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Date : 26/10/2006
Source: Department of Foreign Affairs
Title: Dlamini Zuma: London School of Economics (LSE) Political Science Lecture Series


Speech by Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Minister of Foreign Affairs, at the London School of Economics (LSE) in the Political Science Lecture Series

The United Nations in the 21st century

Mr Howard Davies, Director of the London School of Economics,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen:

I have the great honour and privilege to participate in this London School of Economics (LSE) Lecture Series on the relevance of the United Nations (UN) at sixty.

Tomorrow I will also have the privilege of presenting the inaugural lecture on the "International Legacy of Oliver Tambo" at the Glasgow City Hall. The coincidence of these events during this week could not have been more opportune and significant because Oliver Tambo, among his many distinguished qualities, was an ardent internationalist.

Oliver Tambo led the African National Congress (ANC) during the entire period of its underground and exile existence spanning three decades. He is one ANC president that interacted most with the UN, the organisation of African Unity (AU) and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

He worked for self-determination, democracy, the respect for human rights, the upliftment of those disempowered and living in poverty, non-racialism, non-sexism, the resolution of conflicts by peaceful means as well as the destruction of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction.

The values and principles that he stood for and asserted are also those which today form the cornerstone of the Constitution as well as the foreign policy of the new democratic South Africa.

Ladies and gentlemen

Above all he believed in the true solidarity and the potential of the UN to serve as a conscience of the world and collective energy for dealing with the most pressing challenges facing humanity.

I recall the work of Oliver Tambo to also indicate that in South Africa we have a long and rich history with the UN.

Indeed South Africa provides a case of what the international community can do better under the UN in support of a people in need. It also shows the potential of the UN to use the various tools at its disposal in pursuit of the noble objectives on which it was founded. Furthermore it illustrates the dilemmas that come with the asymmetries in the use of power within the world body.

The UN was also founded at a time in history when a large number of peoples in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean still lived under colonialism. However the principles and values under which the UN was created served to inform and give moral and political authority to the struggle against colonialism and apartheid.

With great foresight the founders of the UN identified a set of fundamental purposes and principles which are still relevant today. They said that its purposes are, I quote, "to maintain international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self determination, to achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character and to be the centre for harmonising the actions of nations in the attainment of these common goals".

Preamble:

We the peoples of the UN determined:

* to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war which twice in our lifetimes has brought untold sorrow to mankind,

* to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the right dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of the nations large and small,

* to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained,

* to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.

And for these ends:

* to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours,

* to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security,

* to ensure by the acceptance of principles and institutions of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest,

* to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples.

Since its creation these principles of the UN became the shining rod and benchmarks for a better world order. We experienced this directly in South Africa as we saw the world unite under the UN to oppose apartheid. Decolonisation and the fight against apartheid are perhaps among the best successes for the UN General Assembly.

One of the ironies of history is that South Africa's racist apartheid government was also represented and participated in the drafting of the Charter of the UN. Oliver Tambo called this the "fault of the times". The policies of the South African government from 1945 up until 1994 were in direct contradiction with the Charter and the purpose of the UN.

The ANC has always believed that the honourable task of freeing South Africa rested firmly with the people of South Africa themselves. This remained the fundamental position of principle from which all international action is to be appraised.

During this period the bonds of bondage that bound millions of South Africans were tightened to the absolute limit, the screws of oppression and exploitation had been driven in without mercy and racial discrimination permeated every sphere of South African life.

Basic freedoms which were few and far in between had been whittled away until there was none worth mentioning violence against the majority of the people had reached frightening proportions.

Indeed the relations that apartheid South Africa enjoyed at that time especially with the western countries meant that the UN would take a longer time before calling for strong actions against apartheid. From 1946 when the UN first addressed the problem of discrimination against people of Indian origin in South Africa, as had been highlighted by the great Mahatma Gandhi, to 1960 the UN was rather timid. There was resistance by western States to an outright condemnation of apartheid as a blatant violation of human rights.

It was only when the apartheid police unleashed violence against peaceful South Africans demonstrating against pass laws in Sharpeville in 1960 and in response to the worldwide condemnation of this act that the Security Council itself started considering action. The Security Council resolution 181 of 1960 deplored the policies of the South African government and called upon it to abandon apartheid and racial discrimination. This period had also coincided with the admission of more African States in the UN as a result of decolonisation and their calls for stronger action from the UN.

On its part the General Assembly passed resolution 1761 in 1962 urging Member States to impose economic and other sanctions against South Africa. But these resolutions could not have the intended effects without the support of all Member States. Resolution 1761 also established the Special Committee Against Apartheid, which had to play a very crucial role in mobilising international support.

Following on these the UN was to pass other successive resolutions over the years as it remained seized of the South African question. Notable among these were resolutions establishing arms and oil embargoes, the proclamation of 21 March as the International Day for the elimination of racial discrimination on the anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre and the declaration of the General Assembly in 1970 of apartheid as a crime against the conscience and dignity of humankind.

The General Assembly, under the leadership of the then Foreign Minister of Algeria, his Excellency Abdelaziz Bouteflika, used the powers bestowed upon it to reject the credentials of the South African delegation in 1974. Following this South Africa withdrew from other UN organs and specialised agencies such as the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the International Labour Organisations (ILO). In its place our liberation movements, the ANC and the Pan African Congress (PAC), were recognised from 1975 as the representatives of the South African people and given observer status at the UN.

We therefore also need a renewed commitment to the strengthening of a rules based multilateral system of global governance based on the democratic ideal. Multilateralism remains the most effective and efficient system for addressing global problems. In history no other form of inter-State co-operation has delivered the same results as multilateralism. Unilateralism usually does not stand the test of time. Coalitions of the willing on issues that require collective action have also proved to be short-term solutions that also lack credibility. They are often used simply to assert the hegemonic intentions of a minority of countries.

It is also important that we consider the importance that the drafters of the UN Charter attached in designing a system of checks and balances as they gave different powers and functions to its different organs. Today, however, we see the increasing empowerment of the Security Council at the expense especially of the General Assembly and other organs. The Security Council has tended to encroach on the competencies of the other principal organs of the UN. It has also increasingly assumed for itself a legislative and treaty interpreting or amending role.

There is no doubt that this approach also weakens multilateralism in the sense that other organs and bodies can lose their specialised mandates to the Security Council. For example, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is the sole and legitimate body for the verification of nuclear safeguards agreements and its role must not be undermined or subsumed by the Security Council.

Yet another area that I suggest needs to be strengthened to make our organisation relevant is on prevention of conflicts. Even today, prevention is better than cure is more apt when we look at the history of the UN and realise the costs of humanitarian interventions, peacekeeping and reconstruction after wars. Prevention should also seek to address the root causes of conflicts.

The UN should also seriously review the role of sanctions as a useful tool that needs to be used judiciously and with care. Sanctions should support peace-making and peace-building rather than impede it.

Ladies and gentlemen

Another glaring area in which the United Nations still has to do more is to empowerment women in its own work and structures.

Despite the principles that the UN is promoting, women are not yet playing a prominent and visible role in its leadership structures. In this area, I challenge the UN to fall in line with the important trend in the world in which women are taking responsibility and leadership roles in various sectors. Put simply, we need to see more women in peace-building, acting as special envoys as well as leading the multitude of specialised agencies that belong to the UN family.

Ladies and gentlemen

Let me also take this opportunity to offer some reflections on my country's recent election to serve in the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member for the period 2007 to 2008. This is significant as we will be serving in the Security Council for the first time. We feel honoured therefore that, 12 years into our democracy, we have this opportunity to make a direct contribution to the maintenance of international peace and security.

According to the Charter of the UN the Security Council is mandated to act on behalf of Member States in the maintenance of international peace and security. The Security Council is also obligated to act in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter.

We will be serving in the Security Council during challenging times in global politics. It is also a time when more than ever the world requires a strong system of multilateral governance.

We will be serving in the Security Council also at a time when it is seized of a large number of African issues. These include Western Sahara, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi, Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia and Eritrea. We see our membership of the Security Council therefore allowing us to enhance the role that we are already playing in conflict resolution and peace-building on the African continent. In this work we have been responding to the strong resolve of African leaders and indeed the people of Africa who would like to see our continent achieve peace as a prerequisite for sustainable development.

We will also be informed by our own foreign policy which is based on a vision of an African continent that is prosperous, peaceful, democratic, non-racial, non-sexist and united and which contributes to a world that is just and equitable.

We are already working with the peoples of the DRC, Sudan, Burundi, C

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