Address by Ms Sue van der Merwe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, to the South African Institute of International Affairs, Western Cape Branch, Centre of the Book, Cape Town 14 June 2006

"Multilateral diplomacy - the search for greater equity, representivity and balance in the global exercise of power"

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 fifty 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. This could have been one of the momentous events of our time, and we could have witnessed the far-reaching reform of the United Nations, which would have been exemplified by an agreement, amongst others, to enlarge the United Nations Security Council.

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 United Nations is the key multilateral institution for global governance.

Thirty 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 who 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 an 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 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 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 APRM's 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 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 United Nations that threats and challenges facing humanity can be collectively confronted. Such a reform should be meaningful, strengthen the ability of the Organization to implement its mandates effectively and enable it to serve the interests of the collective membership. A stronger United Nations 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 coordinating 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 Peacebuilding Commission will be African countries.

I will now briefly like to address the issue of the reform of the United Nations Security Council. Much of the work that we and others did last year on United Nations 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 Millennium Development Goals, Security Council nevertheless remains at the heart of this reform drive.

The question that members are really asking is how, after 60years 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 "[t]he 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 Millennium Development Goals. 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 United Nations, the Bretton Woods Institutions and the 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, \Orangisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 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 who 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 Millennium Development Goals".

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 re-affirm 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:

[A]s committed multilateralists we shall defend the role of multilateral instruments such as the NPT (Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty) and the 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 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 seventeenth 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 African Union 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 United Nations reform. The proposals made in the consensus document had far reaching implications for the reform of the United Nations 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.