that when we end our privileged
tour of duty as a member of the 15-member UNSC on 31 December 2008 we will be
immensely honoured to hear all humanity saying â that you South Africa for
everything you did to strive to make ours a better and safer world for
all."
Middle East
The situation remains volatile and dangerous.
* Alvaro de Soto, Special Co-ordinator for the Middle East Peace process on
the 19 October 2006 told the Security Council that, "a deadly crisis continues
in Gaza" and that it was urgent to help restart dialogue
* "The virtual siege of Gaza is having a devastating effect on the lives of
ordinary Palestinians, stifling hope and fomenting despair, while the continued
dangerous launching of rockets at Israeli population centres such as Sederot is
a source of deep distress for ordinary Israelis."
* He said the combination of near total closure of the Gaza Strip,
non-payment of public sector salaries, absence of basic law and order,
declining service delivery, continued military strikes by air and land and the
lack of any apparent political horizon was a truly explosive one.
Recent military offensive in Gaza
Some comments
* The urgency of resumption of negotiations towards the implementation of
the Quartetâs Roadmap. Peace will not be achieved through firing of rockets, or
by separation walls or unilateral attempts to prejudge the final status
issue.
* With Palestinian Security forces, medical workers and others on strike,
the European Commissionâs efforts to mitigate the worst effects of the crisis
by renewing the Temporary International Mechanism was welcomed, but it could
not be sustained, nor substitute for the Palestinian Authority.
* Call on the international community to end collective sanctions.
* Israelâs continued withholding of over half a billion dollars of
Palestinian tax and customs revenues was the biggest single direct cause of the
Palestinian financial crisis.
* Need to implement the Agreement on Movement and Access
United Nations office for the co-ordinating of Humanitarian Affairs (30
September 2006)
Main findings
No significant improvement in Palestinian movement has been observed.
Closures continue to carve up the West Bank leading to isolation of
communities, in particular the cities of Nablus, Jerusalem as well as the
Jordan Valley. The fragmentation of the West Bank has been reinforced during
the last three months.
The most evident trends including the following:
* the movement of northern governorates and Nablus residents to the rest of
the West Bank continues to be restricted heavily;
* Palestinian vehicle traffic has been further excluded from main road arteries
used by Israeli traffic by more strategic road blocks and checkpoints leading
on to these routes
* the Jordan Valley has been further isolated with the latest closure and
security policies of the IDF
* barrier construction increases the amount of agricultural land left in
"closed areas" between the Barrier and the Green Line.
As of 20 Sept 2006, the West Bank closure system comprises 528 checkpoints
and physical obstacles placed by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on roads to
control and restrict Palestinian movement â representing an increase of almost
2% on the 518 obstacles reported in the June 2006 update. This latest count
represents an 11% increase in the number of physical obstacles erected by the
Israel Defence Forces (IDF) since the beginning of 2006 and almost 40% since
Aug 2005.
* The virtual siege of Gaza is also having a devastating effect on the lives
of ordinary Palestinians, stifling hope and fomenting despair
Inter Palestinian violence is a matter of serious concern. National unity is
the only way to stem the slide into anarchy and civil war. The dangerous
situation demands a comprehensive regional solution. The Arab Peace Initiative
of 2002 is such a plan.
Nuclear non-proliferation
* South Africa recognises and supports the legitimate right of all States to
utilise the atom for peaceful purposes. At the same time, we are of the view
that the ownership of the capability that could also be utilised to develop
nuclear weapons places a special responsibility on the States concerned to
build confidence with the international community that would remove any
concerns about nuclear weapon proliferation. South Africa believes that such
States need to ensure that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is
able to verify that these capabilities are being used for peaceful purposes
only, including through the mechanisms available under the Additional Protocol
for strengthened safeguards.
* In our view, the Additional Protocol remains an important instrument to
build confidence and provide assurances regarding the continued peaceful
application of nuclear energy.
* South Africa strongly supports universal adherence to IAEA Safeguards
Agreements
* The illicit transfer of nuclear and nuclear related dual-use technology
and materials that could be used in the development of weapons of mass
destruction remains of serious concern to the international community and poses
a serious threat to the nuclear non-proliferation regime.
South Africa elected Chairperson of the Nuclear Suppliers Group
* South Africa was on Thursday, 12 October 2006 unanimously confirmed as the
next Chairperson of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, for the period 2007-2008 at
the Consultative meeting of the Group held in Vienna, Austria. SA is
represented at the meeting by Ambassador Abdul Minty.
* South Africa welcomes the confidence placed in it by the full membership
of the Nuclear Suppliers Group as recognition of the countryâs
non-proliferation and disarmament credentials.
* The Nuclear Suppliers Group was established in 1975 and is composed of 45
countries across the world considered as suppliers of nuclear items. The
objectives of the Nuclear Suppliers Group are to ensure that nuclear transfers
of items for peaceful purposes are not diverted to unsafe and unguarded nuclear
activities or nuclear weapons.
* The Nuclear Suppliers Group, currently chaired by Brazil, inevitably deals
with the dual- use items that can be used for either peaceful or non-peaceful
purposes.
* Consequent to Thursdayâs decision, the next Annual Plenary meeting of the
Nuclear Suppliers Group will be held in South Africa in the year 2007.
Questions and answers
Question: Deputy Minister Pahad, I find the situation of the deportation of
Mr Habib from the United States very disturbing â can you comment?
Answer: We have now received a letter from the Human Sciences Research
Council and have requested an explanation from the United States. This incident
is very worrying â we have seen an increase in the last few years of South
Africans being deported from the United States and other countries without
explanation. Mr Habib did have a 10-year visa and should have been allowed to
attend the meetings.
We have been told that this may have been a mistake â but we cannot work on
mistakes â this has cost the Council a lot of money and time. We call on the
American government to pay greater attention to their lists. We believe the
situation will increasingly become one where South Africans will be reluctant
to travel if they are subject to mistakes of computer glitches.
Question: Deputy Minister, was the situation of Zimbabwe addressed at the
Extraordinary SADC Summit?
Answer: This matter was not addressed â we looked at the matter of
integration in a holistic sense. Much time was spent looking at SADCâs uneven
growth patterns and South Africaâs prominence in the region. We also discussed
the need for inter-regional trade to increase.
Question: Deputy Minister Pahad, you mentioned the Facilitator had set up an
office in Burundi â for how long will this be operational and who will staff
it? What role do you see for South Africa in a post-election DRC and how will
South Africa support SADC initiatives?
Answer: The office of the Facilitator was set up a few days ago and will be
operational for as long as the Facilitation is required. This office is
in addition to that of our mission.
As you know, in the DRC, we have officers as part of the MONUC forces,
experts outside the UN and many other personnel. Several ministries are
also assisting the government and people of DRC with their infrastructure,
helping with registration, home affairs, capacity building.
SADC will attempt to co-ordinate post-conflict initiatives in the DRC. The
matter will have to be thoroughly discussed since we want to prevent the
duplication of activities. We have limited resources that must be used to
maximum benefit.
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
26 October 2006
