International issues
4 July 2006
Sudan
1. I briefed you last week regarding the blue-hatting of the African Union
Mission in Sudan (AMIS).
2. With regard to this matter, Secretary-General Kofi Annan had extensive
discussions with Sudanese President Omar El-Bashir on the fringes of the
African Union (AU) Summit in Banjul. As you know, the Secretary-General has
said that âDarfur is one of the worst nightmares to be experienced in the
modern world.â
3. According to a Peace and Security Council decision, the mandate of AMIS
would expire at the end of September 2006 because of a lack of adequate
resources.
4. However, the Secretary-General has requested flexibility from the African
Union leaders in this regard, since there has been no agreement by the Sudanese
government on the transfer of the AMIS force to a UN force and as you know, a
UN force cannot operate in a country until there is agreement from the
leadership of that country.
5. The Secretary-General who has already had extensive discussions with
President Bashir on this matter will continue to discuss it with him to get his
agreement.
6. The Secretary-General will receive a plan for Darfur from President Bashir
for the next six months within three weeks.
7. The Secretary-General has also mentioned there will be a pledging conference
in Brussels on the 18 July 2006 where he hopes resources will be pledged to
enable AMIS to continue its mission for longer, i.e. December when the UN will
be able to take over if the Sudanese government agrees.
8. Former President and Chair of the African Union Commission Alpha Konare has
again urged the parties who signed the 5 May 2006 agreement to implement this
agreement and urged those who have not signed to do so.
9. We continue to support the blue-hatting of the AMIS and hope an agreement in
this regard will be reached soon.
Zimbabwe
1. Last week we discussed the possibility of a meeting between President
Mugabe and the UN Secretary-General on the fringes of the African Union Summit.
As you know, this meeting has now taken place.
2. The Secretary-General has announced that former President Benjamin Mkapa
will, in consultation with Southern African Development Community (SADC),
continue to mediate for a political solution in Zimbabwe.
3. The Secretary-General has said there is no need for two facilitators to this
situation.
4. The Secretary-General has also asked for time and space to allow former
President Mkapa to do his work.
Côte dâIvoire
1. Electioneering in Côte dâIvoire is fully underway.
2. On the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) process the two
Chiefs of Staff are in continuous consultation.
3. The problem of the National Assembly has now been resolved. It will function
to support the work of the Prime Minister.
4. Some parties feel that since the DDR process has not been fully implemented
that elections will be delayed. However, it is important that we continue to
work towards fulfilling this deadline and the situation can be re-evaluated
closer to the time in consultation with all parties.
5. The United Nations Secretary-General has indicated that a short delay may be
necessary and will have discussions in Côte dâIvoire tomorrow to assess
matters.
The Democratic Republic of Congo
1. Although there were protests last week, the process towards elections is
underway.
2. The 128-member South African observer mission will now be deployed in the
DRC from 19 July - 15 August. This is a 26-day period during which they cover
the campaigning, voting and counting phases.
3. The South African observer team will be deployed in 24 rather than the 64
originally muted centres. The 24 centres are in all the 11 provinces and
provide reasonable cover through the DRC territory.
4. Secretariat will be deployed on 14 and 16 July 2006 to be on the ground
before the observers arrive.
5. All medical and other logistical arrangements for the team are in
place.
6. The South African observer team will participate in a workshop before they
can be deployed.
7. We can also confirm that all ballot papers have been delivered with
exception of the four centres in Kinshasa.
8. Last week I reported that the DRC government has requested 128 specialists
in various Information Technology (IT) competencies. Since the Independent
Electoral Commission (IEC) could not provide this, an appeal was made to the
private sectors who have responded by volunteering their personnel. Telkom,
SAP, Dell, Cisco, Vodacom, Sentech, Accenture, Didata, IBM, Cell-C and Sahara
have responded to the request. This is an instance where the private sector has
come on board to assist us very positively.
9. The Security Council on Friday 30 June 2006 extended the mandate of the
strengthened peacekeeping force till 30 September 2006. This mission in the DRC
represents the largest and most expensive peacekeeping operation by the United
Nations. The MONUC operation consists of 18 000 uniformed personnel.
10. There has been a call for calm, free and secure voting for all participants
and access to the media. In addition, there has been a request for all parties
to refrain from hate speech.
Middle East
1. I last week warned that we were moving into a very dangerous phase in the
Middle East.
2. Indeed, not three days after this, Israeli artillery and tanks moved into
the Gaza and air strikes began. This exacerbated an already volatile
situation.
3. The destruction of the offices of the Prime Minister, the arrests of Cabinet
ministers, members of the legislative and the destruction of vital
infrastructure is not conducive to finding a solution to the current crisis.
Indeed the dire humanitarian situation is only being intensified.
4. The deadline put by the Palestinian groups for the release of Palestinian
prisoners, in exchange for the Israeli soldier, expired today.
5. Both the Palestinian President and Prime Minister had committed themselves
to seeking the release of the Israeli soldier.
6. The move into Gaza happened at a time when the international community,
including South Africa, were seized with and intensifying their attempts to
encourage the Palestinians to release the captured Israeli soldier.
7. This Israeli action also came hours after all the Palestinians had accepted
a plan produced by all sections of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. This
opened up real possibilities of a negotiated solution based on a two-state
solution.
8. International reactions to these developments indicate that we have entered
a very dangerous situation that threatens international peace and
security.
This, inter alia, includes:
* Statements by many countries expressing and condemning the military
response.
* The statement by the United Nations Secretary General.
* The Special United Nations Security Council meeting last Friday, 30 June
2006.
* The decision by the newly formed Human Rights Council to have a special
session in Geneva this week.
* The resolution adopted at the AU Summit in Gambia, 1 to 2 July 2006, that
condemned the Israeli military action.
9. We reiterate the call for the unconditional release of the Israeli
soldier.
10. We also ask Israeli to immediately cease its military action and work
towards finding a political solution to the crisis.
11. The South African government fully supports the African Union resolution
that âcalls upon the international community, and in particular the members of
the Quartet to reactivate their plan so as to pave the way for a return to the
negotiating table in accordance with the principles of international law and
the resolutions of the UN Security Council in order to achieve a lasting and
comprehensive solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the basis of two
States (Palestine and Israel) living side by side in peace and security.â
12. We hope that common good sense by all parties will prevail.
President Mbekiâs visit to Germany
1. South African President Thabo Mbeki, will pay a Working Visit to Berlin,
Germany from Friday to Sunday, 7 to 9 July 2006 where he will hold discussions
with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in addition to participating in the 2010
Handover Ceremony and launching the logo for the 2010 World Cup.
2. As you know there are over 100 cultural workers in Germany presenting
artistic presentations in preparation for the 2010 Handover Ceremony and to
prepare for the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa.
3. Since this is a working visit, President Mbeki will hold discussions with
German President Horst Koehler and Chancellor Angela Merkel.
4. Many key issues will be discussed among which the forthcoming Group of Eight
(G-8) Summit in Russia will be the key. It will also be important for President
Mbeki to discuss the forthcoming German presidency of the European Union (EU)
and how it can support African challenges.
5. Of course, the crisis in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks will also
be high on the agenda.
6. Other issues will also include:
* The implementation of President Koehlerâs African Partnership Initiative
since its inaugural meeting in Bonn in November 2005.
* An overview of the current status of bilateral relations and prospects for
future bilateral co-operation.
Developments within the European Union and Africa Review of Regions:
* Co-operation in the World Trade Organisation negotiations.
* South African preparations for the 2010 World Cup.
* African conflict resolution and peacekeeping and the support of the European
Union in these initiatives. In this regard, Germany will lead the European
Union Peacekeeping Force to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) ahead of and
during their scheduled elections.
* Other international issues of mutual concern including the situation in Iran
and the Israeli-Palestinian crisis.
South Africa (SA) - European Union (EU) Strategic Partnership
1. Another issue which is think is very important is the announcement by the
European Union (EU) of a strategic partnership between South Africa and the
EU.
2. The South African government welcomes this move as a positive step forward
in the process of elevating SA-EU relations. SA and the EU have, since mid
2005, been informally engaging each other on the possibility of elevating their
relationship. SA and the EU share many common objectives and positions, and
both SA and the EU believe that intensified cooperation will be of mutual
benefit.
3. During his visit to SA in February 2006, EU Commissioner for Development and
Humanitarian Assistance, Mr Louis Michel, held meetings with President Mbeki
and Minister Dlamini-Zuma, in which he presented a non-paper entitled âA
possible South Africa-EU Strategic Partnership.â The South African government
is presently studying this proposal.
4. A âstrategic partnershipâ relationship will allow SA and the EU to engage in
more intensive dialogue on political, economic and developmental issues.
According to the European Commission (EC), a strategic partnership with the EU
would give SA far greater recognition in Europeâs strategic global awareness,
as well as in time allow SA to be placed on a high-priority diplomatic footing
with the EU. SA-EU relations would thus hold similar importance to those held
by the EU and the Unite States of America (USA), Canada, China, Russia, India,
and Brazil, all of whom have special agreements with the EU.
5. The South African Government anticipates that formal discussions regarding
an elevation of relations could commence once the EC has tabled their proposed
strategic partnership before the European Council (the Member States), which is
expected to happen in late September this year.
6. This is a very important step and presents an opportunity for African
developmental challenges to be placed higher on the agenda of the European
Union.
7. The timing of this is also very important since South Africa will be a
non-permanent member of the Security Council 2007/08 and the responsibility
placed on it will be greater. We will then be in better position to deal with
some of our challenges.
Deputy Minister Pahad to host North Korean counterpart
1. I will host my counterpart from the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea
(DPRK) Vice Minister Kim Hyong Jun for bilateral political and economic
discussions at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Tuesday, 11 July 2006.
2. While we will discuss many pertinent issues one of the key areas will be a
briefing from my counterpart on the situation in the Korean peninsula with
regard to the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and nuclear
disarmament within the context of the Six-Party Talks;
3. This visit takes place at a time when the six party talks are largely
stalled. It will be important to get an understanding from my colleague as to
the reasons for non-movement and obstacles in the process.
4. We will also discuss the North Korean proposal for testing a nuclear
missile.
5. The statement has all the supporting information.
Deputy Minister Pahad to Hold Bilateral Discussions with Spanish Counterpart
Dr Bernadino Leon Gross
1. I will hold bilateral political and economic discussions with my Spanish
counterpart Secretary of State Dr Bernardino Leon Gross at the Diplomatic
Guesthouse in Pretoria on Wednesday, 5 July 2006.
2. South Africaâs relations with Spain have been excellent - politically and
our co-operation in multilateral fora.
3. Spain has undertaken to significantly increase funding (up to UN benchmark
of 0,7% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for development co-operation inter alia
in Africa, and recently announced an increase in ODA to Africa from Euro 200
million to Euro 400 million.
4. The Spanish government has also announced the Cancellation of African debt
of approximately Euro 200 million.
5. Spain is also currently exploring a new foreign policy with Africa: âAfrica
as a new policy priorityâ of which we will receive further information.
6. Spain is also key to peacekeeping operations in Africa, and we will also
discuss this with particular reference to the situation in Western Sahara,
considering the Spanish influence.
7. As you already know, ETA has recently declared a ceasefire that will bring
to an end 50 years of armed struggle. We will discuss this matter and ways in
which the international community can assist.
8. And of course, we will discuss the Middle East and Iran.
9. The statement has all the supporting information.
Eighth Session of the South Africa - Japan Partnership Forum
1. I will co-chair, together with my Japanese counterpart Senior Vice
Minister for Foreign Affairs Yasuhisa Shiozaki the eighth session of the South
Africa - Japan Partnership Forum at the Farm Inn in Pretoria scheduled from
Thursday - Friday, 6 to 7 July 2006.
2. Following the visit by Deputy President Mlambo-Ngcuka to Japan in April
2006, Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa (AsgiSA) and
Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA) will be high on the
agenda as well as how NEPAD can be used as an overarching framework for
Japanese co-operation in Africa.
3. As a member of the G-8, the forthcoming G-8 Summit will be discussed in
addition to the World Trade Organisation Talks.
4. As you know, Japan is a very important economic partner for South Africa and
Africa; it has now overcome its economic difficulties and for the first time is
showing sustained economic growth.
5. The statement has all the supporting information.
Questions and answers
Question: Deputy Minister Pahad, what is the latest on the situation in
Burundi?
Answer: As you know, the deadline has passed and the Comprehensive Ceasefire
Agreement has not been finalised. Minister Nqakula was in Burundi attempting to
finalise the situation but had to return to South Africa due to commitments in
his department. He will again return to Burundi later today.
We expect that regional groups, with the Facilitation, will attempt to
finalise the agreement. It is important to note however that the situation as
it is cannot be sustained any longer.
Question: Deputy Minister, was the matter of Security Council reform
discussed at the African Union?
Answer: This matter was discussed. The decision that emanated was that the
consensus position (the Ezulwini Consensus) will be supported. However, the
Committee of Seven Heads of State must continue to lobby for support from the
EU, America, the Group of Four (G-4), etc.
We all accept that Security Council reform is vital, but the matter is
likely to be overtaken considering the current rate at which the discussions
are progressing.
Question: Deputy Minister Pahad, am I to understand that flexibility with
regard to the veto has been considered?
Answer: This matter is one that is consistently debated. Some countries say
that we are unrealistic in expecting this matter to be conceded to, others say
it is a matter of principle and if the veto is there, African countries should
be entitled to it.
Question: Deputy Minister Pahad, what is the South African governmentâs
position on the recognition of the government of Somaliland, Will you recognise
it, and are you in negotiations with them?
Answer: The African Union sent a high level team to Somaliland to assess the
situation. Their report indicated that Somaliland should be treated differently
to other situations of cessation. This report is now being discussed by other
countries to determine how to proceed on the matter. It is important to note
however that the recognition of Somaliland is one part of a bigger situation
with regard to Somalia.
Question: Deputy Minister Pahad, there are reports showing an increase in
the numbers of illegal Pakistani immigrants to South Africa. Is your government
particularly concerned about this trend?
Answer: The matter of undocumented immigrants is one with which the
government has been seized with for a long time. We are looking into the matter
in its entirety. Immigrants from Zimbabwe, Nigeria, West Africa, India, China,
Taiwan and Pakistan are increasingly coming to South Africa. For some reason,
people, from as far afield as Pakistan believe they can live a better life in
South Africa.
The Minister of Home Affairs recently announced the relaxation of many
immigration laws in an attempt to address this situation.
This matter is not one that is specific to Pakistan and is a matter of
concern to us as a government since it impacts on the South African domestic
situation with regard to social services, the economy, etc. We must look at
ways of addressing the influx of undocumented immigrants to South Africa.
Question: Deputy Minister Pahad, was the permanent move of the NEPAD
Secretariat to Addis Ababa discussed at the AU Summit?
Answer: The matter was discussed and we will do a fuller briefing on the
matter next week, suffice to say that we must move towards moving the NEPAD
Secretariat permanently to Addis Ababa.
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
4 July 2006
