Riyaz Patel
South Africa has assumed the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council (UNSC) and will use the influential platform to champion peace on the African continent.
“This is the embodiment of the legacy of Nelson Mandela who, during his tenure as president of our country, worked tirelessly to advance peace and stability on the continent and globally, through mediation and preventative diplomacy,” International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor said during her budget vote in June.
“We have a rare opportunity to place this goal on top of the agenda of the UN Security Council when we assume the presidency of the council in October 2019. The theme for our council presidency is ‘Continuing the Legacy: Working for a Just and Peaceful World’.“
Addressing the 74th session of the UNGA in New York last week, Pandor said South Africa is committed to multilateralism and diplomacy as effective tools for addressing the challenges facing the world today.
“We cannot decisively deal with the threats of poverty, unless we transform the current structure of the global economy, which continues to perpetuate divisions between the global North and global South.”
“It is necessary for us all to work together and spare no effort in addressing the challenges brought by the impact of globalisation and by the untransformed structure of global economy,” she said, giving a strong indication that Pretoria will push hard for the reform of the Bretton Woods institutions.
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Another pointer as to South Africa’s focus areas is the issue of women in international policymaking. “We further emphasise the role of women in the resolution of conflict. In this regard, South Africa argues for a gender perspective to be mainstreamed into all Security Council resolutions in line with Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security,” indicating that Pretoria intends to fully implement the Women Peace and Security agenda during its term at the helm of the UNSC.
“In October, we will preside over the Security Council’s debate on this subject. The emphasis of the debate should be to ensure implementation of the commitments we have made.
SA at the UN
South Africa was one of the 51 founding member of the United Nations in 1945. On 12 November 1974, the United Nations General Assembly suspended South Africa due to international pressure over the policy of apartheid.
South Africa was readmitted to the UN in 1994 following its transition into a non-racial democracy. Since 1994, the democratically elected government has pursued a foreign policy based on the centrality of the UN in the multilateral system.
Twelve years after re-admittance to the UN, South Africa was endorsed by the African Union (AU) and subsequently elected with an overwhelming majority to serve as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council during the period 2007-2008 and again in 2011-2012.
During its tenure as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), South Africa promoted the African Agenda namely peace, security and development.
“Continuing the Legacy: Working for Peace”
South Africa presented its candidature to fill the non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the term 2019 – 2020. The election for this seat was held during the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly on 8 June 2018.
Following a global campaign to garner the widest possible support for our candidacy, South Africa received overwhelming support from UN member states and was elected.
A statement from the Permanent Mission of South Africa to the UN said: “South Africa is faithful to the Purposes and Principles of the United Nations Charter, and strongly advocates for rules-based multilateralism.”
“South Africa is committed to promoting and achieving its vision of an African Continent, which is prosperous, peaceful, democratic, non-racial, non-sexist and united, and which contributes to a world that is just and equitable through effective multilateralism at the sub-regional (SADC), regional (AU) and global level (UN).”
