Affairs, at the London School of Economics (LSE) in the Political Science
Lecture Series
25 October 2006
The United Nations in the 21st century
Mr Howard Davies, Director of the London School of Economics,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen:
I have the great honour and privilege to participate in this London School
of Economics (LSE) Lecture Series on the relevance of the United Nations (UN)
at sixty.
Tomorrow I will also have the privilege of presenting the inaugural lecture
on the "International Legacy of Oliver Tambo" at the Glasgow City Hall. The
coincidence of these events during this week could not have been more opportune
and significant because Oliver Tambo, among his many distinguished qualities,
was an ardent internationalist.
Oliver Tambo led the African National Congress (ANC) during the entire
period of its underground and exile existence spanning three decades. He is one
ANC president that interacted most with the UN, the organisation of African
Unity (AU) and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
He worked for self-determination, democracy, the respect for human rights,
the upliftment of those disempowered and living in poverty, non-racialism,
non-sexism, the resolution of conflicts by peaceful means as well as the
destruction of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction.
The values and principles that he stood for and asserted are also those
which today form the cornerstone of the Constitution as well as the foreign
policy of the new democratic South Africa.
Ladies and gentlemen
Above all he believed in the true solidarity and the potential of the UN to
serve as a conscience of the world and collective energy for dealing with the
most pressing challenges facing humanity.
I recall the work of Oliver Tambo to also indicate that in South Africa we
have a long and rich history with the UN.
Indeed South Africa provides a case of what the international community can
do better under the UN in support of a people in need. It also shows the
potential of the UN to use the various tools at its disposal in pursuit of the
noble objectives on which it was founded. Furthermore it illustrates the
dilemmas that come with the asymmetries in the use of power within the world
body.
The UN was also founded at a time in history when a large number of peoples
in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean still lived under
colonialism. However the principles and values under which the UN was created
served to inform and give moral and political authority to the struggle against
colonialism and apartheid.
With great foresight the founders of the UN identified a set of fundamental
purposes and principles which are still relevant today. They said that its
purposes are, I quote, "to maintain international peace and security, to
develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of
equal rights and self determination, to achieve international co-operation in
solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian
character and to be the centre for harmonising the actions of nations in the
attainment of these common goals".
Preamble:
We the peoples of the UN determined:
* to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war which twice in our
lifetimes has brought untold sorrow to mankind,
* to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the right dignity and
worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of the
nations large and small,
* to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the
obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be
maintained,
* to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger
freedom.
And for these ends:
* to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good
neighbours,
* to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security,
* to ensure by the acceptance of principles and institutions of methods,
that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest,
* to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and
social advancement of all peoples.
Since its creation these principles of the UN became the shining rod and
benchmarks for a better world order. We experienced this directly in South
Africa as we saw the world unite under the UN to oppose apartheid.
Decolonisation and the fight against apartheid are perhaps among the best
successes for the UN General Assembly.
One of the ironies of history is that South Africa's racist apartheid
government was also represented and participated in the drafting of the Charter
of the UN. Oliver Tambo called this the "fault of the times". The policies of
the South African government from 1945 up until 1994 were in direct
contradiction with the Charter and the purpose of the UN.
The ANC has always believed that the honourable task of freeing South Africa
rested firmly with the people of South Africa themselves. This remained the
fundamental position of principle from which all international action is to be
appraised.
During this period the bonds of bondage that bound millions of South
Africans were tightened to the absolute limit, the screws of oppression and
exploitation had been driven in without mercy and racial discrimination
permeated every sphere of South African life.
Basic freedoms which were few and far in between had been whittled away
until there was none worth mentioning violence against the majority of the
people had reached frightening proportions.
Indeed the relations that apartheid South Africa enjoyed at that time
especially with the western countries meant that the UN would take a longer
time before calling for strong actions against apartheid. From 1946 when the UN
first addressed the problem of discrimination against people of Indian origin
in South Africa, as had been highlighted by the great Mahatma Gandhi, to 1960
the UN was rather timid. There was resistance by western States to an outright
condemnation of apartheid as a blatant violation of human rights.
It was only when the apartheid police unleashed violence against peaceful
South Africans demonstrating against pass laws in Sharpeville in 1960 and in
response to the worldwide condemnation of this act that the Security Council
itself started considering action. The Security Council resolution 181 of 1960
deplored the policies of the South African government and called upon it to
abandon apartheid and racial discrimination. This period had also coincided
with the admission of more African States in the UN as a result of
decolonisation and their calls for stronger action from the UN.
On its part the General Assembly passed resolution 1761 in 1962 urging
Member States to impose economic and other sanctions against South Africa. But
these resolutions could not have the intended effects without the support of
all Member States. Resolution 1761 also established the Special Committee
Against Apartheid, which had to play a very crucial role in mobilising
international support.
Following on these the UN was to pass other successive resolutions over the
years as it remained seized of the South African question. Notable among these
were resolutions establishing arms and oil embargoes, the proclamation of 21
March as the International Day for the elimination of racial discrimination on
the anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre and the declaration of the General
Assembly in 1970 of apartheid as a crime against the conscience and dignity of
humankind.
The General Assembly, under the leadership of the then Foreign Minister of
Algeria, his Excellency Abdelaziz Bouteflika, used the powers bestowed upon it
to reject the credentials of the South African delegation in 1974. Following
this South Africa withdrew from other UN organs and specialised agencies such
as the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)
and the International Labour Organisations (ILO). In its place our liberation
movements, the ANC and the Pan African Congress (PAC), were recognised from
1975 as the representatives of the South African people and given observer
status at the UN.
We therefore also need a renewed commitment to the strengthening of a rules
based multilateral system of global governance based on the democratic ideal.
Multilateralism remains the most effective and efficient system for addressing
global problems. In history no other form of inter-State co-operation has
delivered the same results as multilateralism. Unilateralism usually does not
stand the test of time. Coalitions of the willing on issues that require
collective action have also proved to be short-term solutions that also lack
credibility. They are often used simply to assert the hegemonic intentions of a
minority of countries.
It is also important that we consider the importance that the drafters of
the UN Charter attached in designing a system of checks and balances as they
gave different powers and functions to its different organs. Today, however, we
see the increasing empowerment of the Security Council at the expense
especially of the General Assembly and other organs. The Security Council has
tended to encroach on the competencies of the other principal organs of the UN.
It has also increasingly assumed for itself a legislative and treaty
interpreting or amending role.
There is no doubt that this approach also weakens multilateralism in the
sense that other organs and bodies can lose their specialised mandates to the
Security Council. For example, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is
the sole and legitimate body for the verification of nuclear safeguards
agreements and its role must not be undermined or subsumed by the Security
Council.
Yet another area that I suggest needs to be strengthened to make our
organisation relevant is on prevention of conflicts. Even today, prevention is
better than cure is more apt when we look at the history of the UN and realise
the costs of humanitarian interventions, peacekeeping and reconstruction after
wars. Prevention should also seek to address the root causes of conflicts.
The UN should also seriously review the role of sanctions as a useful tool
that needs to be used judiciously and with care. Sanctions should support
peace-making and peace-building rather than impede it.
Ladies and gentlemen
Another glaring area in which the United Nations still has to do more is to
empowerment women in its own work and structures.
Despite the principles that the UN is promoting, women are not yet playing a
prominent and visible role in its leadership structures. In this area, I
challenge the UN to fall in line with the important trend in the world in which
women are taking responsibility and leadership roles in various sectors. Put
simply, we need to see more women in peace-building, acting as special envoys
as well as leading the multitude of specialised agencies that belong to the UN
family.
Ladies and gentlemen
Let me also take this opportunity to offer some reflections on my country's
recent election to serve in the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member
for the period 2007 to 2008. This is significant as we will be serving in the
Security Council for the first time. We feel honoured therefore that, 12 years
into our democracy, we have this opportunity to make a direct contribution to
the maintenance of international peace and security.
According to the Charter of the UN the Security Council is mandated to act
on behalf of Member States in the maintenance of international peace and
security. The Security Council is also obligated to act in accordance with the
purposes and principles of the Charter.
We will be serving in the Security Council during challenging times in
global politics. It is also a time when more than ever the world requires a
strong system of multilateral governance.
We will be serving in the Security Council also at a time when it is seized
of a large number of African issues. These include Western Sahara, Liberia,
Sierra Leone, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi,
Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia and Eritrea. We see our membership of the Security
Council therefore allowing us to enhance the role that we are already playing
in conflict resolution and peace-building on the African continent. In this
work we have been responding to the strong resolve of African leaders and
indeed the people of Africa who would like to see our continent achieve peace
as a prerequisite for sustainable development.
We will also be informed by our own foreign policy which is based on a
vision of an African continent that is prosperous, peaceful, democratic,
non-racial, non-sexist and united and which contributes to a world that is just
and equitable.
We are already working with the peoples of the DRC, Sudan, Burundi, Côte
d'Ivoire and others as they take steps to move beyond years of devastating
conflict and as they seek to create conditions of peace and prosperity in their
countries. In this regard we express gratitude to all the countries that have
been supporting these peace-building initiatives in Africa.
If the Security Council is to make a lasting impact on the African continent
we also believe that we should seek to build synergies between its work and
that of the AU, in particular its Peace and Security Council.
Ladies and gentlemen
We recognise that membership of the Security Council brings with it global
responsibilities and requires a commitment to contribute to peace and security
globally. In this regard we are committed to play our part in a constructive
and responsible manner.
We shall work with all members of the Security Council and regional
organisations in pursuit of peace and stability in all regions of the world in
particular the Middle East.
The Security Council is also seized with other important matters such as
counter-terrorism and non-proliferation. On these as well South Africa intends
to play its part in contributing to the work of the council.
South Africa is therefore aware of the challenges that we will face as we
join the Security Council and we intend to work closely with all members,
including the permanent five that for historical reasons have a unique role in
the work of the council.
South Africa has already shown itself to be a reliable partner of the
international community as we took part in the leadership of sub-regional,
regional and global organisations. These include the Southern African
Development Community (SADC), the AU, the NAM and the Group of 77 (G77) and
China and the Commonwealth. We have also hosted various international
conferences such as those of the AU, the Commonwealth, the NAM, the World
Conference Against Racism and the World Summit on Sustainable Development.
We hope that we will make a constructive contribution to the work of the
Security Council consistent with the expectations that the peoples of our
country, Africa and the rest of the world have on us.
Despite all its weaknesses, I believe that the UN is even more relevant
today than it was in the past in view of the challenges that the world is
facing especially with regard to peace and security.
It is needed to help create conditions of peace in Afghanistan, Middle East,
Sudan, Cote d'Ivoire. The world is also seized with matters relating to Iran
and the Democratic Republic of Korea and here as well the role of the UN is
pivotal because, as I indicated when accepting South Africa's election to the
non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council, "we do so conscious and
convinced that the multilateral system of global governance remains the only
hope for challenges facing humanity today".
I thank you!
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
26 October 2006
Source: SAPA
