Issued by: Departement of Foreign Affairs
ANNUAL ADDRESS BY FOREIGN MINISTER ALFRED NZO TO THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS IN JOHANNESBURG ON THURSDAY, 1 OCTOBER 1998
Mr Chair Excellencies Ladies and Gentlemen
Having only returned yesterday from New York where I was attending the 53rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly, I am pleased to be able to use this opportunity tonight to look forward into the new millennium, building on the achievements which have been attained during this year. South Africans are able to look back on 1998 and note how many of our foreign policy objectives were achieved and how successfully we pursued our foreign policy priorities. Here I would like to point to only a few, including: - the hosting of the Non-Aligned Movement Summit; - the chairing of the UN Commission on Human Rights; - our continued leadership of Southern African Development Community (SADC) and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); - the contributions made to the climate change negotiations; - the expansion of telecommunications in Africa; - the participation of the President and Deputy President on numerous foreign stages, including the World Economic Forum in Davos and the 50th Anniversary of the World Trading System in Geneva; - our role in the conclusion of a UN Agreement on Human Rights Defenders after 13 years of stalemate; - our continued pressure for disarmament; - our positive contributions in the debate regarding the restructuring of the institutions involved in global governance, - and our myriad bilateral contacts and effort, from Libya to East Timor.
As you can see, our work over the past year has steadily cemented our role as a key player on the international stage, a role for which we did not initially volunteer, but one which was accorded to us by the international community. The past year has seen us continue to pursue our foreign policy objectives through concrete actions.
However, I do not want to dwell this evening on past performance or achievements. Instead, I wish to use my Annual Address this evening to clearly outline to you the course we are charting for the future.
A course which we will develop and promote not only as South Africa, but also as chairperson of NAM, SADC and UNCTAD, and as a committed member of our continent and the family of nations.
Excellencies Ladies and Gentlemen
What drives South Africa's foreign policy?
In short, it is the promotion and attainment of a state of peace and prosperity for our own citizens as well as the citizens of our region, continent and planet, which will allow us to outgrow our designation as a developing country.
This is derived from the fundamental belief that there can be no prosperity without peace, but also no peace without prosperity, both within countries and between countries, as well as between the developed and developing worlds.
We view this vision as an all encompassing call to arms, not only for ourselves but also for the South as a whole. No longer can the South be left to stand on the sideline as the pillars of our new global society and world economy are being erected. We will continue our efforts to ensure that the South plays a central role in the advancement of humanity in this new age of renewal and renaissance; that our development agenda informs the development agenda of the whole international community, that we approach the new challenges with an open mind and a willingness to search for new answers. South Africa continues to believe in the necessity to generate a grounds well of actions which will inspire all people to work towards this vision of improving the human condition.
Excellencies Ladies and Gentlemen
Let me now turn to more specific objectives which make up our foreign policy and which will form the basis for our actions as we enter the new millennium.
When we look at the world, three things strike us.
First, the apparently untouchable direction of the twin processes of globalisation and liberalisation; the dominance of the market and the concomitant decrease in the sovereignty of states.
Second, the apparent inability or unwillingness of some to act to bring to an end to political oppression, human rights abuses, conflicts within and among states and corruption in all its facets.
Third, the realisation that nothing will change without us, the developing world, leading a global offensive to place our concerns and needs centre stage and working concretely for the very real possibility to end poverty in the world. Coupled to this, the realisation that the institutions of global governance, central to the achievement of our aims, must be restructured and refocused as a matter of priority, and that our interventions into such organisations must be radically reviewed.
Working from these three observations, we can clearly see how South Africa's foreign policy priorities are aimed at addressing the identified challenges.
South Africa is committed to the reversal of the marginalisation of the weakest countries, especially the Least Developed Countries or LDCs, the majority of whom are in Africa. We are also committed to addressing the adverse consequences currently evident amongst too many of the world's population. Earlier this week, when, representing the NAM Chair, I addressed a Ministerial Meeting of the LDCs at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, I had the following to say on this subject, and I quote:
" The importance of the adequate provision of resources to finance development on a predictable, assured and incremental basis is compelling.
The utility of Official Development Assistance in creating an enabling environment to assist LDCs, in particular, in their developmental efforts is pivotal in its strategic link to other development elements such as external debt, multilateral development finance, balance of payments support, private capital flows and the role of multilateral financial institutions." .
We maintain the position that globalisation cannot merely be allowed to prescribe solutions, insisting on uniformity and ignoring our social development requirements. We have sought to show the need for the impact of globalization to be effectively channelled so as to become a truly positive force for development, as well as making concrete proposals in this regard.
We also maintain the position that liberalization cannot be used by the North to merely weaken and take over economies of the South, whilst new trade barriers are erected in the North. The new dynamics present in the global economy have provided us with a clear opportunity to qualitatively expand the world economy beyond the old centres to Asia, Latin America and Africa.
South Africa has consistently pointed to the need for all countries to engage actively and positively with the powerful processes of globalisation and liberalisation. It is of no use to turn our back on the reality we now face nor to wish away the present. It is only by actively pursuing a positive agenda aimed at addressing the needs and aspirations of developing countries through international organizations such as the WTO, IMF, World Bank and UN as well as with other economic actors, and with governments in the North that we in the South can bring about a measurable and meaningful shift in the impact that these forces have on us and can rectify the deficiencies of the market in addressing our human development needs.
But for this opportunity to be taken, resources must flow to these new centres to allow them to develop, not to strip them of resources.
The negative impact of short-term capital flows, and the effective transfer of wealth from the South to North in this way as well as through the untenable debt burden faced my many developing countries directs us to work as a matter of urgency for the restructuring of the IMF and World Bank as well as the establishment of some form of rules governing capital flows.
For South Africa this also means the effective promotion of our economic and trading capacity, the development of new markets and alliances and the attraction of the right types of investment to the country and the region.
Excellencies Ladies and Gentlemen
Do human values have any place in the ordering of our global society as we enter the new millennium.
South Africa firmly believes "yes".
We, together with too many others across this planet have endured centuries of colonialism, oppression, aggression, exploitation and neglect. South Africa's track-record on fighting to right these wrongs is clear.
We will continue to oppose terrorism, exaggerated ethnicity, chauvinism and xenophobia in all their forms. We will continue to fight for the transformation of international relations so as to eradicate aggression, the usurping of power, unilateral coercive measures and unfair economic practices, foreign occupation and the use of force. We will focus on ensuring justice for the oppressed, equality for women and protection of children everywhere.
At this point I can find no more eloquent way of putting our commitment to human rights to you than to quote from the Durban Declaration tabled by South Africa at the recent NAM Summit and adopted by acclamation by the meeting:
"As we mark the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration Human Rights, nothing should be used as a convenient mask to hide genocide, gross violations of Human Rights and crimes against humanity... We must seek a world order of compassion for the weak, of human rights and development for all."
We will continue to work to ensure that the values of democratisation, good governance, a principled opposition to corruption and the abuse of power are promoted through all means possible.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
Human Rights and democracy do not, of themselves, automatically bring a better world. They require an environment of peace and development. We must continue to work as hard as we can for a world order free from weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons. We must ensure that indiscriminate killers such as landmines are effectively banished and that the flood of small arms and conventional weapons is turned back.
Related to these efforts is the fight against terrorism, against transnational crime, against drug trafficking and against the ongoing attempts by groups to seize power by force or by some Governments to still participate in or give their support to such actions.
A case in point concerning our commitment to the goals and principles I have set out above, is reflected in our handling of the Lesotho emergency. We were not willing to stand by, for fear of regional mandate, and see certain groups in Lesotho refuse to explore all peaceful means of dispute resolution, rather trying to win enough time to violently overthrow the government. This is not the way the modern world works, and we will act in an appropriate manner to each situation that arises. There is no greater threat to our collective efforts to build peace and prosperity than these types of rogue elements.
But human development also requires the pursuit of other equally essential goals. These include eradicating famine, stopping environmental degradation, AIDS and other diseases, as well as renewing the focus on the development and utilisation of science and technology and on the rapid development of human resources and endogeonous capacity in the South.
Key in the pursuit of these goals is effective South-South Cooperation, built up through strong regional integration and topical cooperation as well as covering a wide range of issues. It is essential, however, that this must be coupled to a serious, in-depth and equal dialogue by the South with the North. The interdependence of the world leaves both sides with no choice but to come together to grapple for common answers to problems which will impact on both sides, including unemployment and structural problems in the North as well as poverty, deprivation and social dislocation in the South. South Africa is committed to ensuring that South South Cooperation is placed on a practicable footing, and that a serious dialogue with our partners in the North is effectively pursued. Part of this effort will have to include a recommitment to the philosophy that development assistance will not be accepted as charity nor to create subservient dependency. Aid is an essential catalyst for economic and social development in a great many regions of the world due to the lack of infrastructure and private capital at the present moment.
How will we work towards achieving our objectives and promoting our goals?
In our pursuit of the goals and objectives set out above, as well as in our efforts to carry outwards our principles on the issues affecting us today, we have a full hand at our disposal.
South Africa maintains friendly relations with all the countries of the world, and we are, on a continuous basis, ensuring that our relations with these countries are being placed on an ever sounder basis. Why this focus on a wide spectrum of bilateral relations? Because strong bilateral relations and mutual understanding of each other is of immense value during times of crisis, need and the resolution of potential conflict situations.
We believe that our strong focus on our region, Southern Africa, and its cooperation mechanism, SADC, is the only way for us to approach our wider relations with the rest of the world. We will continue to strengthen our practical cooperation efforts in the region.
Linked to this is our commitment to our continent.
South Africa is also committed to use all the instruments of multilateral diplomacy placed at our disposal. Whether it be through the General Assembly and its thematic Committees, through the other main bodies of the UN, through the Specialized Agencies of the UN or through other international organisations, South Africa will ensure that our aims and principles are fully reflected in the debates, dialogue and policy formulation which take place.
But we will not stop here - we have further ensured that our inputs to the Group of 77, our leadership of NAM and our upcoming leadership of the Commonwealth are harnessed to achieve our objectives and those of the South.
The value to international diplomacy of these myriad avenues for formal and informal dialogue and personal contact should never be underestimated.
Excellencies Ladies and Gentlemen
At this stage I also wish to point to another tenet of our foreign policy.
South Africa firmly believes in the value and contribution to be made by non-state actors, that is the civil society and the business community.
As the world is changing, so is the role of the state and the role and responsibility of non-state actors. We will continue to develop our relationships in this area as we also point others to the benefits to be found through this contact.
The Department of Foreign Affairs is already working to achieve the goals we have set for ourselves. We may not always draw attention to ourselves, and other actors on the foreign policy stage may seem to be making all the running, but let me assure you here tonight - My Department knows what it has to do and is hard at work to meet the challenges it has been set.
In support, we are actively pursuing a transformation process which will see more efficient utilization of resources as well as the development and enhancement of the modern skills required to achieve the tasks effectively.
We have our assignment and we aim to achieve it through our own actions and in collaboration with the other role players.
Excellencies Ladies and Gentlemen
I hope I was able to sketch for you tonight an outline of what we will be occupied with in the future. We are achieving results everyday and will not flag in our efforts to achieve more. A Session such as this one, and interaction with other institutions such as the SAIIA, provides a splendid opportunity for us to share views on these crucial issues. I therefore wish to thank you for your attention, your presence and hopefully for your better understanding of the way forward for the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Thank you.