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Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s election as Chair of the African Union (AU) Commission gives South Africa the opportunity to revive the image of the African Union as a principled advocate for peace, democracy and human rights in the international arena.

The AU has recently been struggling to present a consolidated voice for Africa in international affairs and take decisive action on issues affecting the continent. Dr Dlamini-Zuma will be at the helm of an organisation that has been deeply divided by the race for its top job in a global arena where regionalism is fast overtaking continentalism as a basis for multilateral action.

She will have to bring her considerable diplomatic skills to bear to repair regional rifts whilst quashing fears of South African hegemony from rising African powers such as Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt.

To achieve a turnaround in the AU’s general lack of coherency and purposefulness, Dr Dlamini-Zuma would have to take a strong stand on some sensitive issues. There are five key areas in which she will have scope to re-position South Africa and the African continent:  

• She will have to work hard to promote effective implementation of the African charter of democracy, elections and governance that came into force when Cameroon ratified the charter on 16 January. A number of key countries, including Algeria, Egypt, Libya and Tunisia have yet to ratify the charter. If Dr Dlamini-Zuma fails to achieve buy-in from these North African countries, it would effectively place the post-Arab Spring regimes outside of the AU’s “most progressive legal instrument” to promote democracy, free andfair elections, human rights and the rule of law.
• She has to foster agreement on a suitable candidate from Africa to serve as permanent member of the United Nations Security Council – where South Africa can use its current non-permanent seat to lobby for permanent representation from Africa.
• The chairperson will have to display decisive leadership in ridding Africa of its human rights blind spot relating to the denial of basic rights and freedoms based on sexual orientation.
• Dr Dlamini-Zuma will have to ensure that the AU does not pay lip service to democratic values whilst lowering the bar for democracy in Africa through the endorsement of elections fraught with irregularities. The AU’s endorsement of the seriously flawed elections in the DRC should not set the tone for African democracies in which the will of the people is habitually repressed or ignored.   
• Dr Dlamini-Zuma has to review and improve decision-making within the AU regarding interventions in conflict situations or human rights violations on the continent. AU positions on issues should, for example, be clarified before African representatives cast their vote in UN bodies. Flip-flops in positions (like that of South Africa on the UN’s response to the crisis in Libya) undermine the credibility of African countries in international debate. This will be particularly important as the AU seeks support from the United Nations for interventions in the conflict situation in Mali.

The principle of ubuntu is the cornerstone of South Africa’s foreign policy. We should demonstrate our commitment to this principle by advocating a human rights-based regional and global order that adheres to the highest possible standard of democracy. Dlamini-Zuma’s chairmanship of the AU’s implementation arm presents a unique opportunity for South Africa to be positioned as a leading light in this quest.

We wish Dr Dlamini-Zuma success in her new position and hope that she is ready to make some tough decisions in the interest of our country and the continent.