Nqakula during the Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM),
Havana, Cuba,
29 April 2009
Honourable Chairperson and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba
Honourable Ministers
Excellencies
South Africa wishes to thank our hosts, the Government of the Republic of
Cuba, for the excellent arrangements for this NAM Ministerial Meeting. I would
also like to use this opportunity to convey to the Cuban People South Africa's
congratulations on the Fiftieth Anniversary of the triumph of your
Revolution.
In this month of April, we in South Africa are also celebrating the 15th
anniversary of our young democracy, which has been further strengthened by the
successful holding of our fourth general elections held on the 22 of April.
South Africa has enjoyed its freedom over these past 15 years because of the
strong and unwavering support of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Chair,
South Africa's principled position continues to be the lifting of the
economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba. The embargo continues
to constitute a violation of Cuba's sovereignty and a massive violation of the
human rights of her people.
The attainment of international peace, stability and security remains a
primary objective, not only for the movement, but also for South Africa. We are
all aware that there are still many countries in the world which are ravaged by
conflict and wars.
We all need to commit both collectively as a Movement and as individual
nation states, to ensure the peaceful settlement of conflicts. Peace and
stability are a prerequisite for sustainable development. The NAM should
continue to show its solidarity towards the People of Palestine. South Africa
and the rest of the world were shocked by the most recent Israeli invasion of
Gaza. The continued Israeli aggression and undermining of the sovereignty of
the Palestinian people clearly violates international human rights and
humanitarian law. We condemn such aggression by Israel against Palestine and
call on that country to implement the relevant General Assembly, Security
Council and Human Rights Council resolutions.
Countries emerging from internal instability require the movement's support.
Therefore for the newly established unity government in Zimbabwe to fully
implement and consolidate the unifying process, it is essential that the
international community lifts all sanctions against Zimbabwe to support efforts
aimed at its sustained socio-economic reconstruction and development.
Chair,
Multilateralism is a cornerstone of South Africaâs foreign policy. We
support efforts to reform the United Nations system, especially the Security
Council. We believe the Security Council is not representative of the
geopolitical realities of the 21st century. There is therefore an urgent need
for the Security Council to be reformed in order to ensure equitable geographic
representation in both the permanent and non-permanent categories. In order to
be responsive to the fulfilment of its mandate in terms of the Charter it must
become transparent, democratic and legitimate.
South Africa remains strongly committed to the cause of disarmament,
non-proliferation and arms control. The South African Government is committed
to a policy on non-proliferation and arms control which cover all weapons of
mass destruction, and the proliferation of conventional weapons. For South
Africa, the three pillars of the NPT are inextricably linked. New measures are
required to curb the threat of the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Such
measures should not in any way undermine the inalienable right of states to
utilise such technologies for peaceful purposes, as recognised by the NPT.
As a responsible possessor of advanced technologies, South Africa regards
its policy on disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control as a direct
extension of its commitment to democracy, human rights, sustainable
development, social justice and environmental protection. As part of this
commitment South Africa signed several conventions including the one on the
prohibition on cluster munitions.
Chair,
We welcome the successful conclusion of the Durban Review Conference in
Geneva on Friday, 24 April 2009. We are pleased that the outcome document of
that Review Conference reaffirmed the Durban Declaration and Programme of
Action. We are pleased that it also endorses the notion that all peoples and
individuals constitute one human family, united in diversity.
Within this context, South Africa regrets attempts which were made to
undermine the established practice in the multilateral system, of engaging in
negotiations and resolving differences on the basis of established mechanisms.
The unprecedented threats and boycotts during the Review Conference were
profoundly disturbing, given their potential to create a dangerous precedent,
which, if it is allowed to continue, may mutate into counter-threats and
boycotts of the outcomes of issues in the multilateral sphere of
negotiations.
This trend is distressing. It is incumbent on all of us seriously to
consider the implications of such tactics. These tactics are clearly
counter-productive.
Chair
Today, almost a billion people still live in dehumanising and degrading
poverty and hunger. Six million children under the age of five die every year
from poverty and hunger-related illnesses. This has been exacerbated by the
food crisis, volatile energy prices, the fall in commodity prices and climate
change. This situation is unacceptable, especially since it is possible for the
world to remedy these scourges and produce and distribute food for
everyone.
Furthermore the world is faced with a financial and economic crisis, which
is having a serious effect on the poorest amongst us. These multi-faceted and
interconnected crises pose serious risks to developing countries, in particular
Africa, and may set back Africa's progress towards attaining the
internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development
Goals, by many years.
South Africa recognises that in order to achieve a better life for all,
poverty eradication and overall sustainable development must be pursued from a
global perspective. We look forward to the High Level Meeting on the World
Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development scheduled for early
June this year. In this regard it will be important for the General Assembly to
take into account all complimentary processes and international initiatives
that seek to address comprehensively the global financial and economic
crisis.
We support efforts to create a more equitable and inclusive system of global
economic and financial governance. We believe that far-reaching reforms of the
Bretton Woods Institutions are needed to ensure, inter alia, that developing
countries have a greater voice and representation in the global financial
institutions.
Consequently, we believe that a more concerted effort from the international
community is required to ensure that progress is made towards attaining the
Millennium Development Goals, meeting longstanding commitments on Aid for
Trade, debt relief and overseas development assistance, including the
Gleneagles and subsequent commitments.
Developed countries need to display the unequivocal political will urgently
to operationalise and implement all commitments made to enhance the global
partnership for development in order to create a better life for all those
millions of people who so desperately need to be lifted out of dehumanising and
degrading poverty and hunger.
Collective and coherent action is needed in each interrelated area,
involving all stakeholders in an active partnership to achieve a just and fair
world in which the fundamental human right to development becomes a reality for
all.
Chair
South Africa continues to be encouraged by progressive trends in South-South
co-operation, especially in the areas of trade and investment. We recognise
that South-South co-operation offers substantial potential to countries of the
South for technical, financial, and institutional partnerships towards
addressing challenges common to developing countries.
As some progress is made to achieve more effective North-South
relationships, there still remains a need for action to strengthen South-South
co-operation at the inter-regional, regional and sub-regional levels. South
Africa welcomes the key underlying principles of South-South Co-operation,
which is based on, among others, a strong; genuine; broad-based partnership and
solidarity; equality; and mutual respect which strives for strengthened
multilateralism.
For us it is important to promote an action-oriented approach to development
challenges as well as the exchange of best practices and support among
developing countries in the common pursuit of their broad development
objectives. This will provide an enabling environment for developing countries
to play a more active role in international policy and decision-making
processes, in support of their efforts to achieve sustainable development.
In conclusion Chair, South Africa firmly believes in the importance and
relevance of the Non-Aligned Movement. We will further enhance and strengthen
our solidarity when we meet later this year at summit level in
Sharm-el-Sheikh.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Defence
29 April 2009
