S van der Merwe: South African Institute of International
Affairs

14 June 2006

Ladies and gentlemen,
Distinguished guests;

It is my pleasure to address the South African Institute for International
Affairs on the role of multilateral diplomacy in our foreign policy agenda.

Chairperson,
Setting the context

I will start my talk reflecting on two momentous occasions that we as a
country witnessed last year that are significant in terms of foreign policy
direction.

The first was the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Charter.
Some 50 years ago, thousands of people from diverse racial groups gathered at
the congress of the people to put forward their vision of a future South
Africa. While the Charter envisions a South Africa that belongs all who live in
it, it also envisioned a global role for the country to "strive to maintain
world peace and the settlement of international disputes by negotiation not
war." The document goes on to further state that; "the right of all peoples of
Africa to independence and self government shall be recognised and shall be the
basis of close co-operation." This principle has been the mainstay of our
struggle for liberation which brought about a democratic dispensation in 1994
and is now the cornerstone of our foreign policy.

South Africa's interaction with the international community must necessarily
reflect its national imperatives including such critical issues as job creation
and poverty alleviation. The challenge for South Africa's interactions with the
international community will, therefore, continue to be the way in which
foreign policy synthesises the South African peoples' values and principles
with the actions and positions it needs to adopt as a response to global events
and trends.

The second event last year was the celebration of the 60th anniversary of
the United Nations (UN). This could have been one of the momentous events of
our time and we could have witnessed the far reaching reform of the UN, which
would have been exemplified by an agreement amongst others to enlarge the
United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

It is now historic fact that this did not happen and we were set back years
in the process. The outcomes of the summit were a huge disappointment to us but
because the core developmental issues that are of concern to us were sacrificed
through narrow self interest.

Of course we had realised from the beginning of our campaign as Africans and
members of the south that the first prize for us was a decisive outcome
regarding the direction the world would take towards realising the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs).

This we did mindful of our commitment to the vision of "trade and not aid"
would liberate us economically to ensure that we realise the MDGs by 2015.

However, having said that as a country we are aware that there will always
be competing ideologies about how the world should be governed but we remain
convinced that only through constructive dialogue will be able to bring about
the kind of world we envisage. We still believe that the UN is the key
multilateral institution for global governance.

Over 30 years ago, in June 1976, 15 000 school children led by Tebello
Motopayane and Tsietsi Mashinini with great courage and conviction marched
through the streets of Soweto to protest against the use of Afrikaans as a
medium of instruction.

They were met by an armed police force that fired into the crowd. On this
fateful day our country lost some of its brightest minds in the cause of
fighting for the freedom that we enjoy today. By August the revolt had spread
to other parts of the country and in the year that followed many children gave
their lives to the struggle for freedom.

This march also sparked intensification in international solidarity with the
struggle in South Africa and the Soweto uprising began the final phase in the
struggle to free South Africa from apartheid and to usher in a new era for the
South African people.

Today our struggle is different and as we commemorate Youth Day on Friday, I
am glad to see that our young people are hard at work using the opportunities
that the freedom that they have fought so hard for in working towards a better
life for all.

Our foreign policy is informed by our domestic policy and the two are
mutually reinforcing. Informed by its domestic policy, South Africa's foreign
policy therefore is guided by the vision of a better South Africa in a better
Africa and a better world.

In this regard progress has been made in confronting the challenges plaguing
the African continent to reach her full potential. Our people from all walks of
life have demonstrated goodwill to change the fortunes of the continent to a
prosperous society. Over the years we have reached various milestones in
entrenching the principles of democratic governance with remarkable results. As
a consequence, many countries on the continent have over recent years held
successful elections the rule of law is being observed and respected and a
vibrant civil society base is growing.

Building on the successes that have been achieved so far, the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) is writing her own history as the country is preparing
itself for the upcoming elections to be held next month after many years of
conflict and instability. In Burundi the groups remaining outside the peace
process are now in dialogue with the Burundian government with the aim of
reconciling their differences to bring about lasting peace and prosperity in
their country.

Drawing from our own experience, South Africa has actively been involved as
a mediator and promoter of peace and of economic development on the continent.
In the spirit of the African Renaissance we have committed capital and human
resources to various African Union (AU) initiatives that will see our continent
achieving the objectives of a better life for all. Our initiatives have been
complemented by the private sector which continues to bring about much needed
investment on the African continent propelling our country to be one of the
lead contributors to foreign direct investment on the continent.

Our economic, political and social systems are currently being evaluated
under the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). The APRM as you might be aware
is the brainchild of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) as a
programme of action that encourages good democratic governance. Civil society
movements were a prominent feature in making their voices known to the APRMs
consultative process during the South African National NEPAD Strategy Workshop
held in April this year.

For us to fully achieve and realise the African Renaissance we recognise
civil society movements as an important and key stakeholder in this process and
every effort has been made to bring them on board. These movements too have
responded positively to continental efforts of building a better a future for
her people.

There are, however, shortcomings that we still need to overcome as we pursue
our development goals for the people of our continent. We still need to
overcome poverty, infectious diseases and provide access to health care,
housing, water and sanitation to the most vulnerable people within our
societies.

Also an uneven gender balance in key sectors of economic, social and
political development still haunts the continent. Women still bear the brunt of
discrimination and marginalisation. Strides are being made in addressing this
challenge as we have seen women taking up leadership positions and playing a
critical role in the affairs of the continent.

Regionally there are positive prospects as various structures under the
auspices of Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) are consolidating the
gains that have been facilitated by our governments. Resources have been made
available by our country to strengthen the SADC Secretariat in order to allow
it to implement its mandate to the people of this region.

We therefore remain committed to promoting our domestic interests abroad
through dialogue and engagement. Dialogue has always been our strength and we
remain convinced that only through constructive dialogue will we be able to
bring about the kind of world envisage.

Chairperson,
Multilateral diplomacy

For South Africa, multilateralism is not an option but the only choice that
can guarantee durable peace which underpins the fight against poverty and
underdevelopment. As the universal forum for grappling with international
problems, the UN is the best suited platform for tackling the diverse and
complex challenges that arise within the human polity.

It is clear that it is only through a reformed UN that threats and
challenges facing humanity can be collectively confronted. Such a reform should
be meaningful, strengthen the ability of the organisation to implement its
mandates effectively and enable it to serve the interests of the collective
membership. A stronger UN that responds more effectively to our collective
needs is in our common interest. We therefore remain seized with the issue of
the reform of the UN.

In her Budget Vote speech in May this year, Minister Dlamini Zuma, stated
that while we experienced some setbacks with regards to the UN Reform Agenda
last year, some important developments have taken place in the reform
agenda.

Amongst these we can include the establishment of the Human Rights Council.
We believe that with its establishment, we can now overcome the shortcomings
that befell its predecessor, the Human Rights Commission which some states used
as a platform to refer those countries whose policies they did not agree
with.

This had the negative consequence of politicising the issues rather than
bringing about constructive solutions to human rights violations by certain
countries. As a newly appointed member of the Human Rights Council we will
continue to advance our principled position of bringing about a just world that
respects human rights.

As I have already stated, peace and stability on the continent are very
critical for economic growth and development. Therefore a fundamental aspect of
our foreign policy particularly with regards to the consolidation of the
African agenda is to ensure that once a cessation of hostilities is in place,
mechanisms are developed place that ensure the country does not slide back into
conflict. Thus, increasingly we are doing work in the area of post conflict
reconstruction and development. We therefore believe that once it begins its
work the United Nations Peace Building Commission will play a pivotal role in
the transition from conflict to post conflict reconstruction that is
sustainable.

The commission will mainly be a co-ordinating mechanism of all the actors
that are involved in assisting countries emerging from conflict. This usually
includes UN agencies, regional organisations and bilateral donors. The value of
the Peace Building Commission would be to bring coherence to the work of these
various entities around a commonly agreed programme.

Its second main focus would be to ensure that the international community
has a longer term horizon in assisting a country emerging from conflict.
Hitherto a weakness of the approach of the international community has been its
short term focus, often reducing support to a country once elections have been
held. This has led to a relapse in most cases back into conflict with costly
consequences for the countries concerned as well as the international
community.

Therefore the commission holds the potential to make a significant
contribution to post conflict reconstruction. It is also important to note that
most of the countries that will be on the agenda of the Peace Building
Commission will be African countries.

I will now briefly like to address the issue of the reform of the UNSC. Much
of the work that we and others did last year on UN reform was overshadowed by
the emphasis on Security Council enlargement.

As much as we in the developing world were concerned that the over emphasis
on security issues, particularly the fight against terrorism would undermine
the attainment of the MDGs, Security Council nevertheless remains at the heart
of this reform drive.

The question that members are really asking is how, after 60 years of
existence could the global governance agenda rest in the hands of five
countries with the power to veto the decisions of all the combined votes of the
members. We also sought collectively as African States to address this issue
through the Ezulwini Consensus where we argued that:
"Africa's goal is to be fully represented in all the decision making organs of
the UN particularly in the Security Council which is the principal decision
making organ of the UN in matters relating to international peace and
security."

This position also found resonance in the Secretary-General's Report
entitled "In Larger Freedom", wherein he stated that "the Security Council
should be broadly representative of the realities of power in today's
world."

So in a sense there was some kind of global consensus that was starting to
emerge towards the time of the 60th session of the General Assembly in
September last, hence our optimism.

However, this issue is not completely off the agenda yet and we continue to
lobby for the expansion of the Security Council. This issue will receive
attention at the AU summit in the Gambia in July this year.

Apart from the political diplomacy, there are also the economic and
development challenges that remain high on our agenda. It is by now clear that
we cannot achieve security without development and development without
security. It is clear to us that trade not aid provides the best and
sustainable path towards having meaningful development and in turn the
attainment of the MDGs. However, this cannot happen while the global power
relations remain as they are.

We must therefore continue to deepen the dialogue directed towards the
restructuring of the existing global power relations, particularly through the
reform of the global multilateral institutions such as the UN, the Bretton
Woods Institutions and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

In the last year we continued to advance our positions through participation
in African group meetings in UN conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
and WTO and as a G20 member in the WTO. These interactions play an important
role in promoting South-South co-operation for increased market access, trade
and investment amongst developing countries.

At the same time we must continue to play a role in cultivating the already
good political relations that we have with our partners in the north and strive
towards making these translate into concrete economic benefits. Here I am
talking about the G8, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD), World Economic Forum (WEF) and other relevant North-South fora.

I must however emphasise that the responsibility we carry is a heavy one and
we must not underestimate the complexities of the world in which we operate and
the strong competition we face within the south, particularly from other
developing countries such as China and India.

Going forward we must capitalise on the political goodwill that we enjoy to
leverage more foreign trade, external investments, financial flows, aid,
bilateral and multilateral economic negotiations, tourism promotion and
technology exchanges to promote brand South Africa and contribute to building
our country's image abroad. As Mahatma Gandhi once said "what is goodwill if it
not translated into action?"

Global security - nuclear non-proliferation

Let me start by clearly stating that we oppose the proliferation of weapons
of mass destruction. We believe that all countries that are in possession of
these weapons should disarm through the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
processes. We strongly support a nuclear weapons free world. This is our
principled position which we took as early as 1990 when government decided to
dismantle all existing nuclear weapons, acceded to the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty and concluded the safeguards agreement with the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The UN Secretary-General's Panel Report entitled "A More Secure World: Our
Shared Responsibility," concluded that:
"Development and security are inextricably linked. A more secure world is only
possible if poor countries are given a chance to develop. Extreme poverty and
infectious diseases threaten many people directly but they also provide a
fertile breeding ground for other threats, including civil conflict. Even
people in rich countries will be more secure if their governments help poor
countries to defeat poverty and diseases by meeting the MDGs."

South Africa is therefore of the view that in dealing with the issue of
global security in general there is first and foremost a need for a global
effort to tackle poverty and underdevelopment. Indeed, the international system
is not only challenged by global security issues such as terrorism, organised
crime, drugs, human trafficking, the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction (WMD) and small arms. It is also challenged by security issues that
are critical to the south such as poverty, underdevelopment, pandemic and
communicable diseases (such as HIV/AIDS). These issues cannot be separated from
one another.

Global efforts must also address issues of the use of land mines, the
illicit trade in small arms, disarmament and non-proliferation of WMD. This
also means working together to tackle the threat of terrorism in accordance
with the principles of international law. We wish to reaffirm that we will
continue to throw our weight behind the implementation of international
treaties and instruments in the fight against international terrorism and the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Networks and alliances based on specific issues are becoming more prevalent
as a form of diplomatic engagement, all of which lead to the further erosion of
multilateralism, international treaties and international law. Examples of this
trend include the utilisation of the United Nations Security Council only when
it serves the interests of some countries. This has been the case particularly
with Iran. The question of Iran has been sufficiently addressed by President
Mbeki, Minister Dlamini Zuma and Deputy Minister Pahad at various platforms and
our message has been very consistent. We have adopted a principled approach to
this matter and have always believed that a solution will only come about
through negotiation and multilateral approach.

Addressing the issue of Iran specifically, Minister Dlamini Zuma during her
Budget Vote speech went at length to articulate our stance on the matter. She
stated that:
“As committed multilateralists we shall defend the role of multilateral
instruments such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"We appreciate the professional manner in which the IAEA and its
Director-General, Dr El Baradei, have discharged their responsibilities
including with regard to the thorny issue of Iran and congratulate them on
being honoured with the well deserved award of the Nobel Peace Prize.

We recognise the inalienable right of all NPT members including the Islamic
Republic of Iran to the peaceful uses of nuclear technology and underline the
importance of voluntary confidence building and transparency measures by Iran
and full co-operation with the IAEA, in accordance with its obligations to
resolve this issue.

We believe that this matter can be resolved within the IAEA and appeal to
all parties to reduce confrontation and resort to dialogue and negotiations
instead of aggravating further the tense and explosive situation in the region.
Escalating confrontation and war talk is truly a recipe for disaster, which
will benefit no one."

The position articulated by the Minister above reflects our position that we
shall persuade others through negotiation within a multilateral rules based
international system. The principled stance is not always universally popular
and often its results are long term. Thomas Jefferson once said, "In matters of
style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock."

Towards a more equal, representative and balanced world order

The African continent is without doubt the continent most affected by
poverty and underdevelopment and the connection between conflict and
underdevelopment is more visible here than anywhere else. An analysis of
countries in conflict or those that have recently emerged from conflict reveals
a consistent pattern of low per capita income, absolute poverty, low life
expectancy, low levels of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and ODA and often
high levels of indebtedness. It is also clear that these countries are often
rich in resources and strategically located.

These global inequities are akin to the situation defined by Mahatma Gandhi
as, "When large numbers of people live in abject poverty, a handful of people
living in comfort and luxury amounts to a kind of violence."

In her seminal publication entitled, "How the other half dies: The real
reason for world hunger," Susan George argues that:
"Today's world has all the physical resources and technical skills necessary to
feed the present population of the planet or a much larger one. Unfortunately
for the millions of people who go hungry, the problem is not a technical one
nor was it wholly so in the 17th century for that matter. Whenever and wherever
they live rich people eat first they eat a disproportionate amount of the food
there is and poor ones rarely rise in revolt against this most basic of
oppressions unless specifically told to eat cake. Hunger is not a scourge but a
scandal."

For us placing Africa at the centre of the global development discourse is
therefore critical. That is why South Africa's foreign policy objectives are
firmly anchored in an African Agenda, an agenda that is aimed at pushing back
the frontiers of poverty and underdevelopment. The effects of conflict such as
economic, collapse, destruction of infrastructure, impoverishment of people,
refugee flows and environmental degradation affect not only the countries and
areas in conflict but also its neighbours and the continent as a whole. It has
remained a major pre-occupation for our government to assist with the
resolution of conflict and peace keeping where possible and within our
capacity.

Our work on the continent has mainly been concerned with the strengthening
of regional and continental multilateral institutions as well as the creation
of viable bilateral relations including peace building and post conflict
reconstruction efforts.

The AU remains the premier multilateral tool that we use on the continent to
ensure that we develop African solutions to African problems and advance common
positions on global matters. This was borne out by the development of the
common African position, commonly known as the "Ezulwini Consensus" which I
mentioned earlier, on UN reform. The proposals made in the consensus document
had far reaching implications for the reform of the UN and global governance.
It comprehensively addressed all manner of reform related issues including
collective security and the challenge of prevention; collective security and
the use of force and institutional reform.

Collectively as the AU we support the implementation of the recommendations
of the high level panel. We provide such support within the framework of
multilateralism as a tool for eradicating poverty, boosting economic growth,
promoting sustainable development, alleviating the debt problem, enhancing
Africa's participation in WTO negotiations and combating HIV/AIDS and other
infectious diseases.
In realising these important objectives, we will remain mindful of the
commitment we made in 1955 at the congress of the people that, ‘South Africa
shall be a fully independent State which respects the rights and sovereignty of
all nations.’

South Africa shall strive to maintain world peace and the settlement of
international disputes by negotiation, not war.

This is the world we envisioned then and while in matters of style we will
swim with the current, in matters of principle we will remain solid as a
rock.

Thank you for your attention.

Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
14 June 2006
Source: Department of Foreign Affairs (http://www.dfa.gov.za/)